cryptik76

I don't know how the Genesis controller is, but I have the SNES one and I love it. The recycledgamer.com guy does a great job with these.

I'm not really a collector so nothing I have is all that valuable or interesting. So I'll mostly pick stuff that I enjoy the most: 1. Atari Lynx (mk II). I bought this in 2002 or so after 12 years or so of wanting one. It came with a bunch of games and a pouch, and although I've played it a lot I've taken good care of it and it still looks and runs like it did when I got it. 2. backlit Gameboy Advance SP (3rd generation?) - Not valuable, but it was hard to come by sealed. I play it, so it's not sealed anymore, but it's in mint condition and I plan to keep it that way. 3. NES Gameboy Advance SP - I'm not a collector, but I bought this out of nostalgia. I play it on occasion, but I mostly keep it in a case and use either my old cobalt blue SP or the newer one. 4. Activision Anthology for GBA - Not valuable, either, but it's the GBA cart I play the most and it's great fun (though the emulation on certain games isn't so great). 5. Vectrex - It's beat up because I bought it on Ebay, and the controller that came with it needs a lot of TLC, but I bought a nice multicart and a modded SNES controller so I have a lot of fun with this.

I blame marketing as well. By that time, Nintendo was all the rage and Atari brought up images of dusty 2600's in closets. Atari needed strong marketing to succeed, and they didn't. I actually wanted a Lynx much more than I ever wanted a Game Boy, but I was only in my early teens then and the cost was prohibitive. But fortunately now I have one plus a ton of games and I still love it, but I wish it had had more success.

My modded SNES controller just arrived today and it is awesome! It takes a little getting used to after struggling with my half-broken Vectrex controller but so far I've found that it is much more comfortable for me (as well as very responsive). I think I'm probably going to use it as my primary controller for the unit, even if I manage to fix the original controller. I will vouch for the quality of his work.

I have Golden Axe and Gunpey Ex on the system (as well as Final Fantasy I, which I barely touched)... Gunpey is a very cool little puzzle game. The one Wonderswan game I wish I had is Tetris. I tried to bid on one a few times on Ebay but it never worked out. I also have Rockman & Forte and Makaimura, but the B&W games give me a headache. I'm glad there are many other games that a non-Japanese player can enjoy. I'll have to check some of these out. Thanks!

I just ordered one of the modded SNES controllers last night, because I won a well-used Vectrex on Ebay last week with a broken controller (non-centering; if I'm ever feeling brave enough I'll attempt to fix it). Looking forward to my new controller and glad to support a good site.

God, are all of you stupid, or just really stubborn? I already explained myself, that by "gimmicky" I mean games that rely on having a unique control scheme rather than having a solid gameplay foundation. You don't have to agree with me that the games I listed are gimmicky, that's the beauty of free will, you're allowed to have your own opinions. This is the last thing I will say on the subject. Feel free to commence with yet more empty-headed PSP bashings and praising that Nintendo released the highly innovative Yoshi's Touch and Go, which is essentially a decade-old game with touchscreen control tacked on and marketed as as new product. I'm not a troll, I don't wish to start a flame war, because I have no time for such things. But it seems like none of you can stand any opinions that disagree with your own. So much negativity on this board... I'm out. Atariage, so long.

Wow, it's bizarre to see an Adrian M topic on the front page again. I just had frightening flashbacks.

The problem is that you have mostly 2D games, and the 2D games on the DS don't look much better than they do on the GBA (except better sprite animation, etc.). I think the new Viewtiful Joe game on the DS has pretty nice graphics, as does Mario 64 DS, but most games don't really push the graphics hardware much. And when they try to (as in most racing games on the system), the results are pretty bad, especially when you can compare side-to-side with the PSP (Ridge Racer or Burnout Legends, for example). As developers continue to work with the DS's hardware and capabilities, I'm certain we will see games that push the graphics hardware more than most games currently do (and do it at a better framerate). I personally am still waiting for a good 3D action RPG (a la Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance or Diablo) and some decent first person shooters. Metroid Prime: Hunters demo has pretty nice 3D graphics and detailed textures (probably the best textures I've seen on the DS so far), but I'm worried that if the focus is on multiplayer, that the single-player experience may get the short end of the development stick.

I still like my regular GBA SP's (I can still remember my original GBA and how awful it was to try to see the screen), but I have a feeling that if I get the chance to play the new backlit SP, I'm not going to be happy until I buy one.

By "gimmicky," I mean games that are relying on the novelty of the touchscreen (ie: the gimmick) rather than putting great gameplay first. Please note that I left out games like Nintendogs, Kirby Canvas Curse, and Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble, which means I did not just pick every game I could think of that uses the touchscreen. Tak doesn't attempt to use the touchscreen for movement, though. Just the camera.

Gimmicky Games: Yoshi Touch & Go Whac A Mole Trace Memory Pac-Pix Pokemon Dash Lost in Blue Feel the Magic Dragon Booster Also, to a lesser extent, the goofy touchscreen controls in games like Castlevania, Nanostray, and Spider-Man 2, where it's just there so that they can say they integrated touchscreen controls into the game. Bad Racing Games: ATV: Quad Frenzy Burnout Legends Need For Speed Underground 2 & Most Wanted Asphault Ford Racing 3 Ridge Racer DS 3D Platforming games with bad touchscreen control: Super Mario DS Rayman DS Hmm, I can only think of Mario and Rayman for the platforming games, I could have sworn there were more. But, anyway, then you add in the bad movie license games and spruced-up GBA ports, and the DS has a ton of shovelware or simply games which will keep your interest for a little while but then the fun wears thin. That's not to say the DS is a bad platform, not at all. But I'd rather play some of the ports on the PSP than many of the games above.

We all know that the DS can have both a GBA and DS cartridge inserted at the same time, so do any of you have a favorite combination of games to take with you? For me, right now it is Rebelstar Tactical Command (GBA) and Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble (DS). Different types of games, but both thoroughly engrossing.

I don't know why there's such a conflict. I like both systems for different reasons. Most of the attacks, on this messageboard at least, are from hardcore DS fans who can't even start a DS-centric topic (see favorite DS game of 2005 thread for example) without throwing their jabs at Sony for whatever reason. Apparently even though the PSP and DS are completely different systems and are barely even in competition with each other, they somehow feel that the PSP is the bane of their existence. You don't really see this kind of attitude on PSP-centric threads; I don't think hardcore PSP fans are really all that threatened or concerned by the existence and sales of the DS. And you throw in your own jab with "It's the never ending clash between raw power and innovation" as if hardcore PSP fans are simpletons who like flashy graphics and don't care about innovation. And as if most games on the DS are innovative instead of just gimmicky mini-games. There are some great games on the DS that make very cool use of the touchscreen, but there are also weak puzzle and platform games that simply use the touchscreen as a sort of mouse control (usually poorly in the case of platform games), and some truly wretched attempts at 3D racing games (Mario Kart DS notwithstanding). On the other hand, Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble is an excellent DS game and something I would like to see more of. It plays to the system's strengths and even manages to do some nifty cell-shaded type graphics and 3D.

I bought Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble today and I'm now surprised that it's not on the list for this poll. Before I played it, I thought the touch-screen implementation in the game sounded gimmicky, but I was wrong. This game not only captures the essence of what I love about Viewtiful Joe but adds a lot of great touchscreen-based powers. Rayman DS isn't as bad as I heard, either. Except it's so dark...