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PSP, GBA, DS game recommendations for long trip


zircon
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As the topic says! I'm going to Australia in about a week and the travel alone is 20+ hours each way, even assuming no delays. For trips like these I like to pack great games to bring with me, preferably things with a lot of depth (eg. it doesn't need to be pick-up-and-play since I'll be sitting in the same place for hours on end.) I'm not really interested in racing games or fighting games (screen too small/controls cramped) and here are some of the ones I already have, offhand:

* Advance Wars series

* Final Fantasy (1-6, Crisis Core, FFT/A)

* Golden Sun

* PSO

* Metroid series

* Super Mario Advance 2

* Etrian Odyssey

* All the Castlevanias

* Kingdom Hearts

* Civilization Rev

* Mario & Luigi

So RPGs are definitely good, as are deep action/adventure games. How are the new Zeldas? Are there any somewhat obscure titles/series I'm missing?

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If you can find it, I'd recommend Radiant Historia; it's a really interesting RPG for the DS that I just started to play, and it's pretty amazing so far.

Also, if you haven't already played it, there's a port of Chrono Trigger for the DS as well that I love to play on long trips.

I'd also recommend the Professor Layton series. It's got a great story and the puzzles are addicting. It's also pretty good for a pick up and play kind of game, because you can play the puzzles pretty independently.

Hope that helps, have fun in Australia! :-D

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The World Ends with You. I know basically nothing about it, but I see it in LOTS of top portable games lists.

Dragon Quest IX is pretty standard DQ fare. I personally thought 4 was more engaging, although I played it on the NES - one of my favorite games ever. I wouldn't be surprised if the DS port added those unnecessary animations and such that detract from the experience a bit.

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No, but I've heard good things about it. My only qualm... I know the DQ series has always been very traditional (very slow-paced battles, really long animations, etc.) Is that still true with 9?

haha, yeah, this is still pretty much the case. it's not a very fast-moving game, and the further you get into it, the more you're expected to level-grind before each dungeon and all that. very much rooted in the traditional approach to jrpgs.

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The World Ends with You.

THIS.

It's probably one of the most original and compelling games from SquareEnix that I have ever played. The gameplay starts with a pretty high learning curve, but if you play it for a couple of hours then it's the neatest thing imaginable. The story also kicks ass.

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The World Ends With You is actually the best portable game I've ever played. Legit. However if you're in a bumpy car it may be tricky, I'm sure you'd be fine.

Also Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and A2 (for DS) are both long and tons of fun the entire time.

Also also Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep if you like the kingdom hearts series.

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It's not that I mind traditional, I just mind random battles being mindless repetitions of the "Attack" command while also taking like 10 seconds per animation.

no random battles, actually, although i totally get you. i had a lot of fun with it, but i didn't beat it because it started to wear thin on me after 20 hours or so.

i've heard good things about radiant historia, as well, and was thinking of picking it up...

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The World Ends with You is possibly the single greatest game to come out of Squaresoft. Yes, I'm aware that the FF series was good, and Chronotrigger/cross were amazing in their own right, but it could possibly trump them, IMHO (hard to say... FF6 and Chronotrigger were pretty awesome, themselves - a tough call for sure). Don't do any research on the game (how the game's mechanics and world open up throughout gameplay is half the fun), and approach it with a pretty open mind, and you'll be in for quite an experience. The story is about 15 hours, but then the game really opens up sandbox-style. You can easily put in 70+ hours discovering just how much Square put into this gem.

It's not for everyone, though - the modern Japanese aesthetic is a big turn-off to many people, and the use of almost every hardware function for the DS (often simultaneously) can be daunting.

Oh yeah, and if you get it promise to remix some of the soundtrack with Jillian - it's sorely under-represented, and since it's almost all vocal music the both of you could really do some magic with it.

Let's see... If you don't have Bowser's Inside Story, that's pretty good, too (if a little short-lived). FFIV for the DS is quite well done - if you want to revisit that game with a serious difficulty overhaul then check it out (even if you already have the Advance version - they've made many significant changes to it to make it worth paying again while leaving the 'Spoony Bard' dialogue intact). If you have an RD card you could get the translation patch for the Saga 2 remake for the DS. Hey, they took out random battles, so it's certainly an improvement from the (stellar) original (unfortunately, unless you know Japanese then there isn't any other way to play this game).

The Megaman Zero Collection (may as well get that one, rather than collect all of them for the GBA) has some of the best MM gameplay I've seen, if you're into that kind of thing (and who isn't?). Be prepared for the ridiculous difficulty curve, though - every game is a notch or two above the normal 'Megaman' difficulty curve. The ZX series is... meh, alright, I guess, but I don't really recommend them.

Scribblenauts is a fun game. It just is. Seriously, what other game can you give God a chainsaw and have Him duke it out with Chthulu? (God wins, by the way)

Warioware (for the GBA, especially) is like crack. You'll get freakin' hooked for a good 4-6 hours before you can put it down.

Ogre Battle - Knights of Lotus would probably be up your alley, if you like strategy RPGs. It's Ogre Battle and it's a SRPG - you probably know what you're geting.

Those are my picks, anyway. In all seriousness, though, play TWEWY, even if not on this trip. You won't regret it.

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Astro Boy (Action/Shmup)

Gradius Galaxies (Shmup)

Gunstar Super Heroes (Run N' Gun)

Iridion (3D Shmup)

Iridion II (Shmup)

Metal Slug Advance (Run 'N Gun)

MegaMan Zero (Action Platformer)

MegaMan Zero 2 (Action Platformer)

MegaMan Zero 3 (Action Platformer)

MegaMan Zero 4 (Action Platformer)

MegaMan & Bass (Action Platformer)

Pinball of the Dead (Pinball)

Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon (Turn-Based Strategy RPG)

Shining Soul (Action RPG)

Shining Soul II (Action RPG)

Sigma Star Saga (Shmup/RPG)

Sonic Advance (Platformer)

Sonic Advance 2 (Platformer)

Sonic Advance 3 (Platformer)

Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts (it's a bit different from the SNES version) (Action Platformer)

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How long are you going to actually be gone? You're already taking like 2.5 weeks of gameplay already.

Well, for variety's sake I like having multiple games so I'm not doing the same exact thing for lots of time straight.

So, "The World Ends With You" seems to be a common recommendation. Gario, I've actually played a lot of the other games on that list, but thanks! Any other shared suggestions?

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The World Ends with You. I know basically nothing about it, but I see it in LOTS of top portable games lists.
TWEWY is one of the games where the stylus is well exploited. Another Squenix game with little recognition, but an interesting story and gameplay. And once you finished the game there's a New Game+ option with extra hidden challenges to unlock an extra boss/ending (if i recall).

I also second Bowser's Inside Story. I has chortles! I did enjoy the first FFCC (Ring of fates) even if I got stuck once or twice during the last 2 dungeons. Pokemon is always a good timesink, and both Diamond/Pearl/Platinum and White/Black are enjoyable. Zelda Minish Cap is another good game for the list.

I haven't played very long, but Avalon Code is an interesting RPG. Real-time fights just like Zelda or Secret of Mana, but you can "scan" people and enemies to make them stronger or weaker (and/or making your weapons stronger or weaker). It can be a bit hard at first with the whole scanning part.

Also Phantasy Star 0 has been suggested to me countless times. I just haven't gotten around to start playing it yet, since I already got so many other games to finish.

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TWEWY is ok, though it's the type of game you'll play once and never really feel like playing again.

As opposed to, say, the GBA/PSP versions of FF1 and FF2.

Though it's fun while it lasts, and has some nice J-poppy music.

However, if you want a more traditional RPG (and one that is short and fast-paced), I cannot recommend enough Final Fantasy Four Heroes of Light. I think it's the best FF game since FFX, myself. The animations aren't long, the job system is fun, and the game moves at a very brisk pace. After about the half-way point, all the enemies and monsters level up with you, more or less removing totally the need to grind (though it's got some of those obsessive-compulsive things that you'll be grinding for anyway).

I was going to say you can't go wrong with Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission (and Metroid II, if you have your SP along), but it looks like you're covered on that front.

I think DQIV is better than DQIX, and much faster (no long animations- lol, animations take usually less than 1 second), but it is a standard old RPG, so that might not be your thing.

If you want time-wasters, though, there's always the Phoenix Wright games, the Layton games, and Hotel Dusk/Trace Memory. Puzzles, visual novels, and adventure games galore!

Hotel Dusk's story is particularly good.

Knights in the Nightmare is an underplayed gem of a game, it being a cross of FFT and Touhou, more or less. It's really hard to get in to, but once you go through all the tutorials and figure everything out, it's a fast-paced, yet strategic (and balls-hard) game, set around single set-piece battles. The game will take about 30 hours to complete, and i give it my highest recommendation, ha ha.

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Well, for variety's sake I like having multiple games so I'm not doing the same exact thing for lots of time straight.

Understandable, but unless you're gone for a few weeks, it might be more trouble to get the dozens of suggestions plus the ones you're going to take all together than its worth for the purpose of a trip.

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