Did anyone get the new DS (1 Viewer)

[Adam Sanchez]

You're buying a few Wii games in preparation for getting a Wii? Did I understand that right?

I happen to have a DS Lite so I can still play GBA games, and I have the original Mario and Luigi RPG on my To-Do list so to speak. I never owned a GBA so when I got my Lite, it was like 2 new systems for me and I picked up all the best GBA games like the Metroids and Zelda.

Phantom Hourglass was the main reason I originally bought a Nintendo DS Spirit Tracks in December can't come fast enough. I just had to smile when they announced a second Zelda in a row for the DS.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Yeah, I don't know why everyone thinks that's weird. I am using my money for Christmas gifts, so I am waiting to buy the Wii. But, I know a family member is giving me three Wii games, and I've supplemented it with some others lest they disappear from the shelves (Trauma Center/Zack and Wiki pretty much already have). I'll get the Wii with Christmas money as a supplement and have several games right out of the gate.

I also bought my DS for PH.

 

[Adam Sanchez]

Oh I don't think it's weird, I just wasn't sure if I understood if that's what you meant is all. Sounds smart to get the games that might be gone soon. I've gotten a Ton of DS games from GameStop used because I just happened upon them and a lot are hard to find. Not too long ago I got Mega Max ZX basically on a whim, it was like $8 used, box and all so I snatched it up. Turned out to be a great game.

I remember right before I got my first DVD player, I bought a DVD. I REALLY wanted a player and nothing was going to stand in my way. I figured if I got the movie, I had to get a player!

Funny we are alot alike, you got a DS for Phantom Hourglass too huh? I meant it when I said that. At that time, I wasn't into video games AT ALL, but there is something about the Zelda games that I have to have them, whereas I'll even buy a system to play them on if I don't have it. I had gotten a Wii before all this and enjoyed Twilight Princess, but also The Wind Waker since the Wii was basically my first time owning a GameCube as well. I thought Wind Waker was WONDERFUL so when a sequel was announced, on the DS no less, I had to play it. I got a Ds awhile before PH actually came out, probably 6 months before. DS had this little side effect I didn't expect: It turned out to be a fantastic system with a ton of games I would like.

And here I am today with 50 games and 2 DS systems!

This is kind of random, but the Professor Layton games are must-haves. They are extremely well done and fun. I can't believe how long I hesitated to buy the first one, with how much I love it now.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I probably would have bought a DS anyway, since I'm into Nintendo's games like Zelda and Mario, but Phantom Hourglass is what made the decision for me. I got it right around the time the first previews hit, so I also had it in advance of the game's release. I think my first game was New Super Mario Bros, which would have been enough for me to buy the system on its own.

I had a GameCube at the time, but decided to pass on that version of Twilight Princess. So, I've been waiting a long time to play that one. I think the system seller for me, though, is Super Paper Mario. The GC Paper Mario is one of my favorite games of all time. I know Super isn't turn-based, but I expect I'll still have a lot of fun with it.

I've wanted the Prof. Layton games, too. I've put off Brain Age as well. I have a whole list of DS games I want. Right now, though, I'm playing Contra 4. It's tough, and you have to start over from the beginning every time you start, but it makes me an expert at each level by the time I move on.

 

[Adam Sanchez]

New Super Mario Bros WAS my first DS game and it sort of set the stage for what I was in for with the DS. The game was purely and simply FUN to me, and reminded me of the Nintendo days of Old. With it being an old school side-scroller, I imagine that was the point, but it worked in any case. I didn't get a damn that this game wasn't some flashy 3D thing, it was just FUN as hell. I remember having a job around that time and I would have my DS on with New Mario Bros and comstantly sneak off to breaks, flip the game open out of suspend and play for a few moments.

This will probably come as no surprise, but Twilight Princess the game I came home with along with my Wii the day I bought it.

Look online or on YouTube for a 99 lives trick in Contra 4. It's not the easiest thing to do, but sure helps if you can. That is one of my unfinisihed games I've sort of given up on for the time being. Fun but hard.

I'd recommend Henry Hatsworth to you, as it's also a very fun and funny game, it has this rediculous humor I can't describe but that game gets HARD too. But unlike Contra you can save and eventually beat it. It's also cheap now, $20, so add it to your to-get list. =)

 

[Greg_S_H]

New Super Mario Wii was another factor in my wanting the system. They could just keep making those games ad infinitum and I'd keep buying them.
I've heard of Henry Hatsworth and will probably get it eventually. Next up is Metal Slug 7 and maybe I'll finally try to track down Apollo Justice. I loved the first Phoenix Wright games, but I never finished the third. I think I played them too close together. I'll probably start it completely over at some point.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I got the new Zelda today. I've already played it for a while and it's fantastic. There were a couple of things that kept Phantom Hourglass from feeling completely like a Zelda game, but they seem to have been addressed. There are a lot more funny townpeople to talk to, for one thing. Also, the dungeons are classic Zelda.

There was one thing I was a little concerned about that worked out fine:

I'd read that Zelda was a Phantom (the big knights in the temple from PH), and I thought that would be too strange. Well, it turns out she is only in that form part of the time, and she keeps her personality besides. I guess she's sort of this game's version of the fairies, but it's nice to have someone along on the adventure.
I don't think it's a spoiler to say . . . well, I'll not assume anything. There's an item you get early on that favorably harkens back to past Zeldas:

A flute. You get to play a little music in this game, which always makes for some classic Zelda.

Finally, I have always heard "blow into the mic" in DS games. Until Spirit Tracks, I've always found that to be a myth. I seem to have to make noise for the mic to work. Well, you have occasion to blow into the mic here and it really works. Even a light puff makes things work. It's really cool.
All of the spoilers here are what I would consider very minor, but I don't want to take any chances.

 

[Adam Sanchez]

I got it too, day it came out as I knew I would the second it was announced. I more or less bought my first DS because a Zelda game was coming out, so this was an instant purchase for me simply because it's Zelda, my favorite series of all time.

Glad to hear people here like it. Other boards have people griping about the train or stylus control or something. People on the internet love to bitch, I swear. I rather just...enjoy things! =)

I agree with the item in your spoiler, I think it's done wonderfully on the DS and I missed having a Zelda game with one of THOSE type of objects.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Yeah, people love to complain. I'm having a lot of fun. I love the first quest item. That's always the cool part about a Zelda game: getting a new toy with every dungeon.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Have you finished the game, Adam? Do you know if you can continue playing after you win? I've got a handful of rabbits that are eluding me and I need to know if I better get them while I can or if I can get them later.

The endgame is pretty much open to me, and I'm finding the whole thing to be marvelous. One thing I didn't like about Phantom Hourglass was the lack of side quests and the fact that the villagers you did meet were mainly there to provide clues to the puzzle (or, at least, that's how I remember it). Here, I'm doing all kinds of things for the villagers. That's the best part of Zelda for me. Well, that and the temples, which are really good this time around.

What I really like is the fact that

Hyrule is starting to return to how it was in Ocarina, after the flooded state it was in in the previous couple of games. You've got the Goron mountains east of the castle, Link's woods to the SW, the Zora waterways in the SE and plenty of other signposts pointing to the Hyrule to come.
And, in just a few days, I'll have a Wii and will be able to finally play Twilight Princess! I may take a break from Zelda for a while and try some different games first, however.

 

[Adam Sanchez]

For reasons I can't quite figure out myself, I have not been in the mood to play Spirit Tracks in like 5 days now. I don't know why, just don't feel like sitting down with my DS lately. Though I know the moment I do, I'll remember how much I love Spirit Tracks, which I totally do.

I have the Collector's Edition Guide, don't know if I mentioned that and when I do play, I follow that sucker page by page. I want to get everything and make the game last. Maybe that's why I haven't played, I want to make it last. Haha.

So school is out for a few weeks and I finally broke down and turned my Warcraft account back on. REALLY hoping I can control myself. But my bother has been begging me to play. I haven't missed it in the nearly 8 months I've been gone, but I hope I can keep that in mind and keep it casual!

I do have still like 20 unfinished DS games. I want to try and finish SOME during my break.

Was gonna sit down with Zelda tonight but just feeling tired. Started watching Lost again as well, so that's taking up my time. I just started watching that show from the beginning not 6 months ago with my wife, and now I just feel like plowing through them...again,

Glad you are here to talk about Zelda. Makes me want to play.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I'm trying to avoid using a walkthrough with this game. I've consulted it for two minor things (one involved making sure a rabbit I was missing wasn't in a maze, as I wasn't doing that again needlessly), but I want to avoid that if I can. I recently played a game called Ultima Underworld 2 and I set out determined not to use a walkthrough. I ended up consulting it more frequently than I would have liked. You get stuck in a spot and say, "Just this one time," but it quickly becomes a crutch.

Actually, in the case of that game, it was sort of a necessity. There was a crucial quest item called basilisk oil that you HAD to have to finish the game. There were about five of them scattered througout the world, but they were unidentified! When you picked one up, it said, "You find a colorless potion." Colorless potions in the game generally give you health, so I drank every one I came across. Including all the basilisk oil. http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/images/smilies/doh.gif I used a walkthrough to go to every location to make sure I hadn't missed one, and I hadn't. Fortunately, someone made a game editor, so I was able to insert a bottle into the game and finish. Would have been about 20 hours down the drain otherwise.

Anyway, I've got four rabbits left to find. Then, it's off to fight what I think is the final battle. I'm lacking three heart containers, but I think I know how to get them. So, I'll try to do that before heading in.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Well, I finished this tonight, and the answer is you cannot keep playing after the end. You are prompted to save before the final battle, and once you win, you restart right before that save. So, if you have unfinished business, you can go and do it, but then you would have to refight the last fight. Or not, if you just want to mess around. I seem to remember a Zelda game or two where you could wander around after the credits rolled and be lauded by all the people of the game world. Heh.

 

[Adam Sanchez]

Really? I don't remember a Zelda game doing that. I know some give new quests, like the original, but don't remember talking to people. Grats on finishing it. I haven't played in a week now!

 

[Greg_S_H]

I don't know if any allow that. Maybe I'm thinking of San Andreas. But, maybe the Minish Cap? Maybe it allowed you to keep merging kinstones? I didn't get into that aspect as much, so I'm not sure. I could probably put the cartridge in and see. My old save should still be good.