3DS, DSiWare + DS Game Recommendations & Mini-Reviews

[Yossarian]

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

Aside from what Tides have already suggested.

There is Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles which has a ****-poor translation. But you could get this game for real cheap and I assume the series is pretty well known in Japan. I also want to play the sequel to Jake Hunter which I can't find anywhere.

And there is also Time Hollow which I really loved, especially if you are a fan of Shadow of Destiny/Memories for the PS2.

Thanks for the tips especially on Time Hollow. I loved Shadow of Memories.
Hopefully my rental place will come through on the Phoenix Wright games soon.

In other news, I saw Invasion of the Teenage Zombie Brain Thingies or whatever it's called for a mere £7. Unfortunately, Valkyrie Chronicles was no longer in the sale. Yesterday it was £15, today it's back to £30. Boo.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Consider also the Professor Layton games, which are point & click / puzzle hybrids with fun Saturday morning cartoon-style mystery plots.

[Yossarian]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Consider also the Professor Layton games, which are point & click / puzzle hybrids with fun Saturday morning cartoon-style mystery plots.

I have those! Great games.

[Tides of Chaos]

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

There is Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles which has a ****-poor translation. But you could get this game for real cheap and I assume the series is pretty well known in Japan. I also want to play the sequel to Jake Hunter which I can't find anywhere.

The 2nd Jake Hunter is supposed to basically serve as a replacement for the failure of the first game. The sequel has all the story/cases you need from the first game, a much better translation and it also has other stuff that really makes the game a better, more fun experience. It may be about $10 more expensive than the 1st game, it's superior in every way. So much so, that you don't need the 1st game. (keep in mind this is all from what I've read. I actually haven't played the game myself even though I am interested)

[enigmaopoeia]

Originally Posted by Tides of Chaos

The 2nd Jake Hunter is supposed to basically serve as a replacement for the failure of the first game. The sequel has all the story/cases you need from the first game, a much better translation and it also has other stuff that really makes the game a better, more fun experience. It may be about $10 more expensive than the 1st game, it's superior in every way. So much so, that you don't need the 1st game. (keep in mind this is all from what I've read. I actually haven't played the game myself even though I am interested)

That's very good news to hear! Too bad nowhere here sells that game. I can only find copies of the first Jake Hunter game new and used.

[Tides of Chaos]

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

That's very good news to hear! Too bad nowhere here sells that game. I can only find copies of the first Jake Hunter game new and used.

Amazon seems to have copies in stock.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

Thanks for the tips especially on Time Hollow. I loved Shadow of Memories.
Hopefully my rental place will come through on the Phoenix Wright games soon.

In other news, I saw Invasion of the Teenage Zombie Brain Thingies or whatever it's called for a mere £7. Unfortunately, Valkyrie Chronicles was no longer in the sale. Yesterday it was £15, today it's back to £30. Boo.

It's on Wii Ware (Phoenix Wright). Don't wait to rent a DS game, just buy the Wii Ware game.

[Diebythesword]

Ninjatown is only 10 at Gamestop.

[Yossarian]

Originally Posted by Refa

It's on Wii Ware (Phoenix Wright). Don't wait to rent a DS game, just buy the Wii Ware game.

I know that but the reviews have not been kind to the port of a port. I'd rather play it on the small screen anyway as my TV time is severely limited.

[Tides of Chaos]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

I know that but the reviews have not been kind to the port of a port. I'd rather play it on the small screen anyway as my TV time is severely limited.

The reviews have been unkind because it's a port of a port. Capcom put no effort into it so reviewers slammed it, it's still the same great game though. But yeah, if your TV time is limited or you'd rather have a portable game, then DS version all the way.

[Yossarian]

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume - I know little about it other than what Digiki described to me, which made it seem very complicated. Still, my gut instinct is telling me to keep my eye on it. Plus, the price seems right. Should I take the plunge?

Um...maybe. It's not hugely complicated. I found it less rule heavy and more forgiving than the FF Tactics game on the PSP. It has a neat twist that has you sacrificing your allies to gain phenomenal cosmic power but doing so will impact on the plot and the characters you meet.

There are three endings and an unlockable special dungeon so there's plenty of replay value.

The plot is a bit stupid and the dialogue is painfully bad so if story is important to you with this sort of tactical RPG you may be better off getting something else. The combo system is fun though and the overkill system is satisfying when you want to punish an enemy for its cheap tricks .

Sonic Chronicles - Mini-review

A Sonic RPG seemed a bit of a weird choice but it turned out to be a good one. It had a compelling storyline and used the characters well. The interaction between characters could be pretty funny and the music was good but the battle music was great! That turned out to be a good thing as there were a lot of them. This did become a little annoying at times as the amount of XP gained from these fights took a nose dive after a certain point. At this point fleeing was the preferable option which was a minigame of its own.

The combat itself was pretty fun. It was turn based with each character having a certain amount of slots and power moves based on a point system. You could have moves that combined character attacks in a Chrono Trigger style too. The special moves were activated by Elite Beat Agent style QTEs (but not as insanely fast as EBA!). The more powerful moves have more complex or faster commands but the positions rarely changes so once learned you shouldn't have any problems. Enemies had their own set of POW moves too and you could defend them in the same way.

The levels were interesting and encouraged exploration using the different skills of your team (smash, climb, dash and such). The main reason for exploration is collecting rings (money!) and chaos to boost your characters' abilities. There are also lots of little side quests (mainly search and destroy or fetch quests) for extra XP, items and characters.

There's a little scope for customising your characters as they level up. You can allocate extra points to attack, defence, speed and luck. You can also choose what special POW moves you use and increase their power.

This brings us to one of the flaws of the game. I never saw the game over screen. Some battles turned into tedious wars of attrition but I never had more than one character knocked out in the same round. As the game goes on your character attacks can become ridiculously powerful and certain abilities wipe out the need to carefully manage your PP points so you end up spamming super moves until you win.

If you don't mind the relative lack of challenge than this is a minor issue. The game is fun with a good mix of exploration, combat and light puzzles.

8/10

[Mickeymac]

Hey, I'm trying to figure out what PSP/DS games to get in the summer before I head off to college. Mege Man Zero Collection, Pokemon HeartGold, and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor are pretty much assured, but I was also thinking of grabbing 3 or 4 more to go along with 'em. So far I've thought of:

• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona - #1 on my list, but I'm not sure if the battle system will hold up.
• The World Ends With You - I played it before, but I didn't like it much. I may change my mind, though, but is that too big a risk to take?
• Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - An RTS on the go would be great, but I don't know if this will be any good.
• Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - I heard this one was good, but I'm unconvinced. What puts it above Tactics Advance?
• Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - Top choice out of the Final Fantasy DS games. I loved the first Tactics Advance, and this one is supposed to be better. Why shouldn't I get it?
• Final Fantasy 6 Advance - My least favorite in the main series, but one of the last I need to complete my collection. Should I get it now, while I still can?
• Advance Wars - I love the series, but should I even bother with the first?
• Disgaea DS - I love Strategy games, and this one has a sense of humor to boot. But what puts it above the rest?

I know these aren't recommendations, and I know there are some PSP games here, too, but I didn't know where else to ask.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

The original FFT is better than the Advance series in most ways, but if you really like FFTA then you might not like the original, because they're really different games / different series. I don't just mean stylistically. Everything is different, including gameplay.

In FFT, there are no laws / no law system. You don't learn skills in the same way. In FFT, you start with a couple of jobs unlocked, and you unlock new jobs by reaching certain levels in other jobs / other combinations of jobs. Each job has a huge pool of skills of various kinds (attack skills, passive skills, move skills, etc.) and you can spend your job points (like experience points) freely on any skill you want.

FFTA is episodic and based on doing quests/missions. FFT, by contrast, is more story-driven. There are random battles, but the story is advanced by going to the next location and doing a battle there. The game has one of the best, deepest, most complex and intelligent stories/plots of any I've ever played, but it was marred by a horrific translation in the original PS1 version. The PSP remake fixes this quite nicely, but adds some battle cinematic delay/lag for some reason.

[Refa]

Persona PSP while you can get it for cheap.

[Mickeymac]

Alright, I decided I'll get Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, and Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 if they have it.

I'll get the other 3 Final Fantasy games as Christmas presents, even if they have to be christmas presents from me.

However, if I can get a 4th, should I get TWEWY, Advanced Wars, or Disgaea?

[Mickeymac]

I just remembered Kingdom Hearts 238/2 Days(or whatever), so that will probably be my 4th if I can get one.

[enigmaopoeia]

I'm almost finished with The Dark Spire and I need a RPG/SRPG to replace its spot. But my issue is that I am looking for a short game, preferably one that is 20 to 30 hours long. Kudos points if it is an easy game because I can't stand to play something really challenging right now. Sidequests doesn't matter to me because if I like the game enough, I'll spend the extra hours into it. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was just perfect because I was able to finish that in 27 hours and loved every minute of it.

Here are my choices:

• A Witch's Tale [DS] = Heard good and bad stuff about this game.
• Fire Emblem [GBA] = I'm wary that I should play Shadow Dragon first.
• Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon [DS] = Since I'm still a newbie to Fire Emblem, would it be best to start with this?
• Golden Sun [GBA] = I don't know anything about this series!
• Luminous Arc 2 [DS] = For the fanservice. But the fact that I need to finish it four times to get everything is scary.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor [DS] = This seems really long and I really want to devote my time to this game.

These games are removed from my listing due to them being long and/or involves grinding:

• Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled [DS] = The clunky battle system kills me, but is it worth it in the end?

So tell me guys what you think! =D

Also a quick question: Are the Fire Emblem series connected to each other [Aside from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn]? Or are they separate entries like the Final Fantasy series?

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

[*]Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled [DS] = The clunky battle system kills me, but is it worth it in the end?

Slow = long. Grindy = hard. Decent game but it doesn't fit your criteria right now.

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

Also a quick question: Are the Fire Emblem series connected to each other [Aside from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn]?

No. There's no reason to start with Shadow Dragon over Fire Emblem. Shadow Dragon has simpler/older mechanics, but it also has some different features in terms of how you're supposed to think about the game. (Fire Emblem has shallow placeholder characters, but Shadow Dragon has shallower placeholderer characters—you're not supposed to care about them as people, since they're generic units.) Etc. etc. etc..

[Tides of Chaos]

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

Also a quick question: Are the Fire Emblem series connected to each other [Aside from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn]? Or are they separate entries like the Final Fantasy series?

To my knowledge, the games have very limited/no connection story-wise for the portable entries out in North America. And I'd say you should play the first Fire Emblem game rather than Shadow Dragon. Fire Emblem was the first Fire Emblem title available in North America and was the first I played and I had no problem getting into it and I loved what I got to play (don't own it but rented it). Also, not only has the game gotten better reviews than Shadow Dragon, but I personally think the 2D graphics of the two GBA titles blow the 3D graphics of Shadow Dragon out of the water. The style, detail, and crispness just seem so much better than Shadow Dragon's graphics. Some may disagree with me though so I guess you should just watch some videos to be sure.

[enigmaopoeia]

Thanks for the input, Joyo and Tides!

Hm, it sounds like I should play Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon first and then play the first Fire Emblem GBA game. Namely due to that I should play the first in the series and see how it has progressed throughout the years by playing the sixth installment later. Also I don't want to be turn off by playing the better game first and end up hating Shadow Dragon.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I don't think Fire Emblem is better than Shadow Dragon, and I don't think the 2D graphics are any better than Shadow Dragon's 2D graphics, but it seems like I'm in the minority on that one, so you might as well take the enig-safe route.

[Refa]

Fire Emblem Sacred Stones is a good place to start out, just because it's so damn easy. It might be a little broken, but I think it's a good game.

[enigmaopoeia]

My sister recommended me Golden Sun, she says that it's pretty simple and easy. So I'll go with that along with everyone's recommendation of Fire Emblem, but I'm gonna start out with Shadow Dragon first.

Thanks~!

[Refa]

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

My sister recommended me Golden Sun, she says that it's pretty simple and easy. So I'll go with that along with everyone's recommendation of Fire Emblem, but I'm gonna start out with Shadow Dragon first.

Thanks~!

Golden Sun has great exploration too. The story's pretty decent, but the worst part is is that it has long cutscenes (mostly at the beginning, though). Still, great gameplay and exploration. Apparently it's similar to Beyond The Beyond...

[Mickeymac]

Gotta warn you about Golden Sun...the beginning is horribly slow-paced and boring. It's one long, unskippable cutscene, but with the occasional playable parts so you can't just sleep through it, or go make a sandwhich. By the time I was done with it, I didn't have the urge to continue. Granted, just about everything about the game, from the graphics to the gameplay were total turn-offs for me, so who knows, you might get more out of it than I would.

[Refa]

Everyone who remotely likes Mega Man...X (and ZX) should get the Mega Man Zero Collection. Seriously, it's only $30, and all of the GBA games are quite expensive (and that's not even complete!). So yeah, great deal.

[enigmaopoeia]

Golden Sun seems alright so far, I got past the prologue and now I'm controlling Isaac, Garet, and Jenna. I personally don't mind the graphics because since Camelot also made Shining the Holy Ark, it put a huge smile on my face. It was like an indirect nostalgic moment for me, reliving my days of playing obsessively on the Sega Saturn. And Golden Sun is a great game for me to fully test out my Game Boy Micro.

And with Shadow Dragon, I am really liking the game already. I kinda have to put off Golden Sun because I'm too busy with managing my units and learning the ropes of Fire Emblem. I hope that I learn enough in the Fire Emblem series that when I replay Radiant Dawn, I might understand a lot of the mechanics like the Support system, Affinities, and etc. Also I didn't mind the graphics much in Shadow Dragon, then again I haven't played the GBA version to make that comparison.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

It was like an indirect nostalgic moment for me, reliving my days of playing obsessively on the Sega Saturn.

Heh, good thing you didn't play Beyond The Beyond, I hear Golden Sun was really similar to that game (and that Beyond the Beyond wasn't that great...).

[Mickeymac]

Speaking of Nostalgic Sega Saturn moments, as it turns out Nostalgia was actually a Sega Saturn game that was never released, and was eventually ported, finished, and released on the Nintendo DS. I think with that understanding I might actually be able to enjoy it, since it's more of a port of an old game rather than a new game that's trying too hard to emulate the old. It probably still won't be great, but it might be worth a try just to re-experience the '90s all over again, flaws and all.

[link64]

Bangai O Spirits: I would recommend this game to any one who is Treasure fan or is in the mood for something different and it's a usally a lot cheaper than the Dreamcast version (And of course the N64 version) if you shop around.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by link64

Bangai O Spirits: I would recommend this game to any one who is Treasure fan or is in the mood for something different and it's a usally a lot cheaper than the Dreamcast version (And of course the N64 version) if you shop around.

It's also a different game to the other two.

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by Betagam7

It's also a different game to the other two.

Even the Dreamcast "Version" is a different game, with a lot more levels. Well, I guess it isn't, since it still has the same story between the two. I wish Bangai-O Spirits actually had a wacky story with characters and such the way Bangai-O for the Dreamcast did, Maybe the XBLA BG-O will have one?

[Refa]

Bangai-O Spirits has a wacky tutorial, at least. The main game was way too hard for me to get into though, or even the final level of the tutorial.

[Rusty Gaiden]

Golden Sun 3 is out on the 29th.

People who have a bad opinion of GS need to step back and play their FF7. Just sayin'

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by Rusty Gaiden

Golden Sun 3 is out on the 29th.

People who have a bad opinion of GS need to step back and play their FF7. Just sayin'

I did. Golden Sun pales in comparison. It pales in comparison to a lot of other games, in fact.

[Refa]

I love Golden Sun, but I doubt the game would have even been greenlit by Nintendo had FFVII not made RPGs super popular in the US. So yeah, FFVII is kinda an important game, so implying that it sucks is not cool.

[Rusty Gaiden]

I own a copy of FF7, it was a favorite of mine growing up, however, the gameplay lacks. Alot. It makes up for gameplay with it's story, characters, and music.

Gameplay wise, FF7 pales in comparison to just about any previous or later installment in the FF series, along with rpgs as a whole.

Golden Sun isn't given credit where it's due, as many people don't give it a chance.

It's painful to read about someone who can bash the cinematics in Golden Sun. Especially when that same person, who feels FF7 is a better game, has no complaints on the 5-minute-long summoning sequences.

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by Rusty Gaiden

I own a copy of FF7, it was a favorite of mine growing up, however, the gameplay lacks. Alot. It makes up for gameplay with it's story, characters, and music.

Gameplay wise, FF7 pales in comparison to just about any previous or later installment in the FF series, along with rpgs as a whole.

Golden Sun isn't given credit where it's due, as many people don't give it a chance.

It's painful to read about someone who can bash the cinematics in Golden Sun. Especially when that same person, who feels FF7 is a better game, has no complaints on the 5-minute-long summoning sequences.

Jeez, and I was actually about to give you the benefit of the doubt and figured maybe you just meant that any complaint one would have with Golden Sun would be the same complaints as FF7, which could be true because they are similar games.

Anywho, The gameplay in FF7 is good. It's simple enough to be approachable by newcomers, but deep and challenging enough so you have to figure your your way through tough fights. In fact, most boss fights don't require grinding so long you just use strategy. Golden Sun isn't any better or worse in that regard, at least in the combat. What I don't like are the extremely basic customization options, and just how easy the game is. Even without grinding, I rarely had to use any ounce of strategy, not even on boss fights. At the very least in FF7 you had to pay attention.

But none of that really matters. The combat in Golden Sun is simple so it doesn't get in the way of the rest of the game. It's an extremely story-focused game and I respect that, but unfortunately that means a lot of your enjoyment hinges on whether or not you like the story, which I did not. It was just too poorly paced, cliche, and serious, and most importantly it was too melodramatic at the beginning - far too many bad things happened in the world and to the characters before I even knew the names of the main cast. That is a cardinal sin of story telling in my book, and pretty much any story that does that lands on my least favorites list with very few exceptions. It's just a huge turn off for me, and leaves a sour taste in my mounth that makes it very difficult for me to care about anything that happens in the rest of the game.

Sadly, aside from the story, the only other really strong aspect about GS were the puzzles, and I can take or leave those in any game. They were a nice addition, but they could never be enough to make me like the game. FF7, on the otherhand, is a more well-rounded game: It doesn't honestly excel in any one particular area, but it is pretty good in every area, especially every area that's important to me. Golden Sun did not.

[link64]

Originally Posted by Betagam7

It's also a different game to the other two.

I know I own both versions

Originally Posted by Mickeymac

Even the Dreamcast "Version" is a different game, with a lot more levels.

Actually Spirits has a lot more levels than the dreamcast version there just usally way smaller

Originally Posted by Rusty Gaiden

I own a copy of FF7, it was a favorite of mine growing up, however, the gameplay lacks. Alot. It makes up for gameplay with it's story, characters, and music.

Gameplay wise, FF7 pales in comparison to just about any previous or later installment in the FF series, along with rpgs as a whole.
.

Originally Posted by Mickeymac

Anywho, The gameplay in FF7 is good. It's simple enough to be approachable by newcomers, but deep and challenging enough so you have to figure your your way through tough fights. In fact, most boss fights don't require grinding so long you just use strategy. Golden Sun isn't any better or worse in that regard, at least in the combat. What I don't like are the extremely basic customization options, and just how easy the game is. Even without grinding, I rarely had to use any ounce of strategy, not even on boss fights. At the very least in FF7 you had to pay attention.
.

Neither Golden Sun or FF7 are great games but they do have there strong points(like music in FF7 case) combat isn't one of them and no I don't but that whole Its good for beginers since even Pokemon required more stratagy

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by link64

Actually Spirits has a lot more levels than the dreamcast version there just usally way smaller

I meant the Dreamcast version of Bangai-O Spirits has more levels than the Nintendo 64 version.

Originally Posted by link64

Neither Golden Sun or FF7 are great games but they do have there strong points(like music in FF7 case) combat isn't one of them and no I don't but that whole Its good for beginers since even Pokemon required more stratagy

But it doesn't matter since FF7 and Golden Sun are both story driven games. Pokemon requires more strategy because that's the entire point to the game besides collection and party customization, but then again, if the battles were too simple, those aspects would be pointless. On the otherhand, if battles in FF7 and GS were more challenging, strategy heavy, and grindy, the way Pokemon is, it would've disrupted the pacing of the story. The gameplay is good for what it's trying to be. I did find that the Gameplay in FF7 was stronger than I'd expect from a story-driven game, though.