Support NeoGAF

[seismologist]

I can live with the controls in Mario.

The colors look a little washed out though. More than I remember on the N64 version. Otherwise thanks to the small screen the 3D could easily pass for slightly below Gamecube quality.

 

[lexi]

The killer feature really is the Sleep mode, I'm playing Mario, and every so often responding to AIM's, posting on GAF. It's awesome to open up the system and have it on instantly where I left off.

 

[Tenguman]

just got mine!
and it's charging! woohoo! *cough* -- I haven't played it yet...just doing the initial charge.

anyway, reading the manual checking out the thumbstrap and stylus

first -- the stylus is DIFFERENT from the ones they use on displays. This one is lighter and more "pointy". My issue with the stylus on the display was that it was hard to see where you were pointing to with it....but this one is more thin and has a definte point to it.

IGN complained the thumbstrap's strap would get in the way...but if you connect the strap to the DS, it won't get in the way. I just wish there was more length to it

The game cases rock!

 

[lexi]

Charging took shorter than expected, Less then 2 hours for a total charge, and for about a quarter of that time I was playing with the System on, messing around with the available minigames, etc.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Just got mine from Futureshop in Vancouver with Mario. There were about 20 people hanging around outside before it opened (met a couple of cool guys..could even have been from this forum I suppose), and basically we just all grabbed the systems off the stand at the same time. Honestly, it was like some sort of synchronized hand dance in there.

Within about...3 minutes of the store being opened, the shelves had emptied of DSs. I saw them bring out another batch and put them up, but I'd be surprised if they aren't gone now.

I haven't played it yet though, it's charging. Impressions soon (or in 4 hours if the manual is correct on charge time).

 

[Scalemail Ted]

:*-(

I am at work. I will not get out til 7pm. My pre-ordered DS will have to wait til tomorrow.

I am sad.

 

[Mejilan]

Charging took shorter than expected, Less then 2 hours for a total charge, and for about a quarter of that time I was playing with the System on, messing around with the available minigames, etc.

It probably came with a partial charge. My SP did.

 

[ManaByte]

Otherwise thanks to the small screen the 3D could easily pass for slightly below Gamecube quality.

Ladies and gentlemen, the old gigadent has finally returned.

If you honestly believe SM64 DS looks slightly below GameCube quality, you are so high on crack I don't know what to say.

Spider-Man 2 is actually very impressive running at 60fps. The game is FAST.

 

[Scalemail Ted]

Ladies and gentlemen, the old gigadent has finally returned.

If you honestly believe SM64 DS looks slightly below GameCube quality, you are so high on crack I don't know what to say.

Spider-Man 2 is actually very impressive running at 60fps. The game is FAST.

Did you pick up Spiderman 2...I was interested in it...is it worth picking up?

 

[sprsk]

i got mario and feel the magic.

both are really fun.

 

[ManaByte]

Did you pick up Spiderman 2...I was interested in it...is it worth picking up?

I got Mario, Feel the Magic, and Spidey (since I didn't get the GBA version). Spidey is basically a Spider-Man sidescroller in 2.5D. Very very fast.

 

[seismologist]

I'm hooked on the Mario Mini games. I like the one you pick their faces out of a crowd. This is a nice preview of Wario Ware DS is probably like

The killer feature really is the Sleep mode, I'm playing Mario, and every so often responding to AIM's, posting on GAF. It's awesome to open up the system and have it on instantly where I left off.

Yeah sleep mode is pretty neat. Mario I like how Mario says "goodbye" when you close your DS.

If you honestly believe SM64 DS looks slightly below GameCube quality, you are so high on crack I don't know what to say.

It does to me. It looks like a scaled down GC game. I could easily see something like Eternal Darkness running on this. Probably not F-Zero though.

 

[Amir0x]

I can live with the controls in Mario.

The colors look a little washed out though. More than I remember on the N64 version. Otherwise thanks to the small screen the 3D could easily pass for slightly below Gamecube quality.

What the!? Jesus Christ no!!

There's no possible way you can even remotely think that, unless - as Manabyte put it - you are so high on crack that you should put yourself in a clinic immediately for fear of death.

 

[Kon Tiki]

What the!? Jesus Christ no!!

There's no possible way you can even remotely think that, unless - as Manabyte put it - you are so high on crack that you should put yourself in a clinic immediately for fear of death.

Or he has only played Animal Crossing and Cubivore.

 

[ManaByte]

It does to me. It looks like a scaled down GC game. I could easily see something like Eternal Darkness running on this. Probably not F-Zero though.

...

 

[Tenguman]

The colors look a little washed out though. More than I remember on the N64 version.

Actually I think it's more of a change of color palette in the textures. The grass in the first area used to be luigi-green, but now it's slightly closer to natural grass.

 

[duderon]

It does to me. It looks like a scaled down GC game. I could easily see something like Eternal Darkness running on this. Probably not F-Zero though.

The mods should change your name back to Gigadent now. :/

 

[Amir0x]

Or he has only played Animal Crossing and Cubivore.

:lol

Seriously, seismologist for ultimate wrong. This is not even a matter of opinion, jesus.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Ok, put more time into it after some hours of metroid prime 2, finally sat down, attached the wrist wrap on the DS as it should be, adjusted it around my thumb and gave mario64's touch control a try, and im now a believer, its probably odd at first because you dont actually have any feeling on your thumb that you're moving it around a screen, the surface is so smooth that it there's no feel to it and it might be hard to judge where you're positioned on the screen, but after getting some hand eye coordination with it, its downright an awesome idea, it controls like a charm, very very precise, much more than the D-pad.

 

[cybamerc]

The colors look a little washed out though.

All of the textures have been redone. The lack of filtering aside they look much better than the ones in the original N64 version. And obviously the colors aren't going to look as good on an LCD screen as they do on a CRT based TV.

 

[soundwave05]

Just got mine (the last one at Best Buy) at around lunch time.

My thoughts:

The Good:

- PictoChat is really, really cool. I wish I had one of these in high school or junior high. Kids are gonna love this feature. You can type in kanji too, which will be cool if I ever learn Japanese.

- The screen quality is generally pretty nice actually. Touchscreen is quite responsive.

- Audio quality is much better than the GBA.

- Seems quite sturdy.

- The two screens is actually a good thing even if its just used as a input "pad", because your view of the action would get obscured if your hand is over the screen.

- Framerate on Mario 64 DS seems smoother.

- Metroid Prime Hunters with the touchscreen is a pretty interesting alternative to the mouse/keyboard combo, probably with a little practise better than the dual analog setup.

The Bad:


- The system is kinda uncomfortable. Maybe I'll get used to it, but it feels a bit bulky and is heavier than you'd think.

- Launch lineup is kinda lacking.

- The image quality of the 3D is pretty choppy. Its generally OK when you're moving fast, but if you stop and look at the backgrounds, there's no way this thing is up to par with the N64, in my opinion.

- No analog on Mario 64 does suck, although the touchscreen does get the job done for when you really need to tip-toe around.

 

[Lyte Edge]

Picked up my DS along with Mario 64, Feel The Magic, and Asphalt Urban GT. Here's my quick impressions:

The hardware:

-Think a bulkier GBA (original model) with the clamshell design of the SP, and you've got the DS. It may be bigger, but it's still small enough to fit into your pocket....as long you don't have anything else in there, that is.
-The dual screens are both very bright and extremely easy to see, and the bottom screen responds perfectly to your finger or the stylus.
-Nintendo also included an extra stylus in the box, and that's good, since I can definitely see plenty of kids losing them, not to mention the tiny DS game carts themselves.
-Look, a HEADPHONE jack! No stupid adaptors this time around!
-Sound quality is excellent and you can even choose a "surround" option in certain games. Even the GBA games sound better this way.
-D-Pad is bigger than the GBA, but the buttons are smaller

Playing GBA games on the system gives you an extremely bright and colorful display; it completely kills the GBA SP's frontlit screen set-up, although some games looked slightly blurry in motion to me. You can choose to have the GBA games on either screen, and they seem to look crisper on the bottom screen.

The games:

-I was never a fan of the N64's "blur filter" that all its games used; games always looked muddy and too blurry to me, making them generally uglier than the pixelated PSX games of the time. The DS is basically the "Nintendo Playstation," as the games have the same pixelated textures with no blur, but a crisper/sharper image than the N64, and it looks better to me that way.

Mario 64:

-Looks to have enough new features/levels and other additions to make the game worth picking up.
-Controls perfectly fine without analogue controls; I haven't tried the thumb strap set-up yet, but using the D-Pad and X for run works great for me.
-Frame rate seems smoother than the N64 version
-The mini games are all amusing for about 2 minutes each. Good thing they aren't the main part of the game!
-Definitely the closest launch game to being a "killer app."

Feel The Magic:

-Cool visual look and great audio; FTM is a very stylish game.
-Bizarre mini games like Wario Ware
-Probably won't last as long as Wario Ware
-No one would probably care about this game if Wario Ware was a DS launch title

Asphalt:

-Runs at a smooth 60fps...very impressive
-Good sense of speed
-Good control
-Just feels average; it seems to be a decent racer, but there's nothing about this game that stands out and I will most likely be trading it in once Ridger Racer is released.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and really need to spend a LOT more time with these games before I can form a concrete opinion about any of them. Looking forward to Mr. Driller next week!

 

[Amir0x]

-Look, a HEADPHONE jack! No stupid adaptors this time around!

The, uh, GBA has a headphone jack too.

 

[seismologist]

I agree with you Lyte. This system is a nice little step up from the SP. It's a bigger jump than going from GBA to SP obviously since there will be new games that take advantage of the DS features.
Plus I'm really liking the touch screen it's pretty handy for navigating menus.

 

[soundwave05]

I have a question about Mario 64 DS ... do the other characters voices always make Yoshi sounds?

Yeah I understand it's Yoshi wearing a cap, but this is annoying.

BTW, kudos to Nintendo for having much better packaging for the DS software. The small DVD-like cases are a big improvement over the GBA.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Asphalt:

-Runs at a smooth 60fps...very impressive
-Good sense of speed
-Good control
-Just feels average; it seems to be a decent racer, but there's nothing about this game that stands out and I will most likely be trading it in once Ridger Racer is released.

How do you like the collision detection? CD is a huge factor in whether I like racing games. I heard you can have a head on collision, spin out and be at top speed again when you regain control.

 

[Lord Error]

Frame rate seems smoother than the N64 version

Indeed. Mario 64 run at 30FPS, while Mario on NDS runs at 60FPS.

Has anyone noticed if the DS screens update in interlaced mode, like GBA screen, or are they progressive?

 

[seismologist]

Wow! I just tried my first GBA game it's so colorful it's like my eyes are bleeding.
There's textures where it used to look like a solid color.
Speakers sound much better than the SP too.

Too bad there's no zoom mode to make it fill up the whole screen.

It's nice that you can carry around two games in the system at once. I sort of took that for granted.

 

[.:RaZieL:.]

Damn, i must have one big ass angel on my shoulder!
My friend in Florida were shopping today to get me a DS.
They would then bring it to me in Holland.

So they shopped all afternoon and every store was sold out.
Last they went to toysrus and it seemed sold out, but when they asked they were told
that there was 1 left in the back, they bought it along with Mario 64.
After they bought it people behind them in line found out that it was the last one.
So they started offering my friends extra money to sell the DS!
Lucky for me they didn't and so i wil probably be the first to touch a DS in my city.
Almelo is such a lame town, gaming wise.

December 8th can't come soon enough.

Well hope you guys are having fun with your DS, i know i will in 2 weeks.

 

[soundwave05]

Yeah it is kinda cool to be able to have two games in the system at once. Advance Wars 2 is gonna be in that second slot

I also like the fact that there's basically a little Nintendo operating system with the unit. Every time you boot up, you get a look at a calendar and get to see the time, etc.

It seems like the system even has an alarm feature.

 

[Buggy Loop]

I dont remember which, metroid hunter or mario DS, but there was an option to turn off the screen's backlit and OMG :lol such a contrast with the old gba.

 

[btrboyev]

Picked up mine at target this morning with mario 64 and advance wars 2 which was just $9.98 on clearance

I actually went to target just to look if any of the ds units were still there and I was just going to think about it..well I got there, they had about 10 units so I just waited pondering and within 20 minutes all but 2 systems were left, so I snagged one up with mario. I feel guilty about it, but I'm sure that will pass soon enough. I just hate parting with money.


I'm really enjoying it so far.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

What about multiplayer with old GBA games? How do you go about that?

 

[Kon Tiki]

What about multiplayer with old GBA games? How do you go about that?

You do not. (for reals)

 

[Memles]

You do not. (for reals)

In other words, it is impossible for GBA games to be played in mutiplayer. The ability simply isn't there.

 

[Lyte Edge]

Advance Guardian Heroes will be occupying the GBA slot in my DS for now.

I dont remember which, metroid hunter or mario DS, but there was an option to turn off the screen's backlit and OMG :lol such a contrast with the old gba.

All the games should have that option.

Ashalt even lets you turn off either screen, so you can just have the top screen lit up and the bottom off to conserve some power.

What's the DS battery life supposed to be, anyway? I used to be worried about the whole "you can only charge the unit up 500 times!" when the SP came out, then I realized how long that would take anyway.

But what if I were to plug the game in to play even with the battery fully charged? That wouldn't count as a charge, right? They mean 500 full charges, correct?

 

[seismologist]

Yeah it is kinda cool to be able to have two games in the system at once. Advance Wars 2 is gonna be in that second slot

I've got Zelda Link to the Past in the front slot and Mario 64 in back. Gotta love that

 

[mattx5]

In other words, it is impossible for GBA games to be played in mutiplayer. The ability simply isn't there.

What? How come? Does the wireless use a different frequency than the GBA games did? Wow, so much for smooth backwards compatibility

 

[Nester]

I love everything about my new DS except one thing.

There's a dead pixel in the middle of my touch screen. One pixel stays white no matter what game I'm playing. The WalMart I bought it at sold out of all 7 units they had at Midnight, so I don't know when I'll be able to bring it back and get a new one.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

I love everything about my new DS except one thing.

There's a dead pixel in the middle of my touch screen. One pixel stays white no matter what game I'm playing. The WalMart I bought it at sold out of all 7 units they had at Midnight, so I don't know when I'll be able to bring it back and get a new one.

Take that shit back man... You'll regret it if you don't.
Even if it does mean waiting a week for another shipment... Maybe another Walmart in your area will take it.

 

[Memles]

What? How come? Does the wireless use a different frequency than the GBA games did? Wow, so much for smooth backwards compatibility

Well no...it's that there's no link cable port. Which means 95% of GBA games wouldn't work. And I don't think the wireless adapter frequency is the same.

 

[Mama Smurf]

You can play Advance Wars multiplayer still though, as you only need one system. And that'll do me.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

What? How come? Does the wireless use a different frequency than the GBA games did? Wow, so much for smooth backwards compatibility

Now people will be force to believe this is the "Third Pillar!"

 

[Tenguman]

coming up on 2 hours and still doing the initial charge!

So tempted to say screw it

 

[mattx5]

Well no...it's that there's no link cable port. Which means 95% of GBA games wouldn't work. And I don't think the wireless adapter frequency is the same.

Well there was a wireless adapter for GBA, wasn't there?

Oh well, dissapointing news, I'm still gonna buy one, but now I won't be able to enjoy multi on all the GBA games

 

[Unison]

4 DS games easily fit in an old-school Gameboy game case! Awesome.

 

[Kon Tiki]

 

[Great King Bowser]

If anyone picked up an extra DS, who wants to ship one to the UK for $200?

And DavidDayton, if you show up in this thread, empty your inbox. :lol

 

[Crazymoogle]

What's the DS battery life supposed to be, anyway? I used to be worried about the whole "you can only charge the unit up 500 times!" when the SP came out, then I realized how long that would take anyway.

I tanked my first SP battery, but keep in mind I was playing it heavily and doing my job (which also involves playing it heavily). Most players will be fine for a long while yet, and the "500 times" just means that past 500, battery life will start decreasing at a noticeable rate (ie: less total capacity with each recharge).

But what if I were to plug the game in to play even with the battery fully charged? That wouldn't count as a charge, right? They mean 500 full charges, correct?

Yeah, you're fine. Theoretically Lithium Ion batteries suffer damage with every charge, but the thing is with a shorter charge there is less stress on the battery chemistry, so shorter charges is actually a way to extend your system's lifetime.

Keep in mind that having a full or empty battery is actually a bad idea (hence systems not coming fully charged):

1. Full discharge (using the entire battery before recharge) puts a lot of stress on the battery both in use and charging. Leaving it empty can cause capacity damage after a few days, and if left for too long at empty, the charge will fall below the minimum voltage needed, killing the battery.

2. Full charge (leaving the system at 100% or close to it) will cause damage over time (20% per year). If you're not going to use the system for awhile, knock the charge down to around 40-50% (at which point you could only lose 4% per year). Temperature also helps the battery, so if you have to store it at full charge, keep it in as cool an area as possible (0c being ideal).

Obviously, take the battery out in such a case because the rest of the hardware probably won't respond to the temperature so well.

Summed up:

-Partial charging is ok and recommended
-Don't leave it maxed out all the time
-Don't leave it empty
-For the love of god, don't store your system (or use from a full charge) in a hot place. At best it will damage capacity, at worst (and this is rare) the battery can explode. Most laptop battery failures/explosions happen inside parked, heated cars)

 

[Tenguman]

ARG! wtf?!! dead pixel!