The Nintendo DS family line is a series of handheld gaming consoles produced by Nintendo. They succeeded the Game Boy Advance family line and were themselves succeeded by the Nintendo 3DS family line.
The consoles' main feature is the use of dual screens, hence the name "DS": the top screen being used solely for display whereas the bottom screen is used for getting the player's input via touching it with the intended system's stylus pen; this screen is called the Touch Screen. As with previous Nintendo consoles, a unique cartridge, now known as the Game Card, must be inserted to play any DS game.
Family Members[]
Images are taken from the Kirby's History mode in Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition.
Title | Image | Release Date | Summary | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nintendo DS | ![]() |
Nov 21, 2004 | Dec 2, 2004 | The original DS. A little bulky. Comes with a top slot for DS cartridges and a bottom slot called SLOT-2 for GBA cartridges and other accessories. |
Nintendo DS Lite | ![]() |
June 11, 2006 | Mar 2, 2006 | The slimmer redesign of the original DS. Keeps the SLOT-2 slot. |
Nintendo DSi | ![]() |
Apr 5, 2009 | Nov 1, 2008 | Revamped and updated design and hardware from its DS cousins. Has a camera and uses apps on its Home Screen but loses the SLOT-2 function. |
Nintendo DSi XL | ![]() |
Mar 28, 2010 | Nov 21, 2009 | Essentially a larger version for the DSi with improved hardware and barely any changes to its design. |
There are four members of the Nintendo DS family line: the original Nintendo DS, the slimmer and improved Nintendo DS Lite, the newer and revamped Nintendo DSi, and the larger version of the previous iteration, the Nintendo DSi XL. The original DS and DS Lite has a start-up main menu where players can select a few options before playing an inserted game; these menus are fairly simplistic with not much to do when no games are inserted. The DSi and the DSi XL see a massive change in their start-up menus being able to support a large amount of applications and even having a few built-in applications for the user to have fun with even when no games are inserted.
Related features[]
Nintendo DS and DS Lite[]

The home menu on the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo DS Lite.
Backward Compatibility[]
Only the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo DS Lite are designed to function with Game Boy Advance Game Paks (the name for GBA cartridges) with a SLOT-2 at the bottom of the consoles. With this extra slot, players can play GBA games such as Kirby & The Amazing Mirror on a DS or DS Lite, however, as the GBA games require a linking cable for multiplayer, players can only play in single-player mode. Since the GBA only has one screen and the DS has two, GBA games will only play on one screen; the user can configure which screen they want the game to display on. Due to the consoles' different screen resolutions, a black boarder will fill in the empty space. Like the Game Boy Micro, the specific design of the Game Pak slot prevents a Game Boy or Game Boy Color game from being put inside the slot, and the DS Lite's slot makes the Game Pak slightly extrude from the bottom, like a Game Boy or Game Boy Color Game Pak in a Game Boy Advance or Game Boy Advance SP. The SLOT-2 was removed in the Nintendo DSi.
Stylus Size[]
As the DS and DS Lite came out earlier than its newer cousins, there were many merchandise and accessories made exclusively for the DS and DS Lite, and as their older cousins got upgraded designs, the said accessories do not fit them. One such accessory is the stylus; the size of the pocket that stores the styles differ from the DS and DSi lines where the DS slots are smaller. Many official Kirby themed styluses were made specifically for the original DS line as they were advertised in 2005 and 2006, years before the DSi was released.
Nintendo DSi and DSi XL[]
Club Nintendo[]
The DSi line featured new applications and features to its Home Menu such as the ability to connect to the internet. The DSi Shop was an online application service that allowed users to purchase exclusive DSi applications. While there are no Kirby related games in the DSi Shop, users can connect to their Club Nintendo account on the shop. Whenever a user downloads applications from the shop, points are distributed to their account which they can use as online currency to purchase exclusive Club Nintendo products. By building up points with the DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel, users could purchase various Kirby related products such as the Kirby Super Star Ultra soundtrack and other themed merchandise.
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DS Download Play[]
The DS and DS Lite are able to use a wireless connection within the DS Download Play widget to allow other players of the DS family line to play with each other DS users without having to own the hosting game. This is the first time players were able to connect to another system without the use of an accessory linking cable. However, connecting to another player via DS Download Play will restrict the connected player of certain gameplay options.
On the Wii console, there existed an application service called the Nintendo Channel. On this channel, users could download DS game demos through the DS system's DS Download Play. Kirby Mass Attack is one such demo that could have been downloaded before it shut down on July 27, 2013.
Nintendo Zone / DS Download Station[]
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See also: Nintendo 3DS#Nintendo Zone |
The DS Download Station were physical demo service kiosks launched by Nintendo sometime early 2006. These stations allowed users to download game demos and trailers straight to their DS by connecting to the kiosk via DS Download Play. Downloaded content would then be available on the DS until the device is turned off. There is only one Kirby related trailer from this service: the trailer to Kirby Super Star Ultra. This trailer is a video only and cannot be interacted with; it loops forever until the device is turned off. This video was distributed three times: once in Spring, Summer, and Fall 2009 in NA.[1]
This service was succeeded by the DSi's free application, Nintendo Zone. Launched November 14, 2008, it is essentially an online version of a DS Download Station except with online news about upcoming games and other various activities. Only the aforementioned trailer to Kirby Super Star Ultra has been known to appear on this app. A Nintendo Zone app was also available for the Nintendo 3DS family as well.
PictoChat[]
PictoChat is a built-in application where players could create and join rooms to send messages to each other by typing, drawing, or stamping a notecard on the Touch Screen to send to everyone's top screen. Kirby: Canvas Curse has an option to locally detect devices who are using the PictoChat app. When this feature is on, an orange PictoChat icon will appear on the top left of the upper screen and Touch Screen to indicate someone is locally available. If the icon is tapped, the player will be prompted to "Turn power off to PictoChat?" with a Yes or No buttons. If the player selects Yes, the power will immediately shut off and the device will power on moments later and automatically join the PictoChat app; it should be noted progress will not be saved. If the player selects No, then the player can resume playing. This feature simply detects whether a player is using PictoChat and has no special function other than to shut down the game to join the located user.
Games[]
Below is a list of every Kirby game released for the DS family line.
Title | Box Art | Icon | Release Date |
Multiplayer Support |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kirby: Canvas Curse | ![]() |
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June 13, 2005 | |
Kirby: Squeak Squad | ![]() |
![]() |
December 4, 2006 | |
Kirby Super Star Ultra | ![]() |
![]() |
September 22, 2008 | |
Kirby Mass Attack | ![]() |
![]() |
September 19, 2011 |
Demos[]
Below is a table of demos, almost all of them released in retail kiosks and exist in the form of physical cartridges. They share the same start-up icons as their full version ones. The Kirby Mass Attack demo had to be downloaded from the Nintendo Channel, a service for the Wii family line, before its discontinuation on July 27, 2013.
Title | Source | Release Date | Special Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Kirby: Canvas Curse | ![]() |
Late 2005 | Only released in Japanese retailers. |
Kirby: Squeak Squad | ![]() |
May 2006[2] | Had a hidden time limit of 8 minutes and 30 seconds. |
Kirby Super Star Ultra | ![]() |
July 15, 2008[3] | All of Spring Breeze can be completed before the demo ends. |
Kirby Mass Attack | ![]() |
Sept. 8, 2011 | Was also distributed in a Kirby Mass Attack-themed ice cream truck |
Trivia[]
- In the early 2000s, customers who went to Nintendo World NYC (now known as Nintendo New York) could get a laser-etched design on their DS system featuring various Nintendo characters for just $20.[4]
- On September 15, 2005, Nintendo allowed users to receive a special pink DS stylus if they registered Kirby: Canvas Curse on the Nintendo website.[5] This stylus actually came with the game's packaging in Japan, titled "Kirby Pink."
- In Japan late 2006, a Kirby jumbo stylus plus Kirby keychain was sold in stores.[6]
- An exclusive Polar White DS Lite (marked with a monochromatic Kirby holding a Treasure Chest) was released in Australia shortly after the release of Kirby: Squeak Squad. Forty of these handheld consoles were given away by the Australian magazine, K-Zone, from April to July 2007 to participants who submitted a short 25-word or less response on "what makes Kirby: Squeak Squad cool."
- The Nintendo DS is the only Nintendo console to have a Kirby game released on it within a year of its launch.
References[]
- ↑ https://mariomasta64.me/dlplay/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=p6Y80SZuzfs&ab_channel=syuukou
- ↑ https://gbatemp.net/threads/e3-kirby-super-star-ultra-screens-and-video.95468/
- ↑ https://www.kirbyinformer.com/post/kirby-the-forgotten-facts-2-nintendo-ds-system-variants
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/09/15/kirbys-free-stylus
- ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/yangkuo/346423505/