The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.
Like many other three-year-old boys, Kristopher divides his playtime among toy cars, toy trains, and toy things with buttons and lights. When his dad's iPhone isn't available for him to appraise with his tiny, curious fingers, he flips open his Nintendo DS Lite, a hand-me-down from his mother (she now owns a newer edition/color).
Of course, we don't expect to entertain you with just photos of some kid and his DS -- no, we have something much more hilarious planned for you! Jump past the post break and into Kris's crib!
Similar to its Sangokushi Taisen DS-branded base, Hori has another themed stand set in the works for rhythm game series Taiko no Tatsujin. The adjustable platform comes in red and has two holders for the drumstick styli that come with every copy of the original game. Also included in the kit is an adorable screen wipe
The bundle may or may not also come packaged with the attachable banner of cheering characters -- we haven't decided yet if this would be distractingly goofy or awesome to the max.
Japan has already seen one Taiko DS title release and has another coming, whereas every other country's DSes have been so far Taiko-less. Thus, it's safe to assume that Hori's accessory won't appear in North American stores any time soon. Import shop Play-Asia, however, has the stand available for preorder (due April) for $19.90. Peek past the break for a look at the full, watermarked product sheet.
One of the features the DS has that we feel gets underused most is the microphone. It's always getting left behind by the school bus, receiving countless wedgies in the hall from more popular features of the hardware and also getting its milk money took. It's a hard-knock life for the DS's microphone, if you ask us.
Do you feel the same as we do? Could you care less about the microphone on the DS? Do you think it should only be utilized in Ace Attorney games?
MashiMaro could be described as Korea's answer to Sanrio, Japan's heavily-merchandised community of Hello Kitty characters. The adorable, chubby rabbit sits atop a mountain of plushies and other branded products that are too cute for many to resist. Unlike his Sanrio colleagues, however, Mashimaro can be a jerk. In the Flash animations where he made his debut, he can be seen stealing food and pushing a pig off a cliff. He's a bad bunny to the bone.
Joytron recently put out a line of cases decorated with MashiMaro scenes, and they're just as cute as the thuggish cottontail himself. The shells slip over your DS Lite, adding an extra layer of plastic protection to your handheld. Joytron will even throw in a pen stylus with each order. Hop into the gallery below for more shots of the different "System Skin Cases" now available in Korea.
Sometimes, a game offers us multiple control schemes. Either we can utilize the DS's unique touch-screen interface, or we can navigate the tried-and-true seas of the d-pad and the handheld's face buttons. While each game is different and we can't really generalize on which is a better control scheme overall, we do have our preferences, just as you must.
So, do you find yourself loving the idea of stylus controls, but often revert to d-pad-based solutions when confronted with the option? Or, do you think the precision of the touch-screen puts a skip in your step? Which do you prefer most of the time?
In this day and age, a person with a knack for the more technological things in life can freely stroll throughout their local Wal-Mart's Eletronics section, taking pictures of various things with their nifty camera phones. Pictures like the above rack of Nintendo-themed lunchbox DS cases.
Upon checking Wal-Mart's site to see exactly what was in each tin, we found a bundle of:
Headphones
Car Adapter
Screen protectors (2)
Case
Decal
Cartridge cases (2)
3 colored styli
Wow, quite a bit of goods for $27.88. But is it a good enough deal? If you want to see the bundle for yourself, head on past the break.
The world's favorite blue robot cat from the future is back with more stuff to put on your DS. The Doraemon Waku Waku DS Accessory Set includes a system shell, a card case, an extending stylus, and a screen-cleaning strap all bearing the adorable visage of Doraemon. The DS case has a repeating light blue Doraemon pattern that we think is pretty nice, and the card case features three Doraemons (Doraemen? Doraemans?) in cute poses.
NCSX is taking preorders for this $23 accessory kit from Hori, to be sent out when it releases on March 6th. If you're looking to protect, clean, write on, and carry games with your DS, it seems like a good option.
From swords to ... uh, more swords, we've seen quite a few special styli in our day. Some are colorful and some are extendable, but the stylus gift is pretty common with DS games. Do you own any specialeditionstyli? Do you wish you did? If so, which ones? And we're not talking about just any random stylus here, though there are plenty of awesome DS accessories, but those specifically designed for (or that come with) certain games.
This thing looks exactly like two iPhones sandwiched together, if you ask us. But, it isn't without its appealing aspects. For one, we like the idea of having a true 16:9 topscreen, because we're often staring at that screen for obvious reasons. Also, the thing looks lighter, which is always a bonus. So, it isn't completely useless and absurd.
The boxart for Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword may have failed to impress us, but we should have guessed that the game had another trick up its proverbial sleeve. Remember this sword stylus stylus that we coveted like thy neighbor's wife? Now it can be yours, scabbard and all, with a preorder at your local EB/GameStop (or online here).
We've come to the conclusion that we must have this preorder bonus. Playing your DS with a sword is the way of the ninja, after all.
You can easily predict the next couple of panels in this strip, but that doesn't make it any less funny! This cautionary comic reminds all the smokers out there why they shouldn't play with their Nintendo DS while sucking on a cigarette -- like smoking, it's just not a good idea in general! Put out that cancer stick, spray some Febreze around you, and join us past the break for the rest of this tragic, NSFW tale.
They're much less interesting (and much less offensive) than the styli we featured in our anti-gift guide last week, but Keys Factory's colorful Touchpen Leashes have two things going for them:
Small grooves near the tip of the stylus for increased gripability
An extendable, coiled strap that ties onto your Nintendo DS, ensuring that the stylus is never far from your system
If you have a habit of forgetting to slip your stylus back into its slot and losing it shortly afterwards, you might actually find this trinket useful! Otherwise, you could always hang it on your Christmas tree as an ornament and a sign of your supreme tackiness. The Touchpen Leashes sell on Play Asia for about five bucks each and come in five different flavors: Orange, Mint, Brown, Peach, and Melon. Stretch past the break to preview a couple of those other variations.
Gaming sites are inundated with holiday gift guides at the end of the year, listing the best and most popular games that everyone pretty much already has (or knows about). Well, we're not going in for that this year. Our gift guide will help you find the best gifts in categories the other sites won't cover -- because we just made them up.
My secret addiction -- the one that has me wearing only long-sleeved shirts and brushing my teeth before coming home, all to hide its telling signs -- is stylus collecting. I can't get enough of these pen-shaped bits of plastic; I'm cuckoo for them, you could say. Every time I make a Play Asia purchase or collect a preorder bonus, I feel like I've lost another part of me, another vital fragment I'll never have again. I don't know what it feels like to be alive anymore.
I've long moved on from conventional styli, using anything I can get my anxious, shaking hands on, the crazier the better. How else do you think I managed to put together this gift guide for alternative styli? Thumb styli, extendable styli, styli with colorful mascots on them -- you name it, I've tried every single one of them, and they don't do a damn thing for me anymore. Forget about those nonsense accessories and read on for my NSFW roundup of styli presents that will change your life ... for the worse. Joys be thine, suckas.
Another major RPG release for the DS, another Hori accessory set. This latest bundle for Final Fantasy IV's 3D remake comes packed with a trio of items you can buy to showcase your fanboyism and poor money management skills -- a protective system case, an extendable stylus, and an attachable screen wipe bearing the image of a chibi Rydia, FFIV's green-haired summoner.
Like the game, this kit won't be available in Japan until December 20th, but import shop Play Asia is already taking preorders, charging $17.90 plus shipping. Gather your party, stock up on potions, and travel past the post break for more images from this official accessory set.
There are some games that would be perfect for the DS because they would (or already do) work so well with a stylus, yet they somehow haven't managed to make their way on over yet. What game or franchise do you think needs to be on the DS, specifically because of the handheld's stylus controls? It could be a game that's on another platform instead (for shame!) or something that's not even in the works yet.
We took the easy way out and chose a game that already had stylus controls, but we're sure you can be much more creative.
*Note: The above game is a work in progress known as Crayon Physics Deluxe.
Similar to its 
One of the features the DS has that we feel gets underused most is the microphone. It's always getting left behind by the school bus, receiving countless wedgies in the hall from more popular features of the hardware and also getting its milk money took. It's a hard-knock life for the DS's microphone, if you ask us.
Sometimes, a game offers us multiple control schemes. Either we can utilize the DS's unique touch-screen interface, or we can navigate the tried-and-true seas of the d-pad and the handheld's face buttons. While each game is different and we can't really generalize on which is a better control scheme overall, we do have our preferences, just as you must.
From 
The boxart for Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword may have 
They're much less interesting (and much less offensive) than the 
