Recommended DSiWare games

UberPrinny_Baal

Hey all,

I have some Nintendo points still unspent, and I figure it's probably a good idea to get rid of them before Nintendo decides to phase out the points based shop.

I like the "Import DSiware to 3DS" function, because I get quite a lot of milage out of my 3DS, so I've decided to spend my remaining balance on DSiware instead of Wiiware.

I wanted to ask about general recommendations for titles. Not wanting to be lazy though, I did some initial research myself. Best way to research this seemed like a trusty google doc to me. I just googled a bunch of "Top X DSiware games" lists/articles and added in anything that got a good write up, and then included their price in the EU store and aggregate review score.

Here's the doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApLd-FYOVg6jdEQzRVVXSVF5Um1JaW9QS3FqdnJraFE

I was wondering if anyone knew of any particularly awesome DSiWare games I might not have listed. Or if anyone had any strong recommendations for anything on the list (Excluding Shantae, I bought that already).

Thanks in advance

Mr E

OK so I guess you have both consoles, but points on the DSi?

You have most of the good ones there.

I'm a big fan of Shantae and Reflect Missile. Got a good bit of mileage out of those.
I'll check what else I have installed tonight (I transferred all my DSi games to the 3DS, so I have a good few....)

ScaldyMc

Can't open your link (in work at mo) but my favourite DSi games are:

Starship Patrol (still play this)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again
Reflect Missile

Everything else I barely looked at. Gave flight control some time but got easy after a while. The above three are very good.

UberPrinny_Baal

Mr E wrote: »

OK so I guess you have both consoles, but points on the DSi?

Yes, being honest if there was a way to move Flipnote Studio to 3DS, I would have sold or given away my DSi already. Since there isn't I can't bring myself to part with it.

Mr E wrote: »

You have most of the good ones there.

Are there any famously crap ones on there? As I said, I just grabbed the top ranked ones off a bunch of random people's personal lists. Some stinkers could very easily have made it onto the list.

Mr E wrote: »

I'll check what else I have installed tonight (I transferred all my DSi games to the 3DS, so I have a good few....)

Cheers man

ScaldyMc wrote: »

Can't open your link (in work at mo) but my favourite DSi games are:

Starship Patrol (still play this)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again
Reflect Missile

All on there, except Mario vs Donkey kong. I excluded it because I own the physical games and don't feel the need to own more of the same.

So that's 2 people for Reflect Missile (which I was the only game I couldn't find aggregate scores for) and a strong "lastability" claim for Starship partrol. That's the tower defense game right?

Anyone ever played Alphabounce? A puzzle quest framework with breakout gameplay sounds very "pick up and play" friendly. Reviews were pretty split on it.

ScaldyMc

Yes, starship patrol is tower defence.

If i remember correctly, nintendo life have the stated goal of rating ALL DSiware games. There's is a good site to vist.

UberPrinny_Baal

ScaldyMc wrote: »

Yes, starship patrol is tower defence.

If i remember correctly, nintendo life have the stated goal of rating ALL DSiware games. There's is a good site to vist.

Ah, found that and added it thanks.

Not that numerical aggregate review scores MEAN anything; it was just annoying me that was the only game I was missing on the document :pac:

UberPrinny_Baal

If nobody has any other thoughts I'll go ahead and make my purchases over the weekend.

Gathering thoughts on DSiWare is really hard, even among my nerdiest friends.

DSi seems like the portable Nintendo console most people skipped.

RobertFoster

Bejeweled is actually Bejeweled Twist, slightly different from the traditional match three. It's still matching three, but it has Hexic elements where you're rotating 4 jewels at once. I've only tried Twist briefly (~20 minutes), but I've found Bejeweled 3 more fun.

I still have 500 points myself, I must try Reflect Missile.

UberPrinny_Baal

RobertFoster wrote: »

Bejeweled is actually Bejeweled Twist, slightly different from the traditional match three. It's still matching three, but it has Hexic elements where you're rotating 4 jewels at once. I've only tried Twist briefly (~20 minutes), but I've found Bejeweled 3 more fun.

Oh thanks, I didn't know that. I own Zoo Keeper on DS cart, and I believe that's a pretty straight up Bejeweled rip off, so I don't necessarily want to own another version.

I think I'm going to try and go for as many "outside the norm" pick-up-and-play games as I can.

RobertFoster wrote: »

I still have 500 points myself, I must try Reflect Missile.

Reflect Missile seems like the biggest winner of this thread. If you get it before me, please post your thoughts. I'll do the same if I beat you to it.

I've read some pretty positive reviews of the different Art Style games. They probably warrant a little more research on my part.

RobertFoster

UberPrinny_Baal wrote: »

Reflect Missile seems like the biggest winner of this thread. If you get it before me, please post your thoughts. I'll do the same if I beat you to it.

Not bad. The controls can be a little fiddly, but I'm sure I'll get used to them. You have to slide left or right to line up shots, then lift the stylus to fire. The odd time lifting up causes my aim to go off slightly.

Definitely a short burst, pick-up-and-play game. Lots of levels too, so I'll be at it a while.

I wish now I'd used my points on the DS rather than the Wii. I'm sure I've some left on that, even though the Wii is hiding in the attic at this stage

Mr E

RobertFoster wrote: »

Not bad. The controls can be a little fiddly, but I'm sure I'll get used to them. You have to slide left or right to line up shots, then lift the stylus to fire. The odd time lifting up causes my aim to go off slightly.

Keep the stylus held down until the line turns blue, then it won't budge when you lift it. You can use the shoulder button for more precise aim too.

I just went through my batch. I thought I had the Art Style games, but I mustn't have copied them.

Out of the ones that did make the transfer - Dark Void Zero is fantastic (graphics are NES-style but don't let that put you off - the gameplay is rock solid).

Pop+ Solo is pretty dull.

Shantae is an excellent game and well worth the money.

Soul of Darkness is a nice little Castlevania clone. Not very long (11 or 12 levels I think?) but it's pretty cheap and worth a spin.

Reflect Missile as previous mentioned is an excellent game. The levels are challenging enough, there are tons of them, but good luck getting medals (finishing levels with missiles left over).

Let us know what you decide on.

UberPrinny_Baal

Reading back over what I wrote I wasn't terribly clear in my wordings.

What I'd like the most from this is games that are kind of original or quirky in design or presentation, with excellent replay value.

Shantae was my first DSiWare purchase, and it was great, well animated, excellent design, but I find myself regretting the purchase now because it was expensive, short and easy.
Now that I've beaten it, I feel no compulsion to pick it up and play again. I could have got 2 five hundred point games and 1 two hundred for the same price.

This is no fault of Shantae's, this is just what I think I want from my 3DS experience. The massive play-length titles will be the physical cartridges IN the machine, the download titles will be to take breaks from those.

So this is why I am leaning towards Alphabounce, Reflect Missile, the Art-life titles etc, and leaning away from Soul of Darkness, Zenonia and Dark Void Zero. (unless I am wrong about the latter and they actually have replay value beyond the main campaign).

Does that make sense?

Mr E

I think you're over-thinking it.

These games are pocket money games (€3 to €10). Longevity is nice to have, but for the money, I like to have a bite sized game that's fun to play.

Using your criteria, I think the Art Style games and Reflect Missile are your best bets.