Probably getting a DS, need some good rpgs and kids games

[kenshin-dono]

I made a thread a little while back asking for sugestions on whether or not i should get a psp and what games. I wound up with a decent list and have already picked a few games up and will be getting the god of war bundle here shortly

Now im thinking i may pick up a Nintendo DS around xmas. In that thread a bunch of people were suggesting a DS and said it had great rpgs. I dismissed it because i was concentrating on the PSP at the time, and frankly am not a fan of anything nintendos put out after the SNES. Well heres the thread for you guys to give me some game suggestions.

First a little background and question on the system iteself:

I will be getting this for almost exclusively gaming at home. I dont really take stuff portable. The only reason i was getting the psp was that it has a bunch of remakes and exclusives i really wanted (Valkyrie profile II, ys 7, ZHP, and some remakes) I plan to use it and the DS at home. That said im really looking for advice on which DS model i should get. Should i just get the DS lite? or get the DSI or DSiXL? The DSiXL is appealing to me since I'm 6'3 and have rather large hands (i loved the old xbox duke controller) the regular ds looks quite tiny and im worried it may be hard to use in my hands. The problem is that I heard that the XL has the same resolution screen as the other models. If thats the case, then does the bigger screen actually make games look worse? Im hoping someone has some experience with it because i noticed costco has them on sale for 140 bucks. I also hear it has a bigger stylus. Oh, one final thing worth mentioning, i dont give a damn about the wireless network on the DSi and XL. I have no intention whatsoever of ever d.loading any games.

so Which system should i get?

onto the games:

I want a list of what some of the best, or just good RPG's are on the system. I would also be open for suggestions for some unique or good non rpg games that may be worth a look. (i hear scribblenauts is interesting? what the hell is cooking mama? lol) For the PSP I had at least a vague notion of a few games i wanted. In this case im starting from scratch. I have no idea what kinda rpgs or games are out for the system that are worth a look

The only game I heard about, and the reason i initially looked at the DS, was Suikoden Tierkreis. Im a huge Suikoden fan. Some people told methe world ends with you is supposedly really cool as well, but thats about it for the stuff i've heard about.. Oh, i saw Etrian Odyssey 3 at Fry's with a cool artbook, but the game looks kinda odd.

Thats about the extent of my DS game knowledge =P so i really need some suggestions from you guys

I would also like to know if there are any good kids games on the system. I have a 4 year old niece that would love to play some of the games where you raise puppies or kittens, but theres a glut of them out there. I have no idea if any are actually good or if they're all crap. Anyone know of any decent kids games she could play for the DS?

hope to hear some replies so i can start looking up games, throwing together a list, and decide what system to get! i gotta get the xl soon if im going that route since its on sale

[flojocabron]

get the Advance wars games. they are strategy games and I am constantly playing them.

you cant go wrong with Castlevania theres three of them out there for you to beat

I really dont buy kiddy games so I cant help you on that.

but I'm sure others here can give you better suggestions

[Boaradoor]

I have a DSI XL, I have to say I like it a lot better than the original or lite. The screen is large, and the resolution on the screen seems to have no affect. I played Dementium the ward on it, the levels and graphics look the same on all models of DS. I have an oversized styls, a little smaller than a bic pen, but not by much. I would highly suggest it.

[Ivo]

Kirby Canvas Curse is a good starting game that is kid friendly and still a worthwhile experience for adults.

Cooking Mama is basically mini-games. You tap and slice the stylus across the screen to mimic some cooking tasks. Best to check a video clip of it in action. It is also kid friendly but possibly a bit repetitive to be a good choice (I sort of like it, but it is not for everyone). Trauma Center was a better game with the same sort of idea IMO, although it is much harder and not necessarily kid friendly.

If you don't mind paying the extra money for it, the XL is probably the way to go for you (particularly as you mentioned your large hands) - the Lite has the advantage of having the GBA cart slot, I don't know if that is relevant for you but it certainly is for me (I have an old GBA, not the SP, and nowadays I just play GBA games on the DS due to the clamshell form and lit screen).

Ivo.

[Betamax001]

As far as RPG's go, it has a solid port of Chrono Trigger, which when it came out people made a fuss about because it was 40 bucks, but now it can be had for less than 20 bucks. And with that option of it being portable (I know you said you didn't but, you never know!) you have that option to play it anywhere!

Also Final Fantasy III was pretty fun, and I heard good things about the similar remake they did for Final Fantasy IV (haven't played it myself, but I want to)

Also Dragon Quest IV was pretty solid as well. They printed alot more copies of IV then the remake of V, but thats there as well.

[ZeroAX]

unique DS games worth a look:

Phownix Wright series. Really funny crime adventure games. Play the entire original trilogy (starts with ace attorney -> Justice for All -> Trials and something)


Professor Layton series. Loved these games.

Kirby Canvas Curse. excellent and very original platform game


The World Ends With You. very good and original JRPG

Picross. excellent puzzle game.


Good kids game

Toy Story 3. Bought it for my baby cousins, and they love it.

[gtmtnbiker]

I've been playing Super Mario 64 DS for the past 6 weeks. A lot of fun if you like platformers.

New Super Mario Bros DS is also very good (easier than the Wii version but it's different).

Picross 3D is a blast if you like puzzle games.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is also very good in my opinion.

I second the XL recommendation. Just buy a cheap GBA SP for the GBA/GB/GBC games.

[brunoafh]

Final Fantasy 4 remake - a really cool remake. There's tons of stuff added, the entire game is overhauled. The art style may put you off, maybe not though. Definitely worth looking into if you liked FF4.
Final Fantasy The 4 Heroes of Light - just got this one, it's a standalone game, but it's pretty cool.
Knights in the Nightmare - this is a really good one, probably my favorite DS RPG. The gameplay is very difficult to explain, you just have to play it. It combines shump elements into what is really an SRPG. It's a tough game with a steep learning curve, but some will find it worth it.
Contact - a good action RPG made by Grasshopper Manufacture. Seems to go under the radar a lot.
Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon - Can't go wrong with the Fire Emblem series. Here's yet another remake, it's quality though.
Mega Man Star Force series - the successor to the Battle Network series. Some unique gameplay here, worth looking into.
Castlevania series - obvious choice, but Order of Ecclesia is really fantastic. It's more "RPGish" than the other Castlevania DS choices.

Resident Evil Deadly Silence - not an RPG, but an interesting remake of the original Resident Evil that seems to go overlooked. Thought it was worth mentioning.

As for which DS, I'd go with one that's backwards compatible with GBA games, if you're interested in that at all. There's a huge selection of great GBA games (plenty of RPGs), and they're usually quite inexpensive.

[alienjesus]

I'll throw out some RPG suggestions seeing as thats one of the things you want to know most:

Final Fantasy 3, 4, 4 heroes of light
Dragon Quest 4,5,9
Golden Sun Dark Dawn (When it's out in december at least)
Chrono Trigger
Mario & Luigi - Partners in Time/ Bowsers Inside Story
The World Ends With You
Pokemon Platinum/Heartgold


There are a whole bunch of others I cant really vouch for because i haven't tried them, but which seem interesting, such as Sands of Destruction, Devil Survivor, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Avalon Code, Etrian Odyssey, Suikoden, Nostalgia, Phantasy star 0, Shiren the Wanderer (a roguelike) and Contact.

If you're into SRPGs then you can add Disgaea DS, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and maybe Knights in the Nightmare to that list aswell.

I could recommend so many more games from other genres, but if there's one thing the DS isn't hurting for it's RPGs. I've not even touched on a whole load of them!

[Retrozoa]

Here's a pretty extensive list of any great, good, or decent game for ds, with approppriate metacritic ratings:

http://vsrecommendedgames.wikia.com/wiki/Nintendo_DS

Hope that helps.