My DS Collection Thread: Information, Advice, Market.

I'm getting into DS collecting as a hobby now - I've been out of gaming for a few years now, and after playing the crap out of The New Super Mario Brothers on my daughters DS, I went and got my own and have built a small but quality collection in the past 2 weeks.

The purpose of this thread is to get gaming experts and collectors input to help me build a great, solid collection of wonderful games I can enjoy for a long time.

I figured the DS suits me perfectly as it provides me with a hearty helping of 16-bit gaming with sides of 32 and 64-bit.

And with some of my favorite games of all time landing on the platform, what have I got to lose?

Here is my collection so far:

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Final Fantasy IV
Princess Peach
Yoshis Island DS
New Super Mario Brothers
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Brain Age 1
Brain Age 2
Big Brain Academy
Animal Crossing
Bangai-O Spirits
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The World Ends With You
Final Fantast Tactics A2
Final Fantasy Revenant Wings
DS CLUB NINTENDO Tingle's Balloon Fight
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Final Fantasy III
Drawn to Life
Mario Kart DS
Mario 64 DS
Harvest Moon
Sonic Rush


I want to own some good import titles that WILL NOT come out here.

I'm also looking for the following titles SEALED or in SOLID MINT condition.

Electroplankton U.S.
Yoshi Touch & Go! U.S.
Advance Wars Dual Strike U.S.
Puyo Puyo Fever U.S.
Feel The Magic XY/XX U.S.
Zoo Keeper U.S.
WarioWare Touched! U.S.
Mr. Driller Drill Spirits U.S.

Please get me going in the right direction.

And sell me some good games.

First off - What are some good and understandable import platformers, shooters, unique titles?

Are you only looking for DS games or are you also interested in GBA titles?

The import scene for the DS is dry for the most part. Someone mentioned Stafi in the other thread, that's about it.

Lagduf said:

Are you only looking for DS games or are you also interested in GBA titles?

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As of now, just DS - I have a grasp on the GBA market.

But since I've been out of the loop for so long on the DS - I will need assistance.

I didn't even know half of these games existed.

I'm picking up Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Chocobo's Dungeon.

Whats on store shelves right now that I NEED to pick up.

I'm gonna lay off the RPGs except for what I've mentioned.

NO SPORTS TITLES unless its a unique title i.e. Prince of Tennis

Is Drawn to Life any good?

I need a strict list to follow.

And even if the title isn't your favorite and everyone else likes it, please recommend it.

And I'm VERY stumped on the import market.

I have no clue what is what?

I would really like a good Puzzle/Platformer/Shooter

And name the EXTREMELY RARE titles that I'll have to sort through.

No, I don't want a flash cart and ROMs.

I needed a hobby and this is it.

Also looking for some unique hardware.

And Club Nintendo Exclusives.

No protos.

LoneSage said:

The import scene for the DS is dry for the most part. Someone mentioned Stafi in the other thread, that's about it.

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Agreed. Other than this game (link below) there isn't a lot.

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-9g-49-en-70-2so1.html


I use to import a lot but most of the games weren't very import friendly and just weren't that amazing.

For USA releases, I would suggest you pick up N+. It is only $20 and is fantastic. The reviews have been very good for this as well. Also, Final Fantasy CC is a lot of fun and one of the very few co-op adventure games on the DS. It is a $40 game but some Targets had it on clearance for $20.

What about Resident Evil?

Worth it?

TonK said:

What about Resident Evil?

Worth it?

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Only if you can get it cheap. Multiplayer was pretty lame and the controls aren't very good IMO.


Here are some games I like to play...

Space Invaders Extreme (you should really read some reviews on this game)
N+
Arkanoid
Geometry Wars
Touchmaster
Crosswords DS
Contact
Trioncube

I may have an extra brand new/sealed Zelda PH stategy guide if you end up needing one.

Kirby Canvas Curse is still the best DS game if you ask me.

I don't think it's rare but I don't think it's that easy to find locally in most cases either.

Still, fantastic game.

One of the few DS games (and games in general) I'm going to hold onto.

oh snap joe just reminded me Kirby Super Star Ultra just came out.

that's a must buy.

No DS collection is complete without Doki Doki Majo Shinpan.

Does anyone have a copy of Yoshi's Touch and Go? That was one of my first DS games and I loved it - pretty difficult if I remember correctly.

How about Polarium? Has it aged well?

(This probably won't be any new information for you, but here goes...)

If you like old point-and-click computer adventure games, the Phoenix Wright series (er, ahem, "Ace Attorney" series) is pretty similar and should be right up your alley. The fourth game left me a bit cold, but I loved the first three.

You probably know about Contra 4 -- it's not my favorite Contra by any means, but it was very enjoyable. You may not know about "Commando: Steel Disaster" which is a $20 Metal Slug rip off; stay away from it, it's really mediocre.

You should definately buy Picross if you like puzzle games. It's a really fun game, and you can download a ton of puzzles.

TonK said:

And Club Nintendo Exclusives.

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There's a game and watch collection if you're into that sort of thing. When I bought it, I got it for $60 sealed (with original shipping box), but the last time I looked they were like $30ish.

Lochlan said:

(This probably won't be any new information for you, but here goes...)

If you like old point-and-click computer adventure games, the Phoenix Wright series (er, ahem, "Ace Attorney" series) is pretty similar and should be right up your alley. The fourth game left me a bit cold, but I loved the first three.

You probably know about Contra 4 -- it's not my favorite Contra by any means, but it was very enjoyable. You may not know about "Commando: Steel Disaster" which is a $20 Metal Slug rip off; stay away from it, it's really mediocre.

You should definately buy Picross if you like puzzle games. It's a really fun game, and you can download a ton of puzzles.



There's a game and watch collection if you're into that sort of thing. When I bought it, I got it for $60 sealed (with original shipping box), but the last time I looked they were like $30ish.

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Good call on the Phoenix Wright games - there are 4?

And Trauma Center - I need to get those - only 2 right?

M3 DS REAL yo. You can own Any game, at any time, and switch them out any time.

TonK said:

First off - What are some good and understandable import platformers, shooters, unique titles?

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I don't have a DS myself but you might try reading some of the reviews from here:

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/index.php?menu=nds

Lots of imports etc amd mostly well written reviews.

INfintido said:

M3 DS REAL yo. You can own Any game, at any time, and switch them out any time.

Click to expand...

He said he doesn't want flash carts.

Contra DS (Contra 4 in the US) - extremely well done especially for US devs, will kick your ass for sure

The Legend of Kage 2 - OG ninja action

Elite Beat Agents 1 and 2
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Sonic Rush <---- REALLY great Sonic game in my opinion
Trauma Center
Metal Slug 7

The above are just a few good DS games that come to mind which you didn't list.

TonK said:

Good call on the Phoenix Wright games - there are 4?

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The fourth one is called "Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney" and features a different protagonist. It's similar to the DS-exclusive 5th case of the first Phoenix Wright game, in that it has additional features not present in the earlier titles. For example, you can examine polygonal evidence in 3d (which is fun, you can look for things hidden at weird angles) or "dust for fingerprints" and do other forensic work (useless).

The most significant of the 4th game's new features: when cross-examining a witness, at certain points you can look for their tics to reveal that they are lying. I s'pose it's ok, but it didn't really spice up the mechanic.

I thought the story was passable, and the puzzles were fun enough, but the game lacked the charm of earlier titles. Furthermore, while adjusting the game mechanic, they removed or altered certain things that I really enjoyed (e.g. they removed the Psyche Lock system introduced in the second game). I definately think it's the weakest game in the series, but it's not "bad".

The first game is the best. The second two continue the storyine while building on the game mechanic, and are also quite fun.

TonK said:

And Trauma Center - I need to get those - only 2 right?

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I have the first one. It's pretty fun and has a great presentation and atmosphere. However, the difficulty of the operations can be pretty high as the game progresses, and it's really easy to get stuck on something and have to do it over and over until you want to drive off a cliff.

Don't get me wrong, I like difficult games -- PCBs and the like are my bread and butter -- but Trauma Center requires constant attention and multitasking to solve the stages, and it can be quite exhausting, to the point where it just isn't fun anymore.

It's a great game, and it's very unique, but I don't think it's for everyone.

No mention of Meteos? It's a great little puzzler and you can likely pick it up fairly cheap just about anywhere, no need to have someone sell it.

In terms of imports, there is that European import for that Tingle game which is probably worth tracking down for collectors purposes.

http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/NTR-P-ACHP.html

An old one i really still like to play is:Metroid Prime pinball.
And my girlfriend is crazy about her Guitar Hero ds pack with guitar grip.

Tonk I have Mr. Driller, sent ya a PM.

As for what I'm enjoying at the moment (dunno if they're entirely up your alley):
Phoenix Wright series
Kirby Super Star (definitely your type of 16 bit style game)
Osu Tatake Ouendan (not exactly an exclusive import since there's an Americanized release (Elite Beat Agents), it has a sequel too)
Densetsu no Stafi (good import exclusive, I'm playing the 5th installment, but I think the 4th one is on DS too, it's 16 bit style (reminds me of Kirby meets Ecco the Dolphin))
Geometry Wars Galaxies
KORG DS-10
WarioWare Touched (you already have your eye on this, it's a great game)