Nintendo DS

[EdgeCrusher]

Ritcher kicked my ass :(

[UnforgivingEdges]

http://angryamericankirby.ytmnd.com/

I thought this was pretty funny, though I can't comment on the sound. My sound card is f'd.
The Kirby community has never understood why Kirby gets so angry on US boxart. :?

If you had to leave JAPAN and come to America, you'd be pretty pissed, too.

[The Damned]

Insert "happy Kirby artwork" motivational poster with "JAPAN. Superior" here.

[JoeFu]

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/dragonquest/20th/DQ9PVL.html

DQIX video.

Game looks amazing.

[atmuh]

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/dragonquest/20th/DQ9PVL.html

DQIX video.

Game looks amazing.
ok...wowzy

Best 3D I've ever seen on the DS I think.

also

HOW THE HECK DO YOU FIND ALL THIS STUFF

[JoeFu]

I has no life and read gaming forums. And I'm watching basketball right now. Have to do something between quarters.

[The Damned]

Joystiq and Kotaku seem to be the most up-to-date sites, I find. If anyone knows a site that gets news faster than them, I'd like to hear about them.

[atmuh]

Joystiq and Kotaku seem to be the most up-to-date sites, I find. If anyone knows a site that gets news faster than them, I'd like to hear about them.
I stick with joystiq. I think Joe reads the neoGAF forums which I can't bring myself to read.

[JoeFu]

Yeah, they are pretty quick with the game news, but thats the only reason I read it.

[Razumen]

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/dragonquest/20th/DQ9PVL.html

DQIX video.

Game looks amazing.
ok...wowzy

Best 3D I've ever seen on the DS I think.


Yeah, it's amazing what you can do accomplish with limited hardware but good art design.

[KWarp]

I stick with GoNintendo since they update often and are just one place.

Dragon Quest 9 = <3

[Drack]

Yeah, the sister's ending sucked, although it was fun to play. And OMFG is Dracula hard with Richter! I have got up to the second form several times, but I usually have taken too much damage up to that point. I've given up on Richter for now though.
I've got the first form of that fight hammered down to a science. First, it should be your top priority to never have Death just barely between you and Dracula. If he's not there, it's easy to jump over Dracula and get behind him for whipping. Dracula's pattern is Fireball, Lavaball, Fireball, Lavaball, special. It seems that his first 3 specials are always Bat, then scythes/lava, then HUEG EXPLOSION.

If death gets between you and Dracula and he's doing the fireball, switch to your partner and do the dragon looking move, this will wipe out all the fireballs it hits. Use your slide to avoid Death while doing this. If he's doing the lavaball with death between him and you, you have more desperate options. You can do your up, back, down, forward Y move to go through Dracula without taking damage, or you can dodge as much as you can then Grand Cross to avoid damage from anything else, as you are invulnerable while doing Grand Cross.

Also, when he does the scythe+lava special, use Grand Cross right in his face as soon as the scythes start moving. Not only will you not take damage, but you'll deal a shitload to him as it hits both Dracula and Death at the same time.

If you get low on MP from using Grand Cross too much, switch to your partner, who has much better MP regeneration. Her melee attack can cancel Dracula's fireballs pretty well, without having to send out dragons.

That should get you to the second form. basically my strategy is whip and get the fuck away as soon as you hit. This kind of dance should keep you out of range of the stomps, and if you see him about to swoop (VERY hard to tell, I think it's a different sound), duck. When he does the fire thing, he often goes the wrong way and moves away from you, you can pretty much chill without moving much at all. if he moves toward you, you might as well Grand Cross when he's about to touch you, as atempting to dodge it usually just makes you end up with MORE damage. When he does the thing with the walls closing in, switch to your partner and send melee attacks in both dirtections and jump like crazy. This should hit 4 of the 6 sides enough so that you don't get hit.

The rest is pretty much luck, based on what he does and where you are. If you are backed up against the wall for example, if he doesn't swoop you're pretty much guaranteed to take damage.

[Bahamut]

Yeah, the sister's ending sucked, although it was fun to play. And OMFG is Dracula hard with Richter! I have got up to the second form several times, but I usually have taken too much damage up to that point. I've given up on Richter for now though.
I've got the first form of that fight hammered down to a science. First, it should be your top priority to never have Death just barely between you and Dracula. If he's not there, it's easy to jump over Dracula and get behind him for whipping. Dracula's pattern is Fireball, Lavaball, Fireball, Lavaball, special. It seems that his first 3 specials are always Bat, then scythes/lava, then HUEG EXPLOSION.

If death gets between you and Dracula and he's doing the fireball, switch to your partner and do the dragon looking move, this will wipe out all the fireballs it hits. Use your slide to avoid Death while doing this. If he's doing the lavaball with death between him and you, you have more desperate options. You can do your up, back, down, forward Y move to go through Dracula without taking damage, or you can dodge as much as you can then Grand Cross to avoid damage from anything else, as you are invulnerable while doing Grand Cross.

Also, when he does the scythe+lava special, use Grand Cross right in his face as soon as the scythes start moving. Not only will you not take damage, but you'll deal a shitload to him as it hits both Dracula and Death at the same time.

If you get low on MP from using Grand Cross too much, switch to your partner, who has much better MP regeneration. Her melee attack can cancel Dracula's fireballs pretty well, without having to send out dragons.

That should get you to the second form. basically my strategy is whip and get the fuck away as soon as you hit. This kind of dance should keep you out of range of the stomps, and if you see him about to swoop (VERY hard to tell, I think it's a different sound), duck. When he does the fire thing, he often goes the wrong way and moves away from you, you can pretty much chill without moving much at all. if he moves toward you, you might as well Grand Cross when he's about to touch you, as atempting to dodge it usually just makes you end up with MORE damage. When he does the thing with the walls closing in, switch to your partner and send melee attacks in both dirtections and jump like crazy. This should hit 4 of the 6 sides enough so that you don't get hit.

The rest is pretty much luck, based on what he does and where you are. If you are backed up against the wall for example, if he doesn't swoop you're pretty much guaranteed to take damage.

The first form isn't a problem at all - I figured out exactly what do to there. It's after.

[RJG]

I'd rather good art direction that realism any day. The Uncanny Valley is cool if you're passing through but I wouldn't want to live there.

I mainly read Kotaku for gaming news, which often links from Joystiq. It's basically a site that gets important and off the wall news all in one place, reducing travel time for me. Plus it tickles my funny bone.

Has there been any news on Phantom Hourglass? I miss Celda.

[Katsurugi]

I agree. I think that what really makes a game for me is the writing and how it is presented, not necessarily the quality of the graphics. Usually, I remember the epicness or just the feelings a game can invoke especially when there are surprising plot twists.

No, nothing new about Phantom Hourglass other than it gets released in March 2007. I have plenty of games to keep me busy until then. I have Zelda:LttP and FFV to start and in the middle of Tales of Phantasia right now. I <3 DS because I get to play GBA games. I think I'm on the heels of beating Phoenix Wright though. ^_^ It's such a fun game, I want to pre-order PW2 just so I can get the free stylus that comes with it. But I think I've been getting more games than I can play right now... maybe I should wait a while before I buy some more games.

[JoeFu]

Actually, rumor has it that PH is delayed until Q4...


Anyways, RPG haven is what the DS will be next year. FFXII:RW, Heroes of Mana, hopefully FFTA2 comes out too, hopefully Luminous Arc comes out here, DQIX, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember.

[EdgeCrusher]

Nest of Evil on PoR > *

[UnforgivingEdges]

Has there been any news on Phantom Hourglass? I miss Celda.

http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=7325

[Bigfoot]

This has probably been posted already. I know it was posted about the PSP, but I dunno if it included this info.

So I'm just throwing this out here.


Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 confirmed for the DS. (http://gonintendo.com/?p=10517)

[CE]

This has probably been posted already. I know it was posted about the PSP, but I dunno if it included this info.

So I'm just throwing this out here.


Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 confirmed for the DS. (http://gonintendo.com/?p=10517)

This makes me smile. Tactics full revival? Hell yes.

[Bahamut]

Nest of Evil on PoR > *

Did you beat it?

[UnforgivingEdges]

This has probably been posted already. I know it was posted about the PSP, but I dunno if it included this info.

So I'm just throwing this out here.


Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 confirmed for the DS. (http://gonintendo.com/?p=10517)

This makes me smile. Tactics full revival? Hell yes.

Not hell yes. The man who created the Tactics series, Yasumi Matsuno, has left Square. Now his work is going to be handed over to someone else.

If people thought FFTA didn't hold a candle to FFT, the difference between FFTA and FFTA2, I'd wager to bet, will be staggeringly awful.

[CE]

This has probably been posted already. I know it was posted about the PSP, but I dunno if it included this info.

So I'm just throwing this out here.


Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 confirmed for the DS. (http://gonintendo.com/?p=10517)

This makes me smile. Tactics full revival? Hell yes.

Not hell yes. The man who created the Tactics series, Yasumi Matsuno, has left Square. Now his work is going to be handed over to someone else.

If people thought FFTA didn't hold a candle to FFT, the difference between FFTA and FFTA2, I'd wager to bet, will be staggeringly awful.

While FFTA was nowhere as good as FFT, it was still pretty enjoyable on it's own.

[The Damned]

My friend Matt bought me Kirby's Squeakers for a christmas present. I'll have to try it out later tomorrow, but I plan to give a mini-review on it once I can put some time into it.

[CE]

I heard it wasn't bad, but that it was way too easy.

Anyway, I don't know how old is this (posted on Gametrailers yesterday I think) but there's a trailer for Subarashiki: It's a Wonderful World, (another) Square Enix game for the DS.

It's something like an action game plus an RPG with a heavy focus on music as source for it's style I guess, leaning towards the Hip-Hop culture. Think Samurai Shamploo. SE is going all out with the two screens and the touch screen, since it seems like you control 2 characters in battle at the same time, one with the touch screen , the other with the D-Pad. Or not, maybe it's just two control styles. Nevertheless, it seems to be well implemented.

It's about this guy called Neck who has seven days to live and has to find God of Death in Tokyo. There's a lot of grafitti and "with there hipp' and their hoppin' and their bippin' and their boppin'" going on.

It definitively has style, and it's clearly a direct result of the DS' success in Japan, allowing developers to be a little more... expansive with their games.

Then again, this is a Square Enix trailer, so expect about 80% of it to be pure bullshit. All this fancy artwork and fancy vocals probably won't make it into the final game, which is a shame really.

http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?fs=1&id=3628

[The Author]

Nest of Evil on PoR > *

Did you beat it?

First room:

Hey this aint so bad.

Second room:

Why the hell did I stay in the corner?

[Katsurugi]

All right. I just finished Phoenix Wright yesterday. Wow. That last case was long. It took me probably a good week or so to get through it. And I was playing it quite consistently too. The other ones were considerably shorter. That's some good gaming right there. I was thinking about pre-ordering the second one. Finger pointing stylus is a nice treat too.

I guess most people here are enjoying PoR? I think I was going to buy DoS first, but I have no idea how the plot goes. Should I really care? I think it's important, but gameplay is also important too. Any suggestions for a beginner type Castlevania game? I played a little DoS before, so I know how it plays... seemed pretty fun.

[Bahamut]

Nest of Evil on PoR > *

Did you beat it?

First room:

Hey this aint so bad.

Second room:

Why the hell did I stay in the corner?

It doesn't really get bad until you have to fight two The Creatures at once - that is when it starts to get really painful.

I guess most people here are enjoying PoR? I think I was going to buy DoS first, but I have no idea how the plot goes. Should I really care? I think it's important, but gameplay is also important too. Any suggestions for a beginner type Castlevania game? I played a little DoS before, so I know how it plays... seemed pretty fun.

I'd recommend just going with PoR first. While all of the Castlevanias are pretty much related in plot, Dawn of Sorrow sort of ends the Castlevania saga. Also, PoR sort of makes things easier, and doesn't have the shitty stylus usage that the first DS one did.

[CE]

They're both solid, and not related, storyline-wise. I'd go with DoS first since it's probably cheaper by now.

[The Author]

I liked DoS' use of the Stylus. And I would love to see the alternate story's ending be the cannon. But either way, it does not end the Castlevania story. It just stops Dracula for a generation, more or less. I could easily see a future Castlvania where Soma fully embraces his destiny.

Now PoR makes me wanna see Castlevania 1999. That one will be the biggy.

Also, they are gonna run out of reincarnations pre 1999 soon. Since Dracula's begining has been established as the 1300s, and the games leave little place to add more story, I really think the next big Castlevania will be the assault of 1999. And at that point, it will be interesting because it was Justin Belmont, a bunch of soldiers, Yoko Belnaldes and Alucard, all at once, in the castle fighting Dracula. And the only 4 to survive were Hammer, Alucard, Yoko, and Justin, if I remember correctly.

[Brycepops]

I liked DoS' use of the Stylus. And I would love to see the alternate story's ending be the cannon. But either way, it does not end the Castlevania story. It just stops Dracula for a generation, more or less. I could easily see a future Castlvania where Soma fully embraces his destiny.

Now PoR makes me wanna see Castlevania 1999. That one will be the biggy.

Also, they are gonna run out of reincarnations pre 1999 soon. Since Dracula's begining has been established as the 1300s, and the games leave little place to add more story, I really think the next big Castlevania will be the assault of 1999. And at that point, it will be interesting because it was Julius Belmont, a bunch of soldiers, Yoko Belnaldes and Alucard, all at once, in the castle fighting Dracula. And the only 4 to survive were Hammer, Alucard, Yoko, and Julius, if I remember correctly.

Uh...according to wikipedia, Yoko is 24 years old in DoS, and since DoS takes place in 2036, there's no way she could've been alive when Julius fought Dracula in 1999


:?

[Kitsuta]

Nest of Evil on PoR > *

Did you beat it?

First room:

Hey this aint so bad.

Second room:

Why the hell did I stay in the corner?

There are many, many more than two rooms. Good luck. ;)

I LOVE The Nest of Evil. Being a completionist on this game, I've beaten most of the levels 10+ times, excluding the last level. So awesome, but very hard.

Brycepops: Castlevania timeline(you know, the one that came with the preorder) to the rescue!

It does, in fact, say that: "It is Julius, the heir to the Belmont clan, who takes up the Vampire Killer to face Dracula's power" in 1999. It never mentions Yoko.

Not that it actually explains anything.. :?

[The Author]

Then Yoko's mother...


Oh and that makes Hammer a very very old pervert. I was sure in AoS it mentionned hammer and the military being involved in the 1999 events. I assumed Yoko was the Belnaldes to be involved, but I guess Yoko's mother could have worked out as well.

Don't forget, the Belmont of 1999 needed a Belnaldes to reactivate the whip carried by a Morris.

[The Damned]

My friend Matt bought me Kirby's Squeakers for a christmas present. I'll have to try it out later tomorrow, but I plan to give a mini-review on it once I can put some time into it.
Yeah, so a few days at it, and here's what I got:

If you like Kirby, you'll like Squeak Squad. It straight forward Kirby side scrolling stuff, with a few new powers (favorite so far is Magician, where you shoot doves and playing cards out of your hat). There really isn't anything that could be considered groundbreaking or completely new.

Item management is sort of limited (in terms of use and actual numbers; you can only have five items at once). If you take two powers and combine them, you don't get a new, hybrid power. Instead, you get a randomly selected power. So if you think mixing that Fire power and the Sword power is going to get you some sort of firey Sword of Gabriel deal, think again. You'll end up with the Umbrella or Wheel power.

But you can combine food and Bottles to make better food and items. For instance, if you take a berry and a bottle, you get a piece of meat. If you combine that with another berry or bottle, you get one of those "M" tomatoes. Combine three tiny Kirby icons, and you get a 1-Up. But that's the extent of it.

There are lots of items to collect, which is why the limit of five items is so annoying. There are treasure chests that contain things like scrolls (they add extra abilities to your powers and are permanent), as well as pieces of a picture, medals, and lots of stuff that you get to look at in your collection. All of it is outside of the normal game, so it's completely extra.

There are also large chests that the Squeak Squad are after, and you have to fight one of them for it every time you see one. These hold more important items. Again, you have to use up a slot in your "stomach" screen to keep these, so toss that power-up or item if you want to keep that treasure.

I think if they let you have more slots for items, it would have been better. But as it stands, it's a decent Kirby game. Kirby fans should be happy, as it gives you more of the same while adding some new stuff here and there.

[CE]

The reason I'm not getting is that it's too easy and also you can't create cool new powers like in Crystal Shards.

[The Damned]

Oh joyous joys! Someone is saying that Nintendo is going to make yet another DS model! Who? Why, the French (http://www.jeux-france.com/news18498_nintendo-ds-une-nouvelle-version-.html) of course!

Every time I see a rumor of something from this site, I never hear of it happening afterwards. I swear, they only exist by being one of the few game sites in France, and by occasionally spitting out stuff they make up. Why do they bother?

But for the sake of argument, Nintendo does like to make newer versions of the same hardware, as anyone familiar with the Gameboy line can attest. Does this mean another, newer DS? I can't see why. The Lite is doing very well all around, and it's not even a year old yet.

And some of the comments coming out of sites like Kotaku and Joystiq... "why are they doing this? Nintendo is just greedy!" and the like...

No one is making anyone buy the new version, and nothing is making the previous versions obsolete. The DS didn't magically stop working once the Lite was released. Meanwhile, Apple releases ten new iPod models in a year, and no one complains about that.

Man, gamers like to make themselves look bad...

[Stealthshark]

Checked the last few pages and didn't see it posted so...

Heroes of Mana is apparently an RTS. (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3155956)

Not quite Mariocraft but it still sounds like it'll be fun. Always good to see series try different directions. We've had several turn-based strategy games from Squenix, it's about time they tried their hand at something realtime.

[Kitsuta]

Oh joyous joys! Someone is saying that Nintendo is going to make yet another DS model! Who? Why, the French (http://www.jeux-france.com/news18498_nintendo-ds-une-nouvelle-version-.html) of course!

Every time I see a rumor of something from this site, I never hear of it happening afterwards. I swear, they only exist by being one of the few game sites in France, and by occasionally spitting out stuff they make up. Why do they bother?

But for the sake of argument, Nintendo does like to make newer versions of the same hardware, as anyone familiar with the Gameboy line can attest. Does this mean another, newer DS? I can't see why. The Lite is doing very well all around, and it's not even a year old yet.

And some of the comments coming out of sites like Kotaku and Joystiq... "why are they doing this? Nintendo is just greedy!" and the like...

No one is making anyone buy the new version, and nothing is making the previous versions obsolete. The DS didn't magically stop working once the Lite was released. Meanwhile, Apple releases ten new iPod models in a year, and no one complains about that.

Man, gamers like to make themselves look bad...

A new DS is very unlikely, unless for some reason they end up needing a hardware upgrade to be compatible with the Wii(also, very unlikely and would be quite bad for Nintendo). The black and pink versions are only a few months old.

I would look more for a new Gameboy than anything, unless Nintendo decides to drop the GBA altogether.

[The Damned]

They pretty much have. An article (http://today.reuters.com/summit/summitarticle.aspx?type=summitNews&summit=MediaMarketingSummit06&storyid=2006-11-29T180956Z_01_N29346976_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-SUMMIT-NINTENDO-GAMEBOY.xml) from a few weeks ago stated that Nintendo sees one more "season" for the GBA. Now, if they meant the holiday season (Christmas) that's doable. There are still games coming out for it, and the existing library is pretty solid.

But let's face it, the GBA has pretty much been replaced by the DS. The only reason why the DS isn't called the "Gameboy DS" is because the uncertainty Nintendo had when they announced the DS. If the DS failed, then the Gameboy name would still be untarnished. But the DS was an amazing success, and they have no reason to rename it to include the Gameboy name.

I suspect that in the future, maybe after the successor to the DS, they will bring the Gameboy name back once more. Maybe the Gameboy Ultra? :wink:

[Kitsuta]

They pretty much have. An article (http://today.reuters.com/summit/summitarticle.aspx?type=summitNews&summit=MediaMarketingSummit06&storyid=2006-11-29T180956Z_01_N29346976_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-SUMMIT-NINTENDO-GAMEBOY.xml) from a few weeks ago stated that Nintendo sees one more "season" for the GBA. Now, if they meant the holiday season (Christmas) that's doable. There are still games coming out for it, and the existing library is pretty solid.

But let's face it, the GBA has pretty much been replaced by the DS. The only reason why the DS isn't called the "Gameboy DS" is because the uncertainty Nintendo had when they announced the DS. If the DS failed, then the Gameboy name would still be untarnished. But the DS was an amazing success, and they have no reason to rename it to include the Gameboy name.

I suspect that in the future, maybe after the successor to the DS, they will bring the Gameboy name back once more. Maybe the Gameboy Ultra? :wink:

Yeah, someone posted a thread about that article a while back, where we all argued whether or not the GBA would continue.

What would be funny is if they made a widescreen type Game Boy with gamecube level graphics, just to stick it to Sony and their PSP. :lol:

EDIT: Of course, while it would be amusing, it probably wouldn't work very well and I wouldn't encourage them to do it.

[Penfold]

So I got Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime this weekend. It's awesome. I was originally gonna get Final Fantasy III (I played the GBA FF1&2 and enjoyed that, so I figured 3 would be a good bet), but the store didn't have it in-stock, so I decided between DQ and Children of Mana. For those who played Children of Mana, how did you like it? How was the multiplayer?

[Bigfoot]

I heard the multiplayer is really great in Children of Mana. CoM is really just a dungeon crawler/button masher. It's not really like your classic Secret of Mana type game.

[KakTheInfected]

Children of Mana is a button masher that, if you're like me, are going to get bored of very quickly.

DQH:RS rules though. You made the right choice.

[Penfold]

Children of Mana is a button masher that, if you're like me, are going to get bored of very quickly.

DQH:RS rules though. You made the right choice.

Cool, kinda glad to hear it. I put about 5 hrs into DQH:RS this weekend, and it's all pretty much been fantastic. Btw, how was Magical Starsign? I like the look of the game, so I've been thinking to get it for that reason, but I'm just curious what people thought of how it played.

[The Damned]

Yeah, someone posted a thread about that article a while back, where we all argued whether or not the GBA would continue.
That was me. I loved the GBA, so it was a little sad to hear that sort of thing.

What would be funny is if they made a widescreen type Game Boy with gamecube level graphics, just to stick it to Sony and their PSP. :lol:

EDIT: Of course, while it would be amusing, it probably wouldn't work very well and I wouldn't encourage them to do it.
Maybe the next portable? Nintendo has proven with the entire Gameboy and GBA and DS lines that having superior hardware doesn't mean anything. Sega, Sony, the Wonderswan, the Lynx... all of them were better in terms of technology, but they all failed against whatever Nintendo put out at the time.

Of course, I would like to get a little more use out of my DS before the next one comes out. I only got the thing in July 2005.

[UnforgivingEdges]

Oh joyous joys! Someone is saying that Nintendo is going to make yet another DS model! Who? Why, the French (http://www.jeux-france.com/news18498_nintendo-ds-une-nouvelle-version-.html) of course!

Every time I see a rumor of something from this site, I never hear of it happening afterwards. I swear, they only exist by being one of the few game sites in France, and by occasionally spitting out stuff they make up. Why do they bother?

But for the sake of argument, Nintendo does like to make newer versions of the same hardware, as anyone familiar with the Gameboy line can attest. Does this mean another, newer DS? I can't see why. The Lite is doing very well all around, and it's not even a year old yet.

It actually makes perfect sense. The article you linked to only states that the rumors are criculating on Japanese forums and blogs. It also says that the rumor suggests that the new version would be released in Japan in 2007; nowhere else. Seeing how hot the DS lite is there (Nintendo can't even produce enough to fill demand), another redesigned DS would sell godly numbers of units.

[insert "It Prints Money!" gif here]

From a business standpoint (and ESPECIALLY after the recent DQ9 announcement), releasing a new DS lite model in Japan is good business.



And some of the comments coming out of sites like Kotaku and Joystiq... "why are they doing this? Nintendo is just greedy!" and the like...

No one is making anyone buy the new version, and nothing is making the previous versions obsolete. The DS didn't magically stop working once the Lite was released. Meanwhile, Apple releases ten new iPod models in a year, and no one complains about that.

Man, gamers like to make themselves look bad...

Stop being a Nintendo fanboy and shutup with this crap.

[JoeFu]

Man, the DS is steamrolling in Japan. I love looking at the weekly numbers just to see what kind of numbers it sells. I wonder what it will look like the week DQ9 comes out.

[The Damned]

Stop being a Nintendo fanboy and shutup with this crap.
Fanboy? Hardly. I call shit on all three sides when I see it. But since one company does it a lot more than the other, you call it being biased. Fuck you.

[UnforgivingEdges]

Stop being a Nintendo fanboy and shutup with this crap.
Fanboy? Hardly. I call shit on all three sides when I see it.

lol

[KWarp]

I'm not buying another DS redesign. :?

Kirby Squeak Squad will have to wait a little while. :cry:

[CE]

Guys guys! A Square Enix streetcred game trailer! Did no one even watch it? :(

[JoeFu]

dude, i like posted the link to the site of the game. The music is freaking awesome.

but i dont know if anybody actually went there.

Game looks interesting. I have no idea how to keep up with both screens though...

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/subarashiki/

was the site. I love the music there.

[The Damned]

Yeah... too bad it's in MOON LANGUAGE.

[CE]

Yeah... too bad it's in MOON LANGUAGE.

Jesus Christ! It's in Japanese! Clearly the storyline and dialogue are the best aspects
in this game, we can't possibly appreciate the visuals or music now! Shit!

And I did go there JoeFu.

[UnforgivingEdges]

I just want to let everyone know that in the past 24 hours I have discovered that Age of Empires DS is the best game for the system. It's also the best SRPG I've pretty much ever played (yes, even better than Advance Wars).

Wish I had bought it earlier. 20 bucks well spent.

[KakTheInfected]

Meh. I liked it, and it made me really feel nostalgic for the great PC version from way back in '99, but it's certainly not the best DS game. Too bad it's not online.

[The Damned]

Yeah... too bad it's in MOON LANGUAGE.

Jesus Christ! It's in Japanese! Clearly the storyline and dialogue are the best aspects
in this game, we can't possibly appreciate the visuals or music now! Shit!

And I did go there JoeFu.
Actually, I meant that without being able to accurately follow the layout of the page, it would be difficult to find everything on that page. I'm not one to haphazardly stumble around a flash driven site in a language I have no comprehension of. Therefore, finding the artwork and music you speak of would be, at best, a random chance.

[JoeFu]

Well, the music is on the site and it loads automatically and I just click around to find stuff. I'm not Japanese, but I can still click around to find things.

ALSO: It seems Game Informer might have been wrong. Reading Neogaf and someone said the Nintendo Dream magazine in Japan says Zelda DS is still going to be out first quarter.

[The Damned]

The official pokemon page, www.pokemon.com, has a new section announcing Diamond and Pearl. Until yesterday, it also had a date of April 22nd, 2007 as the release date. However, the page has been edited to remove the date for some reason.

Various sites like serebii.net and bulbapedia.net made note of this date before the omission, so it can be verified.

Only a week before my birthday. Nice. Too bad I'll have to hold off getting the game, since I have a course I need to pass in May. You know how it is; you get a new game, you play it all the time, you forget to study...

[atmuh]

You know how it is; you get a new game, you play it all the time, you forget to study...
story of my semester

[Penfold]

So I just read IGN's hands-on impressions of Chocobo and the Magic Picturebook (http://ds.ign.com/articles/751/751192p1.html). That games sounds a lot more interesting to me than I would have thought, especially after playing Rocket Slime. I'm definitely looking forward to this!

[Stealthshark]

I just want to let everyone know that in the past 24 hours I have discovered that Age of Empires DS is the best game for the system. It's also the best SRPG I've pretty much ever played (yes, even better than Advance Wars).

Wait...did you just Describe AoE:DS as Strategy RPG? Did they really do that much genre changing to it when they brought it to the system?

Also, am I the only one excited about the fact that the next Mana game for DS is going to be a 'build and send' strategy game with a Wi-Fi mode? :?

[Katsurugi]

I really question the direction they're taking the Mana series. Of course, a lot of people have doubts even after Legend of Mana. But I know some people who did like Legend of Mana a lot whereas some did not like it at all. It's a love it or hate it type of game, in my opinion. But now, after releasing another Mana game and having plans for another one, I really don't know. Children of Mana is a more dungeon crawler. But it definitely wants you to take advantage of the multiplayer aspect. I feel that this is somewhat too far off from what the original series first started as, in the sense that multiplayer was optional (but loads of fun) and it was your more conventional real-time RPG.

News of the next Mana game has me worried. If executed correctly, then it'd be a good thing. However, I don't want a half-baked game trying to do too much at one time.

But wasn't there a Seiken Densetsu 4 coming out for PS2 (if it didn't already come out)? Out of all of the Mana games, I think I'd like to play that one. It seems as if Square-Enix is teasing DS owners...

[Stealthshark]

From the description in the article it didn't seem to me that they were attempting much more than an RTS with a twist (emphasis on killing heroes as opposed to buildings). Portable, "Starcraft Lite" is fine by me. :lol:

As for the direction the series as a whole is taking, hasn't the franchise made it something of a point to be something a little bit different each time and never quite fit into the standard mold?

[edit] Admittedly, it's been a while since I played the SNES incarnations and I have limited experience with the other versions. I just remember the impression that the games never really had the same feel as one another. Could just be me.

[UnforgivingEdges]

I just want to let everyone know that in the past 24 hours I have discovered that Age of Empires DS is the best game for the system. It's also the best SRPG I've pretty much ever played (yes, even better than Advance Wars).

Wait...did you just Describe AoE:DS as Strategy RPG? Did they really do that much genre changing to it when they brought it to the system?

Yes, it is a turn-based SRPG. But it's so awesome. There's still an emphasis on building towns and buildings and researching technology. For example, if you train a villager (the only unit that can build) and have him construct a church, you can then train Monks. Monks are able to heal units and convert enemies to your side. Also, having a church allows you to research religious abilities, like making Monks have higher defense, etc. You also have resource management in that you need to build mills and farms as well as gold mines (on their appropriate map locations when you see a vein of gold or a field of wheat) in order to collect materials to build the aforementioned structures.

It's such a deep and rewarding game. Last night I was playing as the French, and the English were laying siege to my town. I trained up a group of Paladins, and then on their turn moved them around the town and took out the enemy troops gathered near the front gate.

Such an awesome game; best game on the DS, IMO.

[Bigfoot]

Holy balls, PoR is annoyingly hard sometimes.

[The Damned]

Yeah, so Kirby and the Squeak Squad is really, really short.

In three days of on-and-off playing, I managed to get 100%. That's including two recharges (battery is dying or something) and not playing for most of Monday.

But there is power mixing. Sort of. The fire, electric and ice powers can be combines with the sword and bomb powers. The effect? Nothing, as far as I can tell. Just a minor cosmetic thing.

But I must say, I do like a lot of the power-ups you can get from finding scrolls. And I love the magician power. It's kind of cute.

But totally not worth buying. Rent, trade or borrow only.

[Hale-Bopp]

Holy balls, PoR is annoyingly hard sometimes.I wouldn't say annoyingly hard, myself, but definitely hard in some places! I love it though. That's actually one of the positive points that sticks out for me in this game. Most other DS games I own I thought were fairly easy and I knew that I'd beat them in no time. PoR is different. I feel like I have my work cut out for me and that the challenge is there and I welcome it.

I do however find all of the bosses to be ridiculously easy. Maybe I was just leveled up more than what was expected of me, I dunno. I breezed through all of them up until dracula.

[Bigfoot]

Holy balls, PoR is annoyingly hard sometimes.I wouldn't say annoyingly hard, myself, but definitely hard in some places! I love it though. That's actually one of the positive points that sticks out for me in this game. Most other DS games I own I thought were fairly easy and I knew that I'd beat them in no time. PoR is different. I feel like I have my work cut out for me and that the challenge is there and I welcome it.

I do however find all of the bosses to be ridiculously easy. Maybe I was just leveled up more than what was expected of me, I dunno. I breezed through all of them up until dracula.

well, the part I was talking about to be annoying was how much HP the Whip's memory has. I mean, I was doing over 100hp a hit to him for quite some time and he still didn't die, heh.


The only reason why I die on any of the bosses is because I never really liked using potions on a boss fight, heh.

[Kitsuta]

The only reason why I die on any of the bosses is because I never really liked using potions on a boss fight, heh.

But that's what they're for!

[Bigfoot]

The only reason why I die on any of the bosses is because I never really liked using potions on a boss fight, heh.

But that's what they're for!

It's more fun that way ;p

[Kitsuta]

The only reason why I die on any of the bosses is because I never really liked using potions on a boss fight, heh.

But that's what they're for!

It's more fun that way ;p

Yeah, and I just beat the Belmont whip doing 50hp per hit and using about 3 High Potions and several food items(I have a million of them). :P

[Bigfoot]

The only reason why I die on any of the bosses is because I never really liked using potions on a boss fight, heh.

But that's what they're for!

It's more fun that way ;p

Yeah, and I just beat the Belmont whip doing 50hp per hit and using about 3 High Potions and several food items(I have a million of them). :P

I just beat him using the Nebula and Impervious Mail. <3 Nebula.

[JoeFu]

The pie is his weakness. I beat him just throwing pies at him until he died.

[supremespleen]

I beat him doing 110 dmg a hit with Jet Black Whip + that offense boost spell.

[Bigfoot]

I beat him doing 110 dmg a hit with Jet Black Whip + that offense boost spell.

That's about the only spells that I use. The Str Increase that both characters use. Too bad Jonathan's raises it so little compared to Charlotte's.

[EdgeCrusher]

I just can't wait to see how bad they'll screw up the Demon Castle Wars. It'll be 3d or something on a console. They always screw up a good CV game they hype up, and this one has been slowly built up for a while now.

[The Damned]

In case you didn't know, Japan loves the DS (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/blue-dragon/zelda-blue-dragon-fall-off-japanese-sales-charts-223424.php).

That's right: DS games make up the fist seven of the list, and 14 of the top twenty games. And with Dragon Quest 9 being an exclusive, I think we can safely call the DS the complete and total winner of the portable "war". There's no stopping it, just try to jump out of its way. If you can't do that, jump forward of the giant tidal wave of success, so that when you get swept away by it, the impact of you hitting it is slightly lessened.

[UnforgivingEdges]

In case you didn't know, Japan loves the DS (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/blue-dragon/zelda-blue-dragon-fall-off-japanese-sales-charts-223424.php).

That's right: DS games make up the fist seven of the list, and 14 of the top twenty games. And with Dragon Quest 9 being an exclusive, I think we can safely call the DS the complete and total winner of the portable "war". There's no stopping it, just try to jump out of its way. If you can't do that, jump forward of the giant tidal wave of success, so that when you get swept away by it, the impact of you hitting it is slightly lessened.

:roll:

[The Damned]

In case you didn't know, Japan loves the DS (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/blue-dragon/zelda-blue-dragon-fall-off-japanese-sales-charts-223424.php).

That's right: DS games make up the fist seven of the list, and 14 of the top twenty games. And with Dragon Quest 9 being an exclusive, I think we can safely call the DS the complete and total winner of the portable "war". There's no stopping it, just try to jump out of its way. If you can't do that, jump forward of the giant tidal wave of success, so that when you get swept away by it, the impact of you hitting it is slightly lessened.

:roll:
Too subtle?

[UnforgivingEdges]

In case you didn't know, Japan loves the DS (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/blue-dragon/zelda-blue-dragon-fall-off-japanese-sales-charts-223424.php).

That's right: DS games make up the fist seven of the list, and 14 of the top twenty games. And with Dragon Quest 9 being an exclusive, I think we can safely call the DS the complete and total winner of the portable "war". There's no stopping it, just try to jump out of its way. If you can't do that, jump forward of the giant tidal wave of success, so that when you get swept away by it, the impact of you hitting it is slightly lessened.

:roll:
Too subtle?

Something like that. I mean, I love the DS as much as the next guy, but...well... :roll:

[Bahamut]

Yeah, these sales figures are really worthless to me.

[The Damned]

In case you didn't know, Japan loves the DS (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/blue-dragon/zelda-blue-dragon-fall-off-japanese-sales-charts-223424.php).

That's right: DS games make up the fist seven of the list, and 14 of the top twenty games. And with Dragon Quest 9 being an exclusive, I think we can safely call the DS the complete and total winner of the portable "war". There's no stopping it, just try to jump out of its way. If you can't do that, jump forward of the giant tidal wave of success, so that when you get swept away by it, the impact of you hitting it is slightly lessened.

:roll:
Too subtle?

Something like that. I mean, I love the DS as much as the next guy, but...well... :roll:
Well, I was going to add a few "And lo," to the thing to make it more biblical, but I decided that would be too obvious a mocking. Sarcasm is really, really hard to convey in text. It sounded a lot funnier when I was typing it out.

But still... ouch, that's impressive. Last year at this time, it was like that for the PS2. Hell, for the last three years, it was the PS2. The market changed pretty quickly over 2006.

I'd love to see game sales figure for each week and month for the entire year, just to see when the shift started.

/off to find charts and stuff

[Bigfoot]

So I was wondering how I was going to show up to do the "Overcome the curse" quest when I found the Skull Ring. Raises your stats by a lot, except luck, and curses you lol.

[Bigfoot]

Sorry to double post, but I found a pretty good spot for pretty much leveling yourself and skills at the same time. Plus the monster drops a ring that probably sells for a lot(as mentioned above actually, heh).

Right here in the Forgotten City.
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/3435/poriy4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


There are Lesser Demons(199exp a pop). Let them multiply(6 maximum I think) and have at them with your skills to destroy them. Easiest way to let them multiply is to stand on the statue's head and wait. It's hard for them to hit you there.

I'm currently working on the Javelin and it's going up pretty quickly. It's near a save spot, so you can kill them, refill your hp/mp and go back down. Rinse, repeat.

[Bahamut]

So I was wondering how I was going to show up to do the "Overcome the curse" quest when I found the Skull Ring. Raises your stats by a lot, except luck, and curses you lol.

I did it differently - I went to the long room with all those platforms going up on the right and down on the left, near the painting to the Nation of Fools map, and then I went to the very top room and got cursed there.

[Bigfoot]

So I was wondering how I was going to show up to do the "Overcome the curse" quest when I found the Skull Ring. Raises your stats by a lot, except luck, and curses you lol.

I did it differently - I went to the long room with all those platforms going up on the right and down on the left, near the painting to the Nation of Fools map, and then I went to the very top room and got cursed there.

Yeah, I'm sure there is a much, much easier way to get cursed as you stated because this ring is pretty rare. I just totally forgot what monster/whatever curses you, and I just happened to stumble upon this ring being dropped.

[Kitsuta]

So I was wondering how I was going to show up to do the "Overcome the curse" quest when I found the Skull Ring. Raises your stats by a lot, except luck, and curses you lol.

I did it differently - I went to the long room with all those platforms going up on the right and down on the left, near the painting to the Nation of Fools map, and then I went to the very top room and got cursed there.

Yeah, I'm sure there is a much, much easier way to get cursed as you stated because this ring is pretty rare. I just totally forgot what monster/whatever curses you, and I just happened to stumble upon this ring being dropped.

I have the same ring, but I got it long, long after I completed that quest Bahamut's way.

It helps a lot with the beginning Nest of Evil bosses.

[Bahamut]

So I was wondering how I was going to show up to do the "Overcome the curse" quest when I found the Skull Ring. Raises your stats by a lot, except luck, and curses you lol.

I did it differently - I went to the long room with all those platforms going up on the right and down on the left, near the painting to the Nation of Fools map, and then I went to the very top room and got cursed there.

Yeah, I'm sure there is a much, much easier way to get cursed as you stated because this ring is pretty rare. I just totally forgot what monster/whatever curses you, and I just happened to stumble upon this ring being dropped.

I have the same ring, but I got it long, long after I completed that quest Bahamut's way.

It helps a lot with the beginning Nest of Evil bosses.

Nest of Evil is easy until you get to fighting two The Creatures at once...that is eeeeeevil.

[Bigfoot]

I wonder how much those rings sell for. I have like 5 or 6 now after killing around 500 Lesser Demons, haha.

[KWarp]

Obligatory

http://www.joystiq.com/media/2006/01/DSPrintsMoney.jpg

I don't think I'm going to buy another DS title for a long while. There's Zelda:PH in late '07... passing on DKR.. what else?

[Kitsuta]

So I was wondering how I was going to show up to do the "Overcome the curse" quest when I found the Skull Ring. Raises your stats by a lot, except luck, and curses you lol.

I did it differently - I went to the long room with all those platforms going up on the right and down on the left, near the painting to the Nation of Fools map, and then I went to the very top room and got cursed there.

Yeah, I'm sure there is a much, much easier way to get cursed as you stated because this ring is pretty rare. I just totally forgot what monster/whatever curses you, and I just happened to stumble upon this ring being dropped.

I have the same ring, but I got it long, long after I completed that quest Bahamut's way.

It helps a lot with the beginning Nest of Evil bosses.

Nest of Evil is easy until you get to fighting two The Creatures at once...that is eeeeeevil.

Yeah, that was really "fun" the first time around.

After I got all of Charlotte's spells(thus completing all the quests) I got the Magus Ring, which boosts your MP restoration liek woah. I used that and about ten thousand "Meteors" to beat them.. several times. Stupid wanting to get all the item drops...

[UnforgivingEdges]

Obligatory

http://www.joystiq.com/media/2006/01/DSPrintsMoney.jpg

I don't think I'm going to buy another DS title for a long while. There's Zelda:PH in late '07... passing on DKR.. what else?

New Phoenix Wright in January, and the best DS of them all, Age of Empires, which is quite simply the most fun I've had with a game in a long time.

[JoeFu]

YES, PHOENIX WRIGHT!!!


I can't wait for that. I wonder if they are going to bring 3 here or are they going to skip it and just bring GS 4 here.

Do most the SE games come out next year too?

I want to play DQIX.


Man, I never used to play RPGs on the tv, but put them on a handheld and I'll play it.

[Penfold]

Do most the SE games come out next year too?

I hope so. I'm surprised that they have such a list of games coming to the DS and, more than that, I'm surprised how many look good to me. Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book and FF:CC I am especially excited for, but Wonderful Life and DQIX look interesting as well. With any luck, they'll be '07 releases.

I also recently read a little bit about Mistwalker's game coming to the DS, ASH: Ancient Sealed Heat, and understand that is supposed to be a lat '07 release. Looking forward to it.

At any rate, it looks like 2007 will especially be a great year for RPGs on the DS.

[JoeFu]

I wanna try FFXII:RW. I have the PS2 one, but I haven't played it and I don't know if I will (its my older bro's game), but FFXII:RW looks fun and its 2d!

I love that 2d games are still alive.

[UnforgivingEdges]

I wanna try FFXII:RW. I have the PS2 one, but I haven't played it and I don't know if I will (its my older bro's game), but FFXII:RW looks fun and its 2d!

I love that 2d games are still alive.

You might wanna play FFXII for the PS2 first as Revenant Wings is a semi-sequel.

[Penfold]

I love that 2d games are still alive.

lol, totally. Like Megaman ZX ;).

[JoeFu]

I wanna try FFXII:RW. I have the PS2 one, but I haven't played it and I don't know if I will (its my older bro's game), but FFXII:RW looks fun and its 2d!

I love that 2d games are still alive.

You might wanna play FFXII for the PS2 first as Revenant Wings is a semi-sequel.

I'll probably get around to it. I never beat a final fantasy game. I always get near the end and I just stop playing for some reason. On FF6 I got to the last part in the last game. Team split up and everything, just never beat it. If I do get into FFXII, I'll most likely stop somewhere for no apparent reason.

[sgx]

Hey guys, I made a song using only Electroplankton and one piano patch as sound sources. Figured maybe some of you guys would be interested.

http://www.sgxmusic.com/music/SGX%20-%20A%20Meal%20For%20a%20Whale.mp3

I talk more about it here: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=96464

[Penfold]

Hey guys, I made a song using only Electroplankton and one piano patch as sound sources. Figured maybe some of you guys would be interested.

http://www.sgxmusic.com/music/SGX%20-%20A%20Meal%20For%20a%20Whale.mp3

I talk more about it here: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=96464

I definitely like the idea. I don't personally have Electroplankton, but a friend of mine has it and loves it. I played around with it and found it to be pretty awesome. I'm gonna have to check out the thread you have more info on this later, since I'm just about to head out from work. Anyway, good job man; it's pretty cool.

[sgx]

I actually don't really like EP myself...though I thought my song concept was cool :).

I was actually very underwhelmed with it and I doubt I'll play with it again now that this song is done (thought I have ideas for incorporating it into a live act if I ever really develop one).

I totally knew from reviews that it isn't really a 'game' and was ready for that. That's not the problem. I think it is pretty creative and cool...great atmosphere and art and all that, but the level of interactivity and control was underwhelming for me. Most of the games you can't actually create specific sounds and melodies you want...its more like you do something and something really crazy and almost random occurs. Sure you instigated the result, but you don't have a whole lot of control. Perhaps also it is because I am EXTREMELY familiar/comfortable/used to a high level of visual interface/sound interaction with my music software and with my own music/audio interactive game/toy (http://www.sgxmusic.com/coactive.htm), that this fails to impress and intrigue me in comparison. I also didn't think the nintendo sounds in some of the games fit the aesthetic at all.

[Bigfoot]

Yay, I found the 573 in PoR.

Alura Une has 573 hp.
Malphas gives 573 exp.


Edit: Damn, I just had a pretty good streak of luck. Only took me 3 kills of a Minotaur to drop both of his items, and they're both pretty sweet especially the ring.

[Sindra]

Best place in PoR I've found to level at was in the Dark Academy, with the two minotaurs in the room. Not only does the Hercules ring make duel crushes a fuck of alot easier to use in later boss fight, they tend to drop the Bullova's often, which sell for a good amount. Also, it's a great place to master subweapons, since each minotaur gives 10 points...and you only need to hit them once with the subweapon to gain the points. Made mastering the javeline to get the Alcucard Spear a breeze.

[Bigfoot]

Just beat PoR. The boss battle was actually pretty good and it wasn't a pushover.

[The Author]

Hmmm, I failed miserably at the final boss at level 50. Since I wanna see all the endings, I am first trying using the Alucard Spear. and while using the speed boost spell made it a lot easier to dodge all the stuff (or run through it) form 2 got me.

It is amazingly challenging.

Also, I managed to get through the 2 creatures room in the "bonus" area. However, I got creamed by that segment's boss. Somehow, I would need a vacuume cleaner there to make my life easier.

[Drack]

Level FIFTY? I whooped his ass at level 34, both as Jonathan and as Richter.

As with all bosses, he follows a predictable pattern, which can be figured out, even though it's complex. The fastest I've ever killed him (this is as a level 34 Richter mind you) was 2 teleports before he does the big explosion. I've also done a few "No Damage" final boss runs as Richter. This is one of the few games where I enjoy fighting the final boss over and over for enjoyment. It's a very well-designed battle. Some things, like doing the somersault as Jonathan or Grand Cross as Richter (or the invulnerable dash, but GC is much more fun) when he does the scythes+lavaballs attack, are brilliant for Konami to think of.

One thing I haven't figured out, however, is how to get to the nest of evil. Beaten the game twice as Jonathan, once as Richter, once as Sisters, but haven't seen anything like it.

[The Author]

You access the Nest of Evil by doing the quests.

As for dying, I dunno, I think I'm doing decent damage, but like I said, I'm fighting using the spear first, and well, it is not as good as I hoped. However, I have a hard time believeing your level 34.

[Drack]

Well, as I said, I play this battle over and over for enjoyment. This is on Normal difficulty, as I haven't bothered to play through the game on hard (Though if there's a save around right up to Dracula on Hard, even Hard max level 1, I'd certainly like to try it). If I had the necessary equipment (video capture card, video camera) I'd make a youtube of me doing this fight. There are a lot of tricks you can use, like you can smack Death as he dives down, use the limp whip (or speed up, if you're using Jonathan) to hit the fireballs, the somersault/invulnerable dash to avoid ANYTHING, or set a partner to "Stay" and switch to them right as you're about to get hit. Guess I'll have to find a way to prove I beat him @ lv34, as the rule around the internet seems to be pics or it didn't happen.

Though I will say, Dracula has a LOT of hp.

EDIT: Pics or it didn't happen! Pic1 (http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/~schapman/jonathan.jpg) and Pic2 (http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/~schapman/richter.jpg). Guess I levelled up once on my Jonathan save looking for breakable walls. Note that you don't get a "Clear" symbol for Richter as you can't new game + a game without items. Also the times have an hour or 2 added because it autosaves after you beat Dracula every time.

[Bahamut]

You get the Nest of Evil by getting 888% map - it's located at the bottom of that bridge in the beginning of the game.

[Bigfoot]

If you don't have Ancient Armor, then I suggest getting that for the final battle. It'll make it a lot easier on your hp.

[Ab56 v2 aka Ash]

Umm for some reason, I can't switch between Jonathan and Charlotte. I'm stuck with Jonathan no matter how many times I press X. I tried restarting my DS and I tried warping. I tried calling out my partner to warp too, but it didn't work. I can only use Charlotte as a partner, but I can't ever switch to her. Is there any solution to this problem aside from starting over? I just beat Death :(

[The Author]

Were you able to do it before?

If not, then try and find the ability cube that lets you switch.

[Ab56 v2 aka Ash]

I was able to do it before. I just can't seem to do it now.

Edit: Err nevermind, you just clued me in on something obvious. I accidentally turned off the relic.

[The Author]

And thus, I am a genius.


Sorta.

[The Author]

I'm starting to think the final boss in PoR is scaled. Because I get hit for about 90 HP per attack, and I am wearing the whole samurai gear. To have someone be able to kill him at level 34, without having done the quests needed to get weapons such as Alucard Spear, and without having covered 888% of the map seems a bit unlikely. Maybe at level 50 he switches his pattern a lot.

[Bigfoot]

How do you get the Alucard Spear? Is it part of Wind's quests?

[Bahamut]

How do you get the Alucard Spear? Is it part of Wind's quests?

Master Javelin, so yeah.

[Bigfoot]

How do you get the Alucard Spear? Is it part of Wind's quests?

Master Javelin, so yeah.

Ah, I've only done like 3 or 4. I really need to do those. I have Javelin Mastered already too, heh.

[The Author]

You get life ups, magic ups, a healing spell, and other very good rewards.

[Bigfoot]

You get life ups, magic ups, a healing spell, and other very good rewards.

Yeah, I'm currently looking for that last nun piece, heh.

[The Author]

You have to have a good eye for decaying walls.

[Bigfoot]

You have to have a good eye for decaying walls.

I just got that item today too ;p

[giga]

Obligatory

http://www.joystiq.com/media/2006/01/DSPrintsMoney.jpg

I don't think I'm going to buy another DS title for a long while. There's Zelda:PH in late '07... passing on DKR.. what else?
old

[The Damned]

So, are we getting DQ9 here in North America? I'm pretty sure that 8 was put out here.

/not a bump

[DarkeSword]

We'll be getting it, most likely.

[The Phalanx]

How do you get the Alucard Spear? Is it part of Wind's quests?

Master Javelin, so yeah.

I was so hoping that mastering everything would get you something neat. But the game doesn't even seem to care. Boo.

I'm going through the alternate modes right now. The sisters mode is interesting, if a bit cheesy--raping Legion in one minute? Ye-ah, balance issues here...

Why is it that in Richter mode, he never stops? The man runs like a bat out of hell, rolls when he lands, and then keeps sprinting like there's no tomorrow.

Axe Armour Mode. Um...yeah. Fun is had due to incredible cheesiness.


I got FF3 yesterday, and while I'm digging it as a whole, I've got two issues with it. One, the top screen isn't used for anything significant, aside from cinema's and the map. Why no dungeon map thats drawn out as you move, or stats to view during battle? Seems like a huge waste of potential there.

Second, there's no real need for the touch screen. I can do everything with the buttons, and usually faster to boot. Bleh.

[Avatar of Justice]

Just finished Hard Mode with a level cap of 25 in PoR. The annoying part in my opinion were enemies like ghosts and medusa heads that spam the screen. Didn't even know about the ancient armor, heh. Sounds like a good pickup if I ever do a level one run. Or decide to try out the Nest of Evil in hard mode.

[UnforgivingEdges]

So, are we getting DQ9 here in North America? I'm pretty sure that 8 was put out here.

It was also one of the best damned RPGs ever made.

<3 DQ8

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

So I got an onyx DS Lite with New Super Mario Bros. and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. In addition, I bought Mario Kart DS and Metroid Prime Hunters.

Gimme your friend codes, bitches!

[The Damned]

Check the Wii/DS friend codes thread, bitch!

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

K, bitch!

[Ebichuman]

I got FF3 yesterday, and while I'm digging it as a whole, I've got two issues with it. One, the top screen isn't used for anything significant, aside from cinema's and the map. Why no dungeon map thats drawn out as you move, or stats to view during battle? Seems like a huge waste of potential there.

Second, there's no real need for the touch screen. I can do everything with the buttons, and usually faster to boot. Bleh.

They did this as to benefit from both of the DS's processors to make a better, more fluid 3d.

but once you get into the game farther it doesnt really matter to much at all, and dungeon maps are really really not needed. All dungeons only have one way to go, even the so named "maze"

[Warmech]

Fuck the last boss in FF3. Don't have the opportunity to save for an incredibly long time only to die. Screw that crap.

Also Elite Beat Agents is ridiculously fun for no reason, and Episode 12 = :cry:

[Soma]

yeah i've been playing FF3 and EBA alot lately. Both are great games, but like somebody mentioned the touch screen is pretty useless in FF3. What's up with the DS being sold out everywhere? My brother randomly wants one now and he's all like "it's soldout, stupid nintendo) Also off topic but while he was looking for Ds's he found 10 ps3's at a gamestop.

[Czar Diego]

yeah i've been playing FF3 and EBA alot lately. Both are great games, but like somebody mentioned the touch screen is pretty useless in FF3. What's up with the DS being sold out everywhere? My brother randomly wants one now and he's all like "it's soldout, stupid nintendo) Also off topic but while he was looking for Ds's he found 10 ps3's at a gamestop.

Yeah, I was at EB the other day, and some lady walks in and goes "hey do you have one of them Game Station 4 things?" She ended up buying 2 ps3's- one for each nephew.http://www.ocremix.org/forums/images/smilies/icon_surprised.gif

And Agent Chieftain looks kinda like Chuck Norris.

[supremespleen]

Fuck the last boss in FF3. Don't have the opportunity to save for an incredibly long time only to die. Screw that crap.

Also Elite Beat Agents is ridiculously fun for no reason, and Episode 12 = :cry:Yeah, I cried at ep. 12.

[Katsurugi]

What's up with the DS being sold out everywhere? My brother randomly wants one now and he's all like "it's soldout, stupid nintendo)

I have no idea. I guess it's just a hot item because of it's appeal to both adults and kids. The older gamers are probably just getting into it because of all of the brain games. But then again, I only got a DS lite a month or two ago.. but I'm generally slow on the whole gaming thing. Anyway, even at Nintedo World (at the meetup) I remember someone trying to buy a DS lite and they said they were sold out there too. Maybe it's just better to stick with something more established than new for now anyway...

[Kureejii Lea]

Yeah, I cried at ep. 12.

The Christmas one? Yeah, I couldn't see the damn screen.

[The Phalanx]

So I found out how to get the Onion Knight.

Sucky thing is? I don't have wi-fi connection at my house, nor know anyone with a copy of the game I see on a regular basis.

So, yeah. Fuck that noise.

[CE]

I'm ordering in Phoenix Wright Justice for All and Portrait of Ruin on the 16th. And getting WarioWare on the 12th. It'll be a sweet week for gaming.

[Warmech]

Jesus Christ, now I'm playing with the Elite Beat Divas? Game won't end!

[CE]

Well, the DS is getting it's share of unusual games with tons of charisma. Elite Beat Agents and Phoenix Wright come to mind, along with the upcoming Square game It's a Wonderful Life. And now this, Hotel Dusk: Room 215. It's noir-like mystery game and, pretty much all the info on it is in the quote below. It seems to be coming out on the 22nd in the US. Is this a "more serious Phoenix Wright" endeavour, poised for sucess? Or something not as spectacular, like Trace Memory? Who knows, but here's a japanese trailer and damn does it look good.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/awij/player.html?mv=movie_3d&width=626&height=430


Article source: Nintendo Power

Part hard-boiled detective story and part intriguing mystery, Hotel Dusk is an atmospheric yarn that takes place over the course of one night—December 28, 1979.




Category: Adventure
Players: 1 player
Release Date: Jan 22, 2007
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: CING INC.

Kyle Hyde, a disgraced New York detective turned salesman, arrives at a run-down Los Angeles inn called Hotel Dusk. Once there, Kyle soon becomes involved in a 30-year-old mystery that involves lies, betrayal, kidnapping, and murder. And over the course of the night, he will also discover something very special about Room 215… a room that is said to grant wishes.

But who is Kyle Hyde? Why is he haunted by his past? And what happened in Room 215? Only by taking stylus in hand and navigating through the story's twists and turns can you learn the answers.

Features

* Players hold their Nintendo DS like a book and use the touch screen to grill characters, search for clues and solve mystifying puzzles.
* Simple point-and-click touch screen navigation players of any skill level can play.
* Innovative sketch animation character design, film noir camera angles, and dynamic lighting.

Hotel Dusk uses branching storylines to tell its tale, giving you many options for how to speak to people. Should you strong-arm the little girl in the hallway? Make nice to the hotel maid? Pretend to be interested in the manager's rambling stories? It's all up to you, but choose wisely. One false step could get you thrown out of the hotel and forever seal the mystery of what happened on that dark Christmas Eve so many years ago...

Bottom Line

Hotel Dusk is a thinking person’s DS title. With its refreshingly unique design and intriguing gameplay, Hotel Dusk is a must-have for mystery lovers and anyone looking for something different for their DS library. You’ll want to check into Hotel Dusk again and again.

[UnforgivingEdges]

Hotel Dusk is going to be the shit. I've been talking about it in this thread since E3 last year. It looks like Trace Memory minus the 12 year old super kawaii theme. Hot stuff. Day one purchase.

[atmuh]

I liked trace memory.

[CE]

I liked trace memory.

How? It was short, the storyline was straightforward, the puzzles were easy, the music wasn't that good and the environments weren't really that well made. And the main character was annoying.

>:[

This is why I'm liking Hotel Dusk, even though it's made by the same guys, it seems to be going in the opposite direction.

[Kureejii Lea]

Finally beat Jumpin' Jack Flash. Agent Cheiftain is spooky.

I would very much like a sequel to EBA.

[Black Mage]

Dammit, I got the money and the desire to buy a DS (finally), but they are nowhere to be found! I've called over 20 stores today and not one has a single DS. This is driving me mad!

[Bahamut]

Dammit, I got the money and the desire to buy a DS (finally), but they are nowhere to be found! I've called over 20 stores today and not one has a single DS. This is driving me mad!

Give it a month or so - the post-holiday shopping craze is going on now.

[Black Mage]

Give it a month or so - the post-holiday shopping craze is going on now.


Never underestimate the desire of a gamer to get his new toy right now.

[JoeFu]

Well, the DS is getting it's share of unusual games with tons of charisma. Elite Beat Agents and Phoenix Wright come to mind, along with the upcoming Square game It's a Wonderful Life. And now this, Hotel Dusk: Room 215. It's noir-like mystery game and, pretty much all the info on it is in the quote below. It seems to be coming out on the 22nd in the US. Is this a "more serious Phoenix Wright" endeavour, poised for sucess? Or something not as spectacular, like Trace Memory? Who knows, but here's a japanese trailer and damn does it look good.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/awij/player.html?mv=movie_3d&width=626&height=430


Yeah... I really want Hotel Dusk. The game just looks awesome. I want to try Trace Memory, but whatever.

Is the Toys R' Us year end sale still going? I want some 10 dollar DS games.

[Warmech]

Finally beat Jumpin' Jack Flash. Agent Cheiftain is spooky.

I would very much like a sequel to EBA.

So you just got Chieftain? I like his song stages more than J's because there's a lot more to do. Of course this makes some of them really hard, like Jumpin' Jack Flask and Without a Fight for example.

[Kureejii Lea]

So you just got Chieftain? I like his song stages more than J's because there's a lot more to do. Of course this makes some of them really hard, like Jumpin' Jack Flask and Without a Fight for example.

Yeah, the upped pace is fun once you get used to it, though I'm not up to the finale yet, so I'll probably regret saying that now.

I've also been playing as Spin to rack up points, since I initially skipped over Breezin'. It's almost too slow.

[eternal Zero]

The divas are fun too once you get there...but when you first start it's pretty tough. Most important part to realize is that your life bar drops faster at the higher difficulties, so during parts where you have targets to hit, make sure you hit them well.

I dunno how I feel about Hotel Dusk, but I'll probably still give it a chance.

[KWarp]

Been playing with the Divas for a while. <(^_^)>
All the other modes seem to go in slow motion.

[Power Surge]

So there was a Halo game in the works for DS, but it got cancelled.
http://www.gametab.com/news/779250/

True or not, Halo on DS would be fucking sweet, needless to say.

[FuriousFure]

Screw halo on Ds. i want me some Super Smash Bros on the DS.
theres two options: make it pseudo 3d like smashbros was on the 64. or make it all 2d and have alot of animations for the sprites ala mario & luigi: partners in time. it could totally work.

[Fickett Towleny]

Just bought MECHAssault: Phantom War. My god that is an awesome game! 24 missions, replayable, go back to any mission, nice multiplayer. The graphics is found wanting, but I still love the game itself. Goldeneye RA is also a good game for the DS and my favorite. It requires tactics, precision, and forthought to beat the game, and, well, the powers just make it more fun. Metroid Hunters is incredible, enough said. Episode II for the DS, I like the starship part and the music. And Advance Wars Dual Strike is also quite fun. Eragon I like enough.

[SirChadlyOC]

Just bought MECHAssault: Phantom War. My god that is an awesome game! 24 missions, replayable, go back to any mission, nice multiplayer. The graphics is found wanting, but I still love the game itself. Goldeneye RA is also a good game for the DS and my favorite. It requires tactics, precision, and forthought to beat the game, and, well, the powers just make it more fun. Metroid Hunters is incredible, enough said. Episode II for the DS, I like the starship part and the music. And Advance Wars Dual Strike is also quite fun. Eragon I like enough.

...so what games did you not like? I was extremely disappointed with Star Fox Command. Also, as much as I like Trauma Center, I got stuck and was forced to stop playing it. Not as much value as I was hoping for since I can't beat that stupid stage with 5 patients in 10 minutes.

[Fickett Towleny]

That's the problem. I like everyone I've gotten so far. :o

[Sag Ee Mana]

Bought the "Gameboy Advanced" Wario Ware Twisted. (not DS huh)
Played it for 4 hours... I'm feeling dizzy... xD

This game is really awesome. Too bad it has never been released in Europe because of the mercury inside the gyroscope. I should have bought it earlier. Really. Awesome.

Douli is near from me, playing Touch Detective. He is laughing. Special game too...

[I-n-j-i-n]

Screw halo on Ds. i want me some Super Smash Bros on the DS.
theres two options: make it pseudo 3d like smashbros was on the 64. or make it all 2d and have alot of animations for the sprites ala mario & luigi: partners in time. it could totally work.

You don't see the relevance, do you? If Halo was to be released on a non-Microsoft system, that could indicate that Bungie could be working elsewhere or that Microsoft might be working with Nintendo.

Nintendo making Nintendo games? Tell me how that is news.

[KakTheInfected]

You don't see the relevance, do you? If Halo was to be released on a non-Microsoft system, that could indicate that Bungie could be working elsewhere or that Microsoft might be working with Nintendo.

Nintendo making Nintendo games? Tell me how that is news.

I don't see how it would be big news at all, other than the fact that tons of people would buy it. The DS already has an Age of Empires and Mechassault game, along with planned games from Rare.

That said, I couldn't give two shits about Halo for DS unless it had a good online mode and played as accurately as Hunters. Never was a big fan of Halo, even on PC.

[FuriousFure]

You don't see the relevance, do you? If Halo was to be released on a non-Microsoft system, that could indicate that Bungie could be working elsewhere or that Microsoft might be working with Nintendo.

Nintendo making Nintendo games? Tell me how that is news.

what i would see, would be a company taking a game series whose main draw was gameplay and forcing into the unique mold of the DS.

the reason why the DS games our so loved is most of the are made with the solely the DS in mind. and those games are ported are those who can easily be made into the Ds mold. (mario 64)

your talking about taking a game which uses 8 buttons and two analog sticks and making ppl play it on two tiny screens with 6 buttons and a touch pad and directional pad. the gameplay, which again is the main reason halo got so famous, would drastically be changed for it to even play at all.

another reason is why the Ds is thriving is that you can go into a store and pick up a Ds game, you have about a 85% chance you are holding a original, well made game. because when you start loading up a system with rehashed, ill fitting for that console, or just jump on the bandwagon games. that percange would drop to 60% or 55% and those poor made games generates poor word-of-mouth for the system. i say keep creating games for the DS that are made for DS. if bungie wanted to make a game for the Ds, that'll be great. but halo is a square peg to the DS's circular hole. (no giggling, now)

[Black Mage]

Ya ha! Finally...I finally found a DS (in black, no less). Picked-up New Super Mario Bros too. Granted, I can't to the WiFi thang, but I still feel it's a good start. New Nintendo system, gotta start with a Mario game, y'know?

In short...I'm happy, and this has made my day after an exhausting day of barista training (too...much...espresso).

[Black Mage]

I'm pretty proud of myself. Just got Mother 3 working on a DS flashcart. http://bs-inc.org/img/howpossible.png

...the hell?

[AzureZeal]

Waiting to see how Legend of Unemployed Ninja might be. Seems interesting enough.

[bouncerboy15]

Bought the "Gameboy Advanced" Wario Ware Twisted. (not DS huh)
Played it for 4 hours... I'm feeling dizzy... xD

This game is really awesome. Too bad it has never been released in Europe because of the mercury inside the gyroscope. I should have bought it earlier. Really. Awesome.

Douli is near from me, playing Touch Detective. He is laughing. Special game too...
Wario Ware: Twisted is indeed awesome. I think I might play it again soon.

[KWarp]

I just lost another $105

Cooking Mama (for sister) $20
Kirby Squeek Squad $35
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney $20
Gunstar Super Heroes $10 (AWESOME!!!)
Snowboard Kids 2 for N64 $20 (good game, overcharged)

:) :(

[RJG]

I also vote for the 2D goodness of Super Smash Bros DS.

Also, after digging through my old games yesterday, I found gold. Zelda II looked up at me like a lost puppy.

A beautiful, yet ignored puppy.

Why hasn't Nintendo seen fit to, if not release a direct sequel in the Zelda Universe, at least create a pin off property with a new IP with the same gameplay style is beyond me.

Also, more 2D Metroid please. Hunters was...disappointing.

Gunstar Super Heroes $10 (AWESOME!!!)


Isn't it though? I love it.

[Doulifée]

i just start touch detective yesterday. the first investigation is very fun. and the game graphic enjoyable. look like a classic clic 'n' play unfortunately. Investigating further.

[KakTheInfected]

I started TD yesterday too. Getting awfully bored already on the second case though.

[FuriousFure]

i haven't bought a new game yet since the new SMB. i made myself say i wouldn't buy a new game until i beat all my old ones.

Sonic Rush - done. don't really want to search for the chaos emeralds
Mario & Luigi: PIT - final boss but i lost my touch so im stuck. (fans of the game you know what im talkin about)
Mario Kart - 150cc makes me its bitch
Super mario 64: 150 stars and all those freakin rabbits. done.
The Super Mario Bros. all coins spent and all paths open. done.
but heres the question, what to get when i accomplish my goal? i mean im nowhere near it because im obsessed with golden sun: the lost age. but come on, help a brotha out!

[Kureejii Lea]

Sonic Rush - done. don't really want to search for the chaos emeralds

Really? Unlike the other recent handheld Sonic titles, the Special Stages in Rush are quite easy to access...


Snowboard Kids 2 for N64 $20 (good game, overcharged)

So nice to see someone appreciating Snowboard Kids.

EBA - beat Jumpin' Jack Flash on Sweatin' this afternoon by the skin of my teeth (was in the ! range when it ended), despite that the first two sections went really well. Also got an S on La La... I think that's my favourite stage to play.

The Divas... have quite the hips.

[Warmech]

I beat JJF with the Divas this afternoon. Was hoping I'd unlock a fifth and final mode with the Commander or something, but alas.

It's weird, the Diva stages aren't too different from Cheiftain's, but my scores for them were a lot lower and they for some reason seemed harder. Also these rankings are getting ridiculous. A Hero's Hero is something pretty hard to outrank, yet there's more...

[FuriousFure]

Really? Unlike the other recent handheld Sonic titles, the Special Stages in Rush are quite easy to access...

oh ho ho! so thats where they are! well then, maybe i'll go revisit those stages. thanks a million.

[Steben]

I beat JJF with the Divas this afternoon. Was hoping I'd unlock a fifth and final mode with the Commander or something, but alas.

It's weird, the Diva stages aren't too different from Cheiftain's, but my scores for them were a lot lower and they for some reason seemed harder. Also these rankings are getting ridiculous. A Hero's Hero is something pretty hard to outrank, yet there's more...

I was disappointed when I started playing the Diva's difficulty. Is the only more difficult thing about it compared to Chieftain's the fact that the circles are smaller?

Maybe I need to play it more, but I just got Pheonix Wright in the mail today, so...

[Kureejii Lea]

oh ho ho! so thats where they are! well then, maybe i'll go revisit those stages. thanks a million.

Really, I sense such gratitude. But the stages are so easy to get that there's not really any reason to not attempt them.

I beat JJF with the Divas this afternoon. Was hoping I'd unlock a fifth and final mode with the Commander or something, but alas.

I'm not sure of the details, but you can unlock Kahn to replace one of the Divas.

I was disappointed when I started playing the Diva's difficulty. Is the only more difficult thing about it compared to Chieftain's the fact that the circles are smaller?

The rings are smaller too, and I think the meter decreases even faster.

[supremespleen]

Star-Trek Tactical Assault is really underrated, imo. Check it out, it's fun and keen!

[FuriousFure]

Really, I sense such gratitude. But the stages are so easy to get that there's not really any reason to not attempt them.

honestly dude, i am grateful. I thought I had to you know, look around for the emeralds. and I fell to my death enough times just trying to find the end ring. anyways. i am actually going to revisit them.

Not everything on the internet is sarcasm.

[Kureejii Lea]

honestly dude, i am grateful. I thought I had to you know, look around for the emeralds. and I fell to my death enough times just trying to find the end ring. anyways. i am actually going to revisit them.

Not everything on the internet is sarcasm.

Well, I had to wonder a little since I didn't give any specific advice... my apologies, then.

All you need to do is find this little spinner-dealie, hop onto it, and dash/rush. If your meter is full enough it'll pop you into the special stage. This is only with Sonic though, Blaze doesn't have to go through all that.

[Black Mage]

Help a new DS owner out. Is FF3 worth the $40 price tag?

[Soma]

Help a new DS owner out. Is FF3 worth the $40 price tag?

In my opinion, hells yeah. It's probably one of my most played DS games (i've had one since launch). It seems a bit short (around 35 houts i think) but there's a crapload of jobs to level up. Elite beat agents is an awesome game too if you haven't picked that up.

[Bahamut]

Help a new DS owner out. Is FF3 worth the $40 price tag?

I'd say no - I refuse to buy any PSP game at the $40 price tag, and the same goes for the DS.

[Black Mage]

I'd say no - I refuse to buy any PSP game at the $40 price tag, and the same goes for the DS.

Welll, I do have a $10-off thing for GameStop, so that would bring it down to $30.

My other thought was to get Animal Crossing: Wild World, so I can have something to use the WiFi we have at home.

[FuriousFure]

yep, and by the mixture of bad calimari and soda, i didn't sleep a wink last night. so im now on the extra zone with supersayan sonic and blaze.
the reason why it helped is because i never thought thats what awaited me at the end of the bonus stages. boy! but i had to cheat on the last one though. i was using pause all the time! impossible!
but now that game pretty much checked off my done list now! woohoo.
on to M&L: PIT. then mario kart.
any really awesome games on the horizon?

[Czar Diego]

Honestly FuriousFure, go buy EBA. It's a whole lot better than it looks. As long as you like rhythm games, you'll be hooked.

[The Damned]

You know, the DS cases are almost perfectly sized to hold game cards. See for yourelf. Grab a DS case, and open it ip. Take all the stuff out. Now, slide a card underneath the little tabs on the left side of the left half. Place a few more to the right and a few down the side. It fits nine cards. If you could move the plastic ridge on the left over a bit (or even get rid of it altogether), you could fit nine in with enough room to be able to take them out.

Repeat for the other side. That's eighteen games in one flat, durable container. If there was a case that did this, or even a decent mod, I'll use it. I expect my DS collection to grow enough in the next while to need something like that.
Back in October, I had this idea. And now, someone in Japan has done it. Not as far as I'd like, but it's a good start. (http://www.siliconera.com/index.php/2007/01/09/ds-game-case-doubles-as-a-ds-games-case/) I'd rather have more DS spaces, personnaly.

[!Nekko!]

Welll, I do have a $10-off thing for GameStop, so that would bring it down to $30.

My other thought was to get Animal Crossing: Wild World, so I can have something to use the WiFi we have at home.

Mario Kart might be worth a shot for you. You can play online with friends or random people. Only problem is that you gotta learn to snake in order to win most races. Theres a lot to do with single player. Missions are fun and the grade system adds a fair amount to the replay value if you're into that stuff.

I also picked up Tetris DS which I like a lot. Theres a few different game modes that are pretty fun, but I play it a lot just for normal Tetris and the occasional Head-to-Head with a CPU or random online opponent. I think you can temp download Tetris on up to 15 other people. Maybe wait until this gets cheaper.

I like Animal crossing too. One of those games you play an hour a day, every day. I find that when I get distracted with other things, though, that it's easy to ignore.

[atmuh]

WHO'S READY FOR DIDDY KONG RACING DS???

[Soma]

WHO'S READY FOR DIDDY KONG RACING DS???
ME! ME! that and hotel dusk. Diddy kong is gonna be awesome.

[Black Mage]

ME! ME! that and hotel dusk. Diddy kong is gonna be awesome.

Just watched the Hotel Dusk trailer...must say I'm very intrigued.

[Amayirot Akago]

Same here. The artstyle is great. If the game is anything like Trace Memory it's bound to rock.

[SirChadlyOC]

I can't wait to NOT buy Diddy Kong Racing and instead buy ANYTHING else. I thought the original was the most overhyped, overrated game in Nintendo's history, even more than Majora's Mask.

[Blake]

Just played Elite Beat Agents on my friend's DS, trying to conquer the Good Charlotte song for a whole hour on a bus ride. Still haven't.

Closing comments= Holy shit that game is FUN.

[Bahamut]

I just started Elite Beat Agents today...Highway Star kicked my ass so many times :( .

[Linkjing Donuts]

While playing Castlevania PoR, I watched the intro movie (which is awesome and has great animation), then I played the game. Then all of a sudden everyone talked in Japanese. All the words were in English.


Probably an easter egg, but I couldn't do it again.

[supremespleen]

While playing Castlevania PoR, I watched the intro movie (which is awesome and has great animation), then I played the game. Then all of a sudden everyone talked in Japanese. All the words were in English.


Probably an easter egg, but I couldn't do it again.
English Voiceovers (or Japanese Voiceovers for English version)

To enable English voices in the Japanese version of this game or vice versa, simply press 'A' while holding 'L' at any of the main menu choices. Jonathan will say "showtime" to confirm the activation.

[Warmech]

I just started Elite Beat Agents today...Highway Star kicked my ass so many times :( .

Yeah, that'll happen. For some reason, 'Canned Heat' and 'Let's Dance' always gave me the most trouble.

[supremespleen]

Yeah, that'll happen. For some reason, 'Canned Heat' and 'Let's Dance' always gave me the most trouble.Bloody hell, Canned Heat was impossible for me.

[KakTheInfected]

I liked those stages. They gave the game another type of difficulty other than "HOLY SHIT I HAVE TO TAP FAST!"

I wish they'd hurry up and announce the inevitable Ouendan/EBA sequel.

[Bahamut]

Man, fuck you Rolling Stones and having to put up with that shitty crap for the final song. Finally beat it this morning, that shit took too long.

[CE]

I can't wait to NOT buy Diddy Kong Racing and instead buy ANYTHING else. I thought the original was the most overhyped, overrated game in Nintendo's history, even more than Majora's Mask.

Yeah, except Majora's Mask was easily one of the best, if not THE best N64 game, and DKR wasn't far behind either.

[KakTheInfected]

Anyone who thinks Majora's Mask is overrated has no abillity to judge the quality of games. More Zelda games should be like Majora.

[Black Mage]

I can't wait to NOT buy Diddy Kong Racing and instead buy ANYTHING else. I thought the original was the most overhyped, overrated game in Nintendo's history, even more than Majora's Mask.

Majora's Mask...overrated!?

Blasphemy, say I!

[JoeFu]

Marjora's Mask is like the best Zelda ever and Diddy Kong racing is freaking awesome too...

[Black Mage]

Question...On Animal Crossing I sometimes have seen balloons carrying gift boxes under them floating in the sky. Can you shoot 'em down somehow? Or are they just there to be there?

[Bahamut]

Question...On Animal Crossing I sometimes have seen balloons carrying gift boxes under them floating in the sky. Can you shoot 'em down somehow? Or are they just there to be there?

You can buy the slingshot at Nook's store.

[Amayirot Akago]

Sigh. Been far too long since I last played ACWW. My town must be an utter mess right now.

[FuriousFure]

I can't wait to NOT buy Diddy Kong Racing and instead buy ANYTHING else. I thought the original was the most overhyped, overrated game in Nintendo's history, even more than Majora's Mask.

you, yeah, YOU! the one whose trying to derail this place with your little quips. stop it. now.

i think diddy kong racing would be sweet, i didn't play much of the n64 one, but it was fun when i did. they don't have mario tennis on the ds and maybe some Milo's Astro Lanes? (N64) The ds needs a good bowling game.

[!Nekko!]

Question...On Animal Crossing I sometimes have seen balloons carrying gift boxes under them floating in the sky. Can you shoot 'em down somehow? Or are they just there to be there?

You gotta move near the top of the map before using a sling shot, too.

[Black Mage]

You gotta move near the top of the map before using a sling shot, too.

Thanks, now I just need to wait till Tom sells one, after he reopens on the 16th after his expansion.

[atmuh]

I can't wait to NOT buy Diddy Kong Racing and instead buy ANYTHING else. I thought the original was the most overhyped, overrated game in Nintendo's history, even more than Majora's Mask.

I very rarely check this thread. Reading this will make me check it even less frequently.

[The Mutericator]

I can't wait to NOT buy Diddy Kong Racing and instead buy ANYTHING else. I thought the original was the most overhyped, overrated game in Nintendo's history, even more than Majora's Mask.

Successful troll, 18 to browse... oh wait.

I was right on the successful troll part, though.

[The Damned]

I didn't like them either.

I found the only good part of Diddy Kong Racing to be the plane. That's it. There were other kart racing games. I didn't really see any difference between Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing that warranted any support on my end.

And Majora's Mask... the entire game looked and felt like someone opened up a level editor and tried to use everything in it. The layout of the levels and towns, the overly vivid colors, the plain, recycled characters... everything just felt uninspired. And the whole three-days thing never caught my interest. I understand it's the entire basis of the game, but I found it frustrating and restrictive. A game series based upon exploring the world as much as you want, suddenly having a time limit? Even if you can go back in time and redo the same three days over and over... why? I ended up using walkthroughs to get anywhere in the game, and then when i read further ahead, I just stopped playing at about half-way. I felt no compelling reason to continue.

[KWarp]

I didn't like them either.

I found the only good part of Diddy Kong Racing to be the plane. That's it. There were other kart racing games. I didn't really see any difference between Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing that warranted any support on my end.

And Majora's Mask... the entire game looked and felt like someone opened up a level editor and tried to use everything in it. The layout of the levels and towns, the overly vivid colors, the plain, recycled characters... everything just felt uninspired. And the whole three-days thing never caught my interest. I understand it's the entire basis of the game, but I found it frustrating and restrictive. A game series based upon exploring the world as much as you want, suddenly having a time limit? Even if you can go back in time and redo the same three days over and over... why? I ended up using walkthroughs to get anywhere in the game, and then when i read further ahead, I just stopped playing at about half-way. I felt no compelling reason to continue.

I enjoyed MM a lot, it really touched me emotionally at some points, particularly the events leading up to the final dungeon. Oddly, I never felt compelled to fight or beat the last boss.

What MM did really well was create a living, breathing community of creatures and people. Zelda TP's Castle Town doesn't even come close. I was very also impressed with the dungeon design. I would rate their designs above TP (not in atmosphere obviously). TP had some pretty bland moments.

[Arek the Absolute]

Thank you for grasping why MM is so great.
No, I am very serious.

[watkinzez]

I will not hear any negative comments towards Majora's Mask in this thread.

The Diddy Kong Racing port will persuade me based on the extras Rare is adding in. Track editor sounds cool, just want to hear some final opinions first.

[Back_Lit]

Anyone who thinks Majora's Mask is overrated has no abillity to judge the quality of games. More Zelda games should be like Majora.

Here here!

I can't imagine anyone calling Majora's Mask OVERRATED, underrated and unappreciated for sure, but overrated?

As for a RARE game on a Nintendo console...yeah...I'm really excited after the travesty that was Star Fox Adventures (I know Star Fox was shoe horned into it but still). Anyway, DKR is somewhat overrated. Played it recently with some friends and realized just how shallow the gameplay was =/

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

What about Starfox Command? You guys try it yet?

[Soma]

Did hotel dusk get pushed back? i think gamestop lists it as the 22nd now. Apparently Lunar Knights is out on the 6th, i would definately get that over DKR if i had to choose but i'll probably wait on some reviews. Hotel Dusk got a 10 in egm (just from one guy) i thought that was some pretty good press for the game since all my friend have never even heard of it.

[SirChadlyOC]

OK OK, I'm sorry about the Majora's Mask comment. What I really meant was simply that it was over-hyped, not over-rated. Everyone was expecting "Ocarina of Time 2," which it wasn't. I agree that it is under appreciated, but Nintendo didn't do a good enough job warning people that the Zelda franchise had gone (if only for a moment) in an entirely different direction. MM is great for some, but not everyone.

DKR, however, left me with a very nasty taste in my mouth. I was expecting it to be like Mario Kart with a story mode, but the game play was shallow and the multiplayer left lots to be desired. Granted, I automatically compare it to Mario Kart 64, which is the best multiplayer racing game on N64. It's not fair to hold that comparison, so the game is probably much better than I'm willing to admit.

Anyway, back on topic. Clubhouse Games is entirely too much fun considering it is a compilation of games that bored me as a kid. I highly recommend it for anyone who has a DS, especially the "new" DS gamers who aren't used to video games.

[Drack]

What about Starfox Command? You guys try it yet?
Tried it, hated it. Star Fox 64 was a brilliant game, and the most recent Star Fox game I liked at all.

[SirChadlyOC]

Tried it, hated it. Star Fox 64 was a brilliant game, and the most recent Star Fox game I liked at all.

Agreed. There seems to be a lot of evidence that the folks behind the game tried really hard to this the best it could be (story line, multiple paths, selectable characters, etc.), but the gameplay is just flawed. The best description I can give you is this: Remember the Fortuna, etc. levels of Star Fox 64 where you're in all-range mode shooting down hordes of enemies flying around the map? Although this is fun sometimes, unfortunately this is the entire game of Star Fox Command. There are no stages where your ship flies along a rail going through a world shooting as many things as possible that get in your way. I really like(d) the Star Fox series, but I don't plan on buying another one until I'm sure that it meets the quality of the 64 version.

[cobaltstarfire]

DKR, however, left me with a very nasty taste in my mouth. I was expecting it to be like Mario Kart with a story mode, but the game play was shallow and the multiplayer left lots to be desired. Granted, I automatically compare it to Mario Kart 64, which is the best multiplayer racing game on N64. It's not fair to hold that comparison, so the game is probably much better than I'm willing to admit.


I can't remember the tracks as much, except that the coin challenges were kind of irritateing, but I remember enjoying the VS mode of DKR more than MK64. Atleast when playing with live people. (Never played with the npc's in dkr)

I actualy liked how it incoorporated different vehicals, the flying levels were fun, the boss battles. And I recal enjoying the space levels quite a bit. (particularly space port alpha for some reason...maybe I just liked the music... or something) Maybe I'm just weird....

[linkspast]

I liked DKR almost as much if not more than Mario Kart, It just felt like there was much more to do. As stated in the post before this one.

Will DKR DS be WiFi enabled?

[Bahamut]

I'm pretty sure Atma said 8 player WiFi earlier.

[The Damned]

So, I'm at the local Wal-Mart, and there's this guy with a new, unopened black DS Lite. I said "damn, they had black ones here?" and he hears this. He then informs me that his was the last one in stock. He then asks me if there are any games for it.

I guess he just heard how popular they were or something.

Any way, he asks me if there are any good games for it. I spout off a list of games that have gotten pretty good reviews, and when i mention Advance Wars being sort of like Risk, he then lights up and says "you mean like Age of Empires?!" And the instant I say that there is n Age of Empires for it, he turns around and heads back to the electronic section without even saying thanks or goodbye. Personally, I wonder if he was sober. He seemed a little out of it.

Weird day.

[Katsurugi]

Don't worry. It's for the love of the game. Even though it may blind us, or make us act irrationally, know that there was good intentions in his heart despite the fact that he abruptly ended the conversation. Also realize that he will be indebted to you and will most likely regret the fact that he did not have a proper conversation with you, for you are the one who led him to the path of enlightenment.

[The Damned]

Video game Jesus never gets no respect! No respect at all.

[FuriousFure]

so question: why can't i buy wario ware: touched anymore? i looked everywhere. i can not buy it a regular store! arrgh. i don't want to do ebay... and pay 60 bucks

[CE]

I liked DKR almost as much if not more than Mario Kart, It just felt like there was much more to do. As stated in the post before this one.

Will DKR DS be WiFi enabled?

Oh God yes, DKR was just so much better then Mario Kart 64. More courses, 3 vehicles, better multiplayer maps and power ups and much solider (and fucking tough) singleplayer.

[Black Mage]

I was just watching a video where a guy demos Opera for the DS (http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/wireless/nintendo-ds-browser-review-189791.php)...honestly, I'm not super impressed. I mean it works, but I don't foresee myself going out and spending $40+ for the thing, but it got me thinking...What kind of similar "software" would I be willing to buy? I don't really think that the DS is very suitable for web browsing, per se, but something that would allow me to interface with a variety of messaging services would be great. Something like Trillion Messenger that would allow one to communicate via MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, and AIM...maybe even IRC, and also allow you to check and answer your email. Now that's something I'd be interested in.

[Penfold]

Something like Trillion Messenger that would allow one to communicate via MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, and AIM...maybe even IRC, and also allow you to check and answer your email. Now that's something I'd be interested in.

I like my DS to do just one thing: play games. If I want to check my e-mail and whatnot away from home/work, well, that's why I have a laptop too ;).

FuriousFure: If you can't find WarioWare: Touched! now I'm guessing because it's no longer produced. Awesome game, though. Good luck.

[Soma]

I was just watching a video where a guy demos Opera for the DS (http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/wireless/nintendo-ds-browser-review-189791.php)...honestly, I'm not super impressed. I mean it works, but I don't foresee myself going out and spending $40+ for the thing, but it got me thinking...What kind of similar "software" would I be willing to buy? I don't really think that the DS is very suitable for web browsing, per se, but something that would allow me to interface with a variety of messaging services would be great. Something like Trillion Messenger that would allow one to communicate via MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, and AIM...maybe even IRC, and also allow you to check and answer your email. Now that's something I'd be interested in.
online pictochat would be neat, but Nintendo doesn't want little kids cybering on the DS, or whatever the fuck reason they never have text chat in online games.

[SmartOne]

I know it has probably already been talked about, but I don't have time to read this whole thread. Does anyone know anything about the DS shortage and when Nintendo will start meeting the demand? This is especially frustrating me because I got a DS for Christmas (a white one) that had a dead pixel. Grrr stupid green dead pixel. At the time I had no idea how hot of an item the DS was/is, so I decided to exchange it as soon as possible.

While I was getting a haircut, my mom returned my DS to Target before checking to see if any were available. Of course there were none, and the grouchy old return lady sent us on a hunt to a different Target store claiming they had 5 in stock. Wrong. This happened the week after Christmas. To make a long and agonizing story short, I'm out of a DS, have started Final Fantasy III and Yoshi's Island DS and cannot play them, and I can't play any of my siblings games either.

Oh and I have to get one from Target because that's where my dad works and I get a discount. So my options are further limited.

Suck.
Thinking about it makes me want to punch someone.

[linkspast]

I know it has probably already been talked about, but I don't have time to read this whole thread. Does anyone know anything about the DS shortage and when Nintendo will start meeting the demand? This is especially frustrating me because I got a DS for Christmas (a white one) that had a dead pixel. Grrr stupid green dead pixel. At the time I had no idea how hot of an item the DS was/is, so I decided to exchange it as soon as possible.

While I was getting a haircut, my mom returned my DS to Target before checking to see if any were available. Of course there were none, and the grouchy old return lady sent us on a hunt to a different Target store claiming they had 5 in stock. Wrong. This happened the week after Christmas. To make a long and agonizing story short, I'm out of a DS, have started Final Fantasy III and Yoshi's Island DS and cannot play them, and I can't play any of my siblings games either.

Oh and I have to get one from Target because that's where my dad works and I get a discount. So my options are further limited.

Suck.
Thinking about it makes me want to punch someone.

Want to buy mine? with some games?

[SmartOne]

Want to buy mine? with some games?
No thanks. I want a shiny, new, dead pixel-free one.

[Black Mage]

I know it has probably already been talked about, but I don't have time to read this whole thread. Does anyone know anything about the DS shortage and when Nintendo will start meeting the demand? This is especially frustrating me because I got a DS for Christmas (a white one) that had a dead pixel. Grrr stupid green dead pixel. At the time I had no idea how hot of an item the DS was/is, so I decided to exchange it as soon as possible.

While I was getting a haircut, my mom returned my DS to Target before checking to see if any were available. Of course there were none, and the grouchy old return lady sent us on a hunt to a different Target store claiming they had 5 in stock. Wrong. This happened the week after Christmas. To make a long and agonizing story short, I'm out of a DS, have started Final Fantasy III and Yoshi's Island DS and cannot play them, and I can't play any of my siblings games either.

Oh and I have to get one from Target because that's where my dad works and I get a discount. So my options are further limited.

Suck.
Thinking about it makes me want to punch someone.

I had the same problem when I decided to buy my DS after Christmas. It took me three weeks of stopping at stores and calling around till I finally stumbled on a few at Circuit City.

I'm afriad that you're probably just going to have to have to keep looking, or try eBay.

[Arek the Absolute]

Wow, sucks for you guys. We have a boatload here in Sacramento. Every store I go to has at least 10 available on display, and even more in back.

[Penfold]

I know it has probably already been talked about, but I don't have time to read this whole thread. Does anyone know anything about the DS shortage and when Nintendo will start meeting the demand? This is especially frustrating me because I got a DS for Christmas (a white one) that had a dead pixel. Grrr stupid green dead pixel. At the time I had no idea how hot of an item the DS was/is, so I decided to exchange it as soon as possible.

While I was getting a haircut, my mom returned my DS to Target before checking to see if any were available. Of course there were none, and the grouchy old return lady sent us on a hunt to a different Target store claiming they had 5 in stock. Wrong. This happened the week after Christmas. To make a long and agonizing story short, I'm out of a DS, have started Final Fantasy III and Yoshi's Island DS and cannot play them, and I can't play any of my siblings games either.

Oh and I have to get one from Target because that's where my dad works and I get a discount. So my options are further limited.

Suck.
Thinking about it makes me want to punch someone.

Does Nintendo not replace them if they come with a dead pixel? I dunno if you've tried contacting their customer support or not yet, but that's what I'd have done (especially if it doesn't look like the store I got it from is going to be carrying replacement units anytime soon).

[Fire in the Hole]

Does Nintendo not replace them if they come with a dead pixel? I dunno if you've tried contacting their customer support or not yet, but that's what I'd have done (especially if it doesn't look like the store I got it from is going to be carrying replacement units anytime soon).

From the narrative I gather that he no longer has the dead-pixel DS. His mom returned it without ensuring a replacement beforehand.

[Penfold]

From the narrative I gather that he no longer has the dead-pixel DS. His mom returned it without ensuring a replacement beforehand.

lol, oops. My mistake, I had misread that statement about returning it as a misnomer for attempting to exchange. Anyway, that's too bad.

[Steben]

So anyone playing Phoenix Wright Attorney at Law: Justice for All?

I'm in the middle of the first case. I'm hoping the music will grow on me, because so far it seems like the only thing that's changed, and I'm not impressed thus far.

[SmartOne]

Wow, sucks for you guys. We have a boatload here in Sacramento. Every store I go to has at least 10 available on display, and even more in back.

Then what's wrong with Minnesota? and Target?

[Aninymouse]

Anyone else excited about Hotel Dusk: Room 215? No one's reviewed it yet, granted, but it's a film noir action game. I mean, really. How many of these do we get? Not enough, for me.

If all goes well it'll probably be the only DS game I will have bought since New Mario came out (if you don't count me importing Pokemon Pearl in October).

[Amayirot Akago]

Anyone else excited about Hotel Dusk: Room 215? No one's reviewed it yet, granted, but it's a film noir adventure game. I mean, really. How many of these do we get? Not enough, for me.Fixed.effing10characterminimum

[atmuh]

Oh God yes, DKR was just so much better then Mario Kart 64. More courses, 3 vehicles, better multiplayer maps and power ups and much solider (and fucking tough) singleplayer.

plus it is 8 players!

[Warmech]

So are there any other exciting pre-order goodies that we can get our hands on? This stylus that came with PW is niftier than it first looked. Tried putting some money down on Hotel Dusk but they weren't doing them anymore. Anything else to be on the lookout for?

[Soma]

Fixed.effing10characterminimum

EGm reviewd hotel dusk, it got a 10 and like two 8's i think.