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DS Daily: Heroes
No, we're not talking about the heroes you might be thinking of. We're talking about the heroes behind the heroes. The names and faces that make our games come alive. The visionaries, if you will.Yesterday's unveiling of a release date and the official website for Flower, Sun and Rain inspired a chat amongst the staff about the game's creator, Goichi Suda. You see, around these parts, we simply can't get enough of Suda's work: the wildly imaginative concepts, that inimitable visual style. Hand on heart, Suda's mere involvement in a project means a sale to this blogger is more than likely. We only wish others felt the same way.But what about you, reader? Is there a particular development guru you look up to? Are you more about Sakaguchi or Shiggy, Molyneux or Mizuguchi? And do you ever purchase a game solely because they played a part in its creation?
DS Daily: LOL!
Being the jovial types that we are, there's nothing we enjoy more than a good, hearty belly laugh, and sometimes we struggle to contain our mirth while getting our DS on.WarioWare: Touched! was perhaps the first title to really make us laugh out loud, and more recently Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and the Ace Attorney games have coaxed a titter or two from us. It's also worth noting that Kaboom Kaboom and Insecticide both look like they could contain a good few chuckles.We can't be alone in this respect, so which DS games crack you up?
DS Daily: Changing of the guard
Fans of the Ace Attorney series have probably figured out that the newest game features a new attorney, for reasons we're not gonna get into here. The point is, our beloved Phoenix Wright is out as the star, and the new kid, Apollo Justice is in. It's not the first time this has happened in a franchise, either. We're not just talking about spin-offs, like Tingle's Rosy Yet Crazy Land of Rupee Insanity, but an honest-to-goodness changing of the guard. Sometimes it doesn't last, as in Metal Gear Solid 2, and sometimes, the change is hardly noticeable, as with the parade of green-clad heroes who are forever saving princesses in the land of Hyrule. But with the Ace Attorney series and other instances, what do you think about it? Does it bother you to lose a cherished hero in favor of some johnny-come-lately?
DS Daily: On shooters
Shooters are rare on the DS, but not unheard of, though they often debut to mixed reactions. Metroid Prime Hunters is one of the system's most polarizing titles, and the same seems true of the more recent Touch the Dead. Yesterday's impressions of Dementium: The Ward seemed promising, and of course, IGN's Matt Casamassina continues to insist that someday, we're going to see Halo DS, maybe, kinda, probably -- not really. But do shooters really belong on the system? The touchscreen and other controls manage to do a lot of things really well, including some things that are really off the wall, such as acting as a full-fledged guitar. But is the DS suited to shooters? Considering the smaller screen size, some system limitations, and the unique control system, we can't help but wonder if we really need shooters, or if they're suited to the system.Don't get us wrong -- we love a good FPS. But that doesn't mean we necessarily have to have one on every available system, so we think it's a fair question. On the other hand, is there any reason not to have any FPS titles on the DS? Where do you stand?
DS Daily: Brain Training Training
With Brain Age 2 on the way, we thought we'd start helping everyone limber up mentally, in the most meta way we could think of. Let's come up with new Brain Age challenges! They may increase bloodflow to the prefrontal cortex, or they may not-- we have no idea! We'll get you started with some examples: You have two minutes to write as many jokes as you can about Dr. Kawashima's mama! Calculate Nintendo's profits based on a given number of Brain Age sales! How well can you remember the lyrics to Kris Kross's Sprite jingle?
DS Daily: Training -- what's left?
Alright, we get it. DS developers obviously think we can't do anything on our own. Let's just look at a few of the training titles for various regions so far: walking, brain, vision, yoga, gardening, spelling, reading, language, face ... geez, what's left? Someday -- and that day may be soon -- developers are going to end up putting really mundane things into trainers (as though walking wasn't mundane enough). We can only assume that next on the list is something like Button Training: Learn How to Dress Yourself in Minutes a Day! Well, as there are more of you than there are us, we're certain you can come up with even more ridiculous training games. And just think ... as silly as some may be, they just may end up on shelves, and they'll probably be awesome. Hygiene Training, here we come!Wait, that one may actually be useful for some people out there ....
DS Daily: So about those new Atlus games ...
With yesterday's announcement of three all-new (well, one is only half-new) games for the US from Atlus, we thought it might be a good time to ask which one sounds the most interesting to you. Do you want to do a little detecting with Mackenzie and her suspiciously-shaped sidekick? Are you more the type to get down with the rhythm, particularly when it looks inspired by Jet Grind Radio? Or do you want to be a Grapping superstar?So what'll it be? Ontamarama, Draglade, or Touch Detective 2½?
DS Daily: Sibling rivalry
For those of you have siblings -- whether you still live with them or not -- we thought we might ask about your gaming relationships with them. If you're a little older now and living apart, we're curious as to whether or not you both grew up gamers, and if you liked the same sorts of games. For those of you who still live with your rivals siblings, we pose the same questions, but we also wonder if you guys play together ... particularly when it comes to DS. Is everyone packing their own unit, or do you have to share?
DS Daily: Who should it be?
We can't stop thinking about who should do commercials for the Brain Age sequel in the U.S., and we think we've happened upon the perfect sponsor. Go forth, Nintendo, and get Mr. T. He can scare people smarter. Think you can come up with someone better? Let's just see you try!On a serious note -- hey, we can be serious sometimes! -- what about Jessica Alba? She apparently actually plays DS. Wouldn't that be a refreshing change in celebrity campaigns?
DS Daily: Machismo
Ever lie about what you're playing? Say, for instance, you're playing Pokemon, which is widely regarded among the non-gaming population (and certain contingents of the gaming population) as for babies, and you, as a non-baby, are asked what's in your DS by a friend. Do you say something distinctly un-baby-like, like Brain Age or the tough-sounding Tank Beat? Or do you stay true to yourself and happily announce that you're training your new Wurmple? Are there other situations in which you consider lying? If, for example, you are playing Brain Age and you're accosted by a gamer friend who hasn't joined the non-game revolution? Or if some bloggers survey their audience and you're playing something that you don't think is appropriately cool?
DS Daily: Import dreams
There are so many games for the DS in Japan -- a veritable flood each week, it seems -- that they couldn't all possibly make it outside the islands. To be fair, we probably wouldn't be interested in all of them, but sometimes there are great games that we just don't get. For those who are willing to import, that's fine, and luckily, the DS is region-free. But not everyone can manage it, or can handle even the lightest foreign text. So we're curious: what non-English language game do you want localized as soon as possible? Even if there's no chance of it ever happening, we want to know what you dream about.
DS Daily: Stand in the place where you game
Have you purchased any sort of DS stand? We admit, it's something we've thought about, but haven't gotten around to (there are so many games to buy instead!), but there are more of you than there are of us, so certainly (maybe!) someone has one. If not, have you also given it some thought? What kind of stand would you like? We can definitely see the benefit for stylus-only games.
DS Daily: Traveling plans
In honor of the (U.S.) holiday, we thought it might be a good time to talk about travel. One of the best features of the DS is its portability; you can take handhelds just about everywhere. But when planning for a trip, there are always a few questions to consider. Will you have a chance to actually use it? If you're going camping, say, do you really want to risk your DS ... particularly if you're the one likely to be behind the wheel? Where don't you take your DS? But if you're heading off for a plane ride and a few days in a hotel somewhere, the DS can be a welcome distraction. The question that remains is: how many games do you pack?
DS Daily: Best this year
The year is half over, and while we've got some big guns yet to come, there are months of gaming behind us. Considering that, we figured it was about time we asked: what's the best DS game you picked up this year? It needn't have necessarily been released this year, but since the beginning of 2007, what newly acquired title has spent the most time in your machine?We're guessing more than half the answers might start with "P" and end with "-okémon." But you know us -- we love a good adventure game.
DS Daily: Caught 'em all?
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl have been out for just over two months, and we suspect that there are still plenty of you out there playing. Either you've picked your copy up after the release date (which we always do) or you're just still working on catching and training those little buggers. Pokemon is a fairly deep game despite its apparent childishness, so it can take a long time to finish (or to decide to stop playing.)So who's still playing regularly? We ask because we're slowly building up our team in anticipation of a glorious future Game Night in which we can compete in a non-awful fashion. We emphasize slowly-- it turns out that work often takes time away from leisure activities. Outrageous, we know.
DS Daily: Personal time
All right, hands up: who here confesses to playing DS in the bathroom? It would take a brave soul to admit to it here on a public forum. But since we don't use real names here (uh, you don't, anyway) you should be safe against mockery from those you care about.Okay, now put those hands down and go wash them.
DS Daily: More technical difficulties
What is it with the shoulder buttons lately? We've gotten several e-mails from people who say that their shoulder buttons have just suddenly stopped working. Everything else is fine, but the shoulder buttons? DOA. So how are your buttons? And have you had any other issues recently? Broken DS units make sad pandas of us all.
DS Daily: Please win (no, really)
Details on the new minigames in Brain Age 2 have surfaced, and we finally know the origin of this hilarious screenshot. Dr. Kawashima isn't simply encouraging you (like he would ever do that!); instead, it turns out that part of the game is that sometimes you need to win at Rock, Paper, Scissors ... and sometimes, you need to lose. We can't wait to see that screen. "Please lose!" Gee, thanks. Next you're probably going to tell me that I fail at life.So what's the point? Well, we do love to talk about that wacky Dr. Kawashima around here (we like it a lot), but we figure that within a matter of months, "Please win" is a phrase that will work its way into our everyday lexicon of silly game phrases ... which of course leads us to ask you in turn about some of your other favorite wacky moments and unforgettable dialogue in gaming.%Gallery-3436%
DS Daily: Sideways
What do you prefer: games that use only the stylus and position the DS sideways, book-style, or traditional games with "normal" orientation (whether or not they use the buttons)? Personally, this blogger prefers the former, simply because it seems easier to hold the DS that way, but of course, it depends on the game. But overall, do you wish more games would employ the sideways style?
DS Daily: Those pesky names
Stupid names. Who needs 'em? We never did. Growing up, we never talked about moblins or lynel in The Legend of Zelda. We talked about the spear dudes and those stupid #*@&$^) centaur guys (except with more colorful metaphors). We were dirty, dirty children who shouldn't have been allowed to mix with the other children. But the point is, manual-reading aside, the official names for creatures in video games just never seemed to stick with us. Oh, maybe some (evil) people could summon the precise names for Lakitus and Metools, but we were not those people. This is why we like Castlevania. You know what a Fish Head is? It's a freakin' fish-headed monster. Even we can remember that. But what about you?
