My Nintendo DS Love Story (Rated “E” for Everyone)

Boredom is one of my biggest enemies (beside myself… I’m sure you can relate) Ever since I was a kid, once I got bored, things got ugly.

To combat my nemesis, I used to play video games; Nintendo, Super Nintendo, GameBoy, SegaCD, and later Nintendo 64. But then one day… the time I spent with my old friend disappeared entirely. Suddenly, video games were no longer a priority.

What happened? What happened to the kid who would set aside entire weekends to play one game? Did I… grow up?

I tried the Playstation, the Xbox, and GameCube with no success. Nothing I tried could renew my passion for gaming. What turned me off the most about the newer systems was the number of buttons and joysticks that were on the controller!

I know I sound like an old man, but how many hands does one need to play a video game? Vishnu might be able to rip it up on the Xbox, but what ever happened to just A and B buttons? Even the Super Nintendo was pushing it with 6. After playing the cult favorite “Halo”, I knew these “new fangled” video systems weren’t for me.

The PC, on the other hand, had a fighting chance with “Ultima Online”, ”Nocturne”, ”Disciples”, ”Age of Empires”, and lesser known titles such as ”Puzzle of Flesh”, “Tender Loving Care”, and The Gabriel Knight series. But overall, I just couldn’t get into gaming like I used to. It was like a switch flipped inside me that made me believe games were simply that… games. Frivolous wastes of time that could be better spent building something real… something that lasts.

Enter the Nintendo DS.

Almost by accident I stumbled on to this device with my friend Gregg. He and I have always been diehard fans of Nintendo’s brand, so the DS caught our eye. It is slim, rechargeable, and easy to carry. The best part, obviously, is the feature that makes the Nintendo DS a “DS” … the dual screens. One is even a touch screen that can be interfaced with a simple stylus.

But what really reeled me in… was the games.

Unbeknownst to me, GameBoy Advance has been redesigning older Nintendo titles such as the original “Final Fantasy” (before there were over 13 of them), releasing older Sega games (like Shining Force), and releasing new games based on old franchises (like Lunar). What a great idea! All the characters and concepts I fell in love with as a kid, back in high-definition (or the next best thing). Even the original “Mario Brothers” got a facelift. How cool is it to see Mario rendered in 3D?

Now, with the Nintendo DS Lite with updated styling, make it even more appealing. I just got my black (or as they call it “Onyx”) DS yesterday and love the new slim and functional design.

So bravo Nintendo! Thanks for not letting an older gamer like me down! You had me worried… but pulled through in the end!

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