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I am sure most of you remember the letter I wrote to Q&A about the Nintendo DS back at the beginning of the RPGamer Idol contest. It caused quite a stir for the next two days. To sum it up, I was pretty bitter about the seemingly gimmicky features that it possessed and was bound determined not to waste my money on it. However, I did end up buying a Nintendo DS last weekend, regardless of how much I ranted and raved about it a few months ago. The price was right, and there was a game I wanted to play.
Call me a hypocrite if you like, but I think that I have had my views reformed over the past few months by a few people I've talked to. I started to see how the touch screen could at least be implemented without getting annoying. Then, games started coming out that I was interested in. There are also a few games that are being made that I am excited about. I still fail to see the point in the microphone, but I also haven't encountered a game that uses it. Right now, the only game I'm playing for it is Mario Kart DS.
Well, I thought I'd share my views on the Nintendo DS thus far. I have had a mixture of good and bad feelings about it, but I am happy with my purchase. The system has its good points, some bad points, and perhaps an ugly one.
The Good. I find the touch screen is easy to use. It isn't over sensitive, but you don't have to mash the stylus on it either. Another thing I found very appealing was the "surround sound" that it has. The sound far surpasses that of any other handheld system I've used, and makes the Game Boy Advance games sound so much better. I can actually enjoy the music instead of straining to hear it. I am also very impressed with the crisp image on both screens. The color is vibrant and, at times, better than I could get on my TV screen. I'd also like to note that even when the touch screen gets a bit smudgy, you can't really tell until you turn the system off. Although I haven't had the chance to use it yet, I also like the idea of some games having an online multiplayer feature. Mario Kart DS will never be the same after I've had the chance to play against other people in the coming week.
The Bad. Well, right now I don't have much bad to say about it. There is only really one thing, in fact. From what I've heard from others that I've talked to, the Nintendo DS is very picky about its wireless connection. It takes quite a bit of work at times to set up and have fully operational. In my attempts to grab onto the wireless connection at school, I experienced this for myself. Now, right now I don't have a wireless router. I really don't have a need for one. So, instead, I decided to spend the extra money that I saved from my Nintendo DS purchase on Nintendo's Wi-Fi USB Connector. This will essentially save myself from forming a headache from trying to set up a wireless router to its specifications. To me, that alone is worth a bit of extra money.
The Ugly. Okay. This seems to be a universal issue, ranging from people with large hands to small girly ones like mine. When I first picked up the Nintendo DS and started playing Mario Kart DS it wasn't even ten minutes before my hands started to cramp up so bad I could barely type at the time. The bottom portion of the system should have been made thicker, because it is way too thin to hold comfortably without taking a lot of extra time to adapt. Granted, I finally found a way to hold it that doesn't hurt so much. It took quite a bit of experimenting, though. If it weren't for the fact that I love the Mario Kart games, I probably wouldn't have taken the time to let myself get used to it. With that said, while the painful adapting was only short and temporary with me, I know someone who got the system the same day I did and is still having a bit of trouble getting used to it.
So, as you can see, I still have mixed feelings about the Nintendo DS. Would I have purchased the system for its current retail price? Probably not. But, as I said, the price was right. In a few weeks when I have money again, I am looking to pick up Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. I'm also very excited about future releases including Seiken Densetsu: Children of Mana, Xenosaga I & II and Final Fantasy III, if we ever see it.
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