GLBasic forum

Main forum => Off Topic => Topic started by: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-24

Title: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-24
My previous was a Nintendo Color Gameboy.  I've spent a bit of time over the past 5 years trying to find it after somehow misplacing it in a box in the shed after we moved.  I think it might be gone.  Pity, the version of Zelda I had for that was brilliant.

Anyway, I just bought a Nintendo DSi.  If I'd waited 2 weeks I could have got one of the 3D ones, but that doesn't really appeal to me.  I'd love something like the Pandora as I could make my own (hahahahahahaha!  yeah... right :)), but I'm not big on ordering electronics online from overseas thanks to my less than stellar 'luck' when it comes to brand new electronics products malfunctioning. 

Grabbed Art Academy, Dragon Quest IX and (the one I'm interested in the most) WarioWare DIY.  I know it's severely limited to short mini-games, but that's half the fun. :)

Any games for it that come highly recommended?  My taste in games is pretty broad.  Having a brief look at the list of games on Metacritic I'm guessing there's not much in the way of turn-based strategy (decent ones that is) and certainly nothing like XCom (I see Jagged Alliance, but a) doesn't sound like it reviewed well and b) I don't think you can buy it here).  Just found out you can get Plants vs Zombies on it, so that will be yet another system I have that game for. :)
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2011-Mar-24
I always wanted to have "Animal Crossing", but the DSi belongs to my kid and it's hard to get hold on it ;)

I had a quick play with New Super Mario Bros and it was much easier than the Wii version.
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-24
There are literally hundreds of games for the DS that are worth a punt. You mentioned that you liked Zelda, in that case the first game you've GOT TO get is Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hour Glass. It's the best handheld Zelda game (Spirit Tracks is good, but not as good and it's much easier). I warn you though that it is played entirely with the touchscreen and that might take some getting used to. To me it works brilliantly.

Anuimal Crossing is a fantastic non-game game. There's no traditional game in it's beautifully formed land, but it's engrossing. I've spent years playing it and still go back regularly. Every time you play something new happens.

I love puzzle games (in case you hadn't noticed), so I recommend Picross and Picross 3D

For strategy (turn based) I'd recommend Advance Wars (the first one) and Fire Emblem.

others I highly recommend include:-

Metroid Prime Pinball
Professor Layton
Zoo Keeper
Castlevania: (pretty much any DS one)
Mario Kart DS
Mario & Luigi (all 3 are excellent RPGs)
Puzzle quest

With all of those, you'll neve need to buy another game! Years of entertainment in little tiny packages. =D

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my 3DS - it's in the post, so hopefully it'll arrive either today or tomorrow. I've received 4 games already - PilotWings Resort, Ghost Recon, Samurai warriors and Nintendogs&Cats - Retriever.
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: codegit on 2011-Mar-24
I pick up my Nintendo 3DS tomorrow. With Pilotwings and street fighter.  :enc:
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-24
If I didn't already have StreetFighter IV on XBox360 that would probably be in my hands now too. =D

I plan to pick up RidgeRacer tomorrow as I have a voucher that is itching to be redeemd...
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2011-Mar-24
I'm really curious how the 3D will work.
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-24
Tesco are selling 3DS for £175 (you have to buy a game at the same time to get this price though).

QuoteI'm really curious how the 3D will work.
As for the 3D, yeah I can't wait either - it's not the games I'm really interested in tbh, but the 3D. If it was just a DS2 I wouldn't bother just yet.
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: ampos on 2011-Mar-24
Here you have a clear explanation, in perfetct spanish  :nana:

http://www.pixfans.com/la-pantalla-de-la-nintendo-3ds/#more-23009 (http://www.pixfans.com/la-pantalla-de-la-nintendo-3ds/#more-23009)
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-24
QuoteHere you have a clear explanation, in perfetct spanish  :nana:
GoogleTranslate does an awesome job :)

Anyway, I know how the 3D works, I just want to actually experience it for myself.
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-24
Well I don't think you'll be disappointed.  I haven't seen it myself, but I have talked to two people who had a chance to demo it yesterday because their store will be selling it, and both were impressed (and no it wasn't sales talk, I know both of the people in question).  Made me seriously consider waiting (for almost a few seconds), but really 3D isn't such a big thing for me.  Of course, I may change my mind once my nephew, niece and their step brother upgrade to the 3D one. ;)
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: erico on 2011-Mar-24
when it comes to handhelds I will just have to stick with my atari linx.
...It would be nice if I had back my XENOPHOBE that I once lent to never return...
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-24
I had one of those, don't remember what happened to it.  That was a neat games machine for its time.  Friend of mine owned 4 of them, we used to go around his 'store' and play 4 player games on them.  Mind you his 'store' was a lot of fun too.  It was an arcade. ;)

I really miss the arcade boom of the 80's sometimes, even if I did burn through a lot of 20c pieces during that decade. :)
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: erico on 2011-Mar-24
Quote from: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-24
I really miss the arcade boom of the 80's sometimes, even if I did burn through a lot of 20c pieces during that decade. :)

me too, the excitement of stepping into an arcade and checking new machines released was great.
Now, even here in sao paulo, which is a big cities, arcades are rarely seen...
There was this ancient arcade (Lords) close by that closed it's doors couple months ago, quite sad,
they even had a RYGAR machine in there...

edit:.. just stumbled into this:
http://www.maharagallery.org.nz/MoreThanACraze/exhibition.php
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-24
I really miss the arcades of the 80s. Anything resembling an arcade now is full of fruit machines and coin-pushers - rarely a videogame in sight :(
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-25
Just picked up my 3DS. I'll turn it on after a cuppa. If you don't hear from me again, then you know it's that good! :P

=D
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2011-Mar-25
you can resist to try it and have a cup of tea before? That's tough.
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-25
I can even come back to the forum Gernot!

It's a nice machine - heavier than I was expecting. But it's comfortable, with nice controls. unlike other DS units, it takes a few seconds to turn on/boot up. Setting up Wi-Fi i(and all other options) s a breeze. No problems here.
I only need the 3D slider just above totally OFF to see the effect - over half and my eyes bleed! On 2D everything looks exactly the same, but a tiny bit flatter.

The 3D is more subtle and less pronounced than I was expecting (in some games). In fact the 3D is much better on 2D images (like menus etc.) than the 3D. Playing Ridge Racer the effect is OK, but easily lost, as you move the console while pressing buttons and the controller. That could just be Ridge Racer though, as it's pretty obvious that it's a rush-job.

PilotWings Resort however is absolutely fantastic where the 3D is concerned - especially with the jetpack. Nintendo once again show how it should be done. Shame the game appears to be so very small though.

The camera is pretty poor compared to those on other devices, but it does it's job. The AR cards are pretty much use once or twice and then forget about.

So a nice machine with plenty of potential. Now bring on some good games!
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Wampus on 2011-Mar-25
Curious. So would you say that the 3D works better on static and slower moving screens that it does faster action-orientated screens?
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-25
Quote from: Ragaril on 2011-Mar-25
Curious. So would you say that the 3D works better on static and slower moving screens that it does faster action-orientated screens?
Definitely (from what I've seen so far).
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Hark0 on 2011-Mar-27
I tried the machine on a store for 20 minutes... sorry Nintento, this version of DS no it's for me...

(at the moment  :P)


IMO the 3D effect are very .... hmmmm..... flickered????


Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-27
Maybe you had the 3D slider up too high, as the 3D definitely doesn't flicker. I find around the 40% mark is best for me.
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-27
Re: arcade games: I honestly think some of the best 2D games (not the best maybe, but pretty high up the list) ever made were arcade games -- although not necessarily their computer conversions. :)

For me games like Bubble Bobble still rate extremely highly even after all these years.  My 8 year old nephew and 5 year old niece recently discovered the NES version of Bubble Bobble on my Wii and played it for ages.  They thought it was brilliant.  My nephew (who plays a lot of Wii, PC, 360 and DSi games) asked why weren't there more games like this around?  I both laughed and cried a bit on the inside at that. :)

Re: 3DS:  Sounds as if, as per usual, the games that are out for it were mostly rush jobs so will have to wait a little while before you get games that really use its 3D feature as well as it should be used.  Can't think of many consoles or game machines where that hasn't been the case.  Anyway the slider sounds interesting.  Being able to adjust the effect to suit your own eyes (or is it brain? as things like this are about how the brain interprets what it information it is fed) is a great idea.  Hope to get to play with one soon for myself.

BTW what software do they come with built-in?  Same as DSi, or all new?  I'm still waiting for one to come with basic diary/address book style things built in.  Well... I can dream can't I?  =D
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: erico on 2011-Mar-27
Like I said before I still have a running atary linx, but the first handheld I got was an octopuss mini-game...
check this out:
http://www.pica-pic.com/#

I tried the DS at a store too, running some mario-lemmings kind of stuff, wasn't quite impressed at it.
The controls though were excellent and smooth.

I guess it will all depend on the software that gets into it after all the rush.
I like the collection available on GBA, lots of great titles.
I also enjoy snk capcon card fighter on the neo geo pocket...
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-27
Yeah those old hand held games were cool.  I had some combination calculator/medieval or fantasy combat game.  My sister had a three screen one that involved getting some treasure and getting off an island (I loved that one).  She also had one about a cat catching mice which had the most annoying sound effects I've ever heard in any handheld game.  I also had one called Invader 1000 which I still have in its original box and which still works.  I had hoped that Wario DIY (I should have done my research) was a little less limited than it is.  Didn't realise you could only make games that last a few seconds, otherwise my plan was to start making those sorts of games on my DSi -- instead I think I'll end up using the music composition part of it more than anything.  I think you can buy a lot of the Nintendo ones like the old Donkey Kong Jr handheld etc. (but for the DS) on their online shop anyway...
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-27
QuoteBTW what software do they come with built-in?

I never had a DSi (just the original phat DS and the DS Lite), so can't comment on that.

The 3DS comes with a couple of games built in - Face Raiders (you take a photo of your fizzog and then shoot balls at it in 3D) and Augmented Reality (althoug this needs cards, 6 of which come with the machine). Neither of which you'll play more than a few times and only for a maximum of minutes each. They both show the potential though, which i suppose is exactly why they were created.

I haven't looked at the other software on the machine tbh, but I know there's a sound/music player which you can add effects and stuff to. There's the camera software for taking 2D and 3D photos. Mii Maker, Mii Plaza, Internet browser, and a couple of other things that I can't remember right now.

Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-27
Yes Augmented Reality interests me greatly.  I've been following the development of that 'fad' for a while now as it can have a lot of uses.  One of the best examples I've seen is a museum that uses it to help kids learn about history, they have cards near exhibits that they scan in with the portable device with the AR software on it and then read and play games.  If I'd known the 3DS had such a system built-in, and that there was the possibility we could see it used, I'd have bought a 3DS for sure.  In fact there's a few things about the 3DS that interest me more than the actual 3D. :)

I've had an idea for my own AR game for a while, but it would have had to have been developed for smart phones I think.  Ones with camera, GPS and internet connection.

Anyway the DSi comes with: DSi Camera, DSi Sound, DSi Shop, Download Play (which according to my nephew he's never seen a game use -- wouldn't be surprised if it's only official Nintendo gear that uses that), PictoChat, Internet Browser, Flipnote Studio.  So really sounds as if the 3DS does come with more, while a few remain the same (albeit updated).
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Ian Price on 2011-Mar-27
TBH I didn't buy the 3DS for the 3D - that's just a bonus. I've been a fan of Nintendo games and consoles since the NES (including multiple units of some - including 3 SNESs, 2 N64s, GameCube, 2 Wiis, 1 GameBoy Color, 1 GameBoy Advance, 2 GBA SP's, 2 DS phats, 1 DS Lite), so it was inevitable that I'd get whatever Nintendo released next.

And despite a lot of negativity (from those that probably haven't even seen a 3DS, let alone played one for an extended period of time), the 3D is generally very good. I definitely wouldn't recommend a 3DS purely for the 3D though - it's what will come in the future that will make the investment worthwhile.

Plus it plays original DS software too, so that's a massive library of excellent games right here right now.

The only problem is that battery sucks big time. 3 hours for a handheld device is pretty poor in this day and age. Only 1300Mah is ludicrous. I expect a larger capaci ty battery to hit the market at some point though (either official or 3rd party).
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: Hatonastick on 2011-Mar-28
C'mon.  Admit it.  You did really buy it for the 3D, didn't you.  It's ok mate, you can admit it here.  No-one will know.  Well, sort of.  That's ok, we can all keep a secret.  =D

Yeah I'm thinking of trading my DSi in already, as there are deals to upgrade to the 3DS.  It will cost me more than if I'd bought one outright but I can't really justify keeping this and buying a 3DS as well.  Not in my financial situation at least.

3 hours battery time though, that's not much.  To be honest, is that really much more than the DSi because I'm not sure my DSi lasts much longer than that...  Hmm didn't know you could buy more powerful batteries for them though.  Will have to look into that.
Title: Re: Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.
Post by: erico on 2011-Mar-28
if it runs all gba stuff than that is the deal!
battery wise someone in china will come up with a solution, I also believe nintendo will do too, just a matter of time.

I remember lynx could run on AA batteries (6 :puke)  for aaaalmooost 2 hours...
quite absurd as games like xenophobe can easily take more than that in a speed run...

anyway, wish you good times with the handheld, I might get one myself later on if my gold coins permit...