TheNintendo DSwas revolutionary during its time. This handheld was essentially a portable Nintendo 64 with two screens, microphone capabilities, and backwards compatibility for Game Boy Advanced games. With 3D graphics and a touch screen, it was the coolest piece of tech.
As gamers, we all have ways to enjoy the Nintendo DS how we want. While were weren’t always into the same genres, there were some things we all ended up doing at one point or another. This includes experimenting with the capabilities of the device or spending hours messing around with a single app.
10Hiding The Nintendo DS Under The Covers
Playing Past Your Bedtime
It’s past your bedtime, and you shouldn’t be playing video games. Luckily, the Nintendo DS made it incredibly easy to pack more than one game into the system without leaving bed. Witha Game Boy Advance gameon the bottom and a DS card on the top, you get your choice of game for those late-night sessions.
The biggest challenge always comes with hiding your device under the covers. If you heard your parents checking in on you, it was a race to see how fast you could close the DS before anyone saw you.
9Trying To Play Game Boy Color Games
Ruining Your Old Games
If a Game Boy Advance system could play Game Boy andGame Boy Color games, then why couldn’t the Nintendo DS? The slot wasn’t big enough to fit the bigger cartridges, but if it’s a matter of size, would trimming a Game Boy cartridge work?
There was always one game that got ruined in your quest to test this theory out. Unfortunately, by the time you figured it out, it would be too late. Your hands would be covered in the plastic of dead games with no going back.
8Using A Broken DS Lite As A Game Boy Advance
The DS Lite Was Particularly Flimsy
The Nintendo DS often feels like a brick. Its successor, the Nintendo DS Lite, had the opposite problem. While it upgraded the backlight and the portability of the handheld device, the newer model would be prone to breaking due to the thinner screens.
Nintendo DS Lite systems that had the top half missing weren’t down for the count. In fact, many could still run the Game Boy Advance games on the bottom screen. So many Nintendo DS users would simply use their broken devices as a Game Boy Advance system.
7Coloring On PictoChat
A Simple Tool With Plenty Of Use
Many DS users found themselves fascinated by the touch-screen capabilities of the device. Whether it’s playing with Mario’s face in Mario 64 DS or using it extensively in WarioWare Touched!, doodling was great on the system.
Pictochat, in particular, is memorable for being available to all users. It had a satisfying keyboard sound and let you doodle to your heart’s content. This made it a surprisingly cool feature that connected players through chats and art. It’s one of the best built-in features for a handheld.
6Teaching Your Nintendog The Wrong Name
Repeat The Name Over And Over Again
Teaching your Nintendog the right name is more difficult than you remember. In fact, it requires you to keep yelling the name repeatedly until the dog gets it. Sometimes, the dog will even get the name wrong, requiring you to say it wrong every time afterwards, too.
Nintendogs is one of those games where your voice is a vital part of the experience. After all, you’re supposed to be interacting with a virtual pet using the microphone. It is all too reminiscent of a little game titled Hey You! Pikachu!
5Screaming At Your Chatot In Pokemon Diamond And Pearl
The Louder You Scream, The More Powerful It Becomes
Chatter is one of the most interesting Pokemon moves of all time. You could record your own message, which would then be played each time Chatot uses the move in Diamond and Pearl. This is supposed to mimic how a real-life parrot repeats your words.
This move could also cause confusion, depending on how loud the message is. While the rate of confusion caps at 30 percent, anyone who has this Pokemon and a DS has memories of trying to scream at the top of their lungs, trying to supercharge this move.
4Putting Stickers On The Back Panels
Customizing Your Nintendo DS
How do you differentiate your devices from others? You add a little bit of personality to it with stickers! The Nintendo DS was wide enough and flat enough to support multiple stickers. This could prove a fun way to customize your DS if you had any spare ones around.
While some would prefer to keep their devices the same way they came out of the box, stickers could show off the games that you’re into. It’s your own little introduction at a glance that lets other players know what you’re about.
3Losing Your Original Stylus
Fingers Will Do Just Fine
Despite being an essential part of the Nintendo DS experience, the stylus was incredibly easy to lose. This little stick could be slotted into the DS itself, but it got looser the more you used it. Eventually, it would simply slip out and get lost to time.
This happened to almost everyone who owned a DS. In most cases, you wouldn’t even bother with a replacement. Sometimes the best way to deal with this is just using your fingers for the touchscreen or any other plastic tool.
No Cartridge? No Problem
One of the more interesting multiplayer features for the Nintendo DS is the ability to share games remotely. Your friend might not have had a cartridge, but some games, such as Mario Kart, Metroid Prime Hunters, and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, allowed them to be shared with others.
This made playing games with friends easier, and a neat little trick to try out when not everyone has a copy of the same titles. It really showcased just how far games had come since the Game Boy introduced the link cable for the Nintendo systems.
1Using The Action Replay Max
The Most Iconic Video Game Cheat System
You wouldn’t cheat at video games, would you? Nah, you probably did, and we are all guilty of it. Most of the time, the culprit was the AR Action Replay Max. This little accessory taps into your games and allows you to get infinite items, max health, and secret power-ups.
This accessory was released for multiple systems, including theGameCubeand the Game Boy Advance. You could even program your own codes that weren’t already included in the device for even more ways to hack the experience.
