OXCGN’s Nintendo DSi Impressions

Because We Play Anything!

by Shadow Wave

© 2009 Ben Cadwallader

Yeah, yeah…we are an Xbox site looking at Nintendo’s DSi.  We’ve often been criticised for looking at other consoles and their games, but we love gaming and though we have a special place in our hearts for the 360, we have plenty of love to spare for the others too.

I have never been one to get the least bit excited over a portable gaming console, though. I remember back in primary school, all the kids used to bring their little Gameboys to school and hit up Pokémon Red to see which one of the kids was the king of the playground.

I was never the least bit interested. I would save my gaming for the lounge room, coming home from school to play some good old Zelda or some Final Fantasy. The rich 3D colourful worlds were far better than the pixelated mess that the old handhelds displayed.

Then last year  to my surprise I received a Sony PSP and Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core as a much appreciated gift.  FF7:AC was probably the only portable game I truly wanted to get my hands on, as I am a massive fan of the Final Fantasy series.

But FF7:AC couldn’t hold my attention and I found holding that glossy screen in my hands for hours grew annoying. When I found out that I could connect my PSP to the television and play in full screen, I jumped at the opportunity but I was completely let down because games only played on a very small part of my LCD TV, with no full screen option.  Seriously, what’s the point?

The same thing has happened with the two other PSP games I purchased: Metal Gear Solid and God of War. It’s not that I hate these games, in fact I think they are great, but I just find anything on the small screen difficult to get into.

So I came to the conclusion that I simply am not a portable console gamer. My place is on the couch in the living room with the surround sound blaring.

But one day I was at my local EB Games store with a $350 gift card and found nothing I wanted to spend it on. I saw the new DSi, and snatched up a lovely black one.

I was impressed as soon as I turned the system on.

Turning it on brought me to a very simple menu where I could launch whatever I wanted from there. I figured before I got sucked into one of the games I bought I’d better look at the camera and the sound manipulator as I assumed I would never use them again (they are two of the DSi’s new features over the DS Lite and Phat).

The camera is quite a laugh for about 5 minutes, and manipulating your face is quite fun. I mucked around with all the settings and features and while it did not sustain my attention for long, I think children will find this feature super fun.

The voice recorder also was quite a laugh for a few minutes. After the initial “is that what my voice sounds like?!?!” moment, it was great fun to record my voice and speed it up or slow it down.  Even a few family members got a kick out of this.  Nintendo are masters of the cheap thrills for sure.

It is unmistakably cute: there is this little budgerigar that likes to whistle whatever you say at random times.  It echoes the words you say, but whistles the sound, and I have to sheepishly admit it’s kind of cool.  Once again, this feature is a ball for children as I discovered over the recent Easter Weekend.  During our family gathering I found my DSi got most of the attention, and it was not even with the games, but simply just having fun with the voice recorder and camera!

I’m quite happy I have found a replacement to them hogging my Xbox 360 during all family functions!

But I bought the DSi for gaming, not for goofing around.

I chose Mario as my first game of choice. I was pleasantly surprised with New Super Mario Bros as a quick, fun game that I could pop on for times when I need 5 – 10 minutes to pass by quickly.  I played a few levels and beat the first castle and boss.  Overall, I thought it was great fun. It was graphically pleasing to the eye and was very simple to play and my only real negative is I that don’t like the new soundtrack.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was next, and I was quite excited to play this as I had just played through Zelda: Wind Waker and I was ready to continue the story. These graphics surprised me as well.  For a less powerful console they were really quite good.  From what I played the story seems a little basic but I’m sure it will get more complicated once I play through more. As with the Nintendo Wii, this game’s control system takes a little while to get used to. Almost all of the controls are operated through the DSi’s touch screen with its stylus; everything from attacking to movement.  But it was all pretty easy to pick up and adapt to, although I worry that I’m going to forget how to perform a certain action with the touch stylus if I leave the game for any serious period of time.

Chrono Trigger is a classic game but its arrival on the DS is a much more exciting thing for any RPG fan living in a PAL region, because if they stayed legal and away from modchips, they are probably yet to experience its amazing goodness.  I was one of these Chrono virgins so I was excited to jump at the chance to experience this classic.

This game sucks you into to its complex story within the first 5 minutes and I just couldn’t put this game down.  Luckily it was a very stormy day and so I felt no obligation to stop playing it.  I had about a 6 hour gaming session (a rare occurrence for me), only stopping for lunch. Everything about it was amazing and fun.  Now I’m currently 18 hours into this game and I am almost ready to tackle the final boss.

I am loving all the games I’ve played on the DSi.

It feels like you are playing a game made for a portable system, not like some of the PSP games that are dumbed down ports of their PS2 counterparts, which I found very annoying (Sony fanboys, note I said ‘some’ not ‘all’).

The long hours of gaming were all thanks to one major plus the DSi has; the matt plastic square body.  I could spend all day praising this risky design choice. Sure it doesn’t look as special, but damn you could hold that baby for hours without feeling the need to wipe your hands or anything. It grips and isn’t slippery.  I think Nintendo needs to make the matt plastic body a bigger part of their advertising.

On top of that there is one other feature I think is fantastic.  Just closing the lid on the DSi will pause your adventure instantly, go to sleep mode and conserve battery. Soon as you life the lid the game will continue instantly.  I know the PSP has a similar system, but it’s hardly as easy or efficient as this, in my opinion.

I am yet to experience the DSi store, as I do not want to waste my free 1000 DSi store points on what is up there now.  It will be saved for something that is truly worthwhile, and hopefully we get the DSi Virtual Console that has been rumoured to be released in the future.

Have I been converted to becoming a portable console gamer?

No, I don’t think I have, my portable gaming sessions have still been on the couch, but I think I have a new appreciation for some portable console focused games and console features.  I quite frankly hate the Nintendo Wii, but in my opinion while Nintendo have take a wrong step in the home console department they certainly are moving in a promising direction for the future of portable gaming.

I know I won’t be selling my DSi anytime soon, and maybe perhaps I might actually pull out the old dusty PSP and beat Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children while I’m in such a good mood about portable gaming.

If I could score the DSi I would give it 9/10.  I am not comparing it to the DS Lite or Phat; I think it’s simply a great system for all ages.  The screen size I think is just right and the added Internet connectivity and matt plastic body is sure to keep people talking and buying.  Nintendo builds on the strengths of the DS system and comes up with another winner here.

© 2009 Ben Cadwallader

Please share us around

Filed under: Game Impressions, Handhelds, Hardware News, Industry News, Xbox 360 News, Xbox Community Network Tagged: | Chrono Trigger, DS Lite, DSi, FF7:AC, Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children, Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core, Metal Gear Solid, New Super Mario Bros, nintendo, nintendo dsi, Nintendo wii, Pokémon Red, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Zelda