I'm pure evil.

[Jowy]

So, I've been talking to a girl lately and spending quite a bit of time with her. I left my DS Lite in her car and she's gone from non-gamer to relatively competent gamer in about a week. She's plowed through New Super Mario Bros, and Minish Cap already and I'm trying to transcend her towards the RPG route. Any suggestions on other GBA/DS games? Dawn of Sorrow was slightly too complicated, and she doesn't like Mario Kart that much. I'm thinking FFIV Advance, but if there's something a bit more simple, for the love of god, let me know!

[Yamaneko]

Golden Sun?

I haven't really played many handheld RPGs.

[Nominus Experse]

Shining Force may be a pretty good choice also, followed by Fire Emblem, or visa versa. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance seems pretty well suited for her.

Although, the greatest choice would be to have her play Golden Sun and it sequel. They carry an interesting story, the action is frequent, you aren't left bored while dungeon crawling due to the many puzzles, the graphics and animations are done quite well, and the characters are fun yet interesting in many ways. I strongly suggest that one as being her first 15+ hour RPG game.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

WarioWare is the most obvious choice. Gaming doesn't get any more intuitive than that.

[DanteV9]

Golden Sun is a great choice. Both of them. And then there's Fire Emblem and Shining Force II. I've heard that Shining Force I was a disaster, so don't even bother to buy it.

[KentaRawr!]

WarioWare is the most obvious choice. Gaming doesn't get any more intuitive than that.

Agree'd.

Though, I think she should evolve through gaming on her own. Making it too forced, the person might find it to be less fun. Of course, you just have to not force it on to her to avoid something like that.

As for an RPG, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a very fun RPG. I think it's a great choice. =)

[Roto13]

Yes, if she likes New Super Mario Bros., Mario & Luigi would be a nice transition into RPG gaming, with it's combo of action-oriented and turn-based gameplay. She should definitely play Golden Sun later, though. B)

[Ryth]

Shining Force: Ressurrection of the Dark Dragon - I love this old Genesis classis. It's simple, it's fun, I <3 it. Whatever DanteV9 heard about it is wrong.

Golden Sun - For reasons Nominus Experse stated.

Fire Emblem - Good, fun, strategy. Can't go wrong with it.

Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

FFIV: Advance is a good choice as well.

[JKTrix]

As far as RPGs go, I would get her to play "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time" first, since it's on the DS. GBA RPGs can come later, because even though she's into the gaming thing now, the way the GBA games stick out of the bottom of the DS lite may be a little turn-off for her.
Or you can just give her a GBA while wrenching your DS out of her hands and you'll be set, with all the games mentioned above.

If she can get into Final Fantasy Tactics, I'd suggest giving her Advance Wars before Fire Emblem. Fire Emblem frustrates me because the people die. However, since she's 'new', it might be a good idea to get her used to the idea of characters dying permanently to increase her strategical thinking. But then it might be stressful for her to have the painful ultimatum of continuing her quest after her Pegasus Knight is killed after spending an hour on a map, or restarting the whole thing and flushing the hour down the toilet.

[Skyblade]

Shining Force: Ressurrection of the Dark Dragon - I love this old Genesis classis. It's simple, it's fun, I <3 it. Whatever DanteV9 heard about it is wrong.

Golden Sun - For reasons Nominus Experse stated.

Fire Emblem - Good, fun, strategy. Can't go wrong with it.

Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

FFIV: Advance is a good choice as well.


The Genesis classic was awesome, as was its sequel. Ressurrection of the Dark Dragon, however, did not even come close to doing justice to those great games. The graphics weren't as good, and some cheap gimmicks (the idea that magic is beamed down to earth from a sattelite, and the addition of Mawlock, the card user [who still holds my vote for all time worst character in any game, ever]) ruined the wonderful game that was Shining Force: Legacy of the Great Intention.

Golden Sun and the Lost Age are the Alpha and Omega of handheld RPGs. Wonderful plot, characters, and graphics. Enjoyable puzzles, an easy to use combat and charcter enhancement system that still leaves an incredible amount of character customizability. Best RPGs on the GBA.

Fire Emblem is the original tactical RPG at its finest. An excellent story, many good characters to choose from, and the wonderful support conversations which let you uncover quite a bit of subplot (like Renault's story) and character interaction. Good game.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is another favorite of mine, and yet another tactical RPG. For more discussion on this, view my posts in the FFTA forum. Great plot, nice characters, decent ability system, and fun gameplay. Some people complain that it is too kiddy, but I very much disagree.