Buying a DS for a 3 1/2 year old, need help.

The only difference with Nintendogs is the breeds the game has, for a 3 1/2 I don't know what games will really reach her age, the DS is probably still the best choice since it does have alot of kid friendly games. I would do some research on here with the ratings and see what you can find for games.Paully3433

BTW, she plays The SImpsons hit and Run on my sisters GCN a lot, and I have let her play Assasins Creed and Uncharted on my PS3 and she did OK for being as young as she is, but I would like to get her a game that she can pick up easily, and play and have fun with.

they would pry close this thread... (there is a recommendation thread stickie...) but...

I think that Mario would be good. I have a 5 yo lil cousin and he is pretty good at it. And if she was good with uncharted and assassins (which btw imo she should not be playing ... do not flame me :P ) she would be goo with mario.

and the one of small dogs if Nintendodogs is love my one of my lil cousin (she is 7, but... )

hope that help.... i can not think of more games for kids now...

EDIT: oh the Kirby ones... they are really cute and fun... imo :D

I would Reecommend Chocobo Tales for the DS becuase you can use the touch screen for most of the mini games and gameplay and very imaginative and creative for anyone who's into Fantasy.benleslie5

I don't know about a FF game for her. I just don't think she would understand what is going on.

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, Mario Kart, and Yoshi's Island might be good ones...

You will either need to buy some replacement styli, or find some way of tethering the stylus to the DS, though. Even my 10 year old brother loses some :P

As for Animal Crossing, she'll be pulling weeds for an hour if she doens't pick it up for several weeks, or even if she just doesn't bother to pick her weeds daily. Very tiring on a 3.5 year old, methinks. However, if your little girl is one of those kids who is very staunch about her gaming and will stick with it, Animal Crossing is very family friendly and fun for little ones.

Some games that I think are stellar for kids are, amusingly enough, remakes of old cla$sic games I played when I was your daughters age. I would highly reccomend getting a copy of Tetris DS as it is challenging for children, but at the same time helps them with creative, quick thinking and hand-eye co-ordination. I've played Tetris since I was 3, and it is still one of my top 10 favorites.

Another great one is the NEW Super Mario brothers. The mechanics are quick and easy, and VERY fun.

I also would reccomend picking up several GBA games, including, but not limited to the Final Fantasy 1 & 2 remake & the Legend of Zelda Four Swords cartridge, which is a combination of Four Swords + "A Link To The Past" from the Super NES. Final Fantasy 1 & A Link To The Past were two of my absolute most favorite games as a kid, and while there is a bit of reading in them, it can actually be very beneficial -- it encourages the child to want to read and gives them tangible, quick results in their progress. Yes, I admit it, I learned to read via FF1.

MarioKart is, of course, a must for any DS owner, big or small. Very fun, easy to learn, and just an all around great game.

And, out of the "newer" games category....Cooking Mama is absolutely awesome, and would be perfect for a little one since you can whip out most recipes in 2-4 minutes, and get quick, tangible results. The only downside to this is the fact that it uses the touch screen EXTENSIVELY, so for the love of all that is good, get some screen protectors! And make sure to remind her that the screen is very sensitive so there is no need to jab at it or touch it hard.

Also, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is an absolutely amazing game, no matter what age the person is. A 3 year old and a 80 year old can enjoy the game just the same, as it is comprised of very cute graphics, cute Final Fantasy adaptations of old fairy tales, and a very simple, but fun battle system via "card battles". The mini games are also a total blast and can even work your brain at times. While the game was actually geared towards little ones, I've found it quite enjoyable myself, so if you steal her 2nd save slot, don't be embarassed! :) Again, this one uses the touch screen quite a bit. I reccomend looking it up on GameSpot if you're a bit confused about what I'm talkinga bout, lol. Though really, looking up all reccomendations is a good idea! :)

If you want any more suggestions, feel free to drop me a note.

hmm, well besides Nintendogs, I have to second the Kirby recommendations. Other games that come to mind are New Super Mario Bros. (it comes with a slew of really fun minigames, besides the main game) and Mario Kart DS. Someone said Yoshi's Island DS earlier and the only problem I have with that (I own the game myself and love it to death) is that after the third world it gets REALLY tough imo. I'm just thinking that it would really be a bummer if she got to that point and lost interest because she kept losing. But that's just my two cents. I think she'd be really happy with any of the games I recommended.

Merry Christmas!

This is hard to answer, mainly because all of the DS games I've played have had text.

My bf's 4-year-old cousin Natalie likes to play my copy of Picross, even though she doesn't play it strategically, it's more of a "click blocks to reveal a picture" game. She also likes My Sims for the Wii, but both Wii and DS version use text for the characters communicating.

People who are suggesting games should also keep in mind the motor skills of this age group, since Natalie can really only move around and maybe press "A". She likes running around on Dragon Quest Rocket Slime because it's bright and cute, but she can't really play the game for the game, so while animal crossing would be pretty decent in this respect, the characters on there also only use text for communication.

The virtual pet games would probably also be good, be it Nintendogs or one of the Petz offshoots (though don't buy Animates, it's very poor).

Bomberman may possibly be a good game (though get Bomberman and not Bomberman Land Touch)... it's game-play is very simple and the charcters are bright and cute, though the AI is pretty unfair in any bomberman game, even on easy.

It is very hard to know if any of the games made specifically for young girls are good since most gaming sites don't even bother looking at them, but you might check out user reviews for the Barbie, Bratz and Hannah Montana games ( if you want your little girl to get into THOSE types of games >_> ), and games based on random cartoons on tv.

Don't forget that the DS can also play GBA games! It already has a big library of games.

Try getting her the Crayola Treasure Adventures---it's basically coloring on your DS (don't forget to put a protective screen on it since the game is basically coloring and scribbling a lot on the DS screen). It's fun and my daughter loves it cause she can color and such. Keeps her entertained. :)

I am buying a DS for my little girl. She always wants to play my 360 and PS3 with me, and just recently started looking at all my video game magazines, so I figured she would love to have her very own system. Anyways, What kind of accessories should I get with it? And what games should I get? Remember it is for a young child. I was thinking nintendogs, but I am unsure what the game is even about. If I get nintendogs, which version should I get, I noticed a BUNCH of different ones.snyper1982

My four and six year old enjoy Warioware, nintendogs, and Cooking Mama the most.

Kirby and the canvas curse is very cool, easy to pick up,is just draw and has a long lenght,but is she like very smart for her age, because 3 years is very litlle; but if she is ,just like more like people of her age: wario ware,cooking mama theyre all very enjoiable, but still let her play with you, videogames can be a family program..... Sorry for my terrible english.

Try to stick with games published by nintendo, Those are useally kid friendly