Game Boy not so Advanced

[NeoTechni]

As the other novelty controller guy, I find it odd that you could possibly consider a touchscreen to be a "novelty."

While at first I felt the touchscreen was a perfect match for a handheld, devs didn't really use it very well.

ie: Castlevania's drawing of the capture circle.

There are very few games that used it properly, where I didn't feel the game would be better off without it.

The biggest/best example of it's use, was ironically the submarine tech demo which is like DS's Steel Battalion.

[Hatta]

The Missile Command on Atari Retro Classics uses the touchscreen to great effect.

[crux]

There are dozens of games that use the touch screen to good effect, from simple menu navigation to puzzle games to rhythm games, even surgery games. Those that do not use the features well do not determine the usefulness of the features as whole. It's those that do use them well that define them.

[noiseredux]

There are definitely games that I find the touchscreen to be a pain in the ass though too. Like Tony Hawk's Proving Ground. How are you supposed to play the game "controller style" AND have the stylus in hand ready to tap the special move thingy? Instead you whack the screen with yr thumb and smudge it up. Yuck.

[NeoTechni]

There are dozens of games that use the touch screen to good effect, from simple menu navigation to puzzle games to rhythm games, even surgery games.

I've found menus can be navigated just as well using a dpad.
In fact, FF Tactics Advanced 2's menu navigates better using dpad versus the touch screen

I have tried a few rhythm games on DS, they've all been easier using buttons. You simply get better response time with your thumb on the button and 2 mm of tactile distance to travel versus a touchscreen where the distance becomes a variable.

And if that surgery game is anything like the Wii version, it flat out sucks. It was like using the handwriting recognition on the apple newton as a controller. It just didnt work.

As someone who professionally develops software for touchscreen PCs (UMPCs) it boggles my mind how often I find interfaces on the DS that are simply not even optimized for a touchscreen let alone a small screen. For example, items that are too small to click properly most of the time. FFTA2's menus were horrible for this. Mario Karts emblem drawing tool sucked completely due to the lack of a zoom feature. You HAD to use the dpad to draw otherwise you'd spend most of your time fixing mistakes since the head of the stylus was larger than the grid cells. Other games had horribly small scroll bars. Its like most DS devs didnt actually test their interfaces, or didnt care about them.

Those that do not use the features well do not determine the usefulness of the features as whole. It's those that do use them well that define them.

When the only game I've found to use in a way that wouldn't have been better using buttons, is an unreleased tech demo from before the DS came out. It doesn't say very much for that feature.

The majority of DS development has been shovelware, just trying to capitalize on free sales from the gimmick. It would have been a much better system had it been like 4 times more powerful, and one big touch screen.

[ZeroAX]

are you kidding me? the DS is the gaming nirvana of this generation.

and I've played TONS of games, that make excellent use of the touch screen,

advance wars days of ruin,

layton 1 and 2

zelda phantom hourglass

the phoenix wright games

those just from the top of my head.

[NeoTechni]

I'm absolutely certain Advance Wars played well with the dpad/buttons, what with it doing so on the GBA.

Oh God Phantom Hourglass was HORRIBLE! It would have been MUCH better using normal controls.

The game was fraught with false positives and negatives, in that when I tried to pull off somersaults or sword swipes it would very often not, and when I wasn't trying it often would.

Unlike previous games you couldn't move and use items at the same time. All ability to multitask was removed cause the screen could only handle one action at a time. I remember a bunch of times where this resulted in death. Specifically the dungeon where you have to point laser beams at it's mouth to open it, and once you're done 2 soldiers pop up out of the ground and can only be attacked from the back.

All of the map drawing stuff was annoying as hell. Every other game just does it automatically.

Control wise, it was again like using an Apple Newton. You can check my IGN list, I own more Zelda games than probably anyone else here (I even imported Four Swords for Cube to get the Tetra's Trackers game Nintendo removed from the US version, they lied when they said the game wasn't fun enough to translate). I absolutely hated PH.

The controls are so horrible, they made my girlfriend cry and give up the game out of frustration. (She has Cerebral Palsy so she is not as dexterous as most people) There is no justification for that and nothing you can say can make up for that. The game excluded people due to it's poor control choice. It should have been controllable via the buttons. And many Wii games share the same problem.

Worse was the gameplay. They brought back everything Miyamoto apologized for in Wind Waker. http://www.directionalpad.com/2005/07/2 ... -failings/

Again with the hunting, boring sailing, and too few dungeons. And making you repeat the same dungeon a minimum of 7 times doesn't make up for that. Repeating an area is a form of punishment in games for failing. PH even forces you to repeat the dungeon again if you fail to beat the time limit. So they use the same method for punishing users as the method of advancement. When I heard Yahtzee's review of PH, I gave the game up for a couple months when he told me about the repetition. That's how bad it is.

the DS is the gaming nirvana of this generation

Are you kidding me? It's one of the worst systems I own.
I remember the day the DS lite was announced, I sold my original DS the day after for money for it even though it wouldn't be out for months just cause I use it that little.
Check my IGN list, you'll see I probably own more Pokemon games than anyone here too, even the DS version of Diamond bored me to the point where I stopped playing it. And that's hard to do since I'm an obsessive compulsive collector, which is how I got into the series in the first place.

Everything about the DS has been a disappointment. Worst of all being, it launched with a port of Mario64. I bought GBA the day the port of Link to the Past came out, I waited for it cause I knew Nintendo would rerelease it. I expected Nintendo to port the N64 Zeldas to DS given that they just use the Mario64 engine anyway. And instead we get PhantomBoredomglass. Ironically, I can play the N64 Zeldas on my PSP.

And the thing is an ergonomic nightmare, even in the slim. It's very hard for me to hold one handed when any game requires use of the touchscreen. I admittedly have weaker wrists than most people (I can only use a wiimote for about 30 minutes, and the Tiny Bee controller for 2)

PSP is a much better handheld. To the point where I own 5 of them (3 original, 2 slim)
I also own 3 GBAs (A NES SP, an original, and a GB Player) and 2 GBCs
I even own Cube component cables (and most people know how hard they are to get) as well as both the network adapter and modem. And the Cube controller-keyboard that only works with Phantasy Star Online
I didn't even buy a PS2 till the slim model came out, so I assure you it's not out of some Nintendo-hatred/Sony-loving that I say all this. I simply hate the DS/Wii and how they are bringing down gaming with them.

[pepharytheworm]

I was reading these post and it is making me sick. First off maybe it is my imagination but the topic is about the GBA why is it now a DS thread. Second If you don't like something why do you need write a novel to explain yourself. Third why does everyone care about 3d
if i wanted 3d thats what my consoles are for. I like the 2d aspect. Why would I want to play a watered down port of a console game? It makes the sytem warrent a purchase for different types of games then found on the consoles. Fourth name one handheld or console made for everyone it doesnt exist. I lost the use of one of my arms for a while and the ds was the only system I could play, granted I had to have a table. Finally dont play it if you dont like it stick to what you like, you'll be happier I'll be happier. Be gald there are alternatives and you can find whats right for you.

[NeoTechni]

I was reading these post and it is making me sick.

Yes, God forbid someone not share your opinion. *vomit* Everyone must like the same things.

First off maybe it is my imagination but the topic is about the GBA why is it now a DS thread.

Because I said GBA was the last good handheld Nintendo made, and someone asked about the DS

Second If you don't like something why do you need write a novel to explain yourself.

Because I was asked why.

Third why does everyone care about 3d

No one is talking about 3d or graphics. Not once did I say I didn't like DS cause of it's graphics. One of the cutest games I've ever played was on the DS.

Why would I want to play a watered down port of a console game?

Um, that's what handhelds pretty much were up until PSP

[pepharytheworm]

What makes you think I was only talking about you. I was refering to all post. I would have qouted you otherwise. The 3d was in reference to the GBA read the topic again.