11 posts tagged “nintendo ds”
I've been meaning to get around to this post for awhile now, so you'll just have to forgive me that I'm announcing my own personal video game of the year for last year a few weeks late.
The year two-thousand-and-seven was an amazing year for gaming. I've posted about many of my favorite games this year, including Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, The Legends of Zelda and Spyro: Phantom Night, Pokemon Diamond, and Wario Ware: Twisted! I also didn't post about some game I really enjoyed, like Super Paper Mario and Halo 3.
But although all those games rocked my socks, my personal pick for video game of the year can go to only one game: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings for the Nintendo DS. My wife gave it to me in the middle of December as an early Christmas present and as soon as she did, I was hooked. Although it's both a sequel to a game I hadn't ever played AND in a series that I swore off after terminal frustration with random battles, this game captivated me completely.
What's not to love? The art and visual design of the game is gorgeous (with cute, retro sprites for the characters you control); the music is amazing for a portable game, the story has surprising twists and turns (and was far more compelling to me than the much-lauded Mass Effect, which I consider to be an Ass Defect); and the gameplay, though repetitive, was fun throughout (the difficulty did vary widely throughout the game, as the final missions were insanely tough, but even that didn't damper my spirits). Honestly, I can't think of a better game I've played in a long, long while. My highest praise is that I'm looking forward to playing through it again soon and I never ever play through games twice.
But now I'm curious, my video game playing friends, as to what your personal Game of the Year would be? I know that L's involves assassination, and the Pants might go with one that involves rocketing around as a slime, but I'd love to see a blog post or two about them. What game of 2007, in your opinion, was super special awesome?
Two "legendary" games have been simultaneously occupying my greatest video game console for the past month. I picked up The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass primarily on Matt's recommendation in a comment on one of my earlier posts, though if I hadn't have bought it then, I definitely would have after Jay's positive review. Though I didn't like the Twilight Princess installment on the Wii (and hadn't experienced any other Zelda incarnations), the Phantom Hourglass has quickly become one of my favorite DS games of all time. Hardcore gamers might complain that it is too easy or too short, but those are both aspects I appreciate. I still haven't quite finished the game after playing it on and off for the past several weeks, but I'm still loving it. (If only I could get all the Demon Ship parts, my heart would be filled with joy.)
The other "legendary" game I picked up was The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night at the urging of one my favorite gaming blogs, DS Fanboy. I steered clear of the purported crap that was the DS version of the game and went straight for the super special awesomeness that was the Gameboy Advance version. This game has been touted as possibly the "last great GBA game" and I find nothing lacking in the game's greatness. The gameplay is just awesome fun, with a cleverly designed one-button combo attack system that is gorgeous to see and enjoyable to play. I beat the game on "normal" difficulty with a little bit of a challenge and now I've gotten myself stuck on "hard" difficulty, but I haven't thrown in the towel yet. Definitely some of the best thirteen dollars I ever spent for a game.
I need to follow in Matt's footsteps and post my own autobiographical retrospective on (video) gaming, so look for that when I have time to take 20. In the meantime, let me share my recent good news: a video game grant I wrote for my library was accepted. This means I get to buy SIX more Wiis for my library (along with six digital projectors) along with SIX copies of Mario Party 8, Super Smash Bros Brawl, and Mario Kart Wii. We'll also be giving away a Wii and DS (among other things) next year for this program. Gametastic, right?
That's right, Erin. You're gonna have to start asking, "Let me see your ur Pokemans," each time you see me, because my copy of Pokemon Diamond has arrived.
Of course, my response will be totally like that gray cat on the right. Except way more snarky. Way.
But if any of you non-Erin people have Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, then I guess I'll show you my Pokemans. (My friend code is 0902 9257 8247; leave yours in a comment.)
But you have to promise not to show them to Erin. And you can't let Bilbo snuffle them either. (Even if he is way cuter than Pikachu.)
L recently observed that her and I have more or less swapped the standard gaming stereotypes. She likes first-person shooters (like Halo) and "adult" RPGs (like Oblivion, Jade Empire, KOTOR) more than I do, which are traditionally thought of as "male" games. On the other hand, I prefer cutesy, simpler "E" rated titles (like Pokemon) far more than she does.
In that vein, I recently picked up a new game so sugar-coated and sickeningly cute that Ernie and L couldn't help but make cooing noises when I showed it to them. I'm talking about Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, which has all the trappings of a real winner for me:
- Minigames? Check!
- Microgames? Check!
- Trading Card Game? Check!
- Final Fantasy themed? Check!
- A splash of humor and plot? Check!
In related news, I gave in further to my weakness for cute, addictive games and placed an order for the brand spankin' new Pokemon Diamond. (Ernie's already insisted that she'll disown me for as long as the game's in my DS.) I haven't played a true Pokemon game since Pokemon Blue, so I'm already anticipating that 350+ of the poke-critters will be completely unfamiliar. At least I might finally be able to keep up with the kids at work!
So who cares if I'm not playing a bunch of traditionally macho games? I'm secure enough in my masculinity to love the cutesy games and not be ashamed. (Besides, my wife kicks my ass at any of the shooters, so I've got to have at least one niche, right?)
We've already got our precious babies through adoption. They're named XBox and XBox 360 (they're siblings, but 360 is the younger, hipper one while the original is the more reliable, responsible one), Playstation 2 (sort of the red-headed stepchild of the bunch, but so graciously given to us by Anthony) and DS Lite (the baby I never leave at home).
Like biological children, they are each constantly vying for our attention, demanding new games and accessories. Like biological children, they occasionally get sick and need treatment (fortunately we were able to safely remove the horrible tumor that 360 had acquired). And like biological children, each parent has their favorites, with L spreading her love amongst the XBox-es and PS2, while I sometimes end up focusing my devotion on DS.
Our love for our adopted litter knows no bounds, as we're currently considering adding Wii to the mix (because it's a party animal). Okay, I guess our love knows some bounds, as we won't be inviting the rude Playstation 3 into our lives in the foreseeable future.
So, in light of all this, I'm pretty sure it'll be a few years before we have any biological progeny of our own. After all, we'd then have to share our adopted children with them and is there really enough love to go around?
Gotta go, I think I hear DS calling for me!
This ain't your old-school Pokemon video game -- there aren't any humans enslaving the Pokemon forcing them to perform Quick Attacks or the like. Rather, you get to play as a Pokemon, which is a helluva lot more awesome than commanding the critters to do your bidding (unless your into that sort of thing).
The replayability of this game might be it's best features, with an endless selection of random quests and dungeons to explore. It's one of those rare games that's easy to pick up, but difficult to master -- the tweaks they made to the original battle system makes this game far more interesting.
Sure, it's a strictly "E" rated game, so you won't find anything objectionable; Grand Theft Auto it ain't. But so far, about five hours into the game, the plot has kept me engaged and wondering what will happen next. You can't say that about every Pokemon game, nor every RPG for that matter.
Though I picked it up on a whim and not expecting a whole lot, PMD:BRT has definitely gotten my seal of approval. In fact, it's overall a more polished game than Contact, much to my surprise. Call me juvenile if you like, but I'm going to stick with kick ass cute critters. But for the love of Squibblequick, keep the Pikachus away.
Objection! Love Phoenix Wright? Love manga? Love both? Then check out Phoenix Wright: Turnabout with the Wind, the first chapter of the official Phoenix Wright manga unofficially translated into English.
Or, you can download the translated manga to view at your leisure from Court Records (a Phoenix Wright fansite).
I actually held off importing the game's sequel ("Justice for All"), but with all this Phoenix Wright goodness, I might just have to cave in.
(Via Phoenix Wright Manga: Turnabout with the Wind in the Nintendo DS LiveJournal community.)
For a few moons, the cheery, colorful virtual realm of AC:WW brought me portable entertainment. It was a microcosm of reality without most of the messy stuff. Sure Tom Nook was a greedy, demanding loan shark, but the dumb raccoon could be paid off with fruit that grew on trees. Neighbors got mad at you for forgetting their appointment to visit, but they forgot all about it by the next time you talked to them.
But, unlike reality, everyone you talked to ended up saying the same thing over and over. (Which, I suppose is reality, if you call yourself a postmodernist.) You never really could change yourself, at least not beyond the superficial haircut or new outfit. And unlike reality, you'd don't have to die to opt out.
In other words, that which the fickle gamer giveth, they taketh away. And after giving my friend Ernie the birthday cake, firebar, and photo of Amelia from my house in Oblivion, I clicked on the "humane" option to "Rebuild the Town." The game assaulted me with its final guilt trip ("are you really sure you want to erase all your neighbors and all your stuff?") and then committed virtual suicide without so much as a peep.
Now Oblivion is no more. But in some way, it'll be reborn after I mail the game cartridge to whoever bought it from me. And there's always more oblivion, just a power switch away.
Sure, it's not a shoot-em-up fest with aliens or terrorists. And no, it's not an immersive sandbox-style "RPG" that sucks your soul into "Oblivion". There's not even a place to get your hair done or a crook named Nook you have to sell yourself into slavery to.
But as "interactive manga" (which is how I've described it to everyone who's asked), this game is crazy delicious. Taking on the role of rookie defense attorney Phoenix Wright, every case is a roller coaster ride of digging up bizarre clues and then using them to press witnesses in the courtroom.
I'm so enthralled that I put the Japanese sequel ("Justice for All") on preorder this week (it has an English language option), just so I won't have to wait until Spring 2007 for more gaming goodness. Plus, since the preorder comes with Phoenix Wright decals for the DS, pretty soon I'll be able to have some porcupine-head bling-bling on my very own system.
If you're a DS owner, you definitely need to check this game out. I'm nearly(?) through with my copy, so I might even let you borrow mine for awhile. So "hold it!", stop "objecting" and "take that!" Phoenix Wright all the way!
- Advance Wars: Dual Strike
- Star Fox Command
- Animal Crossing: Wild World
- Mario Kart DS
- Brain Age
Bonus: Nintendo DS Games I Want
- Final Fantasy III (already have on preorder)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
- Trace Memory
- Bomberman Land
- ??? (Any suggestions?)
