Asking for Nintendo DS game recommendations, for a young boy
(8 votes, average: 4.13 out of 5)
Loading...Hello everyone,
I’m going to offer a Nintendo DS to a 7 years old kid, and I’d be very happy if you could throw game recommendations, please 
My profile : I bought the DS Lite already, with Super Mario Inside Bowser (and despite being written to be OK starting at the age of 3, it’s a freaking actual RPG that I wouldn’t recommend to a kid younger than 15 yo, grrr, can’t game boxes tell the right age). And then, disgusted to have wasted money on that game unfitting a young kid, I bought a R4 one week later, and I plan to stuff the R4 with games.
I want to only place proper games inside the R4, none too violent or gore, I want to keep it cute and nice. No 3D games (it’s a DS Lite, not a 3DS), the boy’s too young for that.
The boy’s profile :
– 7 years old, not very mature (no, it’s not my son)
– the boy’s a French, but he can take an English game allright as long as English fluency isn’t required (for instance, at home he’s been playing Super Mario Nes and Snes games on an emulator without problem)
– reads a bit, not much, so if it requires a game playable without reading skills or kept to minimum, or in which once you remember how it works you don’t need to read more
– the boy’s a Super Mario universe fan, but he also adores Sonic The Hedgehog, Lego bricks, Flash Mac Queen and Toy Story characters.
Suggestions are welcome, thank you very much if you can help
(Oh, and don’t bother with download or online purchase links, that stuff, I’ll manage by myself)
Maestro Jump in Music
Jump Ultimate Stars
Kirby series XD
pokemon
Professor Layton (any of them) it's a good childrens puzzle game and I believe it's playable in a few languages.
yapp i think prof layton is a good game for children bro…
Got a couple games which arent too text heavy:
Mario vs Donkey kong: March of the minis
Wario ware
Elite Beat Agents
New Super Mario Bros.
Oh, forgot to mention Mario Kart.
Sonic Rush
Sonic Rush Adventure
Sonic Colours
New Super Mario Bros.
Ace Attorney (all of them)
Trauma Centre 1 and 2
Hotel Dusk
Last Window
The World Ends With You
Inazuma Eleven
Professor Layton (all of them)
lol sorry but I don't think thats exactly fitting for a 7yo boy. If he grows older maybe…
Sonic Colors, also there is one that has the original 1-3.
Any of the Lego *insert movie license*
Plants vs. Zombies
i’d say pokemon, but i can’t recall the intelligence level of 7 year olds… ok…if he has intelligence get pokemon, if not so much, there is plenty of cheap shovelware on the DS just grab anything…he won’t know the difference
chrono triger, un rpg sympa =)
New Super Mario Bros., Elite Beat Agents, and the Sonic Rush series are all good. Pokemon is good as well; it's also an RPG, but it's designed so that you don't really have to master the deeper elements of it to progress. (Also, if the video game situation in France is anything like in the US, half of the kids at his school will be playing Pokemon, and the game is built to heavily reward social gameplay.) Also, try to find Kirby Super Star Ultra if you can, that's a terrific one for younger kids, if he's secure enough in his masculinity to be comfortable playing as a pink marshmallow
Megaman ZX,Metroid Hunters,Zelda Phantom Hourglass, Castelvania Dawn of Sorrows, all are a little bit old but very funny and cheap
Maro Kart
Phoenix Wright
Tetris DS
wow, they name too many reading kind of games, Professor Layton, Hotel Dusk and Ace Attorney are good games but might be too complex of puzzles for them to understand at age 7
they not thinking for a 7 years old level, some of them, might make a 7 year old quit the game than enjoying it, hmm…
i would say, New Super Mario bros, Kirby Super Star Ultra, and Mario Kart always simple and always a classic
mario, kirby, tetris, mario kart, maybe pokemon.. (not the pokemon ranger, that was terrible)
Contra 4
google "vs recommended games" and look in the ds page. It has nintendo ds games that /v/ recommends arranged by genre with a description of why they are recommendable that could help you decide the best for your son.
Regardless of what you choose pick Ouendan and its sequel. They're in Japanese but the language barrier is close to nonexistant. Besides, you can't have a DS (or an r4) and not have those two games. Or Rhythm Heaven, you can't miss that one either. Get the European version that has French in it and set your DS's language to French
also, lol @ Contra4
i recommend advanced wars: days of ruin since you don't read that much unless you wanna understand the story but you don't acually need to know it and it's a great war game since kids are into that sora stuff
i recommend mario hoops 3 on 3
"I bought the DS Lite already, with Super Mario Inside Bowser (and despite being written to be OK starting at the age of 3, it’s a freaking actual RPG that I wouldn’t recommend to a kid younger than 15 yo, grrr, can’t game boxes tell the right age)"
I don't get it. Do you think the content in the game isn't suitable for children? The only age-limiting factor in Inside Story is reading comprehension. Otherwise, the game is superb for children and very light on its RPG mechanics. If you'd play it, I think you'd find there are just as many action/reflex elements.
The ratings evaluate content appropriateness, and nothing more. There is nothing in Inside Story you wouldn't see in a Saturday morning cartoon. If the ratings measured intelligence or competency, you'd see games like Layton getting M and CoD getting E. XP
"And then, disgusted to have wasted money on that game unfitting a young kid, I bought a R4 one week later, and I plan to stuff the R4 with games."
Piracy. That's sad.
I realize the irony considering the website, but I guess this particular instance hits closer to home considering my involvement in the game industry.
Anyway, recommendations:
If you want to try games involving reading (he should be practicing that at 7 anyway IMO), then try Pokemon Black or White. If you can't get one of those, Platinum or HeartGold/SoulSilver would be fine too. Ace Attorney and the Layton games are good too, but I think the thinking skills in those games might be beyond age 7. (Ghost Trick is another excellent title that would fit in this category…) The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass or The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks might be good to try for him, though.
If you want reading-lite action-esque games, from my collection I would recommend any of the following:
Bangai-O Spirits
Contra 4
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Mario Kart DS
Mega Man Zero Collection
Meteos
Metroid Prime Hunters
New Super Mario Bros.
Nintendogs
Super Scribblenauts
Sonic Rush
Soul Bubbles
Star Fox Command
Super Mario 64 DS
Tetris DS
WarioWare: Touched
Yoshi's Island DS
Pick whatever catches your interest.
deal with it, piracy will always be around and always some one will prefer free than buying something, like duke nukem fornever. If your lucky, some individual will legitimately buy the product if they enjoy it so much
Mario kart
new super mario brothers
brain age if he's stupid (lol jk, brain age anyways)
Fire Emblem, the Gameboy ones. I know you said DS games, but fuck it; GBA Fire Emblems were great.
hum j'ajouterais peut être les deux zelda qui sont faciles d'accès :Phantom hourglass et spirits tracks
– Mario Kart
– Mario Party DS, quite good, and it has multiplayer mode that only requires one card to play up to 4 persons
– any platform games, super mario bros, kirby series.
LoZ ST, i think it was quite simple to play
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is a good Mario game, only problem, its heavy on the English but language can be switched to french
i come from a family with lots of kids, and each of them has a DS. my advice: wait a few years before buying this kid a DS. all the kids in my family are practically addicted to it. they screw up their studies if we don't force them to do the right, they barely ever go out, barely ever do sports or anything, also, they've become rude and insolent. the worst part is that they think life is like a video game: if you lose once, you'll get as many chances as you want. that's why my little bro screwed up his whole school year and thought it wasn't a big deal.
please consider those facts.
blame the parents not the games
mario kart!
donkey kong
super smash bros!
kirby
and SPONGEBOB! (everybody loves spongebob!)
New Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario 64 DS
Mario Kart DS
n+
Plants vs Zombies
Rhythm Heaven
Elite Beat Agents
Master of Illusion
Sonic Colors
Worms Open Warfare 2
Castlevania games (there are 3)
Megaman ZX games (get both)
Spider-Man (Web of Shadows, Shattered Dimensions and Ultimate)
Iron Man 2
Green Lantern – Rise of the Manhunters
Super Scribblenauts
Batman – The Brave and the Bold
X-Men Origins Wolverine
Super Monkey Ball – Touch and Roll
I'm against Ace Attorney series, Hotel Dusk and Last Window as these are graphic novels/adventures. Text heavy and not for 7 y/o. Trauma Center requires skill and may wreck the touch screen if not careful.
you can also include emulators for NES SNES and GBC
forgot to include Solatorobo: Red the Hunter.
Rune Factory – A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon DS (actually, all the Harvest Moon games for DS)
All the Pokemon games for DS
Drawn to Life
Cooking Mama 1 + 2
Touch Detective
Diner Dash
Cake Mania
Bomberman
These games shouldn't be too complicated or filled with endless storylines and puzzles. But a few of them can be challenging and make you never want to leave your room. Especially Pokemon. And Harvest Moon. I remember when I got my first portable console, the Gameboy Color. Spent my entire weekend playing Pokemon Yellow and even ditched school on Monday to defeat the Elite Four…you sure you wanna give this DS to him?
ask the kid! or “take him to the store & let him choose” what if you pick up something, and the kid wanted something else!? (mario/sonic, sport/adventure) make it easy on you and just ask him properly!
KINGDOM HEARTS
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
Dragon Quest IX
Pokemon Heartgold
Pokemon Soulsilver
Pokemon Diamond
Pokemon Pearl
Pokemon Platinum
Pokemon Black
Pokemon White
you know your games,
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (you should paly the main game on the ps2)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (ace)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (not so much this one as it let me down on the Wii)
you should try Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: CB on the wii
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
Prof. Layton is too conplex for that age.
Pokemon ( Black, White, Soul silver or Heratgold) 8 ( a lot of tex but simple)
Super Mario Bros
Some of Naruto Games ( 3 or 4 of them on NDS or 3DS)
Elite Beat Agents its a bery good game for that age.
Kyrby Superestar Ultra
Mario Kart
Ghost Trick (
you could put in the harvest moon games there. makes anyone glued for quite a while
I would go with either pokemon or any final fantasy.
Even if he's young he can start to use his brain cells a little (it will help in the long run) and a bit of text might encourage him to read more (which i find that's a dying hobby in younger generations).
And if he happens to like any games with long text you might inroduce him to VN's when he gets a bit older.
okami-den and all the lego games are pretty good for a boy his age
Achète lui la R4 si tu la trouve il peux ensuite telecharger sur la ds tout les jeux disponbles. Sinon je conseille wario ware et fire emblem bien que fire emblem ait pas mal de dialogues ils ne sont pas necessaire a la comprehension du jeux (tactic rpg)
R4DS you can get any game you want to test
Just get a Super Card for the Ds it will run like $40 then you can download all of them and they work great i have two one for each of my Ds and like 50 games on each… and they play perfect
Bon choix que le R4 (même si l'original ne se vend plus depuis longtemps)!
Je te conseillerais Pokémon noir ou blanc, c'est un must pour tout gosse et certains adultes.
Mario Kart est aussi un incontournable, de même que New super mario bros.
Et peut être un des Zelda, si jamais il est plus doué que son age.
De toute manière, pour les enfants, les jeux nintendo restent le plus indiqué niveau contenu/qualité.
Mario kart
Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns
Mario Party
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
Rhythm Heaven
But the most fun game I still have 4 my DS is Elite Beat Agents
Mario Kart
New Super Mario Brothers
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Any Mario title is likely to be good. My kid's 9, and he's had it since he was 7. Nintendogs will be good for any kid who loves pets.
Mario Kart is absolute fun, both for the DSi or the Wii.
Elite Beat Agents. Great music game, no need for reading during actual gameplay. There are some comic style text boxes, but the “story” is really just for laughs so it’s not important. It’s very colorful and fun.
Scribblenauts.
Not only will he learn lots of words, but he'll get the see every word he puts in. I was surprised as to just how amusing the game was.
Castlevania games
Pokemon
is a good start
elite beat agent (voire mieux, Oendan 1&2 en jap mais ca se joue aussi, c'est surtout un jeu de rythme)
les dragon quest (4, 5, 6, 9)
inazuma eleven
zelda phantom hourglass
Meteos
pokemon (platine, black ou white)
les professeur layton
puzzle quest
yoshi's island…
je me retiens de mettre plus de rpg/tacticals, mais s'il aime le genre, il y a une liste longue comme le bras sur DS
Mario kart ds. my cousin like it most
It's a bit late, but keep this post for future reference, eh?
-Rune Factory 3 (I remember kids going mad about the marriage/spouse system. This one has ten to choose from. P However-very time consuming, as any Harvest Moon Player know)
-Any Zelda Game (Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks)
-Mario Platformer (New Super Mario Bros is a good choice, plenty of fun. Although to be honest I don't fully understand why Bowser's Inside story ISN'T for 3 and up. It's funny and kinda acceptable!
-Mario Kart. The Classic.
-If he's into strategy games (and if you don't mind light hearted make believe War themes) Advance Wars Dual Strike.
-Pokemon…what kid hasn't played pokemon!?
-Elite Beat Agents and Rhythm Heaven. I haven't played the latter, but I think both is an excellent choice as well. Fun rhythm game!
-Sonic Stuff is great as well, but only the platformer types-they're what sonic games are mostly good for.
Hm…looking back at the previous post, I don't recommend Ace Attorney or Professor Layton is an awesome puzzle game but text heavy .The World Ends with You is VERY awesome but I guess it fits far into the teenage zone. Trauma center can be a bit…icky. I also don't recommend (as a regular gamer) movie-based video games; good ones are far and few in between.
Also, look at video game review sites and see whether the reviewers like it or not, that should be a good indicator of good/bad video games. Usually the reviews also detail whether its kid friendly or not, just in case you're wondering what kind of games your kid is playing (In case he went wild with the R4 card).
….I'm blabbering too much. I'll shut up now.
Perhaps a very late post, id recommend the following as at the age of 7 it’s crucial to try to keep the brain active (believe me no 7 year old likes to study) so the following gamers would be a fun way to keep the brain active with fun activities, I should know as I recommended then to a friends 8 year old kid, it would give a better chance that they don’t become a dumb sh*t
Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
More Brain Training
Left Brain Right Brain
Big Brain Academy
Perhaps
Puzzle quest challenge of the warlords
I found those boring within 2 minutes of starting them, and I was a lot older than 7 when I tried them. I doubt an 8 year old would find them entertaining at all.
Hey Oliver, a game for when he gets older (but DS' would be pretty nonexistent then… Or better yet, YOU could just play it yourself, Oliver!): 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. It's honestly the best "game" (it's more like a visual novel with puzzle mini-games) I've ever played in my entire life. Can't wait for the sequel next month.
Don’t know if you got a EZ flash slot 2 device, if you did, there’s quite a few GBA games that would be perfect for a 7 Year.
I’m sure some of the guys can recommend a few.
I personally love Nintendo IPs hence why I always buy Nintendo consoles on launch, did it back when the SNES come out, I have to have my marios, Zeldas and metriods.
By the way I only got a PSP and x360/pS3 purely because of the RPG libratory, I’ve left the Xbox 1 out since it has no worthy RPGs, PS Vita is a cool hardware but haven’t found any eye catching RPGs on it,
I would recommend KI uprising, Tales OF Abyss, KH dream drop, Mario 3D, Zelda 64 3D and finally Star Fox 64 3D on the 3DS, obviously not for the Kid as the 3Ds not safe/recommended for young kid I’m recommending these to you Oliver.
Hell if you don’t have a 3DS and you live in the UK just post your work address or better yet replay saying your interested and I’ll give you my real Email address and I’ll see if I can ship one out to you from my stock, since you’ve done a fantastic job on this site and all I feel like saying thanks,
No idea why this was in the spam folder. Approved it.
And thanks everyone for these recommendations