What's the best handheld?

[The Amstor Computer]

Wils -

I think there's a thriving emu scene on the GBA/Micro as well, so with the right equipment you should be able to play older titles.

[Wils]

Great! Fingers crossed that the purple Micro becomes available over here (although I'm rather taken by the green one that's appeared).

[IndigoPrime]

:: Are these emulators just restricted to the DS?

In terms of scene maturity, it's the other way around. The GBA emulation/remakes scene is far more impressive than the DS one at present, and there are plenty of great GBA-based emulators (which, of course, work fine in the DS's GBA mode). Check out the website I co-run - http://www.gbafan.com - for more info on the emulators. Homebrew stuff can be found at http://www.pdroms.de and http://www.gbadev.org

Goomba (the GBA mono emulator) is practically perfect in terms of compatibility, and it adds a number of extra, useful features to GB mono games.

[Radbacker]

well I've got 6 plus DS games that I enjoyed every minute of(still playing New Super MArio Bros, 2D heaven), and as every one else has said while the PSP is technically better(graphics, sound, storage) most of its games are scalled back versions of PS2 games and very little original content.
IN saying that there are a couple of decent titles on the PSP(but graphically noithing that couldn't be done on the DS).
Any one played Loco Roco - the most charming little game ever, all you have top do is tilt the screen to roll a little blobby dude(the LOcoRoco)left and right as he rolls around he sings and makes cute little noises and faces, I think NIntendo might be a little enviouse of Sony over this one, it really has that Ninty charm.  The only other PSP game I lake is Lumines which is a cool music puzzle type game.

CU Radbacker

[ukdane]

So, top ten DS games everyone?

[Radbacker]

cant go wrong with
 - Metroid Hunters
 - New Super MArio Brothers
 - Meteos
 - Advance Wars DS(strategy)
 - Kirby
 - Age of Empires(strategy)
 - Nintendogs(if you're into Virtual pet type things)
 - and try Brain Training just to make you feel dumb

CU Radbacker(Brain Age of 45 yrs)

[The Amstor Computer]

My top ten DS games - out in Europe:

Brain Training
Mario Kart DS
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Metroid Prime: Hunters
New Super Mario Bros
Tetris DS
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Trauma Centre: Under the Knife
Animal Crossing: Wild World

...and, as the DS is region-free, here are five must-have imports:

Ouendan
Jump Superstars
Bleach DS
Mega Man ZX
Mario Hoops: 3 on 3

There are so many good games out for the system now and due out in the near future, but these fifteen titles would be a good start.

[Satanist]

Thank god someone else has played Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney! I am purposely limiting the amount of time I spend on it to make it last.



In no particular order the games I've enjoyed are...

Advance Wars - Addictive and frustrating but never unfair. You will complete missions over & over just for the self gratification of an S ranking. Or is that just me?

Mario Kart - Best version since the SNES. That alone should have you running to the shops.

Phoenix Wright - Bonkers point & click style game where you get to shout objection in court.

Project Rub - Got it for ?8. Bonkers rock solid mini games.

New Super Mario - Too easy for my liking but I'm going back through getting all the coins. Old skool bliss.

[The Amstor Computer]

Satanist --

Heh, nice to see another Phoenix Wright fan :-) It might interest you to know that the second game in the Phoenix Wright series is being translated & ported to the DS for a release in the West sometime later this year. The fourth in the series - featuring a new protagonist - is in development right now and should be out in Japan this year. With any luck we?ll see the whole series over here before 2008.

Radbacker --

I managed to get down to a Brain Age of 20 once, but mine's hovering in the mid-20s at the moment. Bloody Kawashima wound me up one time by pretending that I had a Brain Age of 85 after I'd blasted through the checks. Great fun in small doses.

[IndigoPrime]

Top 10 DS from me:

1. Mario Kart DS
2. Zoo Keeper
3. NSMB
4. Kirby: Canvas Curse/Power Paintbrush
5. Tetris DS
6. Meteos
7. Brain Age
8. Mr Driller: Drill Spirits
9. WarioWare: Touched!
10. Project Rub

For good measure, my top 10 commercial GBA games:

1. WarioWare: Twisted!
2. Scrabble Blast/Scramble
3. WarioWare, Inc.
4. Konami Arcade Advance
5. Mario Kart Super Circuit
6. Mario vs. Donkey Kong
7. Bubble Bobble: Old & New
8. Namco Museum
9. Speedball II
10. Boulder Dash EX

And top 10 homebrew/emulation:

1. Goomba (GB mono emulator)
2. ZX Advance (ZX Spectrum emulator)
3. Bust-a-Move
4. Thrust
5. Llamaboost
6. Herg's Solitaire
7. Berzerk
8. Chip Advance
9. Nebulus
10. Trailblazer Advance

[BrianO]

I'm glad someone else mentioned Warioware.
One of the strangest games ever, but so enjoyable.

I do recomend Another Code, great point and click adventure, but very short. Me and girlfriend both completed it over a weekend, so one to rent. But great story and some truely original puzzles.

[The Amstor Computer]

If you enjoyed Another Code, you might want to keep an eye out for Hotel Dusk - http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=uN12aToYOtUFtpNhWdKoxuWnyXw-wSJg&">pics, info and video here - which is from the same developer and due out later this year. Looks promising, with a visual style that reminds me of A-Ha's video for "Take On Me"...

[BrianO]

I've seen the previews. It's designed so the DS is held side on like a book. Only worry is that it'll be far too short too.

[ukdane]

So it seems I should go for a DS.
Should it be a DS, or a DS-Lite?

When's the next generation of handhelds due, Is there anything in the pipeline, worth waiting for?

Cheers

[ukdane]

Whilst I'm here, what else can it do?

I was thinking of buying it from Amazon, with a game for ?109, but I noticed in the reviews that there was one from a chap in Denmark, who said that the recharger was a UK plug, and not European. This is probably obvious, but some Electrical equipment comes with a transformer which you can unplug from the plug lead, and use a 'local' one instead (most radios, this laptop etc etc) Can anyone fill me in/ take a photo of the charger & cables, and post them here?

What do you need to get the Wi-Fi working, what comes in the "bundle" (case, cabels, software etc)?