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Joystiq presents

DS Daily: Games you wanted to like, but didn't


We saw this topic on NeoGAF and thought it would be interesting to see what you guys thought, in the context of DS games. So tell us -- what DS titles did you want to like, but just couldn't? Maybe it was a game that you heard people say bad things about, or read negative reviews for, but you stubbornly wanted to like it anyway? Or maybe it was just a game that you wanted to like, but found it to be over-hyped? And, what were the reasons for you not enjoying said game or games?

Share your thoughts, folks. That's what the comments are here for.

Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)

nunix61

1-26-2008 @ 9:41PM

nunix said...

Days of Ruin. War isn't a game, and so I don't particularly care if my little strategy/tactics game is "realistic" or not. But the difficulty was just too much for me; I slogged my way out to the last few missions where I wound up in 40-day stalemates that I could not finish, and would just give up on.

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Marcus Ramsey62

1-26-2008 @ 9:57PM

Marcus Ramsey said...

Diddy Kong Racing

For some reason I remember playing the pants off this when it was on console. The DS version was lame.

Sonic Rush

The reviews I read said it was good, but I found it on pace for the rest of the "new" Sonic games, which are not near what made Sonic, well, Sonic.

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Brello63

1-27-2008 @ 12:49AM

Brello said...

I agree with ya on Sonic Rush. I kept hearing it was "good like the originals." I just found it incredibly boring.

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Sejarki64

1-26-2008 @ 10:28PM

Sejarki said...

Mega Man ZX

Am I missing something? The map made absolutely no sense and was not helpful in navigating whatsoever. I could not figure out where the hell I needed to go.

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Rodneyoscopy65

1-26-2008 @ 10:46PM

Rodneyoscopy said...

Metroid Prime Hunters. It's not a bad game, by any stretch--just soullessly good. I never got inspired by it. I thought I was going to get carried away fragging in multiplayer, but it never quite happened, and singleplayer, though I finished it, never sucked me in like the cube Prime games.

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tamriel66

1-27-2008 @ 12:04AM

tamriel said...

I will have to add here: Izuna Legend of the Unemployed Ninja. I had tried free roguelikes on my PC before -- even the original Rogue! None of these had captured my interest for any stretch of time. "But, said I, I enjoyed Diablo II so much, surely I am missing something!" So I buy this roguelike for my DS, to play on the commute. And, well, it seems that though I like random dungeon layouts, I just can't get into the sort of games where all the time you've put yet in your character, gear and progress is at stake each time you try an enemy that is a tiny bit harder that those you've met before.

Is it because it all reminds me of my own mortality and, thus, the pointlessness of painstakingly working and sacrificing towards my petty goals in life? Whatever.

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Nushio (NDF - Blue)67

1-27-2008 @ 12:50AM

Nushio (NDF - Blue) said...

Diddy Kong Racing DS. Loved the N64 version more than Mario Kart. Absolutely hated the DS Version

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Brello68

1-27-2008 @ 12:51AM

Brello said...

I have no patience for roguelikes. Only way to ensure survival is to grind your character up in levels. Yeah, because that's a lot of fun. Blech.

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Cyde Weys69

2-02-2008 @ 9:38AM

Cyde Weys said...

Actually, grinding yourself up in levels is a good way to die in most roguelikes (such as NetHack). The enemies you see are related to what level you are. So, the key to doing well is to keep your level relatively low while getting really good equipment.

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Robert Baldwin70

1-27-2008 @ 1:21AM

Robert Baldwin said...

Polarium, just didn't do a thing for me, I preferred Zookeeper.
Sprung, I'd heard bad things about it, but it wasn't until I started playing that I realized the major flaw was with the annoying characters.
any other games I either enjoyed, haven't played or didn't get much out of due to difficulty(Trauma Center, Elite Beat Agents, and Mario Kart)

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rob0t71

1-27-2008 @ 1:56AM

rob0t said...

Metroid Prime Hunters..

I quit after the first few levels..

The backtracking really got on my nerves

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religiousjedi72

1-27-2008 @ 3:09AM

religiousjedi said...

Mario Kart DS: Mario belongs on the platforms, not on a kart/baseball field/gameboard/etc...Besides, never been a big fan of the Mario Kart series...

Phantom Hourglass gets an honorable mention (or is it dishonorable?). Has to be my least favorite Zelda now...

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z_fallen73

1-27-2008 @ 3:53AM

z_fallen said...

Rayman ds

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BPM4:Guns of the Idiots74

1-27-2008 @ 4:11AM

BPM4:Guns of the Idiots said...

Atari Retro Classics
It just felt.... lacking. Having the originals represented in their pure forms was nice. But the Remix modes were kinda lame. They were just fresh paintcoats. I was hoping for something along the line of Game & Watch Gallery: the updated version would also include updated gameplay and BACKGROUND MUSIC. I know it's crazy, but I actually like listening to game soundtracks (for the most part).
No saving of high scores and no Single-Card Multiplayer really kills it.

Yoshi's Island DS
I'm surprised noone else mentioned this yet. Some of the graphics look ripped right out of the original, and others look really bland.
And the difficulty is out of control. Some levels are too easy, and others are beyond hard. Like torture, they are! I've given up on getting 100s on the Secret stages. Getting 100s on the Extra stages was painful enough.
I guess it was too much to expect Artoon to make a game as classic as the original. Baby swapping was cool, though.

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MidnightScott75

1-27-2008 @ 4:40AM

MidnightScott said...

Brain Age & Big Brain Academy

I'm sorry but they got so boring so fast, I just haven't played them since like a few days after I got them =s

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stufff76

1-27-2008 @ 8:23AM

stufff said...

Puzzle quest. Some of the best gameplay ever, but the DS version just looks so lousy and was too buggy compared to the PC version, and pretty much every other version. No online multiplayer was just a crime as well.

Mario Party DS. I love the series, but the maps in this one didn't really do it for me, and I don't think the new items are as much fun as the ones from the N64 era. Making a Mario Party on an online capable system with no online multiplayer is worse than a crime. And Forcing you to use download play with friends who all have the cart? What kind of moron thought this up?

Actually, I've been very disappointed with the whole Nintendo WiFi system. Nevermind the fact that entering a different friend code for every one of my friends for every different game they have is an unnecessary hassle; they games they have for it are completely gimped. There are games that would have been fantastic for online multiplayer (Lego Star Wars, Mario vs. Luigi mode in the New Super Mario Brothers) but don't offer it at all. And then the few games that do offer it offer such a gimped down version of the game it's no fun to play. I'm talking to YOU, Mario Kart, with your limited course selection, inability to drag items behind me to block incoming red shells, and inability to add computer opponents to a course.

The multiplayer matchup system is pretty horrendous as well. For example: I want to play Mario Kart against my girlfriend while we're both currently in different states for grad school. We can play a friends match, but unless we can find 2 other friends at the same time, it's only a 1v1 match, which is no fun (since we can't add computer opponents online). Trying to join a matchup game at the same time is like pulling teeth, you don't get the info about who you're playing against until the game has started. Then, after half an hour of back and fourth "I have 2 players in my game so far, do you?" you finally find yourself in the same game together, and some jerk is using cheats and is racing around at super speed and infinitely firing red shells.

I know Nintendo hasn't ever really had any online ventures before, but they had over a decade of experience and mistakes other's had made with online gaming to learn from, and it's like they completely ignored all of it to release this sub-par online experience that is the DS.

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Brello77

1-27-2008 @ 2:11PM

Brello said...

WiFi definitely seems like a tacked on afterthought. The way each individual game has a separate code really illustrates that. It's a shame, it could have been so much more. Although it still wouldn't fix the cheating problem, which is why I don't bother with WiFi in the first place (except with friends). Well, that, and hardly any games utilize WiFi, and most that do are done half-heartedly. I swear the publisher must walk in at the last second and yell "We need wifi!" at the developers for some of these games.

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Dexxx78

1-27-2008 @ 10:07AM

Dexxx said...

Dragon quest monsters : joker

and the advance war games.

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Adam Dolph79

1-27-2008 @ 12:16PM

Adam Dolph said...

Wario Master of Desguise and Elite Beat Agents, to me, both sucked...

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Myth80

1-27-2008 @ 12:48PM

Myth said...

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a game I really wanted to like. The 360 version was great but as the 360 is my roommates' and not mine, I wanted a version I could play. My high expectations were completely smashed. That's my fault for not looking at any reviews of the game before I bought it.

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