I’ve probably played enough NDS games to have my own Top 5 dreaded moments, so here goes:

  1. Not saving in an Animal Crossing game – No… not him…

    Have you ever been yelled at by an in-game character for a good 5 minutes? If the answer is no, then you’ll have to meet Mr. Resetti in Animal Crossing: Wild World. How do you set up an appointment with him? Simply play the game, exit without saving and re-enter back into the game.

    He’ll holler at you regarding the virtues of saving your game and at the same time make you say things to him (not that he can hear you anyways, he doesn’t utilize the mic), making you look like a fool at the same time.

  2. Marked by a Blue Shell in Mario Kart – Kaboom!

    There’s nothing scarier than to hear a blue shell approaching when you are leading a race in Mario Kart DS. Unlike its lesser red and green cousins, the blue shell will always hit the race’s front runner and the result is usually a half sphere blast radius which can take out nearby racers as well.

    More often than not, you’ll find yourself losing your lead after getting hit by a blue shell (or two, as I have in several occasions). It’s especially hard breaking with the finish line just around the next bend.

  3. Screen Scratchers

    What do International Track and Field, Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents have in common? These games are touch-screen munchers. There are some game play sequences within these games that will make you realize that your touch-screen (or at least its screen protector) will be ruined.

    Example: International Track and Field will have you rubbing the touch pen vigorously across the entire width of the touch screen in order to get good results.

  4. Lost in Translation – You mean I can’t continue anymore? Is that what you’re saying?

    I like playing Japanese import titles. Winning Eleven DS, Ouendan and Hokuto No Ken are some of my favourites and are actually playable without me knowing how to read or converse in Japanese. However, some games include certain showstoppers (that you didn’t know of in the first place) that will render you unable to continue playing the game.

    Example: In English of the Dead, the game requires you to fill in the blanks or write a sentence, all in English. However, there is a twist in one of the later stage bosses whereby you’ll have to choose JAPANESE answers to English questions. Interesting? Yes. But is it okay for a gai-jin who doesn’t know a single bit of Japanese? NOT OKAY.

  5. Level Grind

    I’m sure that you can find this phenomenon in any RPG game regardless of platform. Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time gave me a terrible migraine every time I played the game and this manifested itself after I spent a considerable amount of play-time (about 20 hours) on it.

    The game has been in cold storage since early 2007. Actually the dreaded moment here is when the migraine attacks. Oh the pain…damn you Mario and Luigi.