RPGWatch Feature - The Whole Game in My Hand #12

Dhruin · February 3, 2009

Mike Anderson takes us on another handheld odyssey, with a huge roundup of the latest RPGs and other games of interest on the Nintendo DS. This article ranges from Mistwalker's Away: Shuffle Dungeon to a port of the classic console jRPG, Chrono Trigger - over a dozen reviews in all.
Read it all here and watch out the second part, covering the PSP and iPhone, later in the week.
More information.

Notorious · February 3, 2009

Hey Mike,

I love the article as always. I often find myself going back to your reviews to see how they measure up with my experiences. Could you add the game rating and score to the summary list at the top of each article? That makes it so much easier to check back on later, instead of re-reading the articles.

Relayer · February 3, 2009

Yes! I love these portable reviews... just wish they were a bit more frequent

Relayer · February 3, 2009

Wait a minute! You gave Naruto a 3.5/5 but that was clearly a 3/5 review. I don't get it with you reviewers, first of all I'm just kidding and second of all did I mention I was just kidding?

woges · February 3, 2009

There's Atlus' The Dark Spire coming out in March for the DS also, but not for us Europeans.

txa1265 · February 3, 2009

Notorious said:
Hey Mike,

I love the article as always. I often find myself going back to your reviews to see how they measure up with my experiences. Could you add the game rating and score to the summary list at the top of each article? That makes it so much easier to check back on later, instead of re-reading the articles.

The rating I can definitely do, but I am thinking about moving away from scores to a sort of 'buy / try / skip' like I get to use at VGBlogger. I really hate boiling things down to numbers that way (actually *because* I'm a numbers guy, surprisingly)

woges said:
There's Atlus' The Dark Spire coming out in March for the DS also, but not for us Europeans.

Yes - there is another one whose name I recently forgot coming as well, and Phantasy Star Portable just got pulled in.

Thanks as always!

woges · February 3, 2009

The DS sure seems to have plenty of games.

PatrickWeekes · February 5, 2009

These are amazingly helpful. I'm looking for something turn-based and grid-based (like Fire Emblem) to play when I'm done rogueing around as Izuna, and Luminous Arc 2 sounds like a good pickup (in combination with Galactrix and the next Fire Emblem, of course). Much appreciated!

txa1265 · February 5, 2009

Hey Patrick - don't forget that Fire Emblem is out in just a couple of weeks! Also, Disgaea DS is also quite good ... but Luminous Arc presents a refreshing change from the usual sRPG.

woges · February 5, 2009

The DS is region free no?

txa1265 · February 5, 2009

woges said:
The DS is region free no?

Yes it is ... which is why there is some concern with the new/upcoming (depending on where you live) DSi, which will have some content that is region-locked. But for now, I can play games without having a clue what all those silly little symbols mean from time to time ...

woges · February 5, 2009

I may pick up one of the older chunky ones. Is there anything to know about them (faults etc)?

txa1265 · February 5, 2009

woges said:
I may pick up one of the older chunky ones. Is there anything to know about them (faults etc)?

They are limited in the secure wireless networks they can connect to - WEP, not WPA. Other than that, they are solid - remember that they are heavily used by young kids.

Relayer · February 5, 2009

woges said:
I may pick up one of the older chunky ones. Is there anything to know about them (faults etc)?

Why? Just pick up a DS Lite. The increase in brightness & sharpness over the old chunky one is pretty substantial and the main reason to get it. Makes a huge difference in darker games and especially if you want to pick up older GBA games which use up a little less of the screen due to the GBAs spec and just look so much better on the Lite. And you have 4 levels of brightness to choose from, the lowest still being just a bit brighter than the older DS if I remember correctly.

There are lots of great GBA RPGs (FF I/II, IV, V, VI, Fire Emblem games, Golden Sun 1/2) and of course non-RPGs (2 great Metroid games, the Zeldas, Castlevanias, etc.)

Aside from that, the Lite is well, lighter, feels better to hold, and has a longer battery life (another good reason to get it), the stylus holder is in a better position and if I'm not mistaken I think they improved the touch screen so it's more accurate and doesn't scratch as easily (not 100% sure but thought I did read that somewhere).

woges · February 5, 2009

I like its retro chunky arseness.

txa1265 · February 6, 2009

Relayer said:
Aside from that, the Lite is well, lighter, feels better to hold, and has a longer battery life (another good reason to get it), the stylus holder is in a better position and if I'm not mistaken I think they improved the touch screen so it's more accurate and doesn't scratch as easily (not 100% sure but thought I did read that somewhere).

I don't think that is true - both my kids have DS Phats, and I have a Lite. I have never noticed a difference in touch screen feel and they have never said anything either. As for the brightness and the overall feel of the system I agree. But then, you can get the Phat for pretty cheap now.

And if you plan to play GBA games I prefer not having them stick out a cm.

Relayer · February 6, 2009

txa1265 said:
I don't think that is true - both my kids have DS Phats, and I have a Lite. I have never noticed a difference in touch screen feel and they have never said anything either. As for the brightness and the overall feel of the system I agree. But then, you can get the Phat for pretty cheap now.

And if you plan to play GBA games I prefer not having them stick out a cm.

You're probably right but I still remember an article a while back stating that one of the undocumented changes made (to also keep cost down) was changing the supplier of the screens. Supposedly the screens made by the newer supplier turned out to be of higher quality than the original screens, being a little bit more resistant to scratches from the stylus. That's how I remember it.

Relayer · February 6, 2009

woges said:
I like its retro chunky arseness.

Whatever floats (or sink...get it? it's heavier????) your boat.

But just look at the screen comparisons here...
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6145347/index.html

I purchased the DS a week before the Lite came out. Played with it for 2 days before I couldn't take it anymore (games looked dull, washed out). Returned it a week later and saw the games in a new Lite (ha!). It's not just brightness, everything just looks much sharper, with better contrast. The colors pop.

Relayer · February 6, 2009

txa1265 said:
And if you plan to play GBA games I prefer not having them stick out a cm.

Yes, this part definitely sucked.
Still, it's not so bad. The new DSI doesn't even have a GBA slot.

txa1265 · February 8, 2009

Relayer said:
Yes, this part definitely sucked.
Still, it's not so bad. The new DSI doesn't even have a GBA slot.

I realized a while ago that I have *never* played a GBA game on my DS Lite ... but have occasionally broken out the old GBA SP for that purpose.

To me the big problem with the DSi is the lack of support for stuff like the Rumble Pak and Guitar Hero On Tour. Again, no biggie and I'm sure I'll get one anyway.

I have searched around and found nothing on the touch screens ... but will keep looking, as this sort of thing intrigues me.

On other news, Gauntlet, originally scheduled for June '08 and consistently delayed, has now officially been canceled. That is a shame, as it looked like it would be loads of fun.

RPGWatch Feature - The Whole Game in My Hand #12

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