Results seem somewhat mixed. I think it's probably more useful for the elderly than it is for kids where it's probably just noise to them, this is a Kotaku article I found on what French researchers did. Though that links to a Scotland article about how it worked well, so who knows? I guess it's a fun way to challenge yourself at worst.
I'm more interested in seeing if the concentration part actually works or not. That seems more like Simon or something, but varied approaches to that kind of game.
Over the past few years, I've found myself not being able to recall information I was just thinking about more often. "Absent-mindedness," so to speak. It's frustrating, as my good memory was always something that I was very thankful for. I can't tell if this game will help me get my memory back to the way it was, but I'd much rather try to do so then settle for the natural deterioration of it.
I'm doing 5-back fairly well now, for reference. Haven't gotten to the "it just pops in" level, yet, but just being able to competently do 5-back is astonishing to me after less than a week on the system. I feel like my focus is getting better, but it might also still be a placebo effect. It still feels nice, though.
Missed yesterday (busy in the evening, and was only able to get Fire Emblem in), so that'll probably be tomorrow. Will say that missing a day really messed me up. Devilish Calculations still stayed at 5-back, but it felt forced instead of how fitting it seemed previously. Now I know what the last Devilish Training will be, though. Devilish Reading takes forever on the higher levels. End up going 9 minutes or more on level 6/7 just to finish the test. Curious to see how Devilish Listening will be ...
Edit:
By the way, I think Brain Age 3D was originally intended to be a DSi game. An actual DSi-only game from Nintendo. Main reasons are that it started after the DSi was out (not conclusive, at all) and that the "Quit" button says to hit power to exit the software. Now hitting the power button does end the software, but it doesn't take you back to the menu. 3DS games say hit "Home" to go back to the menu, and DSi was the only system were you hit Power to go back to the menu. Therefore, I'm thinking this might've, at least briefly, been planned as a DSi game. If so, it would indicate at least some thought was put into making DSi a GBC in terms of some retail DSi-only games, too, before canning that to move stuff to 3DS.
Looking to get this as a download so it persists on the system. Only thing keeping me away is the $30 price tag. Is there enough there to warrant the $30?
Looking to get this as a download so it persists on the system. Only thing keeping me away is the $30 price tag. Is there enough there to warrant the $30?
At work I have to shift through several reports and look for information about them in different sources, so I usually keep checking the reports looking for details that escaped my memory. Since a few days ago I've started noticing that I don't need to check the reports as often since I now happen to remember those details, at least way more often than before.
Felt nice, I simply bought the game because the puzzles seemed interesting (devilish mice was as great as I thought) but it was cool to see it having an effect in real life
Reading those iwata asks, wow at the guy with the 20-back mind, 3-back is like a wall to me (though I can proudly track 5 mice, as long as they don't move fast), also:
Takahashi: We were tossing around the wildest ideas. Kitamura: We really were! (laughs) Iwata: What kind of ideas? Kitamura: Theyre a little embarrassing, but there was this ultra-cute anime-style character and you Iwata: An anime character? Kitamura: And you would help her develop . Iwata: In Brain Training? Kitamura: Yes. Iwata: Just what kind of audience were you going for? (laughs) All: (laughs)
Wow. Still hovering at 5-back/Fast 5-back, but can only sometimes get 4-mouse right (not the fast ones). I'm wondering if those two parts of the brain are opposed. On the day after I missed a day and was "off" in Devilish Calculations, Devilish Mice seemed easier than it had been.
Glad to hear some personal stories of it helping in real life, too, so thanks!
In that game I picture the shape of the mice on the grid and then follow how the shape changes, failing when the shape changes too quickly to track (especially when they mix how many animals enter the grid) or when a little Kawashima passes as a mouse.
The numbered cups work similarly for me (5-cups so far), I picture a thread going through the numbers and just follow all the twists it makes
For the numbers/shapes I can't think of anything but to try to remember a list and update it on the fly, which works well until 3-back. I've been getting better, but so far it's by entering a zen state of sorts that stops the moment I think consciously about the list I'm remembering and then forget everything.
Feels nice, like I'm just about to grasp something that will feel natural in hindsight
So I was walking though best buy today and saw this to my shock and confusion. Didn't realize this game had already come out. Will pick it up digitally to go along side my daily Layton puzzles
In that game I picture the shape of the mice on the grid and then follow how the shape changes, failing when the shape changes too quickly to track (especially when they mix how many animals enter the grid) or when a little Kawashima passes as a mouse.
I do something similar. Instead of a shape, just keep track of the relative position of the blocks. Sort of like keeping track of the corners of a square without seeing the square. When they have multiple come in or out at the same time is the critical point for me. Usually lose track of one or more about then. Computer crash?
I keep repeating the order and going through the order before the next shift. This has a definite disadvantage when there are 4-cups or more and especially when it goes to fast. Don't have time to go through the sequence before the sequence changes again.
I think in both of these, taking an holistic approach would probably be better instead of trying to keep track of the individual pieces. That's probably the zen-like state you're referring to.
And this is where keeping track of the pieces gets more useful, as there is no whole shape to watch. Probably why we're switched on the numbers vs. mice/cup results.
I've been getting better, but so far it's by entering a zen state of sorts that stops the moment I think consciously about the list I'm remembering and then forget everything.
That works for me with 2-back. The numbers are just there when I go to call them up. 3-back and above, have to consciously re-re-recreate a running list. If it crashes, then might miss 3/4 in a row recreating the list again.
So I was walking though best buy today and saw this to my shock and confusion. Didn't realize this game had already come out. Will pick it up digitally to go along side my daily Layton puzzles
Numbers could be really, really, really bad for this game in February's NPD results.
1) People don't know it's out, yet.
2) People who know/realize it's out also decide to get it on eShop instead of retail.
Hope Nintendo shares some %s/numbers for the digital side of sales for this game in U.S./NA.
Edit:
First month for Brain Age 1 was 90K (Apr-06), and it sold more the next month with NSMB's release, and doubled that in June with DSLite's release. No way Brain Age: Concentration Training does near that well in the current 3DS environment, but it'd be nice to think that the digital sales may actually be higher than the retail sales, if the retail sales are something paltry like 5K or below. :lol
Edit2:
Whoooa. If you finish at Level 8 in Devilish Reading and get both problems right, you stay at the same level!?! Just maxed the game. Never had a chance at 99-back, so cool that the other trainings aren't necessarily as "long-suffering." :lol
The more I play it, the more I like it. Specifically Block Head and the relaxation games. Blockhead would have made a good cheap downloadable, but I'm glad they stuck it in this compilation. Something is really different about the writing recognition software that they're using now. The same problems that Crosswords on 3DS has now Brain Age also has. Neither of the DS versions had it.
I was just trying the demo out. I liked BA but BA2 left a dull taste in my mouth. I was fine at 2-Back in the tutorial but when it came to the real thing the pressure was on and I flopped hard ;_; 5 minute sessions for this particular challenge sounds kinda excessive when compared to past BA challenges. Are others shorter/longer? An what is with them giving the doctor a voice and hands?! Somehow he seems less wacky now...
No, there's more to the game than just Devilish Training (though that is the main focus of this one), and there are more Devilish Training exercises than just Devilish Calculations. The official website has a lot of information about the game: http://brainage.nintendo.com
Yeah, all 8 or so Devilish exercises are 5 minutes, or until you finish the problems you're on. When you're doing them, they don't feel all that long or tedious. There's plenty of other exercises to do, some of which come from BA1 and 2, as well as some new stuff. What I dislike very much is how when you finish an exercise, it cuts you off from doing it again for the day. I also don't understand what the game considers a day. I've turned it on at 3:30am the next day and it still thinks it's the prior day. If it's not using the system clock, then I have no idea where it's getting the time from.
The fast versions are much more troublesome, too. Have to process the equation into the answer in your mental list of answers and then hope that your brain kept the equation he said while you were processing in memory so that it can be processed a second later.
As an aside since discussing the similarities between Mice and Cups before, have started separating the trainings into groups that I think match what they're doing better.
Math/Listening
Mice/Cups
Reading/Blocks
Shapes
That memory matching game
instead of going through them one after another. It's at least less switching gears for my brain to do it that way.
Did you edit this post? Read it differently before, and it didn't make much sense, then.
Still playing it everyday. If I do everything I want to in a day, it takes 1-2 hours, though, so have been just going with one Devilish Training per day + Brain Training. Trying to get some more of the low-hanging fruit achievements. Once that's over with, will do it more as desired for fun than for a goal.
I'm trying to at least boot up and do one training exercise (usually Devilish Pairs) every day, but to be honest the fact you have so much FILLER dialogue wears on me the most. Yeah yeah this is the perfect level blah blah blah, just shut up and give me the option to FULLY shut you up (turning appearance off still leaves text you need to fast forward through) unless you have something new to say. Which you usually don't after day 2 of an exercise.
I'm going to unlock this after using it for a month, aren't I?
Am I the only one who is better at Devilish Listening than Devilish Calculations? This game is great. I was worried about the price tag but the step up in content and presentation from the previous titles makes it worth $10 more to me.
Calculations: 4 Back
Pairs: Level 10
Mice: Fast 4-Mouse
Reading: Level 7
Shapes: Fast 3 Back
Blocks: Level 7
Cups: 6 Cup
Listening: 3 Back (my graph for this one is a straight horizontal line )
Am I the only one who is better at Devilish Listening than Devilish Calculations? This game is great. I was worried about the price tag but the step up in content and presentation from the previous titles makes it worth $10 more to me.
I'm trying to at least boot up and do one training exercise (usually Devilish Pairs) every day, but to be honest the fact you have so much FILLER dialogue wears on me the most. Yeah yeah this is the perfect level blah blah blah, just shut up and give me the option to FULLY shut you up (turning appearance off still leaves text you need to fast forward through) unless you have something new to say. Which you usually don't after day 2 of an exercise.
I'm going to unlock this after using it for a month, aren't I?
Well, he stops offering those tips after the second day or so, but I still feel it's annoying downtime that might well add a full minute to exercises supposed to just go for 5 minutes. Kind of like Nintendo's fixation on more talking in some games like Zelda infected this, when it's actually possibly one of the worst games to have it happen in. And it's certainly not going to feel more personal if I'm hearing the same lines for the millionth time.
It's text heavy in the beginning, because he's trying to explain the rules of the game. Afterwards, he throws in some brain tips and some standard brain information every once in a while, specifically when you start a new day, but I don't recall him every interrupting 5 minute game sessions outside of quick praise (for beating your record) or criticism (for retrying an exercise before finishing it).
As far as reviewers go, it's ranking a little below Brain Age 1/2. This is a very different title, though, with a focus on much harder stuff than just doing simple stuff quickly. There's still a separate section for doing the simple stuff quickly, but the main mode is much more demanding.
Love it. Love it even more since it's downloadable, so always on the system. Play the demo from the eShop for Devilish Calculations. There are several other Devilish Training exercises, but Devilish Calculations is a good representative example for the game. If that seems like something you'd want to try in a full game, I think you'll really appreciate the game, yes. Content-wise, it's heftier than Brain Age 1/2, as well.
Unfortunately, this one seems likely to sell much, much less. It's already way under the first two in Japan (not even to 250K, yet, when the others sold 4-5 million), and haven't seen much buzz for it on GAF (not a final say, but something). The fact it's downloadable and many who recognize its worth downloaded it also means NPD sales will be even lower. If the demo seems like something you could sink your teeth into, though, the game itself is extremely well put together. Achievements, tons of unlockables, encouraging commentator in the form of the doctor's disembodied head P).
Made it to 4-back finally, on my third day. My biggest problem with Calculations (specifically 3-back) is recovery. The moment I lose my focus and forget one, I have a tremendously difficult time getting back into the swing, and I end up missing most of the rest and generally drop down a level. At other times, I'll ace it. So, as a result, my performance tends to fluctuate a lot.
My biggest problem with Calculations (specifically 3-back) is recovery. The moment I lose my focus and forget one, I have a tremendously difficult time getting back into the swing, and I end up missing most of the rest and generally drop down a level.
Your mental computer crashed and all active RAM was wiped. They talked about that in the Iwata Asks, too. Happens to me, where I'll miss 4/5 in a row while I'm regenerating the list of answers and missing all those in the meantime. The key is to try to limit that to 1 or maybe 2 in a level to stay at the same level, at least. You don't have to be perfect, but just limit how many crashes you have.
Made it to 4-back finally, on my third day. My biggest problem with Calculations (specifically 3-back) is recovery. The moment I lose my focus and forget one, I have a tremendously difficult time getting back into the swing, and I end up missing most of the rest and generally drop down a level. At other times, I'll ace it. So, as a result, my performance tends to fluctuate a lot.
Can we talk about mental tricks for a minute, guys? Like, I need help with the following games: 1.) Devilish Pairs, 2.) Devilish Shapes, 3.) Devilish Cups
Devilish Pairs: I'm stuck on level 11, my girlfriend made it to level 13 without practicing. She says she can memorize 2 sets of 4 cards at one time (so, basically, she can retain 8 numbers in total at once). I can only memorize maybe 4 before the system starts breaking down, but there has to be a system. Once a number has been matched, I erase it from my head, but on level 11, those matches don't come as quickly and by the time one does, you've flipped over 5-7 numbers you need to remember.
Devilish Shapes: I give simple names to the shapes (e.g., star, bell, arrows, flag, etc), then try to memorize the names as they scroll off. Doesn't seem to be working, as I cannot get past 2-fast. Perhaps I should associate the shapes with numbers, or something else?
Devilish Cups: What a son of a bitch this game is. I've made it to 5-fast (girlfriend made it to 6, again without much practice). Now, she claims to have a system, but won't share it with me >:[. I pretty much try to keep track of 3 cups and then take a crapshoot on the last 2 (50/50). Who knows some helpful tricks with this one?
Can we talk about mental tricks for a minute, guys? Like, I need help with the following games: 1.) Devilish Pairs, 2.) Devilish Shapes, 3.) Devilish Cups
lol Can't be of much help since the tricks you do are similar to mine.
Devilish Pairs: I'm right there with you
Devilish Shapes: I've been doing the same thing by giving the shapes names and I finally got to 3 back. I don't know if it's the best way to tackle this though. I guess it just takes time. I do have a bad habit of focusing on picking the shape instead of looking at the next shape in the list. Obviously got better results when I do pay attention to the next shape even if by luck.
Devilish Cups: The thread trick that was mentioned earlier worked well for me. My tricks seem to grow with time. First it was keeping track of 3. Then I used the thread trick. Then I went to keeping track of the first 3 while being aware of the last one's position.
With all this stuff I try not to force it too much, and realize that it will take time.
D-Cal: 4-Back
D-Pair: Level 10
D-Mice: 5-mouse
D-Reading: Level 6
D-Shapes: 3 Back
D-Blocks: Level 7
D-Cups: Fast 6-cup
D-Listening: Fast 2-Back
lol Can't be of much help since the tricks you do are similar to mine.
Devilish Pairs: I'm right there with you
Devilish Shapes: I've been doing the same thing by giving the shapes names and I finally got to 3 back. I don't know if it's the best way to tackle this though. I guess it just takes time. I do have a bad habit of focusing on picking the shape instead of looking at the next shape in the list. Obviously got better results when I do pay attention to the next shape even if by luck.
Devilish Cups: The thread trick that was mentioned earlier worked well for me. My tricks seem to grow with time. First it was keeping track of 3. Then I used the thread trick. Then I went to keeping track of the first 3 while being aware of the last one's position.
With all this stuff I try not to force it too much, and realize that it will take time.
D-Cal: 4-Back
D-Pair: Level 10 D-Mice: 5-mouse
D-Reading: Level 6
D-Shapes: 3 Back
D-Blocks: Level 7
D-Cups: Fast 6-cup
D-Listening: Fast 2-Back
With the DS held a little further back than usual I try to imagine that the blocks with the mice are a different color than the others.
As the blocks slide, the moment I notice a mouse is about to get pushed out of the stack I immediately let it go and keep my attention on the ones that remain until the mouse returns to the stack.
I'm not sure if peripheral vision is the right term, but I try not to use 100% of my focus on one mouse. I kind of just keep my gaze over the entire area while focusing my mind on imagining blocks with the mice as different colors than the rest.
Am finding it easier to remember long numbers that cross my path during the day (7 or 8 digits) than I used to. Had even started finding myself switching some numbers despite not having a tendency for dyslexia previously. Now the numbers stay in "RAM" much easier and don't really get switched up anymore.
Still just doing a minimal amount of training a day to try to get to the 30-days straight of Devilish Training achievement. Will feel much less pressure to *have* to do it per day after that and can get back to just playing for fun without worrying about getting it in before midnight.
Having seen more people post their ranks, I'm even more convinced that Mice/Cups is a totally different way of thinking then most of the rest of the games. Good to know to help plan out tackling the trainings, I think.
