Help: Which Nintendo DS and which Castlevania for the NDS should I get?

[Shademp]

Gotta get prepared for my annual tradition of playing a (for me) new Castlevania game when Halloween approaches!

Spoiler: About the choice of Nintendo DS

Since a few years back I own Final Fantasy Theatrhythm for the 3DS, but without actually owning any type of Nintendo DS. Ergo, if a Nintendo DS is backwards compatible so that it can still play the Castlevania games for the classical DS, that would be awesome and will definitely affect my choice of handheld console.

Keep in mind that if I acquire a 3DS I won't get any use out of the 3D option (can you set a 3DS to being only 2D?) because of a refractive error in my eye(s) that make the images not blend together. Even with advanced 3D adjustment technology, I still end up in that twilight zone where while I do perceive the intended depth I still get cross-eyed and uncomfortable.

Question: Is the Nintendo DS backwards compatible with the Gameboy Advance? If yes, then that would increase the number of Castlevania games I have to pick from.

Spoiler: About the choice of Castlevania

So it appears that I have three choices, in the order of publication time.

- Dawn of Sorrow
- Portrait of Ruin
- Order of Ecclesia​

I am not interested in acquiring Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate for the 3DS.

I'm leaning towards not getting Dawn of Sorrow because I am yet to play Aria of Sorrow, meaning that I'm not up to date with the Soma Cruz storyline. But I am willing to base my choice on which game has the best polish in gameplay and Castlevania atmosphere.

Any help in either of these choices is greatly appreciated. =)

 

[Octo]

I don't think any DS has been compatibale with GBA games. I have a 3DS xl. And I think it's worth it for the extra screen size. The 3D element is just a gimmick and you have to be holding the DS just the right distance anyway which gets uncomfortable and annoying, so I just have it turned off most of the time.

edit: Heres a comparison thingy https://cdn02.nintendo-europe.com/media/downloads/migration_1/DS_specs_UK.pdf

https://cdn02.nintendo-europe.com/m...nintendo_3ds_3/N3DS_NDSXL_Comparison_enGB.pdf

Stupid fuckin nintendo why not have all handhelds in one chart?!

 

[Kai Schulen]

The original DS and DS Lite can play GBA games.

Like the awkward puberty stage, the DSi cannot play GBA games or 3DS games (which is understandable, since 3DS games go only with the 3DS).

The 3DS can play both 3DS games and DS games, and there's a slider on the right side of the screen where you can adjust the 3Dness and turn off the 3D.
However, if you're going to go with the 3DS, I would suggest going with either the new 3DS XL or the regular new 3DS for bigger screen and amiibo support.

Though, if you went with the older 3DS, you could always mod it to play GBA games on a rom? Also, something to consider: you can't use wifi services on the DS/Lite/DSi, whereas you can with the 3DS.

 

[RedFFWolf]

I have nothing constructive to add, but I just want to say my friend has the same tradition And that's neat.

EDIT: Sure, I'll ask him if he's played any of those games himself.

 

[Shademp]

Leaning towards either the Nintendo DS Lite or the 3DS XL. The former because the price tag is way more manageable and I like the backwards compatibility with GBA, the latter because I will appreciate the big screen and the ability to play Theatrhythm. I would definitely gain more money-wise if I buy the DS Lite now and then wait for the 3DS XL to do some price-drops over the years. I'm always 5-15 years late with these consoles and games anyway. Will observe my money situation a bit more before making my decision.

Thanks for the help Octo and Trainer Red.

I just want to say my friend has the same tradition And that's neat.

ZOMG that IS neat! The tradition spawned out of my self-awareness and boredom from only playing Super Castlevania IV every Halloween. As a way of combating my laziness and slowness to acquire new titles, and leaving the comfort zone of tightly embracing the old console classics, I decided to play (at least) one new Castlevania game per year.

Being a fan of that October-November time of year also helps.

 

[RedFFWolf]

I just want to say my friend has the same tradition And that's neat.

ZOMG that IS neat! The tradition spawned out of my self-awareness and boredom from only playing Super Castlevania IV every Halloween. As a way of combating my laziness and slowness to acquire new titles, and leaving the comfort zone of tightly embracing the old console classics, I decided to play (at least) one new Castlevania game per year.

Being a fan of that October-November time of year also helps.

He began with playing horror games around that time, at some point discovered Castlevania and just has to play them around that time now

He got back to me - alas, he hasn't played any of the aforementioned three, yet.

(And, yes, the October-November time is absolutely wonderful! - I'm genuinely excited to be entering the Autumn times now)

 

[HylianMogget]

I've played Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia, but it's been quite a while, so I don't know how helpful I'll be able to be. OoE is significantly more difficult than PoR, so if you're looking for difficulty, go with OoE. It's been too long since I played them that I can't really compare the level design, but I do remember that the portraits in PoR give it a more varied atmosphere than just the usual areas in Dracula's castle, however it recycles assets for its stages which was kind of annoying; OoE has some short, linear levels but you still get the castle to explore later on. I enjoyed the glyph system from OoE more than switching characters in PoR, but I still had fun with PoR (also, iirc, PoR has more bonus characters to play as after you beat the game). They're both solid games, I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

If you end up getting a DS that can play GBA games, then definitely check out Aria of Sorrow. It was my first Castlevania game, so I'm probably biased towards it, but I really liked the soul system/collecting a lot. I haven't played DoS, but if story matters to you then I recommend staying away from it until you play Aria, because I would imagine that it, being a sequel, spoils what is a pretty big twist in the first game.

 

[Flintlock]

I have a DS Lite. I only own one GBA game for it - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance - but now that I think about it, I probably played that game for longer than any of the actual DS games I own, so I got some value out of the backwards compatibility. As has been said, the 3DS does not support GBA cartridges.

I actually pirated most of my DS/GBA games when I was younger and less scrupulous. It's very easy to do with a "flash cart" and microSD card. I don't have a 3DS, but it seems there are flash carts for that too nowadays, which could save you a lot of money. I don't pirate new games any more but I wouldn't really see the harm in getting one for emulation purposes.

Edit: looks like there are still some limitations to 3DS flash carts, so make sure you research them properly before using one. (I'm sure you'd do that anyway.)

If you want to play Theatrhythm or other 3DS games, or if you want to play anything online, get a 3DS or a New 3DS. I might upgrade at some point when I have a bit more money to play around with.