DS Games for a nine year old

[Matt Perkins]

Hey guys, with christmas around the corner, I'm looking for some games for my nine year old. She loves the new mario game and pokemon Diamond (we're not getting the other one for her because I hear it's more of the same with some different pokemon. She also likes Dogs.

I'm thinking maybe something different. An RPG or a strategy game that isn't too much for her to handle (i.e. - boring).

So, suggestions?

[Theodore Rex DX]

You're not supposed to get both Pokemons - Pearl isn't 'more of the same' so much as 'exactly the same with some different pokemon' because you're supposed to trade pokemon. That's the 'hook'. Just had to point that out.

I say Rocket Slime. Cool action/adventure/RPG thing with tank battles!

[mok]

"Cooking Mama" is popular with my 10 yo. girl. It's a cooking originated game.

[Dave Long]

Do you mean Dogz? Because if you do, then she would probably like Nintendogs even more.

Definitely do not get Pokémon Pearl as that's exactly as the man above me describes it.

If you want to stay in Pokémon, you can go with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team. It's a pretty cool roguelike where you play as a Pokémon.

If you can find it, Kirby Canvas Curse is still one of the greatest games I've ever played on any platform and suitable to nearly any age.

Also, Super Mario Advance 4 for the GBA is Super Mario Bros. 3 from the NES and is a great way to continue the Mario fun. Pretty much anything in the Super Mario Advance line is worth getting, though.

Some other good options... Meteos (Disney Edition might be the right choice here), Club House Games, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Mario Kart DS, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Cooking Mama, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Pokémon Trozei.

[Bahimiron]

You could get her Zelda if you want her to spend her life wondering what she did to upset you.

[Matt Perkins]

Ya know, Zelda is a really good idea. She LOVED watching me playing the Zeldas on the gamecube. I eventually got bored of it, but she wanted me to keep playing. :)

She has nintendogs...yeah, she likes that, but she's kinda bored of it too.

I'll look into Rocket Slime and the Kirby game too. Oooh, and maybe Animal Crossing.

Thanks everyone!

[TimElhajj]

Okay, so I wonder if I can hijack this thread and get some suggestions for my nine year old boy.

I just picked up a DS for him this morning. Along with the DS, he asked Santa to bring him, Garfield, a Tale of Two Kitties. This was probably a terrible movie and I assume a terrible game that he want's only because he loves all things Garfield.

I'd like to get him something as a back up, but I havent' been following the DS. On his GC, he loves: Mario Party, Mario baseball, and the Mario racing game, Kirby, the the last Harry Potter game.

He's not as excited about Animal Crossing and that sort of thing, but he'll still do it for hours if his sister wants it on.

What do you guys think?

[Dirt]

Gotta catch 'em all. Pokemon!

[Jag]

I have a 7 year old son. He plays Madden 08, that crappy baseball game by 2K, Super Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Basketball and Pro Evolution Soccer.

I just bought him the new Lego SW for the DS. Not sure if i'm going to keep it though. Anyone try this one?

[Matt Perkins]

My daughter loved that recent mario game where you can go big. It's a definite throw back to the SNES mario days, which is great. We both played and liked that a lot.

[TimElhajj]

Aw, crap. I just got him Lego Star Wars for the GC. I probalby should have got him the DS one.

[DeathMonkey]

I'd like to get him something as a back up, but I havent' been following the DS. On his GC, he loves: Mario Party, Mario baseball, and the Mario racing game, Kirby, the the last Harry Potter game.

Mario Kart on DS is the best version of the series.

[TimElhajj]

Does anyone have an opinion on whether I should trade the GC Lego Star Wars for the DS Lego Star Wars? It's only 10 more and it's in stock at my local gamestop.

Is it a single player game? If he can't play it with his sister in the living room, maybe it makes more sense to play it on the DS. Does the DS interface make it a better or worse experiance.

[TimElhajj]

Mario Kart on DS is the best version of the series.

Interesting. Why is this? Does it have to do with having the two windows on the DS? I like Mario Kart a lot myself, but don't have the quick reflexes to get the carts to slide right.

[nixon66]

I just picked up Lego Star Wars: The complete saga, and while I like it, all the collecting stuff, while tedious to me, would be right up a 9-11 year olds alley.

It's fun to run around as my little lego people, but damn if they don't make collecting enough studs on each level a patience testing task.

[DeathMonkey]

Interesting. Why is this? Does it have to do with having the two windows on the DS? I like Mario Kart a lot myself, but don't have the quick reflexes to get the carts to slide right.

Has little to do with the two displays, has everything to do with track design. I think it has the best set of original tracks in the series and the widest lineup of characters. It has a fun unlocking mechanism where you get cool stuff almost every time you play. It "borrows" a number of tracks from other games in the series, and about 2/3rds of those tracks are great.

When it was released, the internet multiplayer was great, but now people are extremely good and it's hard to get a fun match. (As it is with most multiplayer games.) If you have some friends locally to play with, it's a great choice.

I found that I wrote this about it back when it was released:

I love the Nintendo DS and it has been blessed with a growing mountain of great, interesting games, but it has lacked a killer app to point to and say "here's why this is such a great system." Mario Kart DS is the system's Halo. Its Soul Calibur. It's the best in the series and its new tweaked rules and weapons, incredible track design, and multiplayer content make a stunning package that no DS system should exist without.

Slipstreaming, the most substantial addition to the core gameplay, introduces an excellent risk/reward component to the series. Tailing another driver is typically a dangerous practice in Mario Kart games; most items can be dropped behind characters to force any tailgaters to spin out. In Mario Kart DS, driving in a character's wake provides a moderate speed boost. Remain there a few moments, and you're rewarded with a larger boost that often slingshots you in front of the character you were tailing.

There aren't many changes to the weapon lineup, but many of the best weapons of Double Dash!! have been refined and revisited and are now available to all characters. The Chain-Chomp has been brought back as the Bullet Bill. Wario's Bob-omb is back as well and is extremely devastating when dropped behind.

The single new weapon is the Blooper, a squid that will shoot ink on all your opponent's driving screens, forcing them to drive with the "map" screen displayed at the bottom. While the weapon is mildly annoying, it does get the player looking at the bottom screen. Driving on the map screen becomes surprisingly comfortable with a little practice. The map screen also lists what weapons characters have; useful knowledge when attempting to slipstream safely.

There's 32 racing tracks in the game; half new courses, and half "classic" courses from previous games in the series.

The new race tracks in the game are an excellent group, without a dud in the lot. There's a number of new creative tracks. Waluigi Pinball has players racing through a neon pinball machine while someone is playing it, trying to avoid being crushed by giant pinballs and avoid getting knocked about by the flippers. The Tick-Tock Clock track involves driving through the mechanisms of a giant clock with huge turning gears that serve as driving surfaces. Peach Gardens has players zipping about a giant hedge maze, encouraging the use of the map screen to find the best route and avoid wandering chain-chomps. Many of the other tracks are customary entries, but are often the best iterations of their type. (Particularly Wario Stadium, Bowser's Castle, and Shroom Ridge, the new highway course.)

The classic courses are a bit of a mixed bag; not all the courses have aged well and they suffer by being listed directly below the best set of new tracks the series has seen. The SNES and N64 tracks have aged the worst. SNES tracks flat, simple, and sometimes punitive designs (like the deep water pits in Koopa Beach 2) reveal how far we've come in 14 years. The N64 tracks destroy any nostalgia toward Mario Kart 64; the tracks are frighteningly uninteresting and ugly. (OK, Moo Moo Farm is still fun to play, but that's it.) The tracks plundered from Double Dash!! and Super Circuit feel much more modern (duh) and are largely great to play.

[Chronic]

I think i've read that the DS Lego Star Wars II was a horribly buggy mess. I could google but I think the DS just got the new Lego Star Wars complete trilogy and I think it was good. So make sure to get the right one. The console ones are nice because of the two player co-op that has easy drop-in and out.

My boy's 5 and 8 love the Diamond/Pearl (and of course GBA) Pokemon games they both have Pokemon Ranger and barely played it but my older son played Pokemon Mystery Dungeon quite a bit. I've been wanting to swipe it from him for my own use.

Nintendogs, Advance Wars (DS or GBA), Meteos, Mario and Luigi all get their playtime. I picked up copies of the DS Warioware at Target for $17.00 + a free $5 gift card. I don't remember if it was this week or last week though so it might not be on sale still. The new Mario Party DS is supposed to be pretty good and allows multi play with just one cart which is always a plus.

Theres so much chaff on the DS it's easy to get stuck with a loser game that tries to rides on the coat tails of a good one- Like Nintendogs/Dogz so it's worth checking something like a gamerankings.com if you aren't sure.

I almost forgot theres this new Master of Illusion game/toy for the DS that sounds cool. It comes with a deck of cards and teaches magic tricks that they actually perform using the DS and the cards.

Chronic

[TimElhajj]

Thanks Chronic! Master of Illusion looks pretty interesting, somwhere between a craft/hobby and a game. And gameranking looks like it might be a good way to get intel on whatever titles the kids ask for.

[TimElhajj]

I found that I wrote this about it back when it was released:

Nice! Thanks DeathMonkey! I didn't even realize you could network the DS. I'll have to look into it more. I am glad I read your review of Mario Cart, otherwise I might have overlooked it as one we already own. I think the tracks are the major feature in any release of a racing game, so this has a lot of potential.

[Kitus J.]

My seven year old son LOVES Puzzlequest. He has actually played way more than me and I bought it originally for myself. It turned out to be a cool way to get him into RPG / DND type storylines.

I also heard to avoid Star Wars on DS. Stick with Gamecube and enjoy your co-op play. It's too much fun to miss.

[TimElhajj]

I also heard to avoid Star Wars on DS. Stick with Gamecube and enjoy your co-op play. It's too much fun to miss.

The gameranking stats seem to bear this out. I am glad I doubled checked. You can only rely on the people in gamestop for so much information.

I'm grateful for Qt3!

[Chris Nahr]

Chronic already said it:

I think i've read that the DS Lego Star Wars II was a horribly buggy mess. I could google but I think the DS just got the new Lego Star Wars complete trilogy and I think it was good. So make sure to get the right one.

There are two Lego Star Wars games for the DS. The first release was bad. The recent Complete Saga release is a completely different program, redesigned from scratch and apparently very good (I have it but didn't get around to play it yet).

[TimElhajj]

Chronic already said it:



There are two Lego Star Wars games for the DS. The first release was bad. The recent Complete Saga release is a completely different program, redesigned from scratch and apparently very good (I have it but didn't get around to play it yet).

Ah, thanks for clearing this up for me, Chris, Chronic. If I get the DS version for my boy, I'll make sure to get the complete saga.

[ZekeDMS]

Rune Factory is fully recommended by me. It's a cross of dungeon crawling RPG, harvest moon(well, it IS a harvest moon game), and monster capturing. It's simple and a lot of fun.