"REAL adventure is waiting for you, DS."

I’m the type of gamer who mostly plays old Sierra and LucasArts adventure games. Some people might not even consider me a gamer at all, in fact. I didn’t have a console until very recently. My circa 2002 computer may be running like a champ, but it had some lagging problems running Psychonauts… in 2005. So, modern computer gaming is also out. I was lucky enough to be visited by the Wing Damage Fairy a while back, who blessed me with a DS.

I was excited about rumblings of the DS being the promised land of adventure gaming; I’d read on many a message board and blog that since the console’s point-and-click stylus interface was ideal for the genre I would have a bevy of adventure games to choose from once I had a look around. I was bummed to find out, however, that there is not, in fact, a whole lot of quality adventure games on the DS. At least not the kind I’m looking for.

Read after the jump to see my findings.

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"An improvement over Phantom Hourglass, but by how much?"

For the most part, I love the Zelda franchise. The portable titles in particular have a history of getting on my good side with Link’s Awakening being my second favorite title in the whole Game Boy catalog (next to Tetris). That being said, I was shocked when I didn’t fall in love with 2007′s Phantom Hourglass.

While Spirit Tracks looked disturbingly similar to the object of my disappointment, the Zelda fan in me was determined to give the game a fair shake from beginning to end.

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From the re-makes of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy to the more obscure Shiren the Wanderer, the DS has become one of the best places to find old-school RPGs. Nostalgia is no exception to this trend. Matrix Software even did the programming and 3D graphics for the Final Fantasy III & IV remakes before their work on Nostalgia.

Nostalgia is set in a Steam Punk version of Earth, complete with giant airships and an adventuring based economy. It is clear right from the outset that this is a throwback to a time when not every RPG focused on a character whose main motivation was angst.

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"The Legend of ChooChoo: Phantom, the Friendly Ghost"

There’s something we all need to come to grips with right now: Link rides a train. Why does Link ride a train? I have no idea, but let’s just get past that for now.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks demo was divided into three sections. Each one had a different focus. The first one put you in a dungeon with your new Phantom pal. The other scenarios showed off a boss battle and Link’s latest wacky vehicle, the train. Thanks to multiple visits to the Nintendo booth, I was able to try out all three.

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“Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time” is the follow up to last year’s “Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates“. I’m not sure what the deal is with all these ridiculously long game titles, lately. Regardless, Echoes of Time makes a lot of improvements from the last entry in the series, establishing itself as a stronger multiplayer title, though the game is far from flawless.

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“Wario Ware: Touched!” is one of the first games to have been released on the Nintedo DS when it made it’s debut in late 2004. I missed it the first time around, but had always heard it was one of the best games to show off the touch screen functionality of the system.

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Sometimes I am very surprised when certain games make it outside of Japan. Sure, we live in an age where what will get localized is on the rise and what must be imported is steadily decreasing in comparison to times past (thanks to companies like Atlus and XSEED), but sometimes the choice of which games make it over still surprises me. What I mean to say is, Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier (or Sir Togsef as I like to call it) is VERY Japanese. In fact, there are even cross-over characters in it from the Japan-only Namco x Capcom.

Though a spin off of the Super Robot Wars series (most of which DID stay in Japan), the game makes several large departures from its predecessors. First off, rather than focusing on giant mechs like Gundams and Veritechs, the characters you control consist of people and people-sized androids. The second key difference is that the game is a JRPG rather than an SRPG.

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First of all, I must say that I am amazed that Retro Game Challenge ever came to the states. In Japan, it is called GameCenter CX: Arino’s Challenge, sharing its name (sans the subtitle) with the Japan-only show in which it is based on. The show follows comedian Shinya Arino as he plays popular retro games and documents his progress. In this videogame adaption, things play out a little differently.

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"If you're in a line long enough to require sitting, this knowledge is a must!"

If you’re anything like me, you like to engage in certain activities that involve waiting in line. Whether it be for a concert, an event at a convention, or opening night at the latest summer blockbuster, lines can seem like a never ending train of boredom without the right tools to help pass the time.

For the group of friends (or sometimes even strangers) who never leave the house without their trusty iteration of the Nintendo DS, I have put together a modestly sized list of some of my personal favorite multiplayer titles. They are in no particular order and include both old and new releases.

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"Archer vs. Shark... need I say more?"

Something about commanding units over a miniature landscape in a turn based fashion gets me very excited. In my younger days, I even created multiple tabletop games. I think my earliest attempt involved moving Star Wars action figures around on a paper grid I had spread across the floor. Those basic ideas evolved into a game where both units and customizable elevation were squares of paper placed on a gridded poster board. One of the games I was working on actually used figures made of bakeable clay with their stats carved into the bottom of the base. Yes, I am a nerd.

But when I found that there was a genre of videogames that could do all the math and pleasing aesthetics for me, I was in heaven. Final Fantasy Tactics really helped instill a love for strategy RPGs withing me. From there I moved on to games like Front Mission 3, which gripped me even more. But nothing could prepare me for that fateful day when I would discover Disgaea.

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