We chat about videogames and videogame accessories.

Heehehe hehe~

I love the fact that i have an old-ass computer monitor.

Have any of you played GBA games on both a backlit SP and a DS, and if so, is either one noticeably better? Or a frontlit SP I guess, factoring out brightness and screen tint. I don't know if it's worth it to get a decent handheld just for Game Boy titles, but considering the Game Boy has a much larger library than the GBA ...

I have and they're basically the same, except you can change the brightness on a DS and it can be a little brighter. Didn't you have a DS already though?

i'unno just seemed like a weird use of circle-jerking

Point taken.

I'm pretty sure the Nintendo DS can't play Game Boy games anyways. Pretty sure I've tried.

Hmmm...well, for my part, having owned both a DS Lite and a GBA SP, I've always preferred to play my GBA games on my SP - mostly reasons like portability and weight. My SP fits where my DS does not, essentially. But in addition to that, because I've grossly overused my DS much more than my SP (my GBA game library consists of one game), my DS battery is now just about dead. So actually, not much choice when you get right down to it.

Hey uh

You wanna hang out some time Ed?

Sometimes I'm sad this forum doesn't have a Like function

I've had a DS and an SP, they're about the same. Really, emulation is the better option tho; it IS free..............

also I have a 3ds so let me mention don't buy one yet probably... luigi's mansion dark moon wasn't bad tho.

alllso anyone here a fan of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series?

If you're into emulation the PSP is a fucking beast for tha- THIS POST HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED BY THE ADMINISTRATION FOR MENTIONING THE FORBIDDEN PRACTICE OF PIRATING VIDEOGAMES, THE ADMINISTRATION DOESN'T SUPPORT SAID PRACTICES AS IT TARNISHES IT'S RIGHTFULNESS and market value.

most games I pirate aren't made anymore anyways... :/

The general consensus about pirating in this forum (i think) is that there's no definitive answer about whether it's bad or not.

I've had a DS and an SP, they're about the same. Really, emulation is the better option tho; it IS free..............

Better in what sense. Cost?

Some of us enjoy collecting video games and the "real thing".

considering my budget, cost is the main factor

1. I think this forum been pretty cool with the idea of pirating, in that we don't take it as a serious offense against the law.

2. I think SP's are better for GBA games than the DS on account of not having extra blank screen just staring at you. I might be thinking of GB games on an SP though I'm a little drunk. If you don't have either, go with the DS for better features unless you really feel the need to play Crystal Chronicles.

I prefer the DS's ergonomics; the SP always seemed too compact, horizontally, for me.

speaking as someone who hopes to go into the game design industry and thus kind of needs games to turn a profit I'm rather firmly in the "pay for your fucking games unless they're basically impossible to obtain" camp

unless the publisher is ea, because they activate that ol' hypocrisy gland of mine. got a nice strong one from my pops

As for TUG, I think they're leading with the buzzword bingo card when they should start with what they're TRYING TO DO with their game before going with the reasons.

also, i'm somewhat spoiled but i don't think they should really be charging more for access to testing when the testing is largely for their benefit

Re: SP / DS
The best is kind of a subjective thing so it kind of depends on what you want in the first place. I don’t have a whole lot to say about the sound in comparing the various Nintendo systems, since I tend to get listener-fatigued after a few hours no matter what. But on graphics, I do like the SP a bit better, since the screen is at the resolution for GBA titles. (I never really liked the DS form factor, so there is that?)

GB and GBC games look best to me on the GBC because the screen size didn’t change in that time, and the screens got progressively better; of course, there is some sort of argument for back/frontlit systems in there, but I never got to play with one.

For any system afterwards, everything since the GBA has supported a pretty nice color range, but the screen sizes changed (the scaling can be bothersome) and the color reproduction varied a bit (which influenced many developers to pick their colors based on whatever system was in vogue at the time). Older GBA titles were calibrated for the original, with no lighting. Newer GBA titles were mostly calibrated for the SP (though I know FFTA has options intended for displaying on either... probably some other games, too).

While it is good to have such options, none of these minor details is a dealbreaker as far as I’ve seen. Which isn’t a whole lot; I only ever got to mooch other people’s systems.

Re: bbqwich
An excellent suggestion. It was delicious.

Super, there's no such thing as "objectively best"

you asked if price was how it was better - and for me, yes that is a main reason

if that isn't a factor for you then it might not be best for you, w/e

on the topic of emulation, I mostly emulate non-ported games and stuff that's so rare these days it's not funny (anything from N64 back and PS1)
I don't pirate newer games unless it's just not worth buying. or oblivion which my friend Illegally downloaded to my computer to make me try ES games

wait, there's two different models?

*checks SP*

dang it i have the frontlit one

If you decide to go for a DS, absolutely try to get a DS Lite over the grey brick. The stronger backlight really brings out the contrast in a lot of games, and it also has a longer battery life, and also is small.

which way am i supposed to spell gray again?

e: ok unrelated topic. I feel like everything in the new Grand Theft Auto looks amazing, except for every single human being. Even in cutscenes, the people all look sort of half-formed digital homunculi. Is this because of the game's roughly photorealistic style?

Actually, I might suggest going with the SP, skipping the DS gen altogether and snagging a 3DS instead. That way, you only need two handhelds and you get access to the entire existing library of Nintendo handheld games. I think Nintendo's selling used 3DS's pretty cheap nowadays too

Two of the other ones are the first two Boktai games, which realistically require some kind of handheld to play. They also require me to be exposed to the Sun's rays, which is a kink in my plan I haven't quite worked out yet.

Back around the time Boktai came out, the one guy on our bus who was playing it couldn’t do much because it was that time of year where it gets dark early and the weather is overcast more often than not. Not the greatest thing, considering the bus ride was about an hour each way. Fortunately, a mutual friend was an avid flashlight collector at the time and had a tiny UV flashlight that activated the sensor perfectly.

No seriously, he had it on him.

Is this because of the game's roughly photorealistic style?

That might be a part of it, but Rockstar practically specializes in animation that looks just a little bit off. It tends to be too stiff one moment, too exaggerated the next. Can’t say for certain what it is in these videos, but then I’m not animation expert.

For instance, in Max Payne 3, his head doesn’t lead the motion. At many points, his neck, spine, and current weapon often look a bit like they can only point in the same direction....

oh god

the DS Lite r button

oh god

If you hold down the Select button as you load a DS or Virtual Console game, the 3DS loads it in its original resolution. There's a lot of black screen, but it's completely playable and isn't blurry at all.

However, the 3DS's D-pad might be the worst Nintendo has ever produced.

e:
I played a couple hours of Rhythm Thief and couldn't really get into it. At least the beginning felt too easy and unsatisfying. Maybe I'll get back into it?

If you're thinking of DS games, I strongly recommend The World Ends with You to anyone except I guess specifically you.

my opinions on SK gear are more pronounced than my opinions on consoles unfortunately

Boktai is a GREAT reason to have a handheld but I don't own either game, tho I wish I did, so I'm stuck hacking emulators to make the sun gauge Always Maxed :/

Icarus uprising is sort of like how you described with a somewhat surprising bit of depth to alleviate the Rail Shooterness, and PvP can be kind of fun but every single control scheme will slaughter your hands

Dark Moon is pretty good as I mentioned, but its short... :p

also yeah the 3ds battery life is shit, I solve the problem by leavin' it plugged in :l

I never had any trouble with the Uprising controls and I never understood why people did.

That doesn't sound like a solution

Re: 3DS stuff, it's great and I love it, but I can also see why people would not like it. I have like 9 games, and to be entirely honest, none of them really pop out as an instant favorite or a timeless classic. I guess, if you don't have any DS models, go ahead and get a 3DS (unless money is a serious issue), and if you do have a DS, stick with that one. Unless you want Pokemon X/Y.

Re: handheld gaming, on the other hand, is great and I love it. The GBA has a stupidly massive library, and was also a large part of my childhood. Unfortunately, the games were easy to lose, and I ended up having only a few. Same with the DS.