DS Lite Review

[chuddy_2001uk]

The Future's Lite…
written by Chuddy_2001uk (Touchds.com Administrator)

You came here to find out why you should shed the cash for, lets face it, a system that you already own. You want to know how bright the screen is, what changes have been made, how it feels to hold and all the other bits. You’re going to find out from a person who owns both the old style DS, which I’ll personally name the “retro DS” and the new born DS Lite therefore you can rest assure that everything said will be from my own personal experience and not ripped from the guts of other gamer websites like Gamespot or IGN. This is Touchds.com exclusive: only for you. Let’s begin.

The look:

I own a Pearl White DS Lite so the following content will be related to that of what system colour I own.

As much of the media have said, it can’t be ignored that the DS Lite looks very much like an Apple iPod. The ‘Lite consists of a white plain plastic clamshell design but with a thin layer of clear plastic covering the first layer making it look very flashy indeed. Inside, it appears that the surface is that of the first layer without the clear plastic. The surface is slightly matt and it feels like a piece of sand paper has been lightly brushed against the surface making it look very clean cut and stylish. This material is also resistant to scratching providing a very useful comparison against the retro DS. The retro DS presented itself with the same thin and flimsy plastic all over making it easy task to spot scratches and spots where the silver paint had rubbed off. With the DS Lite however, the material is constant throughout the layers thus making it difficult to ruin the design.

Packaged with the DS Lite, comes a nifty GBA cart slot. Of course, it is the same colour as the system you buy and on the front of this is the same sleek plastic which coats the outside of the ‘Lite. Although this small slither of plastic has the same identical metal strips as a normal GBA game, they serve no purpose; they just keep the receiving end of the GBA slot on the DS Lite clean and dust free. Smart stuff.

The buttons and screens fit very well with the new look as they’ve been altered too. Due to the make over with the D-pad and A/B buttons, the top portion of the ‘Lite is very thin. The sides of this “flap” have been carved so that there is a lip on the outer edge creating a unique style and feel. (see picture below) Although the screens are the same size as of what is with the retro DS, they seem larger. The retro DS’ screens had a thick-ish black border around the top screen but with the ‘Lite a smaller much more attractive border is presented. The lower touch screen looks a lot larger as well mostly because there is that small, sleek border attached as well. On the outer edge of this screen is a beautiful curved edge making it look even more sexy. You’ll notice with the retro DS sooner or later after playing with the ‘Lite that the retro DS has much sharper edges as to what the DS Lite has. The screen also feels like it’s been pushed heavily into the silver plastic but with the ’Lites screen, it almost pushes the screen out at you begging for you to push, stoke and prod it. As well as the D-pad and A/B buttons being refurbished , the shoulder buttons have also had slice of the action. No longer are they rigid or “blocky” looking they’re quite the opposite. To keep in the style of the system, Nintendo have also reshaped them so that they’re much more rounded and smooth.

A nice touch though (which I’m sure you’ve seen already from the official pictures from Nintendo) is the cool dual screen logo that’s become very familiar as a result of the marketing by the company. This logo is located on the top of the ‘Lite and is made by raised plastic which is way too fun to run your fingers over. Although I don’t know what this logo looks like on the other ‘Lite colour but it looks slick and stylish on the Pearl White outing.

Caution: A touch that is very annoying however and what makes me want to take my DS back to china and slam it on Lik-sangs return desk myself is the fact the Pearl White goes yellow. Yeah…….Yellow. I have showers, I wash my hands and I’m generally a clean person (be quiet about toilet paper LKR) but whatever I do the L and R buttons gain a tint of yellow and the area around the D-pad also gains this onerous treatment.

The feel:
The DS Lite is smaller. Much smaller than the old style DS. So much so that, to me, it’s much less comfortable than the original DS. If you’ve watched Cables awesome video review on the DS Lite then he’ll explain this aspect. You can’t clamp the ’Lite tightly with your fingers and palms hugging the system - it’s way too uncomfortable like this which is a real shame but I guess it’s a price you have pay when the DS itself looks stunning . You see, the bottom half of the DS has a very prominent and sticky outy edge to it due to the clear cover plastic coating. This edge digs into the palms of your hands, not too much mind but enough to cause you discomfort and that’s why you have to let the system “breath” (sounds stupid but it’s very true). Let me explain: you know how you hold a sandwich with both hands? When you’re about to take a bite, flip the sandwich forward thus showing you how to hold your very own DS Lite.

The buttons? They feel really different from the retro DS. First up is the D-pad. The directional pad feels like a bigger version of what the Gameboy Advance owns and feels even more “squishy”. This causes many problems when I’m playing games such as Animal Crossing: Wild World. Say I want to travel from my house up to Tom Nooks rip off store - I push the directional pad in a North West direction. On the old style DS this wouldn’t be a problem at all and none of you Touchds’ers have had problems so what could possibly go wrong with the new “improved” D-pad? Pushing into the corner now causes my lovable character to go into a mental fit of changing between sharp west and sharp north directions and this is very, very annoying. It also feels like I’m playing a The same kind of problem also crops up on Super Mario 64 DS. The result? I prefer the old D-pad.

The A and B buttons are, thankfully, much more comfortable than before. Again, they’ve taken a page out of the blue prints for the GBA and made them non-clicky and softer. The material used for these buttons is really good to touch as well because they’re not as rigid as the previous buttons on retro DS. Pushing these buttons is also something special as it feels slightly analogue - but of course it isn‘t (lol). The pause and select buttons were also victims of the “looks over feel” virus that swept it’s way over the remodelling team. Don’t get me wrong, they’re in a great position and they’re easy to access but they’re way too small. These buttons are also hard to push which may create a lovely feeling of frustration but hey, they do their job (although I almost never press select) and they do the jobs to passable degree.

Overall the DS can be quite comfortable but only if you give it some space and the cramp that you get on Metroid Prime: Hunters gets a little worse than before. The old DS is more comfortable but the slight “defects” here are dismissible when your holding the best looking handheld out there. Oh and I haven‘t even started on the screen brightness and clarity.

The gameplay:
Ok, so you know what it feels like to hold and what it’s like when it’s sitting there for everyone to see but what about actually playing it? I’ve touched upon the slightly annoying usage of the D-pad when playing Animal Crossing but how does it play and look when booting up other games? I can safely say that it blew me away. Forget about the controls on AC:WW it looks fantastic.

With four brightness settings, better viewing angles and no obstructive plastic around the outside of the two screens, this dual screened baby starts to cry out a mind blowing message - “you’ve never played this game with me before and your about to have your eye sockets burned” and jeez, is it right. But just how bright is it? You may have heard me on the Touchds.com’s own show: TDS week in review Live! talk about the brightness but if you haven’t then let me inform you that the lowest brightness setting on the DS Lite is actually brighter on the only available setting on the retro DS. If that isn’t enough then crank it up to the brightest setting and prepare to be stunned - this DS isn’t playing around. Colours that retro DS was showing are enhanced four fold and produces a picture that really does have to be seen to be believed and even colours are shoved in your eyes that you didn’t even know were there. Boot up MP:H and you’ll soon believe me. Animal crossing now looks even better with colours blaring out at full strength showing just how happy the world of Animal Crossing should be. Ouendan (which you should of already imported!) looks like some maniac has drawn out a comic, used florescent colours and stuck it onto your DS and Super Mario 64 DS looks better than ever. I could go on and on about how great the games look but I won’t, you shall see for yourself soon enough. I’d just like to point out that I would provide video footage of the DS Lite but, in short, my camera doesn’t pick up the picture - just two vibrant white squares >_> Oh and I can get a solid 6 hours with the fourth setting.

This degree of vibrancy coupled with what’s still a great and familiar control interface provides what we’ve just been waiting for: A truly fantastic gaming experience that not only beats the crap out of it’s older model but (and it has been proven) even out of Sony PSP. Now that’s something.

Extra bits:
- The stylus - The aspect of having a larger one (cue laughter) was always going through peoples minds as they clutched the flimsy and annoyingly tiny stick of plastic. But now you’re greeted with a much thicker and slightly longer (by just 1cm) stylus. It may not sound much but it does make a hell of a difference when playing. The slot of which you place the stylus in has also been modified to a much more accessible area of the DS; the right side of the ’Lite instead of the back. This is one of my favourite differences as its much more convenient. The change was made due to the length and the width of the new stylus. Oh, and you get two bundled in with the handheld.

- The strap - First off, it’s made of a smoother material. Second, there’s no thumb nub. Third, it’s still too small to hook around a wrist while playing. Does the job.

- The speakers - There are less holes to be seen drilled into the plastic for sound to get through which only means that , yep, less sound. The old style DS gives out louder sound but plug in your headphones and you still get some great base and crystal clear sound.

- The sliders - The volume slider is much the same as the old one but this time around it boasts surprisingly useful, raised bits of plastic for extra grip. The volume slider is much the same as the old slider in all but features the stylish design. The power button has changed. No longer shall n00bs mistake it for START. It’s now on the right side of the system and is exactly like the one on the PSP but don’t worry it was a good move because now you have to push it up and hold it for a few seconds to boot the system up. Then do it again to shut down. Simple yet effective.

The Pictures...

The Questions...

Q. Does the Lite fix the popping and crap at low volumes?

A. No, the sound is still distorted when the volume is set to low. But remember: I got a Ds Lite from china where the fisr batch was made and although i got mine several months later the quality of mine may not reflect that of the US or European 'Lites.


Q. You said something about the shoulder buttons being different. I didn't care for the originals, is it that much better?

A. They're not heavily different but as I said the hard edges have been taken away. Pushing them is a lot easier and has the same clickyness as those found on the GBA

The End...

[alex]

nice review and i have to agree with that the stylus is so much better now with the light and after you try to normal ds styuls after the light for abit you think you might brake it lol and the screens do look larger for some reason but i dont know why lol

anyway when i get my black ds light i might take some pics if you guys want...

[bignds]

Very good review, got my a bit hyped up for the June 23rd launch, note: how about some TDS logos on the pics? Just for people who may *steal* them. But great work man.

I did get my hands on a DS Lite while in GAME the other day, was actually surpised at how small it was. The power button very much reminded me of the one found on the PSP...

[nmaster64]

While your working on those pics, I don't suppoes you could actually use thumbnails instead of full-size images? I think it just looks nicer and more professional, and it's easier on the load times...

[fischju]

my hands are way to big for a lite =(. im trying to get a v5 firmware phat so i can flash it, making it have all the brightness settings the ds lite has

[alex]

Originally Posted by fischju

my hands are way to big for a lite =(.

i thought that at first untill i tryed it you kinda holed the ds light in a slightly diffrent way to the normal ds but you do it automaticly for some reason well i did (i am just guessing you have not tryed it btw)

i dident play it for too long but it did not dig into me like chuddy said but my current ds does with fast paced games... but i suppose ill find that out when i get it and play on it for longer period of time...

+ the hole system being lighter (as in the weight of it) improves will improve it for long periods of gaming when holding it in certain positions

[Neumie]

hmm some of the complaints in the review were things i was hoping they would fix from the retro DS. more difficult to hold. worse cramp in MPH.
it does look the absolute business though and the screens are eye blisteringly great. different light levels is also a nice addition. do u have to select it in the software though or is there a switch on the hardware (i hear its on the hardware but not sure.).
i was worried about the sound in the lite version. the speakers really surprised me on the retro DS. would the sound quality be as good as the retro?
anywho thar be my 2 cents.
great review man ^^

[alex]

its in the software in the options when you start up the ds...

i personlay only lissen to sounds when i fisrt get a game then i never turn the sound on again... but i dont think there worse just not as loud

[ShadowMarth]

Lol, "retro DS". You said something about the shoulder buttons being different. I didn't care for the originals, is it that much better?

[alex]

i found them to be better as they are ware your finger naturally lay so more comfortable as there not hard...