Help Please: A Pokemon Nintendo DS for a 6yr old

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Grandma

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Hi again all you Pokemon experts,
You helped so much before with suggestions of Pokemon videos and books for my Pokemon mad grandson. Managed to get most of the Tracey West books on Ebay and they were enjoyed immensely - so thanks again.

Now he wants a Nintendo DS Pokemon game for Christmas:phew:. Can anyone suggest a good one for his age group please? Has anybody got 6-7 year olds who have enjoyed a particular game?

Would be most grateful for some advice so thanks in anticipation.
 
I'm sure I started playing Red at that age so Diamond/Pearl/Platinum shouldn't be too bad if he can read well. It might be a tad hard for him however at that age.
He'd also probably want those ones above anything at the moment if he already doesn't have them. They're the main games and I'd know at that age I'd be disappointed if I got anything else.
 
Barry said:
I'm sure I started playing Red at that age so Diamond/Pearl/Platinum shouldn't be too bad if he can read well. It might be a tad hard for him however at that age.
He'd also probably want those ones above anything at the moment if he already doesn't have them. They're the main games and I'd know at that age I'd be disappointed if I got anything else.
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Ya, I agree, if he can read fine, than Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum would be a fine choice, but if he has trouble some other pokemon games on the DS I can think of are Pokemon Dash, Pokemon Trozei(Puzzle game), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of time/darkness/sky(Not as much reading needed). But whichever game you get I'm sure he'll love it.
 
Jirachi's Wish said:
Pokemon Dash, Pokemon Trozei(Puzzle game), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of time/darkness/sky(Not as much reading needed). But whichever game you get I'm sure he'll love it.
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Now you know that's not true. Dash was a terrible game, Trozei would be too confusing for a kid, and you need just as much reading for the Mystery Dungeon series.

I think you would be fine with getting him Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum.
 
If he hasn't played many videogames before, Platinum (or the other two) will be too difficult and complex for him... But he'll probably want to play it sometime later either way.
So I think it's a good idea, even if not immediatelly.

I don't know about the other except the Mystery Dungeon games, but I definitivelly wouldn't reccomend those. They may look simple, but are actually way more text-heavy and complex. They are difficult even for experienced gamers.
 
Sketch said:
Now you know that's not true. Dash was a terrible game, Trozei would be too confusing for a kid, and you need just as much reading for the Mystery Dungeon series.

I think you would be fine with getting him Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum.
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Uh, Dash would be a good game, just because maybe, possibly a whole lot of people didn't like doesn't mean someone else won't like it. Also in Mystery dungeon I agree, I forgot about all those job and request things.
 
For an intro to pokemon games, I'd choose Diamond/Pearl/or Platinum. Particularly Platinum.
 
Pokemon is aimed for children. Yeah, the distortion world puzzle may complicate a young child, but its not impossible.
 
I suggest Platinum for him, even it might be a little hard for the first, if he can't read. I remember how happy I was, when I got my first Pokémon game, even I couldn't read any English then. I still enjoyed the game and I'm sure your grandson will like it too. Especially if someone helps him at the first by reading instructions booklet with him.
 
Thanks to all of you - especially for telling me about the reading level of the 'Dungeons' games asI was leaning towards those. I thought being a Pokemon (according to your personality) sounded fun for a child.

I think we will go for the Platinum as I have been sending him those cards every week.

Many thanks again,
Love from Grandma (who probably knows more about Pokemon by now than most other 67 year olds - I had to read all the Tracey West books out loud!!!!
 
I really like it when parents/grandparents post in forums like this and ask such things! great to know some people are actually interested to learn a little about what their kids love and also bother to check out which games they might enjoy rather then just buying them anything with "Pokémon" written on it just so the kid will stop talking about it

Other DS games that weren't mentioned are "Pokémon Ranger" (which I want myself but not sure if it's still available) and the newer "Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia" (which will probably be easier to find)
As far as I know, the reading level needed for Ranger is about the same as needed to the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum or Mystery Dungeon games

Anyway, I agree with most of the people here: it'd be the best to buy him Platinum (or Diamond/Pearl, but Platinum is pretty much a "better" version of them so you might prefer it)
 
Well, Pokemon Ranger might be a little difficult with all the circles to draw. I used to get hours of fun out of Pokemon Red by just walking around aimlessly. :p

Mystery Dungeon seems like a good option for a younger child though. :)
 
Personally, I would recommend either Platinum or Mystery Dungeon. Platinum needs basic reading ability and strategic skills though.
 
Patchy said:
Mystery Dungeon seems like a good option for a younger child though. :)
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salamencecommander said:
Personally, I would recommend either Platinum or Mystery Dungeon. Platinum needs basic reading ability and strategic skills though.
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If the new Mystery Dungeon games are anything like the old first ones, then I can't understand why you people say this
The Mystery Dungeon games feature a lot of important text for understanding the plot and personally, I found the plot and story much more interesting in these games rather than the game itself! I think it might even get boring fast for a kid who can't read all the text there (and I sure won't recommand it for impatient people, I got annoyed from the gameplay itself and only played for the plot)

In contrast to that - Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, in my opinion, will be just fine if they sit together with the kid and read the manual that comes with the game and also help him a little when he play for the first time
Even if he doesn't understand all the plot and text, the gameplay itself seems to be much more entertaining and fun to play than the Mystery Dungeon games

Of course it'll help if he'll be able to read at least some of attack names and understand the basic rules of which type is more effective on which and all that... I think it can even motivate him to learn to read (I think that personally these games did help me improve my English)

Whatever game you choose - if the kid has any questions, you can always ask here and people will be happy to help
 
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Like any game, the manual teaches the basics. I think if you can help him read through that you'll get him off to a good start. Might even get him interested in reading (if he isn't already), since as mentioned you need basic reading ability to be able to play the game.
 
I'll have to disagree about reading and difficulty of these games, a child that wants to learn will learn, so his only obstacle should be is attention span and this is something that his family should be most familiar with. If he can't sit still for 5 minutes to learn something, then an RPG like Pokémon is not the best kind of game for him.

I would suggest renting one of these games first to see if he can learn to play and enjoy them. I use to work in gaming retail back in the old GameBoy days and I recall kids asking for Pokémon Red, Blue or Yellow thinking that it was like some sort of Mario game only to have the parents trying to return an opened game because they're son or daughter couldn't figure out the gameplay or simply didn't enjoy anything that didn't have action every 5 seconds.
 
As a fan of the Mystery Dungeon series, I honestly can't recommend it for someone so young. They must be able to read to play these games as there are in dungeon events and tasks where if you can't read, or your reading level is extremely basic, you'll be lost and unsure on what to do. Besides, the main focus of enjoyment for the Mystery Dungeon series is the story, not the dungeon crawling.

For illiterate and low reading command level, the main Pokemon games are really the best route to go. The main part of, and the main enjoyment of the game isn't text heavy. In fact, you don't even need to be able to read to play the game, even though it does help.

Pokemon Pearl, Diamond, or Platinum would honestly be the best route to take, Platinum being the best of the three, as the others are truly partial experiences compared to Platinum.
 
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