A comparison of every model of the Nintendo DS! Qualbert's Social media accounts: / qualbert1 / vgqualbert / qual_bert Follow me on Social Media: Facebook: / windycornertv Twitter: / windycornertv
@@Purzify Yeah i mean i dont think so either. Although i guess people think this is more relevant today. I remember the times when you had to buy seperate camera. That was fun : D
One man's trash is another man's treasure. Some people prefer the "useless cameras" over the GBA games. Besides, you're better off buying a GBA if you want to play GBA games.
Today I learned I actually had a DS Lite instead of the DS. It was the first Nintendo console I owned since the original Gameboy in the 90s. The dual screen really was a revolutionary gimmick.
@@EXTRATERRESTRIALTHR33 I didn't mean gimmick in a negative way. Seriously the dual screen made me sit up and pay attention. It was the first handheld I bought with my own money since my grandpa bought me the original GameBoy back in the 1990s.
@ROSTER IS ON i just found mine packed away in some boxes from my childhood it still has some power in it from 8 years ago. the sheer shock of finding it hit me hard i thought i had lost it forever
@@staringcorgi6475 the switch is even newer and the battery life was 2h - 6h but now on the oled model it’s 5h - 10h maybe? I am save being in quarantine because I have corona but I am save in my home but be carefull and don’t die You probably know this in case you don’t know
My man has an original grey DS whose hinges aren't cracked. I didn't think it was possible Also, every DS having different power connectors was stupid annoying (even if the DSI and 3DS shared one). Especially when there's no technical reason for it.
At least the original DS shared one with the GBA SP. I'm guessing they wanted a slimmer port to make the DS Lite a slim system, and then found out that the port was fragile so they decided to change it again for the DSi. It is definitely annoying.
I got a Nindendo DSI XL on my fifth birthday in 2010. I still remember sitting at the table after I got home from school to be presented with this beautiful yellow device. I still have it 12 years later, and it works perfectly.
Thank you for including the VI Community in this video I am blind and play ds games but not many people think to include us in gaming videos It means alot
The one thing to note is that the DSi XL was the only model with dual IPS screens instead of the typical TN screen types found in other DS models and most 3DS systems. This was a fact that was also advertised by Nintendo. This means the DSi XL has far better viewing angles and better color reproduction. the screens also tend to be more color accurate as well. So if not being able to play GBA games is not a deal-breaker to you, then the DSi XL is the definitive DS from a visual standpoint. I also personally found it way more comfortable to hold than the smaller models.
You can pretty easily jailbreak a DSi and I do think that you should keep in the back of your mind when deciding on what to buy, even and ESPECIALLY if you already own a DSi with some DSiWare on it and you want to make backups of the games and saves to play on an emulator or migrate them to another DSi or 3DS
Thank you for posting this! I was looking to get my first DS as I want to start playing some of the older games as we used to have a 3ds, but lost it. I was confused on which model to get, and this really helped me understand the difference between all the consoles. Thank you so much!!
My DS lite broke down a few months ago, but since I have a sizeable DS games library I want to buy a new one. I was considering buying later versions of the DS, just to have something new, but then I can't play guitar hero without the GBA slot. I'd also have to buy a new charger... So I guess I'm sticking with the Lite, cheers for the video :)
As a personal opinion... Just go with the DS Lite. All of DSi functions and games are available on the 3ds, so if it is for those functions better get a 3ds or 2ds, and for core aspect of gaming, in actually you gain more with the GBA slot than a discontinued DSiWare. The original model kinda sucks, so yeah, DS lite
@@KaifamGaming if you like it then it's alright! But from my point of view there is a lot of issues like the screen, the fact that you can't use most of the accessories or how chunky it is
I just got my DS Lite back that I first had 18 years ago. It was passed down to my brother and then another. It’s pretty beat up but surprisingly it still works perfect! I’m currently working on trying to rebuild it into a new shell, new screens etc. I can’t wait until I’m finished. Just wish I had Pokémon platinum and soulsilver for it still. Worth so much now…
5:45 THANK YOU for actually mentioning vision impaired people here! As someone with a vision impairment it's always insulting when I hear that the DSi XL was just for old people. Yes that was one of the target markets for it because of Brainage, but there are people under 80 who can't see very well and appreciate it's larger size. I always wanted a DSi XL back in the day, too bad it doesn't have the GBA slot because it's sort of pointless to own now that a 3DS XL can play all DS games on a large screen.
I think the original DS's buttons are something nobody, no even this guy, gives the credit they deserve. I got one a few days ago, and I'm positively surprised to see that the buttons are WAY better than those of the DS Lite and the DSi, both regular and XL. I know because I've had and used all models. The DPad definitely feels the best in the 2004 DS. No one stresses that enough.
The DSi XL is an impressive package, considering that it’s got 90% extra screen but less than 50% extra weight with fairly limited external size increase.
I think the original DS design looks cooler to me. The plastic on it looks the same as a Gameboy Advance. But the plastic on the lite looks different, almost more cheap looking. The lite has a bigger screen and being smaller makes it easier to carry around. But there is a cool factor to the original DS
I like the ds phat over the lite due to durability. I’ve remember dropping my phat a couple times and worked great still. I remember I dropped my lite and the screen got messed up. Bought a second one and remember the L or R button wouldn’t work correctly
A lot of people feels that not having the GBA port in the DSi is a deal breaker, but if you're looking for an original DS hardware line it's because you don't want to play them on a 3DS, they look awful and blurry on 3DS, and even if you enable the original resolution it looks too tiny and of course the annoying black bars in both modes, so, with that in mind, if you want to play GBA games buy a GBA hardware, on a DS, same as 3DS they don't match the resolution and the aspect ratio, so you will have black bars and the games will look too tiny in the screen, but well it's really up to you if you want that port for GBA games, and also if happens you want some accessories to play some games, it all depends on your budget, my personal recommendation, go for the DS lite if you REALLY want the GBA port, otherwise just go for DSi XL, bigger screen and some cool apps to have fun like flipnote studio, camera and audio apps (they have really fun features). PS: you can play GBA games via emulators with a R4 flashcard, the GBA hardware is still in the DSi architecture, it's just unaccessible without the port but with a GBA loader you can play them
Not true to screen on the 3DS is superior quality than the DS or DSi when playing DS games. The color is still better on the 3DS. Problem is that the dsi and ds have really bad dots from the digitizer.
@@Solid_Snack the DSi XL has IPS screen which has better color, the only one in the 3DS family that has IPS screen is the New 3DS XL and is not on every model, you have to be lucky to get a N3DSXL with IPS screen cause the rest are TN screen which displays an awful color, i proved this myself when i got my new DSi XL and compared it to my 3DS XL and on the DSi the color is superior, and also bigger screen without being blurry
@@redyoshi4687 Wut? I can understand some people preferring the square design of the Lite aesthetically, the phat has objectively better form factor. It is much larger and better for man hands and has better buttons, dpad and triggers.
Even though I love the original DS, that system had a weak backlight which makes it more difficult to play than the DS Lite in some environments. I personally prefer the DSi XL, playing GBA isn't that important to me, the ability to have all your games and play emulators on a regular SD, and that bigger screen size makes it the best choice for me.
Hi, do you know if you can plat 2ds games on the dsi Xl? And can you play 3ds games on it? Just brought one and some games, just hoping they will work. Thanks!
I use the DSi XL, which I've jailbroken. It still can emulate GBA without the slot and allows the use of homebrew, allowing me to play GBC and original GB with a few hiccups now and then.
I've never owned a DS and I wanna buy one for my deployment so I'm not bored out of my mind. As a first timer, what should I buy? Price isn't an issue.
If you’re doing homebrew then the DSi or DSi XL are best depending on your hand size. I’d only get a Lite to transfer Pokémon from GBA to DS games, if I hadn’t done that already.
Basically get the dsi or ds lite (I recommend the dsi, since chances are you won't have gba games in the first place if you do you most likely have a gba and could simply just mod your dsi, and let's be serious who's gonna be missing some subpar accessory)
I still have my ds lite and I got a used ds phat a few years ago used, I also had a Nintendo DSi and a DSi xl but sold my dsi for a dsi xl and then gave to my sister some years ago so I kept the original ds models because they have better compatibility with older gba games and is not región locked either. and because of guitar hero and a piano game that also uses a plugin. That’s why I always recommend the original or ds lite consoles over dsi ones
@@hghhhffhfhfhf3401 i choose the ds lite because it looks and feels good, also it has gba support and ive been playing the fan translation of mother 3 lately. And as an added bonus it has a very long battery life. Ordered one for 30 euros (+10 shipping). Now i can finaly play the games from my youth like wario ware touch, Aninal crossing wild world, pokemon platinum, new super mario brothers ect.
Just learning about the DS line up now. Had a few New 3DS's over 2019-2020 but the DS Lite is definitely the sleeper of the group with the GBA slot and brighter screens. Buying a handful of these while they're still insanely cheap.
i recently bought a crimson black ds lite and bc the seller was from japan i can't play it till my charger arrives, i tried it out and i love it, the battery life is there even when on red you can play for like an hour before it turns off if you do by a ds buy an r4 card unless ur using a dsi/xl then you can hack those
I've been tempted to upgrade from a fat DS to a DSi XL, but will I need to do anything to make my flashcard work? I've been using a 2020 R4 Gold Pro (the r4isdhc ones) and I've had no issues with it when using my original DS. I've been using a PAL DS and playing mostly NTSC games, will I need to find the PAL back-ups for them to work on a DSi XL?
No but it’s better to use a sd card for that because it can use the dsi’s added hardware and enchanced dsi enchanced games of you play any of them like Pokémon black white and their sequels by running on dsi mode don’t worry about region locking because unlaunch can bypass it
Don't let that different charging port set you back from buying a ds lite. At some point it was a universal port and was used for all gadgets: cameras, gps's, phones, etc. It's called mini usb (the micro usb predecessor) and it's still easy to find.
@@SuperGachet well i don't know what it is but I'm charging and sync-ing mine with a USB cable from a Canon PowerShot A470. And that uses a mini USB cable so you and the other dude are wrong :)
How I see comparing these models... Do you prefer bulky DS that is comfortable to hold with bigger hands but has a not as strong backlit screen and can play GBA games go for the OG DS Do you prefer a slimmer and sleeker design that has a better backlit screen and can also play GBA games go for the DS Lite Do you prefer a DS that has a home screen and a camera included and don't care about playing GBA games go for the DSi Do you prefer a DS that has bigger screens and home screen and camera and don't care for a GBA cartridge spot like the DSi go for the DSi XL That's just my personal way of viewing a comparison
I spent hours and hours on my DS Lite as a kid. I wanted to go back and play some of my old games so I purchased a new DS Lite. Well, apparently somewhere between age 12 and 26 my vision has gone to sh*t (I'm talking with my glasses on), because I got a raging headache and could barely see the text when playing games. 😅 I had to resell it and now I just bought a Dsi XL. So moral of the story is, just because you could see the DS Lite screen well as a kid, doesn't mean you'll be able to now. As an adult it might be better to go with the XL even if you lose the GBA slot (which sucks I know.)
Okay I need help. I bought a ds lite but I kind of might want something with better quality if there is one?…. What ds console can take all the old ds games? Like Garfield’s nightmare, drawn to life, dolphinz, wildlife vet petz, etc. Any help would do please.
Id pick a ds lite with a flashcart and twilight menu over a modded DSi anyday, simply because of the GBA compatibility and difference in price point. Only at the dsixl it starts to get a little interesting
With the DS being as old as it is now, it is the model that is easiest to replace parts. The DS lite has the top screen cables strung through the hinges. The DS has connectors within the top and bottom of the unit so you do not need to disassemble the whole console to replace one part.
tbh the ds lite is rlly under rated cuz of the charging thing lol. if u go on amazon ngl they are like 40 pounds for bad qaulity and the dsi xl is like 70 pounds
The Ds or the Ds lite are cool because you can play gba games. The Dsi and Dsi xl are useless. If you want a Dsi, spend a little more and get a 3Ds. Edit: You can play Ds games on the 3Ds
I already have a 3DS and I decided to get me a new DS Lite since my old one is out of commission. I really like my GBA games so it's pretty much a no brainer.
From my experience: DS Lite Pros and Cons + Best design + Best battery life in the DS family of systems + Has a Gameboy Advance slot, practically doubling the library + Best feeling buttons + Very inexpensive and easy toy to find - Shoulder buttons, especially the L button, prone to collecting dust and becoming faulty if not careful - Hinge is prone to cracking, breaking, then becoming floppy if not careful - Plenty of screens on these systems have yellowed. Buyer beware of all these things when shopping for one - Flashcart needed to mod DSi pros and cons + Visually sleeker design, you at least won’t have to worry about a missing slot 2 cover + Face buttons are more tactile + Refined home menu with a lot of stupid apps that you had fun with when you were younger (flipnote studio is incredible) + SD card slot allows easy system modding to play all your game backups without a flashcart + Camera for taking crappy photos and collecting nice memories in the album + Stronger hinge that is substantially less prone to breaking than the DS Lite’s - No GBA slot. Can’t play GBA games without rom files and lackluster emulation, and only if you mod the system - Buttons feel too receded into the system, making inputting diagonals feel uncomfortable - Shoulder buttons more prone than the DS Lite to dust collection and going faulty DSi XL pros and cons +- Shares every above pro and con as the DSi + Bigger size, best for bigger hands + Best large display for DS games that beats the poor scaling of DS games on 3DS XL models - More expensive - All face buttons feel smaller than they should be, even for my small hands Literally any 3DS/2DS model: + Much sturdier and less prone to going faulty + Great feeling buttons + Very easy to hack, allowing you to play all your GBA games and more + XL models have buttons that actually feel appropriately sized for bigger hands + Can play the entire 3DS library of games + Much better emulation capabilities than the DSL/DSi - DS games will have either terrible scaling to fill the screen or will have to be played with thick black borders and a smaller image to achieve pixel perfect mode, which means screens smaller than the DSL/DSi if you’re not playing on an XL model. - The most pricey systems in comparison to the DS Pick your poison! They’re all crappy in their own way, that’s just how it is. I personally favor the DS Lite for my own reasons, but thats just me.
U really just need the ds lite and new 3ds to experience the best of all ds. Would have been nice to be able to use that guitar hero grip on the newer systems tho.
DS lite is the only one that competes with the 3DS. Think about it the 3DS has bigger games but the DS lite was the highest quality gba games and was easiest to handle. With its huge library of GBA games and ds games I put DS Lite at equally fun as the 3DS.
I watched this video and I got convinced to buy a DS Lite on Vinted for Christmas. I do consider it the best iteration because of multiple reasons. 1) Like the OG model, it supports the majority of its library, including all GBA games and accessories that use the SLOT 2. 2) it has the best battery life in the entire DS family. Some people had their DS battery lasting for years before another recharge. 3) Because of the DS family's huge success in sales (154 million units), the family's cheap and easy to find but the Lite is the most common model.
