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Note
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Re: Console of the Month (June 2022) - Nintendo DS

by Note Wed Jun 22, 2022 9:44 pm

Well, I have to admit I never owned a DS and actually never had a chance to play one either. At the time of its release I was away at college and wasn't keeping up to date with gaming. However, over the years I've heard good things about it's library and there's a fair amount of titles I'm interested in.

As a big Golden Sun fan, I definitely would like to try Golden Sun: Dark Dawn on the system. However, I'm aware the consensus is it's not as good as the GBA titles, but I'd still like to give it a chance. Also, I had no idea there was a Phantasy Star game on the Nintendo DS until more recently, so Phantasy Star 0 is a curiosity for me. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is another game I really want to try as I only heard good things about it from multiple Racketeers. The Etrian Odyssey games seem interesting too. I haven't played many dungeon crawlers, but I really got into one earlier this year. A lot of RPGs! Lol, similar to my small GBA stash.

As someone who is not familiar at all with the different models of the system that were released, does anyone have a recommendation for what version of the console would be the best to get now? And other than emulation, is there a way to play DS games on a home console? I don't find a lot of handhelds very comfortable, so just curious if I have any other options.
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Nemoide
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Re: Console of the Month (June 2022) - Nintendo DS

by Nemoide Thu Jun 23, 2022 7:03 pm

I want to make a list of my favorite DS games, but I feel like my list is kind of pedestrian/expected. The Dragon Quest games, the Ace Attorney games, the Castlevania games, Elite Beat Agents, 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors... they're all good, but feel too obvious to mention. But I guess that's one of the strengths of the system: it has a large number of obviously excellent games! And its library is so vast that it's easy to find other games that are worth playing that went under just about everyone's radar.

I like the Wizard of Oz RPG (Beyond the Yellow Brick Road) but it's also kind of repetitive and not too innovative. I loved The Dark Spire (played from the First Person RPG month in Together Retro) but it's so hardcore it's hard to recommend. Kirby: Canvas Curse is good but on the short & easy side. I really liked Lost in Blue until it turned into a stealth game. Even though the Ace Attorney games are obvious classics, I feel the need to shout out Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth as being a fun twist on the concept that I remember thinking a lot of people slept on.
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ZRofel
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Re: Console of the Month (June 2022) - Nintendo DS

by ZRofel Thu Jun 23, 2022 9:08 pm

I would agree that the "peaks" of the DS library are probably pretty much the same for most of the gamers that frequent message boards like this one, but there are still plenty of other great niche titles lurking around the edges.

Monster Tale is a game I'd almost completely forgotten about until I started thinking back on great DS titles. It's a very solid metroidvania-style game set in a cutesy, saturday-morning-cartoon-style fantasy kingdom, starring a young girl and her monster companion. The gimmick in the game is that the monster can be evolved in different ways to gain different abilities and fighting skills. It's definitely not Pokemon, but it does give it enough depth to make the game stand out a bit.

Another decent Metroid-style platformer would be Aliens: Infestation. While it received positive reviews when it came out, I feel like in the years since it's fallen out of favor a bit. It is true that the game's two drives, to create an oppressive, tension-filled atmosphere similar to the earlier Alien films, and to create the steady progression of power and abilities found in a Metroid-style game, are kind of in conflict with each other. But if you don't go into it expecting it to be a videogame encapsulation of an Alien film like Alien: Isolation, it's still a really great metroidvania. It makes sense that its aesthetics and style are a good fit for the genre, considering the early Metroid titles were inspired by the Alien series. I would say the recent The Mummy Demastered game is something of a mechanical sequel to Aliens: Infestion, so if you liked that game, you'll probably like Aliens.

Have any of you ever played Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night? I wouldn't say it's a great game, or even necessarily a good one, but it's unique in that it is literally just a parody of Castlevania. While there are plenty of genuinely funny games and plenty of games that try to jam in lame pop-culture humor, you don't get too many games that are entirely and explicitly parodies of other games. It's a worth a look for that reason alone, I think.

I'll try to see if I can think up any more weird or unique games people should check out...
Last edited by ZRofel on Tue Jun 28, 2022 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Nemoide
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Re: Console of the Month (June 2022) - Nintendo DS

by Nemoide Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:24 am

I've played Barnyard Blast! I listen to the Insert Credit podcast and one of the folks on it worked on the game; bringing it up was a brief running gag.
It's not entirely a good game, but it's also not entirely a bad game. It's flawed but fun enough with some very 2008 humor.

One deep cut game I haven't played yet but am looking forward to trying is Pop Cutie: Street Fashion Simulation. I heard that it's one of the better "girl games" on the system according to Rachel Simone Weil of the Femicom Museum. I'm sure it won't appeal to everyone (heck, I'm certainly not the target audience), but I'm curious to broaden my horizons!
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alienjesus
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Re: Console of the Month (June 2022) - Nintendo DS

by alienjesus Fri Jul 01, 2022 3:14 pm

I didn't get nearly enough time to post in this thread as I would have liked last month, so I'm going to keep it running and post some stuff throughout the next few weeks. I have a ton of game recommendations, discussion topics and more I'd love to share in this thread, so watch this space I guess :lol:
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