The Other Worlds Shrine

Your place for discussion about RPGs, gaming, music, movies, anime, computers, sports, and any other stuff we care to talk about... 

  • DS Lite impressions

  • Because playing them is not enough, we have to bitch about them daily, too. We had a Gameplay forum, but it got replaced by GameFAQs.
Because playing them is not enough, we have to bitch about them daily, too. We had a Gameplay forum, but it got replaced by GameFAQs.
 #99629  by Julius Seeker
 Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:39 pm
Alright, I don't actually have one myself yet, but a few of my friends have bought them; it's actually surprising who the people I know who are getting them are, one of them has only ever owned a PS2 as a videogame system before, and another is hardcore into PC gaming.

Anyways, the popular games seem to be Mario and Brain Age. These are two games that appeal to an older audience, younger generations might be able to enjoy them too; but the Mario Brothers game, this is a game that was created for the fans of the series 15+ years ago; and that's who's buying them. Brain Age is fairly self-explanatory.

Onto the actual system: The white DS Lite actually looks a lot better than it does in screenshots and other such things. The control pad is MUCH better than the original, it is perhaps the most comfortable control pad included in any videogame system. It is a much more comfortable system to hold, it's smaller, that's for certain (and people wondering if it is too small for large hands, I'm nearly six foot four, I have huge hands). It is definately lighter, but it is more dense.

The screen, now, this is probably because I am used to the GBA and original DS, but I find that only the lowest setting is watchable, anything brighter causes me to squint. The brightness on the brightest setting is probably too bright for standard room lighting, however, if outside, it might be a good way to counter-act the sun's brightness. I am not sure, the screen on its brightest setting is not fit for human eyes to look into.

I am highly tempted to get a white one myself, they seem to be quite popular. Though I already have my eye set on enamel blue.

 #99635  by Zeus
 Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:26 pm
I played one when I was at the Nintendo store. It really is a very good upgrade to the original model. Looks much sleeker (has a very Apple look to it) and the screen is noticably sharper and brighter. Yeah, the D-pad is better, but it's not like the DS one sucks.

At the end of the day, I don't really like these 1 1/2 issues Nintendo does all the time with the handhelds. I got an SP early on 'cause it was MUCH better, but I waited to get the Famicom Micro as a collector's thing only. Likely will wait for a good special edition DS Lite before I consider it. No real reason to upgrade otherwise, it's not like the one I have isn't fully functional and works great as it is.

But if you're going to buy one, definetely get the Lite, it's definetely worth it.

 #99641  by Tessian
 Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:42 pm
I really like my Lite. I never played the original DS but I have no complaints about the new one.

Currently Playing:

Super Mario Bros
Brain Age
Metroid Hunters
Advance Wars
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Castlevania


Metroid takes a lot of practice cause it KILLS my fingers (using thumb to aim and shit). Mario has me stuck half way through world 8...Advance Wars is great but stumping me again. Phoenix Wright is great but short I'm afraid (think I'm at the end). Castlevania is good but hard as well...easy to die and not many save points.

The only gaming I've done on PC since is the Prey Demo

 #99642  by Torgo
 Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:49 pm
I love my DS, but the Lite is superior in every way. The only thing that's bigger is the stylus, but it makes sense since holding the original stylus feels like it might cause arthritis.

 #99643  by Julius Seeker
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:38 am
Yeah, the new stylus is perfect. After playing around with the DS Lite one for a while, I actually dropped the old one a few times during play because it felt too small.

Metroid Prime Hunters takes a bit of practice at first, I don't use anything for my thumb though, just the trigger on my index finger, the control pad on my thumb, and the stylus in my right hand. I played it for a few hours this evening. It's my favourite overall game on the system right now (when you include both multiplayer and single player), especially now that I am further in the single player mode (it gets to be A LOT of fun once you really start to get the hang of things). I really like the skill involved, circling and jumping around while keeping aimed at the targets and firing. This is something you just couldn't physically do nearly to this extent in previous console shooters that just used analog sticks.

Speaking of DS, some new shots of Final Fantasy 3DS are posted over at IGN: http://media.ds.ign.com/media/707/707320/imgs_1.html

 #99644  by Flip
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:14 am
I cannot fathom Nintendo possibly improving upon this make (but for colors), so i would go for it if you are a fan. Especially since they decided to make this the next GB afterall.

EDIT:: i meant 'cannot' fathom, not 'can' fathom
Last edited by Flip on Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

 #99646  by Julius Seeker
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:58 am
I am getting 80 bucks for my original DS, unless someone decides to outbid the highest bidder again (but I doubt it). DS Lite's cost 150, so it's a 70 dollar upgrade for me. The biggest thing for the DS is that I really do like to carry it around everywhere with me, I keep it in my front pocket. The DS Lite is much slimmer than the original, it's slimmer than a cell phone (which I upgrade every 18 months), and so it makes carrying it around much easier; but even the original, which was slightly wider than a cell phone, was not even much of a hassel.

As far as I see the DS Lite, it's a reasonable upgrade. I still hold onto my Gameboy Advance SP for one major reason: I have about 30-40 games from GBC back to the original Gameboy which I still enjoy quite a bit. The original Final Fantasy Adventure (Seiken Densetsu I), Dragon Warrior 3, Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Legend 2, and the Zelda Oracle and Link's Awakening games, along with Final Fantasy Legend 1 and 2, and more, are not playable on the DS. Speaking of GBA SP, they have released newer versions of it with brighter screens. Though, I think if I am going to upgrade my GBA, it'll be with a Micro, unless they release something even more to my liking.

 #99649  by Kupek
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:22 am
I'm eventually going to get a DS Lite. There are a bunch of games out for it now I'd like to play (New Mario, Castlevania, Mario Kart), a bunch of games that are coming out for it I want to play (Zelda, YOSHI!), I already have several GBA games that I used with my GB Player, and the system itself sounds sweet.

 #99652  by Zeus
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:00 am
Kupek wrote:I'm eventually going to get a DS Lite. There are a bunch of games out for it now I'd like to play (New Mario, Castlevania, Mario Kart), a bunch of games that are coming out for it I want to play (Zelda, YOSHI!), I already have several GBA games that I used with my GB Player, and the system itself sounds sweet.
It really is nice and with about 15-20 games that you can possibly get (there's more good ones, but that's probably the number that'll interest anyone), particularly with the price drops of a lot of older ones, it's definetely worth it. Not bad for a system that gave me the impression it wasn't too much more than a gimmick at E3 in 2004.

And I agree with Flip. Considering the size of the screens, I can't imagine them re-doing it again and making it any smaller. The Micro proved that you can actually go too small. So I don't see any real reason for them to re-design again and make it worthwhile, although you know they'll try

 #99653  by Flip
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:10 pm
Off topic, but i just saw some screenies from announced future games at E3.

Call me jaded (or call me Don), but i believe you can get good gameplay from traditional setups still, and i would much rather have my games look like:

Image

as opposed to:

Image

And i thought i would never say that, wow... i love my old school graphics, but that is why it is old school...

EDIT:: Seeker was right, i meant to link a pic of the PSP's Crisis Core, not the PS2's Dirge of Cerberus.
Last edited by Flip on Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 #99654  by Julius Seeker
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:41 pm
Would you like some applause or something?

Personally: I don't think anyone here wants to play either one of those crappy looking games, but that's just my opinion =)

 #99655  by Flip
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:49 pm
No, i just surprised myself. The DS was sounding good, lately, and was thinking of getting one, but when i looked up some of the games, and saw some of the 'new' games coming out for it at E3 i had a hard time being impressed...

Oh and i def want to play that FF7:Dirge of Cerberus game on the top.

 #99656  by Eric
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:54 pm
Flip wrote:No, i just surprised myself. The DS was sounding good, lately, and was thinking of getting one, but when i looked up some of the games, and saw some of the 'new' games coming out for it at E3 i had a hard time being impressed...

Oh and i def want to play that FF7:Dirge of Cerberus game on the top.
Yeah well I wanna play Valkyire Profile, because somebody who will remain nameless went and posted links to it TWO MONTHS BEFORE IT'S COMING OUT.

 #99657  by Julius Seeker
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:05 pm
Flip wrote:Oh and i def want to play that FF7:Dirge of Cerberus game on the top.
Are you sure?

According to gamerankings.com

Title

Platform

Avg. Ratio
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Publisher: Square Enix
Number of P/Reviews: 136 PlayStation 2 45.2%

 #99658  by Zeus
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:11 pm
Flip wrote:No, i just surprised myself. The DS was sounding good, lately, and was thinking of getting one, but when i looked up some of the games, and saw some of the 'new' games coming out for it at E3 i had a hard time being impressed...

Oh and i def want to play that FF7:Dirge of Cerberus game on the top.
So, graphics are #1 to you? No judgement, just asking

 #99660  by Tessian
 Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:51 pm
Holy hell seeker, how do you hold this thing with Hunters??

I use my left hand for direction and firing...which hurts, and my right hand for aiming with the stylus...I can't barely get through a level in a sitting (just beat 2nd planet)

 #99663  by Julius Seeker
 Wed Jun 28, 2006 1:39 am
I hold the DS between my palm and middle finger rested on the bottom, thumb on the control pad, and index finger on the trigger, then just hold the stylus in my right hand, it did take me hours to become comfortable with the new control type.

Another thing I do when I am sitting back in a hamock in the shade or have my feet up, I just rest it on my knee.

 #99674  by Flip
 Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:00 am
Zeus wrote:
Flip wrote:No, i just surprised myself. The DS was sounding good, lately, and was thinking of getting one, but when i looked up some of the games, and saw some of the 'new' games coming out for it at E3 i had a hard time being impressed...

Oh and i def want to play that FF7:Dirge of Cerberus game on the top.
So, graphics are #1 to you? No judgement, just asking
Not #1, but when all else is equal, it matters. All else equal meaning, i think i can still get fantastic gameplay from a traditional setup. I do not think the well has been tapped with buttons and a D pad.

 #99680  by Zeus
 Wed Jun 28, 2006 2:10 pm
Flip wrote:
Zeus wrote:
Flip wrote:No, i just surprised myself. The DS was sounding good, lately, and was thinking of getting one, but when i looked up some of the games, and saw some of the 'new' games coming out for it at E3 i had a hard time being impressed...

Oh and i def want to play that FF7:Dirge of Cerberus game on the top.
So, graphics are #1 to you? No judgement, just asking
Not #1, but when all else is equal, it matters. All else equal meaning, i think i can still get fantastic gameplay from a traditional setup. I do not think the well has been tapped with buttons and a D pad.
Fair enough, although I do think we're basically at the end of innovation in terms of control setup with the pad and buttons. You can still get fantastic gameplay and some evolutionary and even revolutionary gameplay (see Shadow of the Colossus), but sticks and 3D movement is going to start to take over slowly IMO. Maybe not Wii-style, but it's the next step

 #99687  by Kupek
 Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:16 pm
Flip wrote:And i thought i would never say that, wow... i love my old school graphics, but that is why it is old school...
What's the point of comparing the graphical styles of a pseudo-FPS to a cooking sim?

 #99688  by Flip
 Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:24 pm
I dont know, no point. Like i said, i was just browsing games and surprised myself by being totally unimpressed, I'll curb my DS bias now, continue with your lives.

 #99689  by Lox
 Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:48 pm
Kupek wrote:
Flip wrote:And i thought i would never say that, wow... i love my old school graphics, but that is why it is old school...
What's the point of comparing the graphical styles of a pseudo-FPS to a cooking sim?
Is it scary that I'd rather play the cooking sim??? :)

 #99692  by Flip
 Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:54 pm
I'm afraid.

:huh:

 #99709  by Lox
 Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:27 pm
Flip wrote:I'm afraid.

:huh:
Wait til you try my fried zucchini. It's eck-so-lent.