Official Nintendo DS and 3DS Thread (Including WiFi Codes)

[Poli]

Ah, fixed. Life is good. I just wanted to check in to the DS thread, thanks mostly to TK.

[twothree]

An official add-on MP3 player for the Nintendo DS?

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-...yer-198316.php

[sterlingice]

I think this is how it currently is but EBGames is making another push for when the new colors come out. If you have an old style DS, you can trade it in for a DS Lite at $70 or a GBA SP trades in for a $100 DS Lite.

SI

[twothree]

I picked up a black DS Lite along with Harvest Moon DS today. I really like it, except for the shiny black finish on the outside. They should have used the nice dull black inside coating on the outside also. Because, the outside picks up fingerprints way too easily.

[General Mike]

Anybody got a game suggestion for me?

I already have Castlevania, Brain Age, New SMB, Mario Kart and Tetris.

No RPGz plz k thx.

[sterlingice]

What genres? I've gotten tons of hours out of Advance Wars DS and Age of Empires if you like turn based strat. AoE's problem is that it will glitch from time to time, which is simply unacceptable for a Nintendo console. If you can find Kirby on the cheap, it's well worth it as a fun platformer but it is short. I've had a lot of fun every time I play Phoenix Wright but it's just not for everyone- it's very story driven and not much action or gameplay.

SI

[General Mike]

Turn based strategy may work for me. Probably a platformer or an action game.

Anybody got any thoughts on the Princess Peach game?

I may pick up Animal Crossing to hold me over.

[sterlingice]

I've actually stopped playing Animal Crossing as of a couple of months ago because of a lack of time due to work but if you get addicted to games and it's your type of game, it goes a long way (I have to have put well over 100 hours into it).

I heard Princess Peach was ok but not great. Only worth buying if you get it at a discount. Like I said, for platformers, I really love Kirby as it's a "different type of platformer"- it's really creative, much like some of the more recent Kirby titles have been like Tilt n Tumble. Kirby rolls but you direct him based on what lines you draw on the screen, speed him up based on touching the screen, get power ups, etc.

SI

[oliegirl]

OK...I've resisted as long as I could. I bought Anthony one of the DS Lites for his birthday and have now decided that I should pick up a game or two to play on it

I'm very intrigued by the Animal Crossing - from what I've read it's similar to the Sims, but with animals? Can you play it without the wi-fi? We have wi-fi at home, but I'd like to be able to play it while I am waiting in the carpool line, etc... Also, is it something that a 9 year old can play and enjoy as well?

And could someone tell me more about the Mario games? I remember Donkey Kong from when I was a child, but haven't really played any video games since then...which game would you recommend for a 33 year old looking to kill some time who has little to no experience playing video games of any kind?

Thanks guys!!!!

[sterlingice]

I'll try to get to this one over the weekend as I'm heading off to sleep tonight. But the DS has a ton of casual gamer stuff, moreso than hardcore gamer stuff.

SI

[terpkristin]

I just picked up Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and Mario Hoops 3 on 3 for my DS. It's funny that I picked up the SW game as I actually can't stand Star Wars, but I love Legos and the game looked cool last time (the original game) so I figured I'd give it a try this time around. Not sure what to expect from Mario Hoops, but I was looking for something new to play and it got alright reviews so figured it was worth a shot.

/tk

[Godzilla Blitz]

Best Buy had Battles of Prince of Persia on sale for $9.99 so I grabbed a copy. Just tried the tutorial over lunch. Looks like an interesting turn-based strategy game with a card element meshed in.

[sterlingice]

tk, I need to point you strongly towards CAG

There are so many discount games out there right now and it's better than paying full price for games that will be cheap in a few months and you'll still get that "new game smell"

I haven't had as much luck on the DS as I've "only" bought Metroid Pinball ($7), Atari Collection ($5), Ridge Racer ($2), and Polarium ($10) in the last month or so. But with the GBA, I've gotten an absolute treasure trove with Drill Dozer, Final Fantasy IV, Mario Golf, Wario Ware Twisted, and Sword of Mana all for $10 or less and the Castlevania double pack for $20 and that's more gaming than one can possibly shake a stick at.

SI

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

tk, I need to point you strongly towards CAG

Sadly (?) I'm already a member of CAG. I just also have the unfortunate affliction that when I get bored with a game, I go out and buy another, mostly on impulse. :-\

Thankfully it doesn't happen too often

/tk

[Godzilla Blitz]

Hey Sterling, what's CAG? Is it Cheap Ass Gamer, the site? I've looked there for deals they list at various stores and stuff, but is there something else that I'm missing there?

[terpkristin]

CAG is indeed http://www.cheapassgamer.com

If you're a member of the forums, there is a forum devoted to deals, localized and national (and international). Usually there are some good things.

/tk

[sterlingice]

Yeah, CAG is the site linked above. I've made some great hauls lately. Obviously, you're not going to find Madden the week it comes out for $20 but you'll find the first place it drops to $30 in 2 months when the unwashed masses have all shelled out $50 for it. Or when it hits clearance for $10. Everybody is doing clearances on their last gen stuff and you can snag all sorts of excellent games you might have missed for $10 or less.

SI

[Godzilla Blitz]

Ah, thanks. I am a member there and I do tend to read through that forum once in a while.

I probably have to look through it more often. I usually find that I'm reading about great deals that have just ended. If I read it more often I might catch some of those deals.

[sterlingice]

Well, we're hitting the tail end of them as they've been out there for a while but Toys R Us, Circuit City, KMart, and Sears are all in clearance mode right now. And Target is always doing clearance stuff. I try to hit there once a day or every couple of days at least so if a big sale starts, I'm not completely on the outside looking in. Sure, the ebayers will beat me to some of the stuff, but there will always be some games I want to play that they didn't hoard.

SI

[Godzilla Blitz]

You know, I do remember reading that about Ciruit City and Toys R Us, but the ones near me seemed pretty much picked clean. I was pretty late to the party on those however.

I'm guessing that it'll be tricky to get great deals on some of the better DS games for a while, but I'd love to add another half dozen or so good GBA games to my collection.

[sterlingice]

A couple of the top selling titles like Nintendogs, New SMB, and Metroid Prime Hunters haven't had any deals yet but a lot of the really good "second tier" games like Kirby, Meteos, Metroid Pinball, Trace Memory (still haven't played yet) and even a top shelf game like Advance Wars have all had $10 and under prices lately.

GBA- well, there's too much to list that has been on sale lately.

The thing about sales like this is twofold. You need to get there in the first day or two. And you need to find that store that's a little out of the way where hoarders don't roam for a day or so. Don't go to that Best Buy in the new shiny yuppie center, go to the Circuit City by the old mall. That sort of thing.

SI

[Godzilla Blitz]

That's a good point about the location of the stores. I usually go to the big, shiny Ciruit City right off the highway. There's a crappy old one that's really hard to find about 10 minutes in the other direction. I can easily go in that direction to check out a sale on occasion.

I didn't realize that some of those DS games had been on sale that cheaply already. I was happy to get the Prince of Persia Battles one for $10, but amost everything else decent that I've seen starts at $20.

[stevew]

So, has anyone bought Mario Hoops 3 on 3, Pokemon Blue Rescue team or Mario vs Donkey Kong 2 yet? It seems like every time I turn around there is another premium title released on this system.

[stevew]

Hmm. I'm thinking Pokemon Diamond would be a better choice for a soon to be 8 year old than Blue Rescue team maybe?

[sterlingice]

I can't wait for Diamond/Pearl. Unfortunately, it's just now coming out in Japan this week so we won't see it until likely March or maybe even a summer release.

As for other games, I haven't bought much new lately because I have such a backlog of other stuff so I'll work my way to these games in 6 months when they can all be had for $20

SI

[terpkristin]

I picked up Mario Hoops and frankly I'm not much of a fan. Maybe I just suck at it, but I can't seem to get the damn stylus control to work for me, and though there are options to play it using the buttons, they don't give you the ability to do everything you can do with the stylus. I've heard nothing but good things about it, so I assume this is just a "I suck" problem, but it still irks me.

/tk

[MikeVic]

Anyone else have Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin?

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Anyone else have Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin?

SI and I both do, though I haven't played it yet (don't think he has, either). I bought it when I did for the pre-order package. I have been playing a lot of Animal Crossing and Final Fantasy III lately. Animal Crossing I just got an urge to play after a few months, Final Fantasy is fun but frustrating all at once, but I'll make it through it...eventually.

/tk

[MikeVic]

Yeah, I got Castlevania for the pre-order as well. But have started playing it too.

[Poli]

I'm still playing the stuffing out of Advanced Wars and Nintendogs.

My pugs, Snuggles and Taco, are like the shop's dogs now.

[sterlingice]

That's awesome, AE

Yeah, like tk said, I got Castlevania but it was for the pre-order bonus. Not sure when I'm going to break into that quite yet.

(I've been doing some Pokemon breeding of late to fill my Pokedex on Pokemon Box and that's a fairly time consuming process.)

SI

[TroyF]

I've got the Castlevania game. Enjoying it quite a bit thus far.

[terpkristin]

As if I needed any more games right now (I definitely don't, as I have a backlog going on), Yoshi's Island DS looks pretty good, got a 9.1 at gamespot.

/tk

[sterlingice]

Wow- that's really high for Gamespot.

SI

[Godzilla Blitz]

As an update, the DS is the best gaming purchase I have made in a long time. This thing rocks.

[terpkristin]

Thought I'd bump this in case anybody got a DS and/or new games over the holiday....I got a pink DS Lite a little while back, and started a new game of Animal Crossing: Wild World, so these are my friend codes in case anybody wants to know...

Animal Crossing: 0215-5944-0559
Town: Ozville
Name: Kristin

Final Fantasy III: 1289-3675-1245

Clubhouse Games: 1031-6694-7891

Mario Kart DS: 111729-348632

I also have Brain Age and Contact, both of which have Wi-Fi capabilities but I don't know what they are or how to get my codes out of them yet (haven't played Contact yet).

Feel free to IM me on AIM or GTalk if you want to play.

/tk

[hukarez]

*sigh* Looks like I'm going to have to get around to grabbing a DS Lite, since my co-worker lost mine -- and couldn't find it after 2.5 months of searching.

Having spent so much $$ on X-Mas gifts this year, I guess it'll be awhile. All these DS games I picked up, and no DS to play it on!

At least his 5 cartons of cigarettes for compensation should carry me through for a couple months or so!

[Bonegavel]

This person isn't buying you another DS because...?

For Christmas I picked up Animal Crossing for my daughter and I think I've played it 5 times more than she has. I can't hook to the internet since it requires me to configure my router to WEP, though I am thinking of reconfiguring it.

Animal Crossing is fun. Each time you play you discover that there is something else to do. My daughter likes catching fish and donating them to the museum. Tom Nook is a jerk!

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Bonegavel

This person isn't buying you another DS because...?

At the time, he couldn't find any in stock anywhere. Kind of tripped me out, but I was feigning for nicotine anyways and figure I'll just grab one myself down the line. Ideally, I'd like to grab one before I figure out if/when they're going to start integrating those DS Lites with my Wii!

[MikeVic]

I got Animal Crossing for Christmas and will post my friend code sometime soon.

[Ajaxab]

I just got an Onyx DS for Christmas from my wife. So far I've picked up Animal Crossing, Brain Training and Mario Kart. I am wondering about multiplayer though. How tough is it to get the wireless up and running? Obviously picking up the DS Wi-fi USB adapter seems easiest, but I'm considering getting a router with a new laptop in the next month. Is it a simple thing to get online play working with a router?

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

I just got an Onyx DS for Christmas from my wife. So far I've picked up Animal Crossing, Brain Training and Mario Kart. I am wondering about multiplayer though. How tough is it to get the wireless up and running? Obviously picking up the DS Wi-fi USB adapter seems easiest, but I'm considering getting a router with a new laptop in the next month. Is it a simple thing to get online play working with a router?

In my experience, it's easy. I don't know about the Wi-Fi USB adapter (I've had wireless for a good long time), but with the router, as long as you know your SSID and your WEP password, it's easy as pie.

/tk

[Bonegavel]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

I just got an Onyx DS for Christmas from my wife. So far I've picked up Animal Crossing, Brain Training and Mario Kart. I am wondering about multiplayer though. How tough is it to get the wireless up and running? Obviously picking up the DS Wi-fi USB adapter seems easiest, but I'm considering getting a router with a new laptop in the next month. Is it a simple thing to get online play working with a router?

I have my wifi router setup with the stronger WPA encryption and am reluctant to "backgrade" it to WEP which is supposedly FAAAAAR easier to hack into. I highly doubt anyone in range of my equipment would/could do this, but you never know.

I could have the router just accept certain MAC addresses, but I use many different wireless devices and it would be a PITA to have to configure it for each.

However, Animal Crossing seems like it might be worth the pain.

[sterlingice]

I should go through and update the first post in this thread at some point.

I have added a couple of wi-fi games to my collection, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin and Metroid Prime Hunters, but haven't played much yet of either.

SI

[MikeVic]

My Friend Codes:
Castlevania: PoR Code is: 3694 5307 2661
Animal Crossing: Wild World is: 1976 5646 0633

[MikeVic]

Got Bomberland Touch today, friend code for that is:
0688 0886 3532.

I'll be adding the Animal Crossing people from here into my Friend list today or tomorrow.

[MikeVic]

Oops, my Animal Crossing town is named Poratia.

[stevew]

Anyone got Diddy Kong? I was thinking about picking it up. Reviews are pretty meh though.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by stevew

Anyone got Diddy Kong? I was thinking about picking it up. Reviews are pretty meh though.

Nah, for my money, I think Mario Kart is still going to be better...unless you've finished all the challenges in that one (I haven't).

/tk

[terpkristin]

wanted to put in a good word for clubhouse games. my mom's birthday was this past weekend and i got her a ds lite with brain age and clubhouse games. in order to show her how to play over wi-fi, she and i played the bowling game on it....a TON. seriously, i think we played about 3 hours of it. we were almost late for leaving for dinner because she kept saying "just one more game." admittedly, i sucked at bowling, owing at least in part to my cast, but all in all, it was GREAT fun, and i've played various games on it every day since, and i WHOLEHEARTEDLY recommend it to anyone and everyone. and when someone gets it, post your friend code, it's great fun to play with people online

/tk