NDS Buying an NDS worth it?

[Lod uchiha]

"I'm going to buy a Nintendo DS, but I don't know if it's worth it. Can someone give me tips on summer games or something that can help me relax?

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Vou comprar um Nintendo DS, mas não sei se vale a pena. Alguém pode me dar dicas de jogos de verão ou algo que me ajude a relaxar?

 

[MrChester]

Emulador:
- MelonDS
- VBALink
Jogos de verão:
- Mega Man Zero
- Mega Man ZX

 

[qw90700]

It depends on what kind of games you like.

For example I can relax playing Radiant Historia but it can be too complex game for someone else who doesn't want to remember a lot.

 

[Coon]

I really wouldn't have thought that people would still buy the NDS. Try this Phantasy Star ø or Professor Layton parts there are a few good games , Art Academy: Drawing and painting techniques is also relaxing.

 

[Livekraft]

I think it is. I know you could just emulate it on your phone but is not the "same" experience. You should get one, and if that's the case I hope you enjoy it, man. Great handheld.

 

[Graw]

I think it is. I know you could just emulate it on your phone but is not the "same" experience. You should get one, and if that's the case I hope you enjoy it, man. Great handheld.

I find playing ds games on a phone to be arguably better than playing them on an actual ds because touch screens work a lot better these days.

 

[Shameless]

Would say if your gana play games that's heavily reliant on the touch screen like Metroid Prime Hunters or Zelda Spirit Tracks then i would say getting a actual ds is worth it. but most are just fine through an emulator.

 

[qw90700]

I really wouldn't have thought that people would still buy the NDS.

The thing is due to regional pricing and therefore currency conversation tons of video game consoles are too expensive to buy until like 2 decades passes for people in many countries that's currency is not American Dollar or Euro. For example for so many countries PS3 became "buyable" these years (Not "affordable" because people may can afford to buy these insanely expensive consoles but often they don't worth it due to the price they ask when you know eventually it will go cheaper and cheaper.). But the thing is this is 2nd hand market logic and its prices, so there is a "lowest price" moment of the market but afterwards the price gets increased forever due to "hard to find that works ok" therefore rarity increases price and then people are like "my price is that high because I kept it clean and avoided damage" BS. When you buy stuff in 2nd hand market you already accept that the product doesn't look good or may need repair but you mostly care how cheap it's but they ask non-2nd hand market value as if you buy it in a shop, and then they adjust its retail price from 2 decades ago to today's economy to set a price wow lol.

That being said; NDS, 3DS, PSP, PS Vita are current "affordable on the go video game consoles" people wanna buy by spending less money as much as they can compared to new alternatives. Otherwise people would buy Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch or something and call it a day.

But then NDS has amazing library I would want to play its games on original hardware, especially Ni no Kuni. Due to the way how gameplay is you gotta draw shapes on screen to cast magic similar to Arx Fatalis and it gives immersion experience!! And then on emulators the multiple screen gameplay doesn't work for me, I'd rather play it on NDS. So at least NDS worth to buy console for "on the go" gaming too.

 

[sothfr]

If it’s not overpriced where you live, it’s definitely worth it. See which model suits you best. There will be enough games to keep you entertained, like all the Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon titles to start with. To help you relax, you can also play games like Tetris, Brain Training, or board games.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Absolutely worth it, but make sure you get it for a reasonable price.

 

[Bagleman]

Id recommend checking out the Magic x Zero 40. Its an emulation handheld designed to run ds games specifically. Also weird recommendation, but why not buy a phat ds with a broken hinge and re-shell it? The phat ds has a somewhat unique backlit transflective screen and is perfectly viewable outside.

 

[Coon]

The thing is due to regional pricing and therefore currency conversation tons of video game consoles are too expensive to buy until like 2 decades passes for people in many countries that's currency is not American Dollar or Euro. For example for so many countries PS3 became "buyable" these years (Not "affordable" because people may can afford to buy these insanely expensive consoles but often they don't worth it due to the price they ask when you know eventually it will go cheaper and cheaper.). But the thing is this is 2nd hand market logic and its prices, so there is a "lowest price" moment of the market but afterwards the price gets increased forever due to "hard to find that works ok" therefore rarity increases price and then people are like "my price is that high because I kept it clean and avoided damage" BS. When you buy stuff in 2nd hand market you already accept that the product doesn't look good or may need repair but you mostly care how cheap it's but they ask non-2nd hand market value as if you buy it in a shop, and then they adjust its retail price from 2 decades ago to today's economy to set a price wow lol.

That being said; NDS, 3DS, PSP, PS Vita are current "affordable on the go video game consoles" people wanna buy by spending less money as much as they can compared to new alternatives. Otherwise people would buy Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch or something and call it a day.

But then NDS has amazing library I would want to play its games on original hardware, especially Ni no Kuni. Due to the way how gameplay is you gotta draw shapes on screen to cast magic similar to Arx Fatalis and it gives immersion experience!! And then on emulators the multiple screen gameplay doesn't work for me, I'd rather play it on NDS. So at least NDS worth to buy console for "on the go" gaming too.

Yeah, the NDS is definitely worth it.

 

[sothfr]

But then NDS has amazing library I would want to play its games on original hardware, especially Ni no Kuni. Due to the way how gameplay is you gotta draw shapes on screen to cast magic similar to Arx Fatalis and it gives immersion experience!! And then on emulators the multiple screen gameplay doesn't work for me, I'd rather play it on NDS. So at least NDS worth to buy console for "on the go" gaming too.

 

[wilddogsdivorce]

a DS is still valuable to have if you want to play its library. DS on a 3DS is less than ideal due to the screen size differences. emulation... it's fine, but most devices aren't really ideal for it. however, the MagicX Zero40 would be the way to go if that's what you want. and it's probably cheaper than a DS would be in a lot of cases.

if you prefer a real one, i recommend buying a DSi as well as a flashcart since it's just convenient to launch the games from the cart slot like normal. twilightmenu is good too, but i think using the flashcarts is a lot of fun. you don't usually have to worry about timebombs now, but if you buy a cheapo flashcart just replace the firmware and you won't have to worry.

the reason i recommend a DSi is because they tend to be in better condition when you get them now. having bought a couple DS family systems, i can tell you if you buy a DS lite (the best ds) you'll almost certainly get something with a yellowed screen and shoulder button issues. i can deal with a yellowed screen, but shoulder button problems are truly miserable. the dsi shoulder buttons seem to hold up better all things considered.

in my opinion, the normal size ones are best. the pixels look better on the normal size screen, and on a lot of older XLs the hinge gets loose from the weight so the top screen is a bit droopy.

 

[TentaclesMod]

Well, nds tend to be cheap, and there's ton of games, even when you remove the shovelware from the equation, and even some of the shovelware is a fun, if mindless time.

With that said, if you can a 3ds is probably better. To be fair, the 3ds library isn't even close as big as the ds, but it is retro-compatible so you still have full access to the ds library, if hacked you can also run gba roms natively, and I think there's hombrewed emulators for nes, gb, gbc and snes. Talking about hacking, once you do that with the 3ds you don't need flashcarts to use roms.

Downside is that 3ds is significantly more expensive. The ds is the most sold console ever so there's a shitload of them in the wild driving down the price.

Anyway, if games on the level the ds can do are good for you, then yeah, it's worth it. There's also influence in what kind of games you like, for example, its a good console for jrpgs, but terrible for fighting games.

 

[BigHairyMarty]

I'd say go for it. Ever since I found my old DS, I went and got a multicart with a micro sd slot and I've been enjoying my own little selection of roms.

Emulators are nice since they can present the graphics at a better resolution, but I prefer the original hardware for convenience.

 

[Livekraft]

I find playing ds games on a phone to be arguably better than playing them on an actual ds because touch screens work a lot better these days.

Capacitive touchscreens are superior to resistive ones, sure, but in my opinion, the Nintendo DS stylus is where is at. Emulating the DS on a phone can be a hassle: connecting a controller might limit you to landscape mode, and you may need additional setup for portrait mode. Alternatively, using on-screen buttons often feels clunky and less intuitive.

Honestly, I'd rather play on an actual Nintendo DS than emulate it, even though I usually prefer emulation over original hardware.

 

[JayceeRX]

NDS just so happens to have one of the better Super Robot Wars in the series: https://retrogametalk.com/repository/nds-roms/super-robot-taisen-w-japan/

I've been addicted to Super Robot Wars games this summer. The SRW series are turn-based strategy games, so they're easy to relax with and take a break from when need be. SRW games are story heavy, however, and I appreciate that's not everybody's "thing."

 

[Graw]

Capacitive touchscreens are superior to resistive ones, sure, but in my opinion, the Nintendo DS stylus is where is at. Emulating the DS on a phone can be a hassle: connecting a controller might limit you to landscape mode,

Huh? What emulator does this? MelonDS doesn't force landscape mode when a controller is connected, neither does Retroarch or any other ds emulator I've tried. I've never heard of this.

and you may need additional setup for portrait mode.

Again, in my experience, it just changes automatically when you change the orientation on your phone. The only time I've setup anything to do with the screens was specifically for Dawn of Sorrow because I wanted to to play in landscape mode with a smaller map screen and a larger game screen.

Alternatively, using on-screen buttons often feels clunky and less intuitive.

I agree with this unless it's a turnbased game like a jrpg or something like that then it doesn't really matter so much.

 

[Livekraft]

Huh? What emulator does this? MelonDS doesn't force landscape mode when a controller is connected I've never heard of this.

Again, in my experience, it just changes automatically when you change the orientation on your phone. The only time I've setup anything to do with the screens was specifically for Dawn of Sorrow because I wanted to to play in landscape mode with a smaller map screen and a larger game screen.

I agree with this unless it's a turnbased game like a jrpg or something like that then it doesn't really matter so much.

Your controller's form-factor may dictate how you play. I use a Razer Kishi, which forces landscape mode. In my case, I'd need a clip to use a DualShock 4, for example. It ultimately depends on the user as you mentioned.

 

[stoicvampirepig]

You should get a 3ds instead, so much more fun to hack.

 

[Questless Knight]

Seeing as Nintendo fan boys are a bunch of knobs and over charge anything Nintendo related I wanna say no it´s not worth it better use emulator........... Sadly 3ds is no that great to emulate yet and shit-tendo is on a war path so one should avoid that but yeah im not paying 200 euro for a 8+ year old used 3ds.

 

[Scotty]

Personally, I think you're better off just emulating them on your phone with MelonDS.

That, or get a 3DS and then mod it.

 

[Graw]

Your controller's form-factor may dictate how you play. I use a Razer Kishi, which forces landscape mode. In my case, I'd need a clip to use a DualShock 4, for example. It ultimately depends on the user as you mentioned.

That makes more sense. I've never used a clip on controller so I didn't think of that. I just either put my phone on my lap or on a table or something if I'm using a controller. My case has a stand that holds it upright in both portrait or landscape mode.

 

[iamthemilkman]

You can buy a DS Lite, an R4 Gold, and a 32GB Micro SD (This'll hold tons of DS games, more than you'll ever play) for not lot of money.