Any Adventure Games for the DS, Anybody?

[Marduk]

It's as if the console was MADE for this type of game. (I fervently hope TTG will eventually make a couple of games for it. Particularly Sam & Max).

I've noticed a surprisingly large number of games which I have suspected to be Adventure games (far more than I would have expected for a console so new in such a short time and in this day and age) come out for it. (Also, have you ever noticed that no adventures have a message on the back of the box saying "This is an Adventure Game"?

Far more than I can actually afford to buy, since the recession. I've been making a list, mentally, of the games to look out for and buy when I have some cash together, but its hard. (For one thing the games on the shelves are never in the same place twice, especially if some have been purchased).

So I thought I'd look up a list of DS adventure titles online and go through it for the ones I'm most interested in. Sadly most of the lists aren't just for adventure games, but various different types of action games. Soon it becomes hard to tell which is which.

If anybody knows of an adventure game fan site that has a DS section or even a DS fansite that has a [proper] adventure game section then PLEASElet me know. Until then, here's a list of games collated from this thread :)

Original DS Titles;
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Touch Detective 1 & 2 (For some reason called 'Mystery Detective', here in the UK. The bundled games are referred to as 'Touch Detective' but I've only seen these available online).
The 'Ace Attorney' series (Not entirely certain this is an adventure game but most adventure players recommend it).
Secret Files: Tunguska (At first I thought the dialogue in this game was terrible. Then, when I accounted for the language barrier (I discovered that the game was made in germany), I realised that some of the weird lines were actually jokes).
Another Code (I'm told that the Wii and DS versions were originally intended for release on both systems so I'm not going to regard this as a ported title).
CSI: Dark Motives
Miami Law (Haven't seen this anywhere online or in shops. I assume it's real as it was mentioned by TTG's own Emily and that it's probably just not yet available in the UK).
Flower, Sun, and Rain (Something of an 'interactive novel', from what I gather).
Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery Of The Mummy

Probably Adventure Games (if there's anybody who can verify any of these that would be great :D);
Mystery Mansion
Cate West: The Vanishing Files (Not yet released)
Mystery Stories
Mystery Case Files: Millionheir
Unsolved Crimes
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew: The Deadly Secret of Olde World Park
Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase (All 3 of these Nancy Drew titles appear to be from differant publishers).

Ported Titles
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director's Cut (also on Wii)
Syberia (just the first one),
Myst
Ankh
Jake Hunter
Undercover : Dual Motives

Thanks in advance :D

[MusicallyInspired]

All I'm aware of are the rereleases of certain PC titles: Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director's Cut (also on Wii), Syberia (just the first one), and Myst. There were talks of interest in porting Riven as well but I doubt that'll ever happen considering the harsh criticism the Myst port got. I still plan to buy all of these, though. I know of no other original adventures on the DS.

[LuigiHann]

I think you listed most of the ones I know of. The Ace Attorney series is the best there is on DS.

If you like Hotel Dusk you might also like Trace Memories/Another Code, which was made by the same people.

Myst on DS was a huge insult to everyone.

I played a game called "Time Hollow" which was kind of like an adventure game with almost no puzzles at all. It had very little gameplay of any kind, it was a Japanese-style visual novel. It had a good story, and mostly plays similar to the "investigation" parts of Phoenix Wright.

The DS port of Runaway 2 was handled notably well. You hold down the stylus and the whole screen zooms in for double resolution. It makes it a lot more playable than most PC-to-DS adventure game ports.

[MusicallyInspired]

You know what I would like to see on the DS are those old Dynamix comic book-style adventures: Rise of the Dragon, Heart of China, The Adventures of Willy Beamish. That'd work very well. No moving around, all first person, mostly dialogue tree puzzles. I should actually play those sometime...never attempted to beat them yet.

[Marduk]

The DS port of Runaway 2 was handled notably well. You hold down the stylus and the whole screen zooms in for double resolution. It makes it a lot more playable than most PC-to-DS adventure game ports.
I played the first half of the runaway 1 before uninstalling it and writing an angry review.

[Tea]

There's the Broken Sword Director's Cut, it's unfulfilling though.

And of course if you have one of "dem cards" you can run classics like Monkey Island through ScummVM DS.

[Marduk]

does the director's cut still have voices or is it subs only?

[Rather Dashing]

I suppose Professor Layton doesn't count enough for a mention?

[LuigiHann]

I played the first half of the runaway 1 before uninstalling it and writing an angry review.

Funny, I sat through the intro of Runaway 1, then completely lost any interest in playing it at all. Seriously, the game starts with the main character chilling in the chair and telling us the back story as a bland monologue? Kudos to you for forging onward, that's some serious will power.

does the director's cut still have voices or is it subs only?

Subs only in the DS version.

[LuigiHann]

I suppose Professor Layton doesn't count enough for a mention?

You know, it's not much of an adventure game, but it is worth discussion. It has a ton of adventure game-style character and environment charm, and the puzzles are fun enough, it's just the complete and utter segregation of story and puzzles that make it feel like not-an-adventure-game-at-all.

It is the sort of game that many adventure game fans would enjoy, though, so I would encourage people to play it. Just don't expect any story-puzzle integration, because there is virtually none.

[natlinxz]

Myst on DS completely destroyed any hope I had in Adventure gaming on that system.

[Marduk]

I haven't played it on the DS, myself. I got it for the PSP and didn't see the point in getting it for another handheld. Those adventures I have played on the DS have had brilliant interfaces, though (though the puzzles on Touch Detective required for to large leaps of intuition).

What was wrong with Myst?

Also, what are the puzzles like in 'Prof. Layton's...'? I got the impression that they're more the kind of puzzles you'd generally expect to find outside the adventure games (like on IQ tests or pub bets. By pub bets i mean like "remove 2 of these matches to leave 10" or "pick up 5 bricks with 1 hand" or "how can you make a bridge with 3 planks that are too short without nails, ropes or any adhesive substances?")

[MusicallyInspired]

I don't think anybody's saying there's a problem with Myst, just it's god-awful DS port. There's apparently one section where a button you have to press is only one pixel big. Also, it's been said everywhere that it has an alternate (inferior) soundtrack, but from what I've heard it's the exact same one.....so I don't get why everyone's saying it's different. Is it only certain songs that are changed? Anybody know who has it? What's the deal there?

[corruptbiggins]

I would love to see more adventure games on the DS but I would prefer developers to create games designed for the consoles, not just ported because they were successful on another platform. I do think, however, that Revolution did a good job in porting Broken Sword to the DS but I believe that's mainly down to them doing it themselves instead of a third party creating the port (like Myst).

[LuigiHann]

Myst on DS completely destroyed any hope I had in Adventure gaming on that system.

Don't let it. That was a shameful and effortless port (ported by Midway, not Cyan or anyone with a soul), one of the worst ports I've ever seen. I stand by my insistence that Myst could have been done well on DS if it had been handled by a competent team, or a team that cared about Myst. The people who developed the port were clearly neither.

I wrote up some of the specific problems I had here: http://mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=227976&sid=537b6de304edde3eebd63785b307c526#227976

Man, I can't get over how angry that makes me. The idea that some people who had never played Myst bought that, and got their first impression of the series from that garbage port... it's just wrong.

There are plenty of decent and several great adventure games on DS. Don't give up on it because of one bad apple.

Marduk, the puzzles in Professor Layton are exactly as you describe, little mind-teasers. Several of them involve matchsticks, even.

[natlinxz]

What was wrong with Myst?

This is an older review of mine, so it's pretty crappy, but it gets the point across: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkBGu4KMZCw

But it's still the best Myst DS review on Youtube! It's the only Myst DS review on Youtube

[MusicallyInspired]

Just think. Whenever ScummVM gets around to supporting Myst and Riven you may be able to play them on the DS someday...

[freakazoid]

Also, what are the puzzles like in 'Prof. Layton's...'? I got the impression that they're more the kind of puzzles you'd generally expect to find outside the adventure games (like on IQ tests or pub bets. By pub bets i mean like "remove 2 of these matches to leave 10" or "pick up 5 bricks with 1 hand" or "how can you make a bridge with 3 planks that are too short without nails, ropes or any adhesive substances?")

That's exactly what it's like. I played it for a few hours and then it got very boring and tedious very fast. There's a game called Lux-Pain you might want to check out. Here's a video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW7nFqAg9do

[Tea]

I haven't played it on the DS, myself. I got it for the PSP and didn't see the point in getting it for another handheld. Those adventures I have played on the DS have had brilliant interfaces, though (though the puzzles on Touch Detective required for to large leaps of intuition).

What was wrong with Myst?

Also, what are the puzzles like in 'Prof. Layton's...'? I got the impression that they're more the kind of puzzles you'd generally expect to find outside the adventure games (like on IQ tests or pub bets. By pub bets i mean like "remove 2 of these matches to leave 10" or "pick up 5 bricks with 1 hand" or "how can you make a bridge with 3 planks that are too short without nails, ropes or any adhesive substances?")

I broke my first DS because of the harder puzzles in Layton.

[natlinxz]

Just think. Whenever ScummVM gets around to supporting Myst and Riven you may be able to play them on the DS someday...

I don't think that SCUMMVM will be supporting Myst anytime soon. Part of getting SCUMMVM to work was having the source code from a few SCUMM games, and I don't think that Myst is open source. :p

I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying that it's hard.

[Marduk]

I would love to see more adventure games on the DS but I would prefer developers to create games designed for the consoles, not just ported because they were successful on another platform. I do think, however, that Revolution did a good job in porting Broken Sword to the DS but I believe that's mainly down to them doing it themselves instead of a third party creating the port (like Myst).Both the Wii and DS are excellent venues for adventure games but aside from those don't see the point of porting or creating adventures for any other console. There's no reason why console versions of games (or original console games) shouldn't work on them but I imagine it's something to do with having to use a joypad instead of a mouse and keyboard.

Still, another code seems to be doing quite well so we may well be seeing original titles on the wii if not other consoles.

[jared25]

I think you listed most of the ones I know of. The Ace Attorney series is the best there is on DS.


I hadnt played that yet i held off because i thought it may have been like the old pc game "In the First Degree (PC)" the idea on that was to interview individuals pretrial to charge the muderer with his hanus crime. Then when finished, place in the 2nd disk and pry the real truth out of them. Best i had done was
2nd degree, been a while

[MusicallyInspired]

I don't think that SCUMMVM will be supporting Myst anytime soon. Part of getting SCUMMVM to work was having the source code from a few SCUMM games, and I don't think that Myst is open source. :p

I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying that it's hard.

You don't need the source code to support games if the engine is possible to be reverse engineered. SCI, for instance, was reverse engineered. As was AGI. And there is somebody actively working on Myst and Riven compatibility in ScummVM with tangible results (you can read his blog (http://clone2727.blogspot.com/)). It's still a long ways off but hey, we thought we'd never see SCI support in ScummVM either! And honestly, the notion of Myst support would have been a lot more realistic than the notion of SCI support was before it was incorporated.

[Marduk]

You don't need the source code to support games if the engine is possible to be reverse engineered. SCI, for instance, was reverse engineered. As was AGI. And there is somebody actively working on Myst and Riven compatibility in ScummVM with tangible results (you can read his blog (http://clone2727.blogspot.com/)). It's still a long ways off but hey, we thought we'd never see SCI support in ScummVM either! And honestly, the notion of Myst support would have been a lot more realistic than the notion of SCI support was before it was incorporated. But... Isn't this Piracy?

Don't get me wrong; I have been guilty of small acts of piracy. But I really think that it's wrong in certain situations, like if the company creating the game is quite small or in financial difficulties. That might be not be the case, here, but when so many large game producers are dropping all of their Adventure games wouldn't you want to see them get the best possible sales revenue?

[Fizzywix]

Time Hollow is another adventure game as well.

[LuigiHann]

But... Isn't this Piracy?

Don't get me wrong; I have been guilty of small acts of piracy. But I really think that it's wrong in certain situations, like if the company creating the game is quite small or in financial difficulties. That might be not be the case, here, but when so many large game producers are dropping all of their Adventure games wouldn't you want to see them get the best possible sales revenue?

ScummVM isn't for piracy, it's about running your old games on your new computer. I'd love to be able to play Myst and Riven on my computer without having to mess with rolling Quicktime back to an older version, and stuff. Even if they add support in the main ScummVM build, I doubt Myst and Riven would be supported by any of the ports, though, especially the handheld ports, due to their complexity. But I could be wrong.

Just as an aside: Cyan, the makers of Myst, most certainly do fall into the "quite small or in financial difficulties" category.

[MusicallyInspired]

It's not piracy. There's nothing illegal about reverse-engineering a game engine since it doesn't have to be bundled with a game's resources that use said engine (that would be illegal). All that's being incorporated into ScummVM is the ability to interpret and understand game code from specific engines not the game itself. If reverse engineering game engines were illegal that would render all AGI and SCI fangames illegal, which they aren't. Unless they were to be sold. That would be illegal as well since you're making money off of a proprietary game engine. LucasArts has long been confused about the purpose and state of ScummVM as they were worried it would actually contain and supply a SCUMM SDK as LucasArts often licenses the SCUMM engine out to third party developers. But that's not what ScummVM does. The code is all there in the source, however, and you could take the source code for the part of ScummVM that understands a certain engine and create your own SDK out of it but that's a means to an end. The existence of reverse engineered code to understand game engine scripts itself is not illegal.

[PariahKing]

All Scummvm does is allow you to run it through a program that'll run on a more modern computer. You still need to provide the game.

EDIT: Ah, I see I've been sarnath'd.

[Marduk]

I'm not saying that ScummVM is piracy, I'm sorry for not being clear enough.

I run it myself to play out dated games which aren't compatible with modern PCs and almost all of those games are out of print (hence why they're incompatible).

It's because those games are out of print that I make the distinction between this and piracy; those games aren't otherwise available unless second hand and getting them used doesn't give revenue to the producers of the game.

On the other hand it's still possible to buy new copies of Myst. (I don't know about Riven and subsequent sequels, though. If they're no longer in print then anything you do to them is fine).

If the rights holders were to allow the Myst series to become open source I wouldn't have a problem with it (and, as I said, I don't have a problem with making a version that's compatible with ScummVM of any game that is no longer in print).

[Homestarlover]

Drawn To Life 1 and 2 baby!

[Marduk]

Drawn To Life 1 and 2 baby! This really looks like a platformer to me.

[MusicallyInspired]

snip

Read my post again.

[Marduk]

Read my post again.

Done. Now what?

[natlinxz]

On the other hand it's still possible to buy new copies of Myst. (I don't know about Riven and subsequent sequels, though. If they're no longer in print then anything you do to them is fine).

I don't think anyone has ever had any troubles getting MYST in the past...

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s273/natlinxz/myst.png

Sorry for the huge post...Yes! I scanned that myself!

[MusicallyInspired]

Done. Now what?

I explained why it wasn't illegal. Game resources (pictures, sounds, music, story, characters) are illegal to distribute but there's nothing wrong with reverse engineering an engine to allow it to be played on multiple systems. Source released or not. I've already said that AGI and SCI game engines have been reverse engineered as has the GOB engine (Gobliiins, Lost in Time, Ween: The Prophecy) and a lot of the others supported and going to be supported by ScummVM including SCUMM itself (which is still in active use today). You can't do anything with these engines anyway as you still need the game resources to make anything work. So, it doesn't matter if you personally have a problem with it or not. It's not illegal.

[badmonk]

i have always thought this since the DS came out, its perfect for point & click adventures so how come TTG & lucasarts aint bringing out their games on what is a potential gold mine for this genre of games?

also anyone know if theres any acronym for point & click adventure games please as i kinda get tired of typing it all the time lol! :)

[Marduk]

Well as long as you're only doing it for yourself it would be fine.

but realising you never said you would redistribute it highlights my demonstration ignorance in thread.also anyone know if theres any acronym for point & click adventure games please as i kinda get tired of typing it all the time lol! :)

well, when you're on a forum that is largely dedicated to adventure games, or using a site that happens to have a lot of them, you don't need to type the words 'point and click' each time. People will understand what you mean simply by typing 'adventure games'. (Though, tbh, I still think this could use shortening. I think that, over the years, the genre has (sadly) become too obscure for people to easily recognise it in an acronym or abbreviated).

[badmonk]

well, when you're on a forum that is largely dedicated to adventure games, or using a site that happens to have a lot of them, you don't need to type the words 'point and click' each time. People will understand what you mean simply by typing 'adventure games'. (Though, tbh, I still think this could use shortening. I think that, over the years, the genre has (sadly) become too obscure for people to easily recognise it in an acronym or abbreviated).

thanks for the reply! :)
lets make one up then!! P&CA easy peasy!!

[Emily]

A few others that I don't think have been mentioned: Touch Detective 1 and 2, CSI: Dark Motives, Ankh, Jake Hunter, Miami Law.

I though the Touch Detective games and the CSI port were okay. Ankh had a lot of problems, Jake Hunter... I wouldn't recommend that one. I'm still playing Miami Law, so the verdict's still out for me, but I'll be reviewing it for Adventure Gamers in the near future.

Flower, Sun, and Rain is another one... I haven't played it, but I've heard it's a bit weird.

I really, really liked Time Hollow, by the way. :)

[Marduk]

A few others that I don't think have been mentioned: Touch Detective 1 and 2, CSI: Dark Motives, Ankh, Jake Hunter, Miami Law.

I though the Touch Detective games and the CSI port were okay. Ankh had a lot of problems, Jake Hunter... I wouldn't recommend that one. I'm still playing Miami Law, so the verdict's still out for me, but I'll be reviewing it for Adventure Gamers in the near future.

Flower, Sun, and Rain is another one... I haven't played it, but I've heard it's a bit weird.

I really, really liked Time Hollow, by the way. :)

For some reason 'Touch Detective' was called 'Mystery Detective' in this country. Had I realised sooner I'd have realised that more or the clues were in the textures she describes... There's Touch 2 now, you say? Excellent :D I found this game rather extremely sweet and charming as well as funny, even if the clues were mind boggling.

[EDIT] thanks for mentioning those other games, too, I shall look into them post haste :D

I already decided to avoid the PC version of Jake Hunter as I heard it was from the makers of 'The Runaway'.

[Marduk]

This (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Avanquest-Software-Mystery-Stories-Nintendo/dp/B00260G3KS/ref=dp_cp_ob_vg_h__title_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1246476008&sr=1-8), to me, looks like an adventure, but I've been mistaken before. Can anybody verify?
And this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/505-Games-Mystery-Mansion-Nintendo/dp/B0012NHNGI/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1246476008&sr=1-8) and also this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cate-West-Vanishing-Files-Nintendo/dp/B0022NHQG4/ref=pd_sim_vg_h__19)... [EDIT], ok i googled that last one and it does seem to be an adventure but I think I'll wait until its been out a few weeks and other people have tried it before getting it so that somebody can verify it doesn't have any professor layton type puzzles.

[jared25]

i have always thought this since the DS came out, its perfect for point & click adventures so how come TTG & lucasarts aint bringing out their games on what is a potential gold mine for this genre of games?

also anyone know if theres any acronym for point & click adventure games please as i kinda get tired of typing it all the time lol! :)

Look at the resolution of the ds what is it less than 800x600. It has 2 screens also the ds is great for new ideas but just to bring back old ported point and click games isn't worth the time to produce. MYST DS was and is disappointing look at gamefly rating of it.

Member Rating: 3.6 (272 ratings) thats 3.6 out of 10 folks

[Marduk]

To be honest I wasn't looking for ported games. If a game originally came out on the PC I'd generally try to get it for the PC. If it came out for some other console and I happen to have it then I might get that game. If I don't have the right console I'd wait and see if it gets ported to one I have.

[EDIT] Thinking about it... If there's on game I'd like to see in a 'special edition' I think it would have to be Myst. Water in games looks so realistic, these days, that I cringe whenever I revisit myst.

[badmonk]

Look at the resolution of the ds what is it less than 800x600. It has 2 screens also the ds is great for new ideas but just to bring back old ported point and click games isn't worth the time to produce. MYST DS was and is disappointing look at gamefly rating of it.

Member Rating: 3.6 (272 ratings) thats 3.6 out of 10 folks

yeah but i am sure the DS is powerful enough to run decent versions of sam & max etc
of course dumbed down gfx, but the touch stylus makes the DS a perfect platform for adventure titles :)

[LuigiHann]

[EDIT] Thinking about it... If there's on game I'd like to see in a 'special edition' I think it would have to be Myst. Water in games looks so realistic, these days, that I cringe whenever I revisit myst.

Play realMyst please

The water isn't photorealistic, but it's a heck of a lot closer than the original Myst.

Man, I wish that realMyst would be released on Steam and such. The only place to play it legitimately is GameTap (http://www.gametap.com/video-games/realMYST-20001071-14.html), and that's a bit of a hard sell.

Also, jared25, Myst DS didn't fail due to the DS's flaws, it failed because Midway sucks, and delivered one of the worst ports of all time.

[Marduk]

I though the Touch Detective games and the CSI port were okay. Ankh had a lot of problems, Jake Hunter... I wouldn't recommend that one. I'm still playing Miami Law, so the verdict's still out for me, but I'll be reviewing it for Adventure Gamers in the near future. Why CP what Emily said?Funny, I sat through the intro of Runaway 1, then completely lost any interest in playing it at all. Seriously, the game starts with the main character chilling in the chair and telling us the back story as a bland monologue? Kudos to you for forging onward, that's some serious will power. I'm sorry I missed this post;you really hit the nail the head about the intro. And it doesn't actually get better after the intro. I don't actually know if I even got half way through. I seriously hope I did because I wouldn't have liked to endure another stretch as long as what I did play. Were it a smaller fraction, say a third or a quarter, I'd have had to kill somebody just to relieve tension.

And you're so right about the protagonist's monologue at the beginning. It wouldn't be so bad if you could cut past it... Actually, it would still be pretty bad. The dialogue is terrible. I know it's common for a writer to make the hero of their story an idealised and romanticised version of themselves but they should at least try to hide it. Ever heard the term “Mary-Sue”?

[LordKinbote]

This (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Avanquest-Software-Mystery-Stories-Nintendo/dp/B00260G3KS/ref=dp_cp_ob_vg_h__title_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1246476008&sr=1-8), to me, looks like an adventure, but I've been mistaken before. Can anybody verify?
And this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/505-Games-Mystery-Mansion-Nintendo/dp/B0012NHNGI/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1246476008&sr=1-8) and also this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cate-West-Vanishing-Files-Nintendo/dp/B0022NHQG4/ref=pd_sim_vg_h__19)... [EDIT], ok i googled that last one and it does seem to be an adventure but I think I'll wait until its been out a few weeks and other people have tried it before getting it so that somebody can verify it doesn't have any professor layton type puzzles.

At least one of those games is an interesting subgenre known as "Hidden Object" games. You're presented with a picture with a lot of objects, and you have to find specific ones. They may tie the whole thing together with a story, but I don't know if that necessarily makes it an adventure game.

[Marduk]

At least one of those games is an interesting subgenre known as "Hidden Object" games. You're presented with a picture with a lot of objects, and you have to find specific ones. They may tie the whole thing together with a story, but I don't know if that necessarily makes it an adventure game. I think I'd have to play it to understand...

[MusicallyInspired]

It's like "Where's Waldo?"

[leon101]

This (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Avanquest-Software-Mystery-Stories-Nintendo/dp/B00260G3KS/ref=dp_cp_ob_vg_h__title_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1246476008&sr=1-8), to me, looks like an adventure, but I've been mistaken before. Can anybody verify?
And this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/505-Games-Mystery-Mansion-Nintendo/dp/B0012NHNGI/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1246476008&sr=1-8) and also this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cate-West-Vanishing-Files-Nintendo/dp/B0022NHQG4/ref=pd_sim_vg_h__19)... [EDIT], ok i googled that last one and it does seem to be an adventure but I think I'll wait until its been out a few weeks and other people have tried it before getting it so that somebody can verify it doesn't have any professor layton type puzzles.

That Mystery Stories is a hidden object game, like Mystery Case Files, where on each level you have to find the objects listed. Kind of like Where's waldo, or those I Spy books, but with more difficulty. I like them, but I do not consider them adventure games.

[Marduk]

OK I know this sounds stupid but there's no way I can think of phrasing this so it doesn't sound obvious.

By 'Mystery Case Files' you mean 'Mystery Case Files; MillionHeir', right? Or another game in the same series?

[Chris1]

I really, really liked Time Hollow, by the way. :)

Me too.
It's basically an adventure game with most of the puzzles removed, but has a really clever plot.

That may sound weird but If you've ever tried the last game by the same author (Shadow of Destiny on the ps2) I think you'll agree it's actually an improvement.
It's as if he looked back at his previous work and said, "OK, it's clear we're not the best in the world. Next game we make, we just won't bother with all of the bits that we suck at, we'll just do the bits we're good at. And so rather than end up with a game that tries to copy how adventure games are supposed to work, but is annoying to play, we'll end up with a really odd game, that is fun to play."

[LuigiHann]

OK I know this sounds stupid but there's no way I can think of phrasing this so it doesn't sound obvious.

By 'Mystery Case Files' you mean 'Mystery Case Files; MillionHeir', right? Or another game in the same series?

MillionHeir is the DS game in that series, but it's a series that spans multiple platforms, and they're all hidden object games, as far as I know.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

My favourite adventure game on the DS is Hotel Dusk, hands down. The game is just full to the brim with atmosphere and has so much style. A brilliant title which I'd recommend with hesitation.

[Impossible3144]

Ace Attorney/Phoenix Wright is different to what fans of LucasArts and Telltale style adventure games might expect, but don't let that put you off. The blend of amazing dramatic stories, memorable characters, and hilarious dialogue is pretty much unparalleled in the genre. Most of the LucasArts ones have a really good story, or are very funny, but few consistently do both (although Tim Schafer is good at it).

Gameplay-wise, the point and click segments are the weakest part of the game, but the courtroom chapters integrate the gameplay into the story amazingly well, as you have to pay attention to the clues and evidence to progress. The episodic style, with an overall plot arc tying them together, reminds me a bit of Telltale's games, but the episodes start out short (like, half an hour) and grow in length throughout the game as the cases become more complex (until they become several hours long).

There's also an upcoming spinoff, Ace Attorney Investigations, which actually does look more like the usual point and click adventure, with some AA elements (like interrogating people) in there as well. Should be really good.

Anyway, enough of my raving about some of my favourite DS games. Another Code/Trace Memory is good, but somewhat breaks a cardinal rule of adventure games: you usually can't take an item until you need it. This leads to some really awful and random backtracking late in the game, when you wouldn't really think to do that. Maybe Japanese developers don't know everything about the genre... Hotel Dusk is better, especially as the small hotel setting makes it easy to go back to anywhere in the game at any time. Although the lack of new areas and environments is a downside, too.

[Marduk]

My favourite adventure game on the DS is Hotel Dusk, hands down. The game is just full to the brim with atmosphere and has so much style. A brilliant title which I'd recommend with hesitation.

I've only played a few DS adventure games, so far, but I suspect you're right.

My one problem with this game is that there were too many loose ends left untied.

[Toothless Gibbon]

If my LucasArts announement guess is coorect, we may well be soon seeing some classics!

(And yes, I know you can play them on ScummVM already but would much rather have bespoke versions)

[Marduk]

I think my guess was closer :P

In any case, I can't help but think that many games would need to be remade, at least to an extent, to take advantage of the game's systems instead of just porting them straight over.

I'm not just talking about replacing the stylus with a mouse - I'm sure that's the least of the problems, and possibly something that made fans of the genre hopeful of seeing adventure games in future. It's the whole extra screen I'm being mindful of. (Although 'Secret Files: Tunguska' looks like a pretty direct port, from what I've seen - I haven't played it on anything except the DS - but for the life of me I can't remember what the other screen was used for, though I am sure it was used for something)

Hotel Dusk made excellent use as tablet was used to display a bird's eye view of the area - though as a map, rather than a particularly graphic display - through which the stylus was used to navigate the corridors while the upper window displayed the rooms from a 1st person perspective.

When interacting with other characters the DS was to be held on its side, like a book; 1 character (I think it was the protagonist) was shown on the left (upper) screen and the person he was addressing was on the right (tablet) screen. Or it could have been the other way around, which might have made more sense as the dialogue options were on the tablet screen.

[guitarsareboring]

I really hope some developers (hint hint) turn to the DS as a future platform for classic adventure gaming. ScummVMDS has really reignited my interest in the genre, it's a perfect console to play the old LucasArts games on and the graphics look SO good on the smaller screen!

[Marduk]

I really hope some developers (hint hint) turn to the DS as a future platform for classic adventure gaming. ScummVMDS has really reignited my interest in the genre, it's a perfect console to play the old LucasArts games on and the graphics look SO good on the smaller screen!

OK I know I can google this thing, and I probably will once I've finish typing, but an online review never really does justice to something; I would much rather have the opinions of a normal person.

I've heard there are some special kinds of memory card you put in your DS that let you play downloaded games. I haven't seen them, though. Is ScummVMDS something you put onto these cards to make the game play or is it the card itself or perhaps something else entirely?

[LuigiHann]

OK I know I can google this thing, and I probably will once I've finish typing, but an online review never really does justice to something; I would much rather have the opinions of a normal person.

I've heard there are some special kinds of memory card you put in your DS that let you play downloaded games. I haven't seen them, though. Is ScummVMDS something you put onto these cards to make the game play or is it the card itself or perhaps something else entirely?

Wanting real opinions is one thing, but for objective facts like "what is a ds flash card" and "how does scummvm ds work," google is your friend. :) I'll let it slide this time... your first guess is right, you have to buy a little cartridge that lets you play homebrew games, and then install ScummVM onto that.

ScummVM on DS is cool. I played through Day of the Tentacle that way.

[Marduk]

Like I said, I was going to google it. As it happens I didn't because I was called away but I still intend to :P

[purple_monkfish]

I actually didn't mind Myst on the DS... but perhaps this is because last time I tried to play the pc version it crashed my pc every single time I tried to enter a book. Grr.

As it was, the sound was a bit cruddy unless you put headphones on (and even then) and the resolution was horrid but I found it playable and rather enjoyed it... so go figure. To each their own I suppose.

I liked Another code, but the whole not being able to pick things up really annoyed me after a while. It was that old "I KNOW this will be useful in a while! LET ME TAKE IT!!" issue.
Haven't played Hotel Dusk yet but my husband informs me that if you mess up speaking to people, you lose (read: DIE)
I hate that in adventure games, it breaks narrative flow! But i'll give it a shot soon enough.

It's a shame more adventure games haven't been specifically made for the ds, it's a great oppertunity to really take advantage of the stylus thing. The ports well, they're ports... of games I already OWN so why would I want to buy them again?
I just object to that sort of thing really. And unfortunately all the adventure games being made are a bit too.. well.. kiddy/simple. Another code was interesting but had some DAMNED irritating features. The end of chapter recaps started to grate after about a minute, I mean... what was the point of that? Some cool puzzles, but yeah... I don't think I have the patience to play it again. Once is enough for me.

I so want scummvm on my ds, but I can't find anywhere that sells those little cards and my tiny little brain can't quite understand how to do it anyway ahahaha.

[Sir Primalform Magnifico]

Original DS Titles;

Ported Titles
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director's Cut (also on Wii)
Syberia (just the first one),
Myst
Ankh
Jake Hunter
Undercover : Dual Motives

The Ace Attorney series: They're a combination of visual novels combined with court scenes. Not adventure games, but I love them to bits. The first 3 games form a sort of story arc and should be played in order (check wikipedia for more details).

I would recommend Hotel Dusk. It's by the same developer as the Another Code series and has it's own sequel coming out in the UK in september.

Secret Files: Tunguska is a slightly shoddy port of a PC adventure and I really would recommend playing the PC version.

The 'two versions' of Another Code are the original game an a sequel (Wii one is the sequel) and both are worth playing. Not sure why you'd assume they're the same game...

A word of warning about any Cate West and Mystery Files games: They're hidden object 'games' that pretend to be adventure games. They're the bane of my existence as an adventure gamer. I have my suspicions about others on the 'maybe' list as well.

Lastly, Jake Hunter. They're less ports and more remakes of old Famicom visual novels. Not really adventure games, but quite good. WARNING: The DS compilation of Jake Hunter games was released twice. The first version cut over half of the content from the game and was poorly translated. The second release had everything in it and a much better translation. The good version is titled Jake Hunter Detective Story: Memories of the Past. Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles is the bad one.

[coolsome]

has anyone mentioned hotel dusk yet? If not then its a great game if anyone has mentioned it sorry for double post

[Friar]

I own the wii version of Secret files; Tunguska, and i wish i bought the DS version instead. The voice acting is incredibly annoying. They hired someone who has a really strong, Female USian accent to play the main character, who is German. In fact, the whole cast seems have similair accents, and it gets really annoying.

[Sir Primalform Magnifico]

I own the wii version of Secret files; Tunguska, and i wish i bought the DS version instead. The voice acting is incredibly annoying. They hired someone who has a really strong, Female USian accent to play the main character, who is German. In fact, the whole cast seems have similair accents, and it gets really annoying.

The thing that annoyed me most about the VA was that the protagonist couldn't even decide how to pronounce her surname. I heard "Kalen-kow", "Kalen-kov" and "Ka-len-koh".

[mateo360]

Lux-Pain is a game in the visual novel style like Ace Attorney and Hotel Dusk. Unfortunately, it has some spelling, grammar and article problems and the only other thing you do besides scrolling through text is play two mini games, one involving scratching the screen and the other is the "boss" fights which can differ in how to beat them. Go look it up, other people have described it better then me.