I'm buying a DS Lite - I need your info / experiences please

[ivotedforkodos]

I'm going to buy a DS Lite. I need some info for all you folks who already have one if you'd be so kind. I'm aware of the dead pixles and cracked hinges and all that, but I guess my biggest concern is if I need screen protectors or not. I've heard conflicting info about this and would like to hear some personal stories. Any other pointers or tips you cuold give me would be greatly appreciated also!

[8-bitNesMan]

I don't think so. I've had a regular DS for over a year and my screen is fine. I've played mine a lot too. The stylus is really good about not scratching the screen. If you use your fingers for the touch screen you will get prints and smudges on it, but the screen cleans up well with a soft non-abrasive cloth. It's really up to your personal preference, but I wouldn't call them a must-have item.

[DocRamon]

i have 4 systems, 2 regular and 2 lites, one since launch day... never had a screen protector, and never gotten a scratch on any of them. they get a little smudged up from use, but they're easy to clean off.

unless you plan on abusing it, i think they're unnecessary. when you're playing, just be aware that you're using a well built touch screen... and pushing harder isn't gonna matter in the game.

[Simulated Stereo]

Like the other posters said, there isn't really any need for worries if you take care of your stuff. If you don't abuse the screen, it will be fine. Screen protectors usually make the screen look like garbage anyway, I wouldn't bother with one.

Enjoy! The system has great, great titles.

[ivotedforkodos]

thanks everybody, i can't wait. Simulated, the offbeat titles are what finally sold me on it, like Trauma Center and Cooking Mama. I played the heck out of my GBASP and figured this is the next logical step. Any other must-buys?

[staxx]

I prefer screen protectors myself but I only will get the Hori or Martin Fields brand (those are the best in my opinion). I have had my stylus scratch on one of my launch DS (fat version). I used it to play Castlevania and there isn't even much of stylus usage but there was a hairline scratch. The scratch was only visible when I held it at an angle. If you don't care about hairline scratches then don't get the protectors. Plus if the protectors can be a pain to put on without dust if you dunno the shower steam trick and a can of compressed air.

[Alucard79]

thanks everybody, i can't wait. Simulated, the offbeat titles are what finally sold me on it, like Trauma Center and Cooking Mama. I played the heck out of my GBASP and figured this is the next logical step. Any other must-buys?

A must buy would be Castlevania Dawn Of Sorrow. I bought a Onyx DS Lite and 13 games for it at Best Buy the other day. I opened Dawn Of Sorrow first to check it out, and I can't put it down to try out any other games. If you like the off-beat stuff like Cooking Mama and Trauma Center, from what I hear, you may like Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney or maybe the dating simulation game Sprung.

[DocRamon]

ok... offbeat stuff... other than the mentioned cooking mama, trauma center, phoenix wright...

i know animal crossing isn't really different now that we've had the gamecube version, but this is still a title worth checking out... online experience adds a lot, the title feels better on the ds, and it's still just a bizarre little game to play.

the brain training games are both good and unique... brain age or big brain academy... pick one. you'll probably get more play time out of big brain academy, but i think brain age is the better game, personally.

contact is a quirky rpg... lots of fun, and pretty different than the standard games you might be used to playing.

electroplankton isn't for everyone, but it's the epitome of offbeat... there isn't anything quite like it, but you have to understand what you're getting... no objectives, no point, just goofing around for no reason. some find it relaxing, some find it boring... but worth a shot if you're into those 'different' kinda games

kirby canvas curse takes the touch screen concept and the standard action platformer to a new level... great game that combines traditional gaming elements with the innovative things that make the ds so cool

feel the magic and rub rabbits are similar to cooking mama in that it's pretty much just minigames, but presented in a way (storyline, themes) that makes them all surreal to play.

pac-pix is short, but should also be pretty cheap by now. it's a cool and creative twist on a classic. lots of fun, but should have been fleshed out more. still, it's worth taking a look at if you're into the games that are just unlike other things available on the market.

and although they're not all necessarily "offbeat" really, any of the touch generations titles might be worth your time, simply because they're all pretty unique to the system... true swing golf, clubhouse games, nintendogs... depending on what you're into, they each have value.

[jajaja]

thanks everybody, i can't wait. Simulated, the offbeat titles are what finally sold me on it, like Trauma Center and Cooking Mama. I played the heck out of my GBASP and figured this is the next logical step. Any other must-buys?

Check:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=94317

[Simulated Stereo]

Meteos
Kirby Canvas Curse
Trauma Center
Phoenix Wright
Castlevania (the new one is just around the corner)
Mario Kart
Mario and Luigi 2
Sonic Rush
Metroid Prime
New Super Mario Bros.
Feel the Magic
Yoshi Touch & Go
-------
There are tons of new titles coming out (or are already out) that look great though. Final Fantasy 3 looks to be a must-buy.

[petewhitley]

or maybe the dating simulation game Sprung.

I wouldn't wish that torture on anyone. I love dating sims, but that might just be the worst game I've played in the last few years.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I bought a set of Hori screen protectors when I first got my DS Lite because people said they were so great. ONce I had them together with the system, though, I noticed that they didn't entirely cover the screen--there would have been a small gap left around them, which especially on the bottom screen seems like it would have just been a dust trench and I'd also heard that they were really hard to remove, so I was hesitant to install them. Then my system developed a cracked hinge and so I decided not to put them on since I'm planning on sending my system into Nintendo for a replacement shortly before the warranty runs out anyway. In the five months that I've had my DS and used it frequently, I haven't gotten any scratches, not even the little hairline numbers that can only be seen from special angles. On the other hand, I hear from people that use the Hori screen protectors that they DO get scratched and have to be replaced every so often. Bah.

As for games, I really love Cooking Mama, it's got such a great atmosphere. Yoshi Touch & Go is also a lot of fun, though the new Yoshi's Island will hopefully develop the same concepts into more of a full game. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is a really cool rhythm game which is soon to be localized as Elite Beat Agents, though it's going to be heavily changed and maybe not for the better, so the Japanese version may still be better. Aside from those, I haven't been so impressed with most of the touchscreen-centric games like Trauma Center, Wario Ware Touched or Feel The Magic. My favorite games on the system so far have been New Super Mario Bros and Castlevania Dawn Of Sorrow which aren't really quirky and barely use the touchscreen, but are superb games.


...word is bondage...

[Alucard79]

or maybe the dating simulation game Sprung.

I wouldn't wish that torture on anyone. I love dating sims, but that might just be the worst game I've played in the last few years.


hmmmm.... maybe that's why it was $2.47 at Sears :hmm:

[cyberfluxor]

Final Fantasy III
Children of Mana

Those are 2 cool RPGs that you should also pick up. The FF3 redux is just looking great, that's why I made sure to reserve it, along with the new Castlevania comming out in December.

As for accessories to buy, only thing I've gotten is a carry case which I bought on eBay for $12 shipped from Hong Kong. It's worked real well and protects my system, nothing too fancy like what they have at Game Stop or Best Buy.

[Jorpho]

Final Fantasy III
Children of Mana

Children of Mana, at least, seems to be getting mixed reviews. And to strongly endorse an unreleased game from pictures and videos alone has always struck me as most fallacious.

Has anyone bothered with homebrew stuff? It seems there are many options out there, and many of them are fairly pricey.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I'm a huge fan of homebrew on all systems, so pretty much the first thing I did after getting my DS was look into the different flash carts available and I ended up getting both a G6 Lite and a Supercard SD.

The G6--like all the other carts that have onboard memory--is somewhat expensive, I suppose, but well worth it for all the homebrew games and apps and emulators (not to mention *cough* pirated games) it allows you to play. About $80, plus $20 or so for the passcard that you need in order to load DS stuff from the GBA slot.

If $100 is too much, the Supercards and other carts that use SD, CF or MicroSD memory cards are generally cheaper. The one I have that just takes normal SD cards is rather large, though, and the CF ones are even bigger. The Supercard SD sticks out of my DS Lite about an inch or maybe a little less. At first I thought that would be unacceptable (I mostly only bought the Supercard because I got it for dirt cheap), but I've found that it actually makes the DS easier to hold in touchscreen games since it gives you a sort of handle to wrap your fingers around. The carts that take MicroSD cards are smaller, though, in fact there's ones available that don't stick out of the DS Lite at all. The MicroSD devices seem to be slightly more expensive than the CF or regular SD carts, but still cheaper than the ones that use fixed memory.

Aside from price, the other advantage of carts that take memory cards is that you don't have to worry about space. The G6 is only 512MB, whereas I have two 1GB SD cards for my Supercard and could get more if I wanted or even go with a 4GB card or something. The Supercard also has better compatibility with homebrew stuff because its FAT system is open-source, so homebrew coders are able to read and write from and to the card, which they can't do with the G6. G6 has a much nicer interface though, it's fully touchscreen compatible and you can have icons next to the games and such things. Overall, I'd say the Supercard is better, but I'm glad I have both actually.

There's also some new devices coming out that don't use the GBA slot at all, they fit entirely in the DS slot and are no bigger than regular DS games. There's fixed memory as well as MicroSD card ones available. Pretty amazing, but they're not really as good in my opinion as the older GBA slot carts since they can't be used for GBA stuff at all and there's a ton of great homebrews on the GBA, too.

The DS homebrew scene is really cool, though. Very active and some totally impressive stuff has already been released. Emulation has been a disappointment so far, but there's some excellent original games and some good PC ports. Plus, there's the vast GBA homebrew scene that I've barely even started to look into yet.


...word is bondage...