Machine Memories: Nintendo DS

On 02/21/2023 at 04:09 PM by KnightDriver

I got a Nintendo DS in 2004 to play Advance Wars: Dual Strike. It was the first handheld I’d really wanted to own since the Mattel Electronics Baseball back in ‘79. What I liked was the extra screen space, the touch screen mechanics and the brighter screens than previous Game Boys.

NDS

I owned the original “fat” version at launch. In 2006 I got a black DS Lite, which also doubled as my GBA player since it had a GBA slot. In 2010 I got a DSi XL for the bigger screens.

New series I discovered and became fans of with this device were: Advance Wars, Etrian Odyssey, Final Fantasy, Mario & Luigi, Professor Layton and Shin Megami Tensei.

A new developer I became a fan of was Cabybara Games (Might & Magic Clash of Heroes).

Today I still have my DS Lite and DSi XL and a small collection of games. I’m trying to find time to get back into the system.

TV Time! Commercial. Would you let a lion take your DS?

Machocruz

02/22/2023 at 07:40 PM

Had the three Castlevanias,which were a blast, pure fun, and Metroid Prime Pinball. There were lots of other titles that looked cool, but I never got around to getting them. One of the best handhelds, I'd say.

KnightDriver

02/24/2023 at 10:18 AM

I really like the DSi XL but the 3DS XL is my favorite all-time.

SanAndreas

02/22/2023 at 09:52 PM

Had a lot of interesting games on it, though a lot of them were games I wish they'd made for Wii or PS3 instead of DS. Sadly, it was the weakest Zelda machine, though Spirit Tracks was better than Phantom Hourglass. The DS ultimately became a Dragon Quest machine for me since they released the Zenithia trilogy on it, which included Dragon Quest 5 and 6, never before released in the US. Dragon Quest 5 ranks up there with 8 and 11 as my "holy trinity" of Dragon Quest, and I would like to see it get a console re-release.

02/24/2023 at 10:21 AM

I'm often wondering why there isn't a Dragon Quest Collection on one of the consoles. I'd like to run through all of them.

Cary Woodham

02/23/2023 at 07:11 AM

When we did our top five favorite handheld console podcast, the DS was on my list. I liked it better than the 3DS because even though the 3DS had meatier games and StreetPass, the DS had more creative games and I didn't have to worry about the gimmicky 3D stuff (because I'm blind in my left eye and can't see that effect anyway).

I first got to play a prototype DS at E3. A select few of us got to go into a room and play a select few prototypes of games. I was lucky enough to play what would become Pac-Pix, a game even Miyamoto wished he had come up with! One cool thing is that when I left that room, Charles Martinet was there to greet me! He's the voice of Mario!

So many great games to talk about, but I think my standout favorite on the DS was the Phoenix Wright series. It started out on the GBA in Japan, but the touch screen support worked wonders and I'm glad Capcom brought that to the US.

02/24/2023 at 10:30 AM

My thing with handhelds is screen size, so whichever is biggest and looks best wins. This would mean the PSVita, but I really couldn't find many games I wanted to play on it, so the 3DS XL is my favorite.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/25/2023 at 12:58 AM

Ghost Trick and Elite Beat Agents are some of my favorite games.

02/27/2023 at 02:22 PM

I'll try those sometime.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

02/25/2023 at 01:35 AM

My favorite handheld except maybe the Switch. Had this through almost my entire teen years, introduced me to so many franchises I love like Castlevania and Ace Attorney as well as being the best machine for Pokémon. Still bust it out every now and then.

02/27/2023 at 02:27 PM

I'm planning on revisiting the system this year. Maybe getting some new games to try out on it.

PixlBit