Nintendo DS Roms
The retro-gaming movement continues apace, but some people simply play older games on their computers because their old system has become unreliable or they don’t want to spend the cash for the latest Nintendo DS games. Whatever the reason, roms may be the answer.
Nintendo DS Roms of all sorts suffer from a sort of marginal legality. Essentially, like old fashioned computer games, owning a copy of something you already own breaks no copy right rules, nor does playing a game made for a system you already own. On top of that, most roms have an online license permitting a temporary trial. The difficulty in that games made for Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Gameboy, et al. may simply and easily be copied to a computer with no possibility of verifying whether the copier owns or has even ever seen the system or game in question. The issue becomes even more muddied with the advent of Japanese game translations. Many of these games never were released outside of Japan, which means that technically owning one in the states infringes on international copy right laws, but no other way to enjoy the game exists. For this reason, many rom sites exist in a kind of tenuous no questions asked environment where they carefully mouth the words of the law, while actively pursuing agendas at least tangential to the spirit of the law.
This can make searching for roms a dangerous proposition as unsavory individuals uninterested in the well being or preservation of society sometimes promulgate bugs, viruses, and malware. Before looking for your favorite Nintendo DS games, check out the best in firewalls and anti-virus protection, lest your computer become terminally ill.
Best Nintendo DS Games
There are thousands of games out there for DS but if you want to do some research to see which games are the best here are some really cool and fun games that are the best Nintendo DS games that will keep you entertained.
WarioWare Touched will keep your brain guessing, connecting, and spinning for hours. Full of mini microgames you will never know what your next task is! Your tasks could be anywhere from drawing a mushtache onto a man to cutting fruit as it flies through the air. You may find yourself cooling off a cup of coffee or whispering sweet nothings into the Nintendo DS’ microphone! This is surely a game that will take the boringness out of those long car trips or doctor’s office waits!
The Big Bang Mini is another interactive game that is enticing and full of great visuals. Not only do you have to avoid enemies you will also have to keep yourself out of any trouble that may occur because you misfired a firework or a cloud deflected it back to you. You are able to move your ship around totally independent of where you can fire your fireworks from. You must be careful though! The more you improve yourself in this game and get to the harder levels the more your skill and mastery are challenged!
Another entertaining game is “The World Ends with You.” It is a rpg game that brings a different meaning to rpg (role playing game). When you power up your DS you will find yourself in the shopping and fashion district of Shibuya. From there you will join forces with other characters in the game and fight against evil enemies. This is a great game to test your fighting skill out on!
These are only a few of the best Nintendo DS games that are out there. Hopefully you can find one that will fit your style and keep you entertained!
Homebrew DS, without the BS
Whether you’re new to Nintendo DS, or have been playing one since it first came out in 2004, you may think you’ve seen it all. The Nintendo DS is the fastest-selling handheld game console of all time, with 20 million units sold in the United States by 2008. Sure, NDS games are fun, but you just can’t help but feel like you’re missing out on something. If your current games and applications just don’t seem to be cutting it, it’s time you turned to the homebrew community.
Homebrewing isn’t a new concept; it’s been going on since the age of Atari. Basically, un-licensed games made by amateur programmers are written onto third-party cartridges. Homebrewing is the hidden link between playing the same recycled, commercial material, and owning something unique and personalized. Homebrew applications range from PDA Organizers to advanced web browsers or movie players.
There are two devices that are first needed before you can run any homebrew applications. The first is a Flash cart. Flash carts are adaptors that plug into the GBA slot, and allow you to use media from a flashrom or insertable flashmemory. There are two kinds of flash carts. A Slot-1 cart plugs in where the DS game normally would, and acts as an all-in-one device, eliminating the need for a booting tool. Slot-2 carts are the older, more supported storage carts. They plug into the GBA slot and have either built-in flash memory or a memory card slot.
The next thing you need to set-up a homebrew system is a booting tool. Every time something is programmed and manufactured by Nintendo, it is “authenticated.” When you try to play something made by a third-party programmer, authentication is required. A booting tool is a device containing a code that will allow you to authenticate NDS homebrew applications. Booting tools are inserted into the NDS slot, and don’t contain any media. If you are using a slot-1 flash cart, the cart acts as its own booting tool.
So now that you’re wired for homebrewing, where do get the games? A majority of homebrew games are downloaded from the internet for free, or if you’re experienced with the DS you could program your own. Using DS homebrew has raised some questions on ethics and legality. Is it legal to program your own games for the Nintendo DS? It’s a grey area. Modifying the actual hardware is illegal, but homebrew doesn’t technically modify the DS console, you’re only bypassing the software. Most homebrew applications are free, so all you’re doing is sharing programs-no business attached. Downloading a cracked version an official Nintendo game for free, though? That’s illegal.
Homebrew is an excellent opportunity to experience what is out there, beyond the clutches of corporate marketing. And since homebrew doesn’t have to be just games, you can download a whole host of interesting applications, from instant messengers to e-books, thus expanding the usefulness of your handheld gaming device. As Nintendo said, “Touching is good”, but re-touching is even better.
