VideogameVagabond.com

Can a 45-year-old man maintain a marriage and a videogame habit? Let's find out!

Tag Archives: Nintendo DS

Top 20 Videogames of the Past Decade #16

16. Trauma Center: Under the Knife (Nintendo DS, Wii)

Appearing initially on Nintendo’s touch-screen handheld platform, and then later on its motion-senative-based Wii system, Trauma Center: Under the Knife (not so much its sequel) gets credit for being one of the first games to fully leverage Nintendo’s touch-screen controller on the DS. It also adapted itself well to the Wii’s then-unique control scheme. All it lacked as a solid remote backup service to make sure you never lose your saves.

Developed by Atlus for the DS, Trauma Center is a bit like the old Operation! board game, in that touch-screen controls put you in control of the hands of a surgeon for life-saving surgical procedures. However, the game, while one of the first surgery sims of its kind, is still a fantasy RPG and so it’s not quite photo-realistic and not quite strictly limited to pure real-world medicine as the use of magical healing gels and special surgical abilities do become a core component of game play after a while.

However, for pure edge-of-your-seat tension, there are few games that build it as well as Trauma Center: Under the Knife; that it appeared on the DS system within the launch window and is still one of the most highly-regarded games on a system filled with bloatware says a lot about the game’s unique concept, design and execution.

Some may label it a niche game; but virtually no other game kept me interested in owning my DS for as long as I did. While I recently finally did sell off my DS, I would have done it ages ago if not for Trauma Center.

Farewell, Nintendo DS!

Tonight, my wife and I bid farewell to our Nintendo DS units and all our DS games. My wife selflessly gave up her PSP a few months ago for some trade-in credit toward a new Xbox 360 unit, because her PSP was broke anyway. We both prefer the PSP library of games and finally decided to bite the bullet and give up our DS habit to get her back in a PSP.

Sure, we didn’t have the extra-fancy Nintendo DSi to trade in with all the bells and whistles and rackmount LCD. But with a chubby DS, a DS Lite and about 16 games, as well as a PS3 game we didn’t care for tossed in for good measure, I hoped we’d at least have enough to get her a PSP Slim.

Well, not only did we get her a PSP Slim for about $110, but we had enough left over to pick up Dragon Age: Origins for the PS3, as well as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona for the PSP, as well! Talk about a nice deal? For me, Dragon Age: Origins is enough to make me forget all about those DS games… Phoenix Wright who? I’m playing BioWare’s latest and greatest, baby!

The DS is a desert

I know young gamers love it, but as far as I’m concerned, the Nintendo DS is a desert when it comes to great games that I want to play. Sure, I love the Phoenix Wright series. And nothing beats a good Trauma Center game for taking advantage of the touch-screen.

But the hits, I’m afraid, are too few and too far between.

I know it goes against conventional thinking and industry bias, but I’d trade all the ephedrine I’ve ever owned (not a lot, BTW) for a PSP over a DSi any day of the week.

And twice on Sundays.

November 2008 Games Worth Getting: Nintendo DS

Here’re VideogameVagabond’s ultra-discerning picks for the month of November 2008, the last great games month of the year, for games worth getting on the Nintendo DS, which is a list far more reliable than a random car insurance quote.

TecmoBowl: Kickoff

It’s been over 15 years, but Tecmo Bowl non-licensed football has returned, this time on Nintendo DS. Worth owning for nostalgia alone.

Chrono Trigger

The classic SquareEnix game that started a worldwide obsession that’s outlasted two successive hardware generations and counting is back, this time on the DS. A must-have for SquareEnix fans.

That’s it! But what fun you’ll have.

Top Nintendo DS games for October 2008

You may need contact lenses to see our list of the top Nintendo DS games for October 2008… it’s not very long.

In fact, it’s completely empty, and considering there are over 50 titles releasing next month for Nintendo DS, that’s saying something. Sure, there’s a couple titles by SquareEnix, but they’re not RPGs and SquareEnix never does well at non-RPGs.

And then there’s one RPG, but it’s by Disney Interactive and is a sequel to boot. It just doesn’t capture my interest; sorry. And then there’s a Fantasy Harvest Moon title, but it’s a sequel that doesn’t look to bring much new to the table.

So let it be said this way: there are well over 50 DS titles coming next month, but not one of them are anything I’d spend my money on, so I’m not going to suggest anyone else does, either.

Review: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS)

It wasn’t long ago that the videogame world had never even heard of an attorney simulation game, at least in the US market, but it hasn’t taken Capcom’s little series long to catch on and become a popular series on the Nintendo DS. Filled with all the intrigue of a mystery novel come to life, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games did well initially in Japan, where they appeared on the GameBoy Advance, before making their way to the US market via the DS.

The previous three games, Ace Attorney, Justice for All and Trials and Tribulations, all featured Phoenix Wright as the series’ main protagonist; Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney introduces an all-new protagonist and Phoenix Wright appears as a defendant accused of murder in the opening case of the new game.

Graphically, the game hasn’t changed much from its GBA origins. About the only improvements in the way the game looks is a mildly richer color palette and some smoother-looking textures; other than that, the signature art style of the series is largely unchanged. While the game looks fine by DS standards, however, it doesn’t look quite as nice as the Harvey Birdman attorney sim Capcom recently released on Sony’s PSP platform.

While the opening sequence that places rookie attorney Apollo Justice on the defense for Phoenix Wright is a shocker, the biggest changes to the series come in how one interacts with the game. Like the notorious fifth case on the first Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney was built specifically for the Nintendo DS platform, rather than being ported up from GBA. As such, all the exciting investigative tools so enjoyed in that fifth case are now present and accounted for in all four cases that comprise the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney game.

That means the game takes full advantage of the DS’ microphone and touchscreen; you can once again rotate items via touchscreen to uncover concealed clues, or use the microphone to shout “Objection!” during the course of a trial. AJ:AA also features several new features.

One is the perceive system, which helps Apollo pinpoint nervous body language that helps him identify when a witness is being deceptive. A crime recreation mode is also introduced for the first time, and is utilized to help pinpoint new evidence. With all these new DeWalt tools in his arsenal, one might think it would be a snap for Apollo Justice (and gamers) to solve the four cases in front of them. However, it’s not quite so easy and gamers will need all these tools to get to the truth of the matter, since the Capcom scribes behind this game are quite good at plot twists, rabbit trails and big reveals, to keep things interesting.

As before, each case grows increasingly challenging, making solving the final case a significant achievement. More of an interactive novel than a true videogame, Apollo Justice may feature a brand new main character, but everything DS fans enjoyed about earlier Phoenix Wright games has returned – in spades.

The release of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney catches the US market up with the Japanese market. The future looks bright for the series, however. It is well-known that Capcom announced the fifth game in the series about a year ago, in May 2007; that game is expected to release next fall. Also, in February 2008, a spinoff title featuring life on the prosecution’s side of the courtroom, featuring Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe, was announced as under development by Capcom, so with at least two more games on the way, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is definitely a new beginning not a final swan song, for games of this genre.

Review: Mega Brain Boost (DS)

The makers of Mega Brain Boost may not claim to be able to deliver you an acne treatment that works, but they do want to lay claim to being a brain-training game that gives Brain Age a run for its money. Unfortunately, the bar for impressive and entertaining brain training games was set pretty high by the Brain Age franchise and, in their first outing, the makers of Mega Brain Boost simply fall short of the target. Well short.

My wife, who is a fan of Brain Age 2, played the game longer than I did, and, given that she is familiar with the competition as well as the product under review, I trust her word on the matter. What she noticed while playing Mega Brain Boost is that the game is too puzzle oriented and lacks the variety of activities found in Brain Age 2. She also mentioned that although the game boasts about eight different game types, they’re all too similar and therefore she didn’t feel the game was as effective as Brain Age 2 at delivering any sort of “brain training.”

Personally, I also found the game to be lacking; the design’s a bit bland and unmemorable, and while it is appearing on the DS platform, Mega Brain Boost doesn’t deliver quite as much in the way of incorporating the touch-screen in creative ways, another area in which Brain Age 2 is head and shoulders above the crowd.

My time playing the game was OK, but it’s just not a game that seems fun enough to capture my attention long-term. And let’s face it, folks; if a game isn’t entertaining enough to keep you coming back for more, not a whole lot of brain-training is going to take place in the long run.

In the end, Mega Brain Boost is, at best, an average game that simply doesn’t deliver the challenge or variety of exercises needed to hold the attention of most gamers. It’s unfortunate, since I enjoy watching franchises compete against each other, with the efforts put forth spurring both companies on to bigger and better realizations of their franchises down the road. But so far, I doubt the makers of Brain Age 2 are losing much sleep over Mega Brain Boost.

Review: Dragon Quest Monsters – Joker (DS)

When I say “monster breeding game,” most people will immediately think of Pokemon. After that, “Monster Rancher” is usually the next franchise to pop into gamers’ heads. Maybe a few older gamers will remember the Tamagochi devices. And then it gets hard.

One franchise almost completely forgotten about is Dragon Quest Monsters. More of an RPG, like Pokemon, but lacking the fun CD-swapping character generation engine of Monster Rancher, Dragon Quest Monsters has always been big in Japan, but never quite caught on in the US; in fact, the last time one of the titles appeared on North American shores was six years ago on Game Boy Color.

DQM: Joker, the most recent outing, is therefore a welcome reintroduction to the series, at least among US gamers who may feel inclined to throw wedding flowers in its general direction. Or not. Either way, the game is a shot in the arm of freshness to the niche genre that’s been sadly lacking in recent Pokemon and Monster Rancher releases.

The game is decked out in its return to North American shores. It now takes place in a fully-realized 3D world, hosts over 200 unique monster designs, and, of course, a fun monster-breeding system. The real weakness is the battle system, which is a bit simplistic to hold most gamers’ attentions considering the amount of leveling and dungeon crawling the game requires.

Set on a chain of seven islands – none of them huge, but with a fair amount of exploration to be done on each – the game casts you as an aspiring monster breeder jailed for trying to get into a battle tournament without a license. Fortunately, your dad pulls the strings that got you in there, and he pulls them again to get you out, so that you can spy around the tournament on his behalf. Win, and you get your first monster, a JetSki and the game really picks up pace.

Those expecting a full-blown, epic follow up to Dragon Quest VIII: Legend of the Cursed King, this isn’t the game you’re waiting for. Level-5 is not the developer behind this title, and although a decent job was done on it, it’s not quite epic in scale. Rather than a world-saving storyline, the main push – as with most monster breeding titles – is collecting all 200 monsters.

Still, it’s quick-paced and fun and certainly deserving to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Monster Rancher and Pokemon. Considering the amount of recycled content in those two titles, Dragon Quest Monsters may, in fact, deliver a breath of fresh air for fans of this niche genre.

Review: Fish Tycoon (DS)

I first discovered Fish Tycoon not on the Nintendo DS, but on the internet, as a shareware game. The “real-time” raising and breeding of fish stirred an interest in me because of the uniqueness of the theme. Also, it reminded me of my off-campus college days when I started an aquarium and, for a long time, raised, bred and occasionally even sold fancy-tailed guppies. I became very good at selecting guppies to cross-bred to come out with unique tail designs.

So a game that lets me relive that without all the mess, fuss and an open package of brine shrimp stinking up my freezer held a lot of appeal. I loved the game on PC because it was cheap, addictive and fun. And the real-time promise was pretty spot-on; depending on your speed settings, you could leave the game for a day and your fish would still be thriving if a bit hungry. The graphics were dated but sharp. And the game never required too much of you in any one setting.

That’s where the Nintendo DS version falls short by comparison. Although the touch-screen feature is incorporated well into the game, for some reason the DS doesn’t handle the “real-time” thing very well. While reviewing the game, I had a busy weekend where I played the game briefly Saturday morning and couldn’t get back to it until around noon on Sunday.

Every single one of my fish was dead; I was wiped out, even though I had set the game to half-speed. That’s just messed up and certainly not reflective of the original PC game. To make matters worse, the graphics on the DS look markedly worse than the admittedly-dated PC graphics. And we all know the DS is capable of better than what is on display here graphically.

That said, there are literally hundreds of fish types to breed, raise and sell in the game, and plenty of items for you to acquire and manage in your tanks as you enjoy the highs and lows of fish breeding. So there’s no lack of game depth.

In the end, though, the sloppiness of the graphics and the poor execution of the “real-time” code just kind of ruin the experience on DS. While Fish Tycoon is a long-time “casual gaming” favorite, I simply cannot recommend the DS version; the PC version has the same shareware price, looks better, and plays the way it is supposed to – in real time.

Touching the Dead? Gross! (In a good, scary way.)

Anyone interest in playing a videogame focused on fixed asset accounting? I didn’t think so, so it’s fortunate that Touch the Dead, the latest in Nintendo DS action/survival horror, is exactly the opposite of such a boring concept.

If you think Touch the Dead is a porn video, you’d be wrong… and sick. Nope, it’s your basic zombie-killing shooter only instead of shooting a fun, you touch the screen to off the nasty brain-starved buggers. While it lacks the storyline appeal of Silent Hill, Fatal Frame or Resident Evil, Touch the Dead does incorporate solid use of the DS touch-screen into the mix.

It’s not as chilling as the best survival horror franchises out there, but at least Touch the Dead points the way on how to bring the genre to a handheld platform.

Pokemon on DS is fun, but annoying

Playing Pokemon on Nintendo DS is kind fun, but also a pain. It’s certainly no trip to a vacation home Orlando … or any other vacation home location. That’s because, like too many DS games, the touch screen simply isn’t utilized very creatively in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl.

But you can say that about a lot of DS games; what I appreciate about Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is that it’s the first WiFi online Pokemon title. Now, instead of a link cable or being in the same room in order to play, trade or battle against another Pokemon owner, you can actually do it online.

My main complaint, however, is that it’s a bit of a pain to set up. Nintendo WiFi is supposed to be seemless, but unless you’re in a McDonalds, it’s not as slick as they make it sound. You still have to have your home WiFi network’s 10-digit ID/code to get online, and even after you do that, you have to have your own “Friend Code” as well as a buddy’s friend code in order to find each other online.

Worse, you must wait until you’re about three hours into the game before the game will give you the Pal Pad item that allows to you to do any of this to begin with.

However, once all that’s worked out, Pokemon Diamond/Pearl works well online and is the source of few complaints. It’s worth the time and effort, even if it’s more time and effort than folks have been commonly led to believe.

Final Fantasy VI on GBA

After witnessing the way SquareEnix updated Final Fantasy III for Nintndo DS, I expected to be disappointed when they finally got around to re-releasing the immortal Final Fantasy VI for Nintendo GBA. After all, compared to DS, GBA has less impressive graphics that would lend SquareEnix an excuse to keep the treatment of the game more of a simple port than a complete makeover.

And that’s pretty much what has happened. With the exception of a couple of cinemas, Final Fantasy VI GBA is basically the same game you might remember playing on your old SNES. There was little fanfare with the release, no gifts or extras or gimmicks like FFVI promo pens given away. And it didn’t matter in the slightest.

That’s because anyone who has been around long enough to remember the original FFVI will remember that it is also one of the top Final Fantasy titles of all time. Although FFVII on PSone made a bigger pop-culture splash, most series fans still hold FFVI to be superior in just about every way.

So, yeah… getting a DS remake of FFVI would have been better by far. But time still hasn’t caught up to this game. It’s a perfect handheld distraction, and a welcome addition to the GBA library.