new nintendo ds owner plunges in with both feet!

[airsoftmodels]

As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently got a Nintendo DS. I think this is a great system for me and my ten year old daughter to share the gaming experience.

 

Yesterday we went to a local gamestop and picked up a few $1 and $2 games.

 

I have spent a couple hours looking at them, and they look pretty good.

 

Would it be fair to think of the DS as a portable N64?

 

asphalt urban gt
break em all
build a bear workshop
charlotte's web
cooking mama
flushed away
g-force
kung fu panda
lego indiana jones the original adventures
luxor phararoh's challenge
magnetica
naruto path of the ninja
new zealand story revolution
over the hedge
pac-pix
pirates of the caribbean at worlds end
snoods 2 on vacation
spectrobes
spectrobes beyond the portals
spitfire heroes tales of the royal airforce
squinkies
tao's adventure curse of the demon seal
the chase felix meets felicity
the legendary starfy
the suite life of zack & cody

[Rick Dangerous]

I actually think it looks a little better than the N64 overall. A little more pixelated but much less fog. I'm getting into gba, ds, and 3ds big-time myself right now..so many great games!! Congrats and enjoy!

[omegadot]

I'm on the mobile kick in general. I've had each Nintendo handheld as it came out since the GBC so I naturally agree that the DS is great. I tend to rank it over the N64, in part due to the smaller screen being more clear to my eyes.

[Unbeliever]

Congratulations on your "plunge", as it were. Years ago, I had the original DS (silver clamshell...tough little beast), and have moved up to the New 3DS. I actually prefer my portable gaming over consoles these days, with the exception of my Atari 2600, but the portability of the DS is awesome. So many great games!

[airsoftmodels]

So many great games and they are dirt cheap, except for the castlevania series and the Nintendo I.P.

[airsoftmodels]

i guess the nintendo dsi was too modern for me. decided to sell it with games for $100

my absolute favorite hand held system is the origial game boy. i am going to reinvest

the $100 in more game boy cartridges. while some modern gamers have lost faith in

konami, i have bought some great konami/ultra carts on the cheap.

[108 Stars]

It is graphically closer to the PS1 than the N64. No fog and pixelated textures instead of softened ones. In my eyes that is a good thing as I can't stand N64 visuals. Did not fall in love with my DS though, the touchscreen and dual screens disturbed me more than they offered more fun.

[Unbeliever]

After a binge of playing the 3DS, I've taken a cooling to it now. Not sure why....my game needs seem to change weekly. Now I'm back into some PC gaming at the moment, with MAME being a must play when I sit down at my desktop computer. I think I'm in a gaming slump at the moment...happens every once in awhile when I step back and try to figure out what I want to pursue.

[Atariboy]

It's too late now, but you should've checked out some of the classic compilations, more of the 1st party lineup, and some 3rd party releases like Contra IV.

 

I've never heard of any of those titles you listed as being hidden gems. I'm not saying that they're shovelware, but stuff like movie tie-ins and the DS usually isn't a good match and I don't see a single title there that was received with acclaim. And at least one, Asphalt GT, was pretty horrible I thought. I bought several of the 3D racers once day since I love the genre and especially hated this one. Sadly, this genre was pretty poorly represented on the DS, unlike on the GBA with great titles like Racing Gears Advance and V-Rally 3.

 

As for capabilities, I'd say that the comparison with the N64 era is accurate. That said, few had the budgets to produce 3D games anywhere close to comparable with the best of that era's console output. Most were working with the same sort of budget that they'd of had to create an average 2D GBA title the generation before.

 

As such, the DS usually best shined with traditional 2D games or 3D titles that utilized a 2D style perspective. Most of the true 3D output was pretty awful.

Edited September 1, 2015 by Atariboy

[108 Stars]

 

As for capabilities, I'd say that the comparison with the N64 era is accurate. That said, few had the budgets to produce 3D games anywhere close to comparable with the best of that era's console output. Most were working with the same sort of budget that they'd of had to create an average 2D GBA title the generation before.

Nah, please look at games like Mario 64, 1st Party Nintendo game. Looks just like a PS1 Version of it would look. Basically all the 3D games look like Saturn or PS1, not N64. Which imo is not a bad Thing, on the contrary. I just find the similarity striking, and surprising considering Nintendo would have had an easier time adapting games if the graphics were more akin to the N64.

 

Edited September 2, 2015 by 108 Stars

[Atariboy]

Not sure what you're saying.

 

Are you saying that they don't compare with late 1990's console graphics? Look at your screenshots, it's quite evident that it compares quite well. While there are some difference, it's still quite comparable. There are some improvements, but there are also some drawbacks (Like the elimination of that wonderful layer of mist on Jolly Roger Bay during some of the star missions). The single biggest difference in those screenshots when you're not zooming in is an artistic decision to change the color of the grass in a single world.

 

Or is it what I said about budgets? For starters, I didn't say this was a universal rule. Secondly, Super Mario 64 is first party and surely had a much higher budget than the average 3D DS title. And lastly, it's still just a port of a pre-existing title. And while some actually refer to it as a remake, it's anything but. It's almost a straight conversion with just a bit of minor remixing to a few stars, throwing in some additional throwaway stars to pad the total an additional 30 stars (Like hit this switch and run 50 feet to grab the star before it disappears), a few minor areas that don't even add up to the scale of a single one of the 15 original worlds, and the pointless addition of three new characters.

 

The technical capabilities are quite comparable to this era of consoles. And I stick by what I said about the average 3D DS title. Few had the budget to work with in order to make it sing. The DS is at its best in three areas. 1st party releases, 2D games, and "2.5D" style 3D titles that utilize polygons but aim for a 2D style perspective.

 

Full blown 3D efforts on the system were usually disappointing, although there are certainly a number of fine exceptions to that rule.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Atariboy

[108 Stars]

I thought I made it clear what I meant... What I am saying is that it is not comparable to the N64 at all, but much more similar to the PS1 and Saturn. That's quite a difference, and the screenshots of a big Budget game like Mario 64 Show that pretty well. It does not look anything like the N64 Version, but more like a PS1 game like Spyro.

 

The N64 was remarkable for ist use of Mip mapping to smoothen textures, which is completely absent on the DS, just like it is absent from PS1 and Saturn. Pixelated textures all the way (which I much prefer). Anti aliasing too was a Feature of the N64 that no console before offered, and that the DS also lacks. The DS is jaggie country, again much like PS1 and Saturn were. Lastly the fog, which is now ridiculed but was actually considered a special effect of the N64 to avoid pop-ups is not present on DS.

 

The DS 3D graphics simply have little in common with Nintendo's 64-bit machine, but resemble the visuals of Sega's and Sony's 32-bit platforms. Comparing the DS and the N64 is quite inaccurate in that department. You can't lump the Systems "of that era" together as there are huge differences between them. The N64 was seen as a huge step forward in 3D, eventhough I don't like ist improvements personally. You can tell PS1 games and N64 apart so easily. And DS games look like PS1, not N64.

Edited September 3, 2015 by 108 Stars

[Atariboy]

I thought I made it clear what I meant...

 

As did I, since I was never saying that it rendered the picture in a very close manner as that of Nintendo's late 90's console.

 

Rather, I'm saying that his question on if it was fair to consider this as essentially a portable N64 was indeed a reasonable assumption. Its overall capabilities are definitely very much in line with console hardware from the latter half of the 1990's.

 

I'm still not clear on what you're talking about though. Is it all those little squares like you can see on your SM64DS screenshot? That's indeed reminiscent to me of how a game like Spyro the Dragon looked up close, but like I said, I was talking in generalities just as I assume the thread creator was.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Atariboy

[108 Stars]

I don't think you can generalize how games of that era look. The difference between N64 and PS1 is so vast, you cannot lump them together. Being a portable N64 and a portable PS1 is not even close to the same thing visually. You might as well lump together the C64 and ZX Spectrum. Same era, but completely different graphically. Or Wii and Xbox 360.

Edited September 3, 2015 by 108 Stars

[Atariboy]

lol

 

Regardless of the fact that I never said what I'm apparently guilty of, anyone that thinks that comparing the worst, average, and best 3D games of the Playstation with their Nintendo 64 counterparts in each class is tantamount to comparing the 480p Wii with the Xbox 360, is the one posting nonsensical stuff.

 

Ignoring the nitpicking and to reiterate what I've already said, yes airsoftmodels, the DS is essentially a portable with graphical capabilities similar to home consoles from the N64/PS1/Saturn era.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Atariboy

[108 Stars]

Yeah, I am the one who has no idea because you can't see big technical differences.

 

I'd go as far as to say that the difference might even be more visible than the difference between Wii and 360. Bummer, huh? Those have at least the same Basic effects running.

 

 

My advise stays the same: See it as a portable PS1 and Saturn, as N64 visuals are actually a far cry from the DS.

Edited September 4, 2015 by 108 Stars

[bohoki]

i went way overboard when i got a ds some of the games i wish they didnt use a stylus so much

 

also got a grip unit for if cause its hard for me to hold and use the dpad

 

i love the battery pack it lasts so long and charges quick