Picked up a DSi, need games recommended

[Rubicon]

I snagged Chrono Trigger for $15 which is a steal if you ask me.

Anyways, what are some good games for the DS? I've got no GBA slot so DS only titles. I was considering New Super Mario Bros and Children of Mana.

Mainly RPGish type guys or platformers are generally what I like in a handheld.

So, whats good for the DS?

 

[AshburnerX]

I'd recommend the two Mario Brothers RPGs (Brothers in Time, Bowser's Inside Story), as well as the remakes of Final Fantasy 3-4 and some of the Dragon Quest series. There is also a Shin Megami game on the DS that's pretty good, and The World Ends With You is a balls hard Square-Enix game. Contact is an interesting (it feels a lot like Earthbound, despite having a very different gameplay style) game made by Suda51 that you might find interesting too.

If your looking for stuff other than RPGs, I'd recommend the Professor Layton games, Elite Beat Agents, and Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime.

 

[Krisken]

I hear the Chrono Trigger remake is pretty good.

 

[AshburnerX]

I hear the Chrono Trigger remake is pretty good.

... he mentioned he snaaged that already.

 

[Reboneer]

I hear the Chrono Trigger remake is pretty good.

It's not a remake, it's just a simple port, with very few new features (one or two extra dungeons, and touch screen controls). It's only a really good game because the original is still a really good game.

 

[Ravenpoe]

I'm going to second The World Ends With You. It's a GREAT rpg, and the unique presentation makes it feel really different from your average jRPG.

I also suggest you try out the Phoenix Wright series. I was addicted to those games when I got my DS.

If you've never played Dragon Quest, there are a bunch of remakes of the classic games on the DS, and they're all the epitome of the jrpg. Chapters of the Chosen and Heavenly Bride (I forget their numbers) are the two that stand out to me. There's also dragon quest monsters: joker if you want a monster-collecting game, though I never liked it much myself.

Of course there's the final fantasies too. The Final Fantasy 4 and 5 remakes are both high quality, and are now in full 3D, with cutscenes.

And if you're looking for a more casual yet still story driven game, check out Hotel Dusk. It plays like an interactive novel, and was a game I really enjoyed playing in bed.

 

[AshburnerX]

Final Fantasy 3 and 4 got the remakes, not 5.

 

[Soliloquy]

I snagged Chrono Trigger for $15 which is a steal if you ask me.

A friend of mine got me the original SNES Chrono trigger for $2 from a swap meet.

So HA! HA I say!

Anyways, what are some good games for the DS? I've got no GBA slot so DS only titles. I was considering New Super Mario Bros and Children of Mana.

Mainly RPGish type guys or platformers are generally what I like in a handheld.

So, whats good for the DS?

Have you tried the Castlevania games? Because I always enjoy those.

 

[Shegokigo]

If you played Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on PSX and enjoyed it, you're only doing yourself a disservice by not taking the advice of Castlevania on DS.

I'd also second the Final Fantasy Remakes, especially Pt4 as it still remains my favorite "numbered" FF to date.

 

[figmentPez]

I loved Professor Layton and the Curious Village, and I'm going to pick up the sequel at some point in the future. If you're an adventure game / puzzle fan (not puzzle games, but puzzles like sliding blocks and riddles and such) then definitely grab it.

I also enjoyed LoZ: Phantom Hourglass, more-so than a lot of people, and I'm eagerly looking forward to grabbing LoZ: Spirit Tracks. (I tend to buy DS games when I'm going on a trip, or if I see them on sale.)

New Super Mario Bros is indeed an amazing game. I've played it through to 100% completion about 7 times now.

 

[Rubicon]

I'd recommend the two Mario Brothers RPGs (Brothers in Time, Bowser's Inside Story), as well as the remakes of Final Fantasy 3-4 and some of the Dragon Quest series. There is also a Shin Megami game on the DS that's pretty good, and The World Ends With You is a balls hard Square-Enix game. Contact is an interesting (it feels a lot like Earthbound, despite having a very different gameplay style) game made by Suda51 that you might find interesting too.

If your looking for stuff other than RPGs, I'd recommend the Professor Layton games, Elite Beat Agents, and Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime.

I've heard great things about Elite Beat Agents, I may pick that up, although since its a music game I cant play it at work which is where I'll do most of my DS gaming and I need to play with the sound off.

I took a look at The World Ends With You as per recommended, the gameplay looks awesome. Not sure about the art, its interesting, reminds me of Jet Set Radio art, but hey Square Enix makes good games so I'll be buying that one.

As for FF's, I know you guys love them, I've never played a FF game, ever. Mainly cause I cant stand the PSX and the entire PS franchise. I was going to play them back in the day when they were on the SNES but then they made the jump to the PSX and never came back (I never owned a PSX/PS2 so I missed out on a shit ton of FF's). I know they are each a self contained story right? But buying FF 3 or 4 without ever playing 1, 2 seems wrong

Right now my list to purchase stands at

The World Ends With You
Elite Beat Agents
New Super Mario Bros
Children of Mana

That should keep me occupied for a while.

Has anyone tried Golden Sun DS? I've got the 2 on the GBA, beat both of them, loved both of them. Is the DS one a 3rd game, like a sequel to 2? Or a prequel to 1? I just dont wanna rebuy a remake of them since I already own them in GBA form.

What about the Zelda games? Phantom Hour Glass? Spirit Tracks? Mario Kart?

 

[Zappit]

I snagged Chrono Trigger for $15 which is a steal if you ask me.

Anyways, what are some good games for the DS? I've got no GBA slot so DS only titles. I was considering New Super Mario Bros and Children of Mana.

Mainly RPGish type guys or platformers are generally what I like in a handheld.

So, whats good for the DS?

You may get bored with Children of Mana - fast. I've got it, and it's just a generic, overhead view level-grinder with little variety. Given a second chance, I'd pass. Try the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicle DS games first - they're in the same vein, but you'll probably get a bit more play out of them.

Mario Kart is excellent - can't go wrong.

The Puzzle Quest games will own your life for a few weeks - highly recommended.

 

[figmentPez]

But buying FF 3 or 4 without ever playing 1, 2 seems wrong

Seriously, you should not feel that way. I've never played FF2 or FF3, and I'd never recommend FF1 to anyone but a serious fan (even though I played it back on the NES and loved it). I have played FF4, though, and it's definitely a very good game. Aside from item, spell and enemy names common to the series, it has almost nothing in common with any other FF game (save the direct sequel, FFIV: The After Years). I haven't picked up the DS version (as I already have the SNES and GBA versions) but I've heard it's quite good.

Personally I'd advise against FF3 unless you're a hard-core RPG fan, from what I hear it's old school style and difficulty and I've skipped it because I'm just not into that type of game anymore.

 

[Shegokigo]

FF3 really isn't for the casual RPGer, you're right.

FF4 however, must be played by an RPG fan, period. It's second only to Lunar on my favorite ever list.

 

[Jay]

FF3 difficult? What??????

Jesus Christ.

 

[AshburnerX]

FF3 difficult? What??????

Jesus Christ.

It's because they re-scaled the monsters strength and got rid of some bugs or something. It's crazy hard... maybe not Persona or Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne hard, but it's still pretty damn hard for a Final Fantasy game.

 

[Shegokigo]

FF3 difficult? What??????

Jesus Christ.

You're probably thinking FF6 there Jay.

 

[AshburnerX]

FF3 difficult? What??????

Jesus Christ.

You're probably thinking FF6 there Jay.[/QUOTE]

That could be... though the FF6 remake for GBA WAS more difficult than the SNES version because they fixed the evade bug. It also had some new weapons, bosses, and Espers to compensate for it though.

 

[Shaw Coyote]

I'm gonna give a shout out for Etrian Odyssey. Simple graphics, but it's addicting as hell. I bought it for when I go on trips, but I've spent more and more time on it at the house.

 

[figmentPez]

FF3 difficult? What??????

"Team that with an already very difficult overall mechanic, and you've got a game that - while legendary for hardcore gamers - may be amazingly frustrating for the now mainstream Final Fantasy fan....
"The game is amazingly difficult, takes some serious strategy, and played the old Final Fantasy rules that had grown men throwing their controllers, and if you fit within that hardcore/masochistic group of gamers, don't pass Final Fantasy III up."
- IGN

"With all the jobs to play around with, and a sharp linear scaling difficulty, expect some grinding, which the game is happy to oblige you with since random encounters seem to happen at an extraordinary frequency. And while most battles are won on knowing which jobs to use and a bit of buffing-up, there’s also a degree of luck, like hoping a boss won’t use its mega attack three rounds in a row."
- Game Trailers


"There are loads of random battles, and many of the encounters you face in the game are quite challenging."
- Gamespy

"This is an RPG for dedicated RPG enthusiasts. Many gamers will give up after being annihilated by random encounters in an out-of-the-way corner of the second village; others will despair at being wiped out by powerful bosses after 30 minutes of dungeon exploration and no opportunity to save. Even those who make it to the end may be put off by the enormity (and difficulty) of the final dungeon, where more than a dozen insanely powerful bosses highlight constant encounters with random enemies that are nearly as tough."
- 1up.com

 

[Eliwood]

Has anyone tried Golden Sun DS? I've got the 2 on the GBA, beat both of them, loved both of them. Is the DS one a 3rd game, like a sequel to 2? Or a prequel to 1? I just dont wanna rebuy a remake of them since I already own them in GBA form.

What about the Zelda games? Phantom Hour Glass? Spirit Tracks? Mario Kart?

Golden Sun DS is not out yet, actually, but it will be a new game as far as I've heard. Since its announcement at E3, there's been very little news on it, though.

Spirit Tracks, again, is not out yet (Dec. 7th) but it looks really interesting--Zelda has a more active role this time around. If you want to test the waters, though, get Phantom Hourglass since it has the same control scheme and graphics and whatnot, and it's a great game itself.

Mario Kart is really good, though the online has kind of become a mess from people who cheat or snake. For playing with friends, though, it's a great multiplayer game.

 

[Krisken]

I hear the Chrono Trigger remake is pretty good.

... he mentioned he snaaged that already. [/QUOTE]
Yeah, I'm an idiot. Right there in the first sentence

 

[Jay]

FF3 difficult? What??????

"Team that with an already very difficult overall mechanic, and you've got a game that - while legendary for hardcore gamers - may be amazingly frustrating for the now mainstream Final Fantasy fan....
"The game is amazingly difficult, takes some serious strategy, and played the old Final Fantasy rules that had grown men throwing their controllers, and if you fit within that hardcore/masochistic group of gamers, don't pass Final Fantasy III up."
- IGN

"With all the jobs to play around with, and a sharp linear scaling difficulty, expect some grinding, which the game is happy to oblige you with since random encounters seem to happen at an extraordinary frequency. And while most battles are won on knowing which jobs to use and a bit of buffing-up, there’s also a degree of luck, like hoping a boss won’t use its mega attack three rounds in a row."
- Game Trailers


"There are loads of random battles, and many of the encounters you face in the game are quite challenging."
- Gamespy

"This is an RPG for dedicated RPG enthusiasts. Many gamers will give up after being annihilated by random encounters in an out-of-the-way corner of the second village; others will despair at being wiped out by powerful bosses after 30 minutes of dungeon exploration and no opportunity to save. Even those who make it to the end may be put off by the enormity (and difficulty) of the final dungeon, where more than a dozen insanely powerful bosses highlight constant encounters with random enemies that are nearly as tough."
- 1up.com[/QUOTE]


I loled so hard.

Thanks for the laughs. eace:

 

[AshburnerX]

Just one word of warning for Elite Beat Agents: If you want to unlock all the extra stages (there are three and you need to be Rank 6 or 7 to get them all), your going to have to get some long combos on Hard. I've had the game almost a year and I've only JUST gotten enough points for the second hidden stage... and Hard isn't even the final game mode!

 

[figmentPez]

I loled so hard.

Thanks for the laughs. eace:

Well, congradulations, you're better at FF3 than most gamers are. Feel good about yourself?

If the majority of reviewers feel the game warrants a warning about difficulty, I'm going to take their word for it, and warn those new to FF that the game requires a lot of level grinding, and my not suit their tastes.

 

[Zappit]

Can't believe I forgot - the Mega Man ZX games are pretty good - kind of a Super Metroid style exploration element to them.

 

[Jay]

I loled so hard.

Thanks for the laughs. eace:

Well, congradulations, you're better at FF3 than most gamers are. Feel good about yourself?[/QUOTE]

I could go into hours on how new generation gamers are being spoon fed a difficulty curve but I'll settle on feeling good about myself.

:horn:

 

[Zappit]

I loled so hard.

Thanks for the laughs. eace:

Well, congradulations, you're better at FF3 than most gamers are. Feel good about yourself?[/QUOTE]

I could go into hours on how new generation gamers are being spoon fed a difficulty curve but I'll settle on feeling good about myself.

:horn:[/QUOTE]

Back in my day, we didn't have no fancy polygons or textures! We just had text, and would type five miles in the snow just to get eaten by the grue. But that's the way it was and we liked it!

 

[JONJONAUG]

Just one word of warning for Elite Beat Agents: If you want to unlock all the extra stages (there are three and you need to be Rank 6 or 7 to get them all), your going to have to get some long combos on Hard. I've had the game almost a year and I've only JUST gotten enough points for the second hidden stage... and Hard isn't even the final game mode!

I just got the final rank in EBA today, 80 million points total takes a while to get and requires unbroken perfect combo streaks in almost every song in the two hardest difficulty settings.

Ouendan 1 and 2 are worth importing as well if you like EBA, even if the first game has a few really annoying things about it (no way of measuring difficulty or song order so if your copy is used you need a guide to check the song order, no skip cutscene button, dance moves aren't as good or detailed as EBA or Ouendan 2, and most of the art is substandard compared to the later two games).

You don't need to get really long combos to unlock all the special stages as long as you finish the game in all difficulties, but you need to buckle down hard if you want that bonus image.

If you want an RPG-ish game, I'd pick up SMT: Devil Survivor. It's a very good turn-based strategy RPG.

Also, read this

 

[Shegokigo]

I still think Jay is thinking of FF6 and not FF3.

 

[Jay]

Nope, there's no error on my part. I'm talking about the one where you started off as 4 orphans.... in which the DS version made them have more character depth.

Both are great games, only that in most of FF6 you don't get owned for sucking a dick for about 80% of its content.

Then the series went to shit... but that's another story.

 

[Rubicon]

So is it FF6 or FF3 thats insanely hard? I like hard RPG's, so whichever one is the omgwtf hard let me know and Ill check it out

 

[Jay]

FF3 is the harder one.

FF6 has the better storyline.

 

[AshburnerX]

Then the series went to shit... but that's another story.

FF7 was fine... not as good as 6, but had it introduced a lot of game play elements that made the series better on the whole.

FF8 suffered from budget cutbacks, a stat system too easily manipulated, poorly conceived characters, and a planned tie-in game that got shoe-horned into the main game, making the plot incomprehensible. It's the low point of the series... a still-born game that was thrown to the gaming public.

FF9 was a love song to the games pre-FF6. It had it's problems, but it was well made and had interesting characters... and at least it's love story had some actual development. Zidane was annoying as fuck though.

FFX is the mixed bag of the series. It had all of the character problems that FF8 had, but it's plot made sense and it had a great combat system. I also like that it's the only game in the series that doesn't have a happy ending. X-2 was... fucked up.

FFXI sucked.

FFXII is the rebirth of the series, in my opinion. Fresh gameplay... an epic story on a smaller scale, full of interest characters.

 

[Jay]

FF7 was the start of the decline of the series. It's not as terrible as I claim it to be, it's just that it was the start of the new direction of the fan base. Decent enough RPG however not comparable to the older versions.

FF8 just as you said. Halfway into the game, I wanted to staple my dick to the side of a burning farmhouse and let God judge me right there and then.

FF9.. was pretty decent, despite some characters sucking the proverbial dick. Then CD3 came along.... I cried. WHAT THE FUCK

FFX wasn't terrible. It was sorta playable, then it had the same sort of imbalanced crap that ruined the game for me (aka, i was able to make Lulu do melee attacks that would hit for max, damn she was hot). oh and blitzball was more interesting than the game, i'm SRS

FFXI ditto

FFX12 it was a new gen FF, i played it... and hated it. I don't like the new RP system where your players are controlled by "scripts". in dragon age, at least you can limit it, in FF12 you HAD to use them to actually play.... halfway into the game I didn't feel it at all as I felt I didn't truly control my party. combat was INCREDIBLY easy. otherwise, it was a step in the right direction but far from the awesomeness of ff6 and older.