Why the Nintendo DS is the Best Console of the Soon-to-be-Previous Generation

Yep, I said it. Nintendo's portable offering into this (practically the last at this point) console generation is the best amongst all of them. Better than the 360, the Playstation 3, and their own Wii. I know what you'll say, "But all-knowing master of all things gaming and otherwise, those graphics suck and Pokemon is old, that's all they made for the DS, right?!" To that I say "who cares?" and "you're a moron" respectively. Unless of course, you didn't say that, then I guess I'm the presumptive prick in this case. No matter, point is, I believe the Nintendo DS to clearly be the most superior console of the soon-to-be-dead longest-running console generation.

How can I say this when something like the Xbox 360 is so graphically superior, as well as having the capability to produce almost Michael Bay-level explosions and movie-quality sound design? Well first of all, any comparison to Michael Bay knocks points off in my opinion, but that's besides the point. On a more related note,  none of these are things that make a game good. Albeit, if it's done well, something like high-quality voice acting can improve a game to some extent, but a game isn't shit if it doesn't have it. Same with graphics, if done right, a better looking game can make it more enjoyable. But when people talk about the greatest games ever made (or at least people who know what they're talking about), what are the first games that get mentioned? Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, Mega Man, Tetris, Legend of Zelda, and the like. Now there are two key components that make these very convenient to my point. They're all NES games, 8-bit, two-dimensional games, as well as all being under the Nintendo banner. Maybe Nintendo themselves didn't create Castlevania and Mega Man, but they recognized the quality of what Konami and Capcom respectively were creating, and made sure to secure the right to those two titles at the time. If there's a company that excels not only in recognizing greatness in gaming, as well as working with what they have, it's Nintendo. And I think they proved that here more than ever before.

Not only did Nintendo make something great despite limitations, they did it while charging less not only for their console, but for the actual games themselves. The average brand new Nintendo DS game ran for $39.99, twenty bucks less than the average Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 game. Their online services were also better. Of course, you couldn't watch Netflix or update your facebook on your DS, but if you're reading this, you can probably do those things on your computer anyway. Besides, it was free, and no one's credit card information was ever stolen.Connecting was quick, easy, and low on lag, which no other system could say.

All of this is nice, but there's only one thing that really pushes the DS above the competition in my opinion. The games. The DS is pretty much the only thing with exclusive licenses anymore, and they have so many great ones. The Pokemon series, every Shin Megami Tensei game released on this generation's consoles (the PS2 isn't this gen), Phoenix Wright, Professor Layton, Ghost Trick, Dragon Quest, Mega Man: Star Force, Mario & Luigi: Partners in TIme/Bowser's Inside Story, the 2D Castlevanias, Golden Sun, Radiant Historia, Rune Factory, Advance Wars, The World Ends With You being just a few. Not to mention new iterations to classic series' like Mario Party DS, the aforementioned Castlevania games, Kirby Mass Attack, Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros., Contra 4, Digimon World: Dusk/Dawn, Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns, and Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks/Phantom Hourglass. AND ports of classic games like Final Fantasy IV, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario 64, Tetris and Disgaea. I love games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and the Mass Effect series, but there's so much more to do with a Nintendo DS and at a fraction of the cost. That's why it's by far the best investment of any console of its generation.