SweetieGames

Header photo by Curiosity Classics

When this post goes live, it’ll be my birthday! It’ll also be 18 years since I got my first console of my own. My brother and I shared a PS2 and a Wii console, but I’ll never forget that burst of adrenaline when I unwrapped a coral pink Nintendo DS Lite on my 8th birthday. Finally, a console just for me.

I of course got some games that I still have fond memories of today, including Catz (which had an iconic opening theme song!) and the first Tamagotchi Corner Shop game. I could barely wait for it to charge up to try it out, but once it had enough battery it was snatched off me by a friend who was there for my birthday party and she started intently playing the Tamagotchi game that I was desperate to try out. She had her own DS at home!

Once I was finally left alone, I was taking care of my virtual cats and becoming a professional Tamagotchi dentist for hours. The console truly got me hooked on gaming; I loved the PS2 and the Wii, but I had some truly impactful gaming experiences on the DS. From sports games like the original Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (which actually ended up breaking my original DS screen) to one of my all time favourite JRPGs Dragon Quest IX (which I’ve talked about plenty on this blog!) I’ve laughed, I’ve cried and I’ve gotten as mad as Daffy Duck in that DS game purely about pissing him off. Anyone remember Duck Amuck?

Being among the first touch screen consoles, I think the DS opened up a whole new world of creativity and interactivity for game developers, and it’s pretty difficult to fully recreate the incredible games that released on it. The other day, I was thinking about Professor Layton games after hearing one of the songs on a game BGM playlist. In my favourite game, Pandora’s Box, the final puzzle had the player blow into the DS microphone to open the titular box and reveal its secrets. It made 9 year old me think I was really there, taking part in discovering the truth!

The DS was a level of portable that I don’t think has been recreated since, even with the Nintendo Switch. I took my DS everywhere and it fit in small bag pockets, and was tough enough to need minimal casing or protection. I remember meeting up with friends to play Mario Kart DS, with one main character and an army of different coloured Shy Guys racing each other. It took forever because someone would always restart when they got a Shy Guy in a boring colour! I bonded with a random girl in my gran’s care home because we had both brought DS consoles with us and happened to have Animal Crossing Wild World, so we visited each other’s towns. I chatted incessantly with new friends when I started secondary school about DS games we had in common, such as Super Princess Peach and its requirement to pick up every toad before finishing the game. My mum and I would sing along to the insanely catchy Tamagotchi Corner Shop music hall song, with incredible lyrics such as “Tamagotchi, Tama Tamagotchi”. People often stereotype gaming as a lone hobby, but I think the DS brought me closer to so many people in my life.

I truly think if it wasn’t for that DS Lite 18 years ago today, I would have never started this blog. The DS showed me the huge scope of stories and fun you can have by playing video games. It may have died an untimely death due to a crack in its screen, but I may have to get my DSi out to celebrate 18 years of being a true video game fan. And maybe pick up that Tamagotchi Corner Shop game for my Switch.

If you’re interested in some of my favourite titles for the Nintendo DS, you can check out my list on this blog!