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Topic: can anyone recommend a DSi game for a 5-year old who cannot read

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vladikrisi

hi, i know it sounds embarrassing and lots of people will probably criticize me.
the situation: we bought a D Si to our 9 year-old son hoping that our 5-year old daughter will be able to play from time to time - just not to feel isolated - she always wants to do what he does. now i find myself in the position of a guard - constant battles, fights, she cannot read and asks him for help and he ends up playing instead of her and she cries... and he plays more than he is allowed. please, help.
i need to find a game that is suitable for a 5 year -old who cannot read and will be able to play it by herself. we already bought one Diego game, which turned out to be rather dull.
i would appreciate any help.
and can i adjust the parental controls so that they have only 30 minutes gaming time per day ?

thanks, help...

vladikrisi

HolyMackerel

There are no parental controls which limit the amount of time they can play DS games. You'll have to keep an eye on them to keep track of that.

New Super Mario Bros is a good single player game which is easy to understand and play for kids. It's a 2D run-and-jump game like the old Super Mario Bros on the NES. There are very few words in the game. The game is populated by bright worlds and many interesting, cute characters. It also has a hilariously fun multiplayer mode which both of your kids can play together.

An excellent kids game is Mario Party DS, which I introduced to my young cousins (at the time 4 and 6 years old, I think) and they loved it! It's a great multiplayer game which everyone can enjoy. We played a 4-player game of Mario Party DS together and had a blast. You can choose a set of simpler minigames which young kids can easily play in the options menu. They could play the games well with just a couple tries in Practice Mode. The instructions were also a good exercise in reading for the older one, though he did need a little help with some words. It's not such a great single player game though, but I imagine they'd have fun playing it together (and with you, if you have your own DS).

HolyMackerel

Robo-goose

Super Princess Peach.
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This game doesn't have much dialogue during the main gameplay, and is actually very fun.
Plus, it's Princes Peach! What young girl doesn't love Princess Peach?

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TeeJay

I'd recommend Kirby Super Star Ultra. Kirby is cute, the enemies are cute, the bosses are cute...basically everything is super-cute, which is perfect for a child. Plus, the game is exceptionally easy in comparison to most video games.
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Philip_J_Reed

HolyMackerel wrote:

New Super Mario Bros is a good single player game which is easy to understand and play for kids.

Yeah, this would be my recommendation as well. There's also a Yoshi's Island game which may appeal visually, but is a little more complex, control-wise.

There's also Mario Kart, of course. The Kirby and Peach games listed above may also be good (I wouldn't doubt it) but I haven't played them myself.

One thing you can do is look at youtube videos of whatever games. Just watch a bit of a video of someone playing whatever games you narrow it down to, and you'll get an idea of how much text is involved in the gameplay.

Good luck!

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pikku

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No reading ability needed to enjoy this masterpiece. This one comes highly recommended.

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shinesprite

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I've heard the difficulty is quite low, but I'm not sure about the amount of dialogue. Target was clearing them out last fall for just $10 at some stores.

With regard to helping the younger one with reading: Have someone with more self-control handle the job.

As for the sharing issue (assuming your kids only have access to one DS), allot time for each child (30-60 min is a nice session). Although the younger one will find the wait to be rather long, please bear in mind that with many games it takes some time to get back to where you left off. Make the order they play definite, otherwise whining and possibly fighting will ensue. Finally, remember it is up to you to limit their time. You, or another responsible person needs to retrieve the console at the appropriate time.

I have been left to monitor friends' and family's children far too often.

shinesprite

theblackdragon

i would second Kirby Super Star Ultra, Super Princess Peach, and New Super Mario Bros. wholeheartedly. Kirby does have some story-type dialogue, but the core game is easily playable without paying attention to that kind of thing at all — not to mention that KSSU has different minigames she'd also probably like. As for Starfy... i traded it in already, but iirc it had quite a bit of dialogue during the cut-scenes, at least, not to mention while meeting new characters and stuff. It was all comic-book style, though, and since it's geared toward kids there weren't any really big words or anything.

Edited on by theblackdragon

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Joeynator3000

...lol @ the Dementium one...
Sounds like my sister, except the fact that she sometimes chooses to not read. Which is why I try to keep her away from my Paper Mario games, so she doesn't keep bugging me for help. xD

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LordJumpMad

Here you go
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When I was 5, i had trouble reading but, I wanted to play Zelda games.
so I learn by playing Zelda.

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rjejr

Somewhat off topic but relevant for the parent - some DS games have only 1 save point. If the older sibling is playing the game and the younger sibling gets a hold of it they may disturb or destroy what the older sibling is doing. I found this out Tuesday on a long drive from NY to DC. I will never buy another DS game with only 1 save point. And yes I know this includes all the Pokemon games. What a blatant money grab. I can't beleive parents still let their kids have DS consoles.

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HolyMackerel

rjejr wrote:

Somewhat off topic but relevant for the parent - some DS games have only 1 save point. If the older sibling is playing the game and the younger sibling gets a hold of it they may disturb or destroy what the older sibling is doing. I found this out Tuesday on a long drive from NY to DC. I will never buy another DS game with only 1 save point. And yes I know this includes all the Pokemon games. What a blatant money grab. I can't beleive parents still let their kids have DS consoles.

Kids are supposed to have their own copies for themselves because they play as an "actual" Pokemon trainer character who goes on a long journey. The game has a continuous story which can take many hours to complete, so swapping it back and forth between two people means its continuity will fall apart. That sense of personal growth and achievement within a coherent story is really the whole purpose of role-playing games like Pokemon.

Not to mention that the Pokemon games involve trading and battling with one other, which requires two DSes and two game cards. If you look at it from a cynic's perspective it is kind of a money grab, but it also adds a lot of fun by encouraging sharing and friendly competition between friends and siblings.

You're being a little sensationalist here - it isn't such a serious issue that people should ward their kids away from DSes altogether.

P.S. I would not recommend Pokemon for a 5 year old. There's way too much text in it that they couldn't read.

Edited on by HolyMackerel

HolyMackerel

Rob_mc_1

Even though you can not control how long the DSi remains on for you can restrict the time frame it can access the internet on most internet routers. My linksys router for example has a section called "Internet Access Policy". With the mac address you can choose when a device can access the internet. At least this way they can't surf the Net on it in the middle of the night when they should be in bed.

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vladikrisi

thank you all, you are amazing.
hey, i have a plan now )))))
take care

vladikrisi

bboy2970

I second New Super Mario Bros. My friend has an 8 year old brother, 5 year old brother, and 3 year old sister and they all LOVE it. Apparently it can be well comprehended by small children. Plus its a main Mario game so you know you're getting a quality product and not some kiddie garbage trying to make a quick buck.

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ToastyYogurt

Not... Pokemon...

Yeah, I'm not of much help here. Although I do own at least one of the games mentioned (New Super Mario Bros.)

I'm pretty okay.
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Robo-goose

vladikrisi wrote:

thank you all, you are amazing.
hey, i have a plan now )))))
take care

Glad to help, I hope your girl enjoys the game(s) you picked!

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My name... Charles." -The Greatest Man In Driftveil City

R-L-A-George

There is plant of My Little Pony and Hello Kitty Game. From what I've noticed, theres voiceovers on My little Pony games.

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