To me, the bigger issues are the too-literal translation, horizontally squished aspect ratio, and extra content which feels totally out of place and incoherent from a gameplay perspective.
Interesting, never new that, thank you. I wish the Switch had the same anti-glare coating, found it made a world of difference in strong sunlight on the 3DS. Though the Switch’s screen does go brighter since 3DS saved its peak brightness for playing in 3D only to offset the dimming you get from the parallax barrier…
I too am bidding on a dsi xl thanks to this board. 
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I love the DS and it was actually the first handheld console I ever owned. I jumped on board with the launch of the ds lite and I still have and use that model to this day. I mainly use it for ripping my GBA saves as I play most DS stuff on my DSi.
The DSi(non xl) is my favorite way to play DS games. I love the sleek design, the clicky buttons and I think the screens are the sweet spot between the smaller DSlite and the too large DSi XL.
I have one of the r4i gold cards in my N3ds and it still kills the console in about 2 days of standby with WiFi/street pass off
That’s what I keep thinking on size, too. Wish I could play around with one of each. Maybe a local second hand store will let me do that.
The DSi is definitely a better system than the DS Lite if you’re not that fussed about the GBA port. I’d recommend picking up both a DSi and a DSi XL/LL just for DS games if budget allows.
There are some games which work better with the smaller screens - like those with messy 3D visuals (clean stuff like Hotel Dusk and Last Window looked great on an XL) or those which require very quick touch interaction. The Ouendan/EBA spinners are harder to pull off on an XL because they are larger. But that’s the only issue I’ve had since getting my XL in 2013.
I intend to pick up a Light Blue DSi at some point.
Gotta catch 'em all.
It’s basically just 3ds vs 3dsxl.
That’s mine!
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I probably can’t justify having both so I would most likely stick with my initial leanings and get a regular DSi. I’ll certainly keep my Lite for the GBA slot and multiplayer. Not that there’s really anyone to play with in my world but I’m hopeful my two girls will be into such things in a few years.
Really wished the DSi had GBA support. It would have been a beast of a handheld. Recently sold my first-gen NDS for the lite. Never really liked the first Nintendo DS. Really felt like a bulky device with a dim screen. The lite seems like such an advanced product by comparison.
I can’t think of a bigger turd then the original DS. I think the quick upgrade to the lite saved the DS line.
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It was ugly as fuck and has shitty screens, but it was way way more comfortable in my hands. Not enough to justify it’s other failings tho
https://www.popoptiq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/100324_Nintendo_DSPhat2.grid-6x2.jpg
It was a confusing design for me. I just didn’t understand what they were even going for with the DS concept (part of me still wonders if Dual Screens really added anything).
The cleaner design language of the DS Lite at least made the concept feel more slick, even though it was functionally the same.
The DS and 3DS systems had some incredible games, but I’m not really sure if the hardware really added much that one touch screen + stylus couldn’t handle equally as well.
In hindsight, the whole 2 screen concept is still kind of peculiar to me. The touch input was really the star of original hardware.
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I’ve got an original DS that was recently dropped on my lap. No reason to use it instead of my DSiXL, so I’ve been thinking of hacking it up for homebrew. Doesn’t seem to be too difficult to do at all.
The upgrade to DS Lite was most welcome, but the DS was already starting to outsell the PSP before the Lite launched. “It prints money” was a GAF meme started because of the original DS’s unexpected runaway success.
Going back to Mario 64 DS with the Lite was an eye-opening experience. I thought the game was very desaturated compared to the N64 game, before realizing it was the fault of the original DS’s screens.
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Having so many games with full screen maps on the 2nd screen was a long running joke but over time it’s become my favourite feature of DS/3DS games. It is extremely useful to have a large, highly visible + usable map available at all times without needing to go into any menus.
I’ve been playing Dragon Quest Heroes 2 lately and all I can think of is that if it were on a dual screen system w/ 2nd screen map it would be a lot less annoying to navigate the various environments.
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Yeah, I am a fan of the second screen even when it was simply used as a map or inventory convenience. Having it as a touch screen was genius when you consider there was no dedicated gaming hardware like it at the time.
I remember all the memes and jokes when it came out and how PSP would run roughshod over its DOA carcass. That was a big fat nope.
Just another console that shows hardware doesn’t sell systems, software does!
I love having the second screen. I was so excited for all the amazing games that we’re going to make use of the wiiU’s second screen…yeah
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I agree. I love the games but really don’t care for the whole 2 screen concept. I guess “don’t care for” is a bit harsh since it’s more of an ambivalence towards it.
As opposed to my point of view on the WiiU where I loved the two screens there, but it didn’t have as amazing of software support. The superior “top” screen (as in it being my TV) with the bottom screen being completely separated so it can only be used as a separate gamespace and never an attempt to “expand” the same gamespace as some DS games do made it a better two screen experience for me.