Gaming Getting a DSi XL... now? A few doubts...

[Sakura90]

Hi

I've been thinking of getting a DS or 3DS. I never had either (heck, I didn't even have a GB or GBA, all I had as a kid was those cheap stupid "brick games"). Even though at some points in the past I considered getting a DS Lite, for one thing or another I never really got one.

For some time my country has been getting more and more fucked up, you can't get much technology-wise at a decent price, so importing is my best choice. Except that some time ago the stupid international mail laws or whatever restricted the sending of things with li-ion batteries. So there went my DS (couriers weren't an option because they charge you astronomical fees here).

But now, according to the Japanese forwarding service I use, you can ship batteries fine. W00t, time to get a console. I've just finally convinced me after trying those fashion games in DeSmuME, namely わがままファッション GIRLS MODE, nicola監修-モデル☆おしゃれオーディション and Poupee Girl. They are so cute and addictive. Also it would be nice to finish some pokemon game in my life (I've only played until around half of Gold in GB emulators).

So, DS or 3DS? Things to consider:

1) DSi LL, around 100 USD, 3DS LL, around 180. New. I'll be importing from Japan.

2) I could manage to go for a 3DS, a couple of games and be future proof. But given I have all the back catalog to play, I'll be in DS mode most of the time. Also, further updates could mess the flash cart and leave me hanging (unless cart updates are fast).

3) I don't have much money now (specially after currency exchange), getting a DS and a flash cart would be nice. I could maybe sell the DS when it becomes more "classic" and get some good money. Specially as I'll be getting the lastest units available in new, unopened box.

4) Upscale. I've been reading and many ppl seem to find the DS games in 3DS screen blurry or with poor colors. I'm quite picky about LCD resolutions and scaling in general and, in those fashion games where pixel-per-pixel definition is everything, I fear they'll be hit hard. Playing a little 1:1 scale isn't for me, I like my stuff big to see.

5) How about battery life? When were the last DS manufactured? I also fear that those DS boxes must have been sitting in a warehouse for long, so what about the battery? Should I have a noticeable degradation? Or it shouldn't matter if the battery was still for some time? Battery life is important to me for trips and stuff, last thing I want is an old one lasting half of what is should.

6) In the case of the 3DS, being region locked, I'll get a Japanese one for their games. But given I've been lazy at the language lately, reading for long periods makes my head hurt. I should get a little more practice, more vocabulary (grammar and the rest is more than fine, but playing with a dictionary isn't much fun), and try playing DS games in Jap to see how I fare. Once I get a Jap 3DS there's no way back, I won't be able to sell that thing to anyone here. Getting an American model doesn't sound good, as I like a good number of games that are Japan only. Perfect way would be English when available, else Japanese. Damn Nintendo and their pointless region locks...

That's all I think. I always talk about XL or LL models. Smaller screens are not my thing.

Suggestions?


Thanks in advance if you went through all the TL;DR

 

[Rydian]

If you want to use a flash cart to play DS games, get a DSi/XL. The 3DS offers nothing over the DSi as far as DS-mode is concerned, while it actually has negatives (it pushes firmware updates in far more ways, which means more flashcart-blocking).

The screen size and scale thing also means the DSi XL will likely be preferable to you.

 

[Hanafuda]

If you can obtain both a DSi LL plus a Supercard DSTwo, plus a 16GB micro-sd with all the right stuff on it, you'll have enough game in the palm of your hand to keep you entertained till old age. With the entire DS catalog available, plus a GBA emulator available right here at gbatemp that is about 99% as good as having a real GBA (and actually displays games on a DSi LL better than any real GBA ever did), it's an unbeatable combo. Yes, the 3DS is cool ... I like mine a lot. But if you haven't played much from the GBA and DS catalogs, trust me there are hundreds of worthwhile games there. I can't say that yet about 3DS.

 

[keine]

I'm hoarding DSi XL's right now. My 3DS XL displays DS games very poorly. However DS games on a DSi XL versus DS Lite is stunning. I *really* like it. Too bad about 100% native gba, but I'm hopeful for the gba emu to one day be very native like.

 

[natkoden]

If you can obtain both a DSi LL plus a Supercard DSTwo, plus a 16GB micro-sd with all the right stuff on it, you'll have enough game in the palm of your hand to keep you entertained till old age. With the entire DS catalog available, plus a GBA emulator available right here at gbatemp that is about 99% as good as having a real GBA (and actually displays games on a DSi LL better than any real GBA ever did), it's an unbeatable combo. Yes, the 3DS is cool ... I like mine a lot. But if you haven't played much from the GBA and DS catalogs, trust me there are hundreds of worthwhile games there. I can't say that yet about 3DS.

this

 

[Seraph]

Both the DSi and 3DS will only ever go lower in price. I got my 3DS XL off craigslist for $120 pretty much in perfect condition (lucky me), but you could probably get a used DSi for extremely cheap. There are some great games on the 3DS that will last you awhile. AC: New Leaf is supposed to be the best one in the series. MH4 is coming out soon if you're in to those games and you're importing. And a bunch of other titles if you want the latest and greatest.

But if you're just gonna go through your backlog only then just go with the DSi until you get more money. I personally can't stand just playing old games when I'm already excited for one that just came out.

 

[Sakura90]

Thanks for your answers. Reviewing the GBA library made me want to play lots of titles. I'm deciding what would be the best way to play GBA now.

1) DSTwo. I had a friend that actually has an XL with that cart, tried TempGBA with Golden Sun 2 and crashes between 5 to 10 mins of playing. Mario Tennis always was a complicated game. But all I all the emulator looks promising. On the other hand the 46 and 60 fps story doesn't sound good being a hardware limitation.

2) Used GBA (old one with AA batteries but no backlight), the SP should have the battery too drained by now. Cheap Chinese replace? Maybe...

3) Those Chinese clones, like the K101 or something, don't look bad... but not all is perfect with them and read quite a number of complains.

4) Finally... a DS Lite. A new one goes for 95 USD, an EZ-Flash IV 25, some random cart for DS games 15, and Pokemon Emerald 38 (as EZ-Flash doesn't support RTC). Surprisingly Amazon still has new game carts after all these years... not as cheap as I would liked though. All this sets me for 173 USD. I have DS games (albeit on smaller screen), GBA games and the only one I care that I know has RTC. Drawbacks? Batteries. That DS Lite must've been rusting on a shelf for years, I have little hope that battery is still useful. Any experiences on this with old DS systems? Nintendo still sells replacements for 20 (I haven't seen original ones aside from the Nintendo store). The same should go for the pokemon cart I guess? (those have dry cells for the saves, right?). Can they be opened and replaced if necessary? Also I end up with 210/220 USD for the whole deal because of the forwarding service commission (not counting the new battery), as everything comes from different stores... damn. At least everything is shiny new. Then I'd make the jump to 3DS.

 

[Rydian]

4. A Lite with a Slot-2 flash cart is your best bet for cheap and portable compatibility.

 

[PaullyG]

Personally I'd take a DSi XL/LL or a regular DSi plus a DSTwo over a Lite any day, the DSi's aren't as bad fingerprint magnets and are in my opinion a more durable system. My regular DSi has gone in my pocket pretty much everywhere since a few months after they came out and is still in pretty much new looking and feeling condition, no cracked or sloppy hinges (unlike every Lite seems to eventually get) and still gets near new milage out of the battery surprisingly. With the GBA emu on the DSTwo, there isn't much that doesn't run decently and it's an active project at the moment, so I expect there'll be further improvements, at least for me there's not a hell of a lot of reason to need slot-2 and a cart.

As for the 3DS, I probably wouldn't get one of the current gen models anyway, Nintendo will undoubtedly release a new revision before too long and there's a fair bit to criticise on the current generation, so I'd think it'll be a fairly decent update when it comes. Keep in mind the DS library is massive, there is a number of other quality emulators for older systems, SCUMMVM works great if you're into adventure games and a heap of other fantastic homebrew, so you can find plenty to keep you busy.

I'd pass on a GBA also, I can't play on my SP anymore, the screen is too hard on my eyes and yeah the battery life on it sucks now.