When Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies came out a few weekends ago, everyone in my household played their respective copies non-stop for the first two days. Everything was going great at first, but then I started to get a horrible headache.

I started to notice that my hands were killing me. I realized that I was squinting the entire time I was playing, and the small size of the console was increasingly uncomfortable in my hands.

It was time to give in, admit that I am an old man, and grab a Nintendo DSi XL.

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I know what you’re thinking. “Where’s the Friday Old Games review for this week?” Well, gentle reader, I’ll tell you. In an attempt to promote the new jetpack-infused third-person-shooter, Dark Void, Capcom forged an imaginary story of an abandoned NES game named Dark Rift. The game has now been “revived” and released as Dark Void Zero. While it’s not really an “old game”, let’s just pretend the story is true.

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"Please leave your dignity at the front counter"

I’m not normally the type to buy accessory kits, but there are few things I “geek out” about as much as Mega Man. Originally, I was trying to win this kit (among other things) in a contest the nice folks at The Mega Man Network were throwing, but I didn’t end up placing. After a short, internal debate, I decided to go ahead and buy the kit.

The kit comes in both DSi and DS Lite variations and retails for $19.99. I picked up the DSi version since that’s what I’m using these days. The price seems a bit steep, but the package contains some legitimately useful things aside from unleashing your inner ten-year-old’s desire to trick out your DS.

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"And this time... it's personal"

In an unusual turn of events, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again released on DSiWare a mere week after it was announced at E3. Wanting to take advantage of the DSi’s ability to store small games on its internal flash memory, I gladly picked it up, finally using the last of the free “Nintendo fun bucks” I was awarded with my system purchase.

If you played the original “March of the Minis”, the sequel will feel very familiar. The game has the same “Lemmings” style of gameplay that was present in the first.

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Click to see the gallery!

UPDATE: I found that pictures moved onto an SD card can be found in the “DCIM/100NIN02″ folder. I didn’t see them because I was looking in the “private/ds” folder. They are jpegs and are 640 x 480 at 72 pixels per inch.

The Nintendo DSi actually released while I was at Emerald City ComiCon. I was, however, able to pick mine up on Monday.

This is my fourth DS. I had a fat DS, then upgraded to a Lite. Eventually, the sound gave out and I got another Lite. The second Lite’s L button started to go out on me. I used that as an excuse to purchase this Nintendo DSi. Was it worth it?

Read on!

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