Feature: Nintendo DSi XL Review
Our final verdict on the Nintendo DSi XL, is this jumbo sized DS worth your money?
When the Nintendo DSi XL was announced, many were shocked. Surely not another DS refresh so soon after the DSi? But when you break it down and think about it, the DSi XL has been a really great idea. You see it’s not just teenage boys who play ’Game Boys’ anymore. In this day and age there are now millions of people of all ages playing their Nintendo DSes and for some people, the small screen size (even compared to other portables) could be a hindrance into getting into gaming, or maybe they struggle with the DS they have. On the inside, the Nintendo DSi XL is exactly the same as the DSi from a technical standpoint, however there have been several changes to the body and screens if it wasn’t painfully obvious.
Yes, the Nintendo DSi XL is just that, extra large. I can put as many pictures as I want in here – put it next to the normal Nintendo DSi, a Wii or even a cat – but until you hold one of these things in your hand and see it with your own eyes, you can’t fully comprehend just how big it is. With the new size comes a slightly different design too. The system follows the matte finish style of the normal DSi but now has a shiny and raised plastic top to set it apart. It certainly looks more refined this time around. The colours too are more mature with a dark bronze colour (Bronze) in two tones and a dark red that looks lighter in photos (Burgundy). The two colours are not for everyone, but neither is the unit. Everything else about the DSi XL is pretty much the same – the buttons, the SD card and DS card slot are all the same specs as all the DSes before it.
What has changed for the better, though, are three things: the screen, the audio and the styli. The biggest selling point of the DSi XL are the screens, 93% bigger than the DS Lite’s old screens but like the actual unit, you can’t appreciate the difference until you boot it up. Unfortunately the first thing you boot it up to is the menu and it’s here that the inherent weakness of the small resolution of the screen shows. The menus, quite frankly, look rubbish. Nintendo has chosen a terrible font for all the DSi’s menus and on the big screen they look hard to read and jagged. The good news is that this terrible stretching is not evident in any of the games I have tried out on the console. From 3D things like Super Mario 64, and 2D things like Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions all look great when blown up just that little bit more. Sometimes though, text which is highly aliased like the DSi menu will rear its ugly head but straight cut text looks fine. The brightness of the screens on our unit was basically the same as the normal DSi, but it definitely looks a little warmer with the colours appearing richer and darker rather than pop-out with pure brightness like the DSi or even the DS Lite. The other sales point is the increased viewing angle; that holds true with the two-click hinge now letting people play and watch from all around. To test this out I handed my grandparents the Nintendo DSi and while they started off with the XL in the ’laptop’ hinge mode, eventually they flattened it out on the table to see it better. That’s just two people but the new hinge position isn’t for everyone.
Some games, too, are much easier to play thanks to the bigger screen. For example, Elite Beat Agents is now easier to play thanks to the larger buttons. Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions also benefit with the touch screen controls easier to hit for larger and fatter hands like mine. Some games that require big movements, though, or drawing over the screen from one edge to the other are harder (Galactic Taz Ball, Super Monkey Ball).
The second major improvement is the DSi’s audio, with new grills replacing the terrible ’slits’ that were on the normal DSi. The speakers behind those grills have also been improved with a touch of bass now even shaking the lid of the XL when up to full volume. Since the screens are bigger, the speakers are further apart which means that the faux-surround sound effect that some games use is more prominent here. Not many developers apart from Nintendo have ever used this but it’s nice to hear the effect. The Nintendo DSi XL of course keeps the great mute feature when opening the lid (by holding Volume Down) and holding Select while using the volume rocker still adjusts the brightness.
The last big change to the system isn’t really that big in the scheme of things but still rates a mention. The Nintendo DSi XL again comes with two styli, one is the usual DSi stylus albeit a little longer, but Nintendo has also included a pen-sized stylus in the box. This big stylus doesn’t fit into the XL so you’ll need a case to carry it around with, but it’s great for games that have text entry or require finer movements such as Brain Training and any number of other handwriting recognition-enabeld titles.
The Nintendo DSi XL naturally contains all of the new features that made it into the DSi. The camera’s still the weak point with the VGA resolution proving its age when blown up to the size it is, but it’s still usable for gameplay. DSiWare is also better now than at the DSi launch, so if you’re looking at buying the DSi XL (or indeed the DSi), DSiWare has now matured so much in the year it’s been available that it’s much better to jump into it now. For more on the specific features of the DSi like the music player, camera features and SD card capability, check out our FAQ as it’s all unchanged since the DSi release.
So the last thing to weigh up when considering a DSi XL is the price. It’s now a $50 premium over the normal DSi, but is an extra $50 worth it for a larger-sized screen? Well, it’s all about how you use it. If you’re a commuter and you play the DSi on the bus then probably not, but if you’re a play-at-home gamer and want a handheld, there is no reason not to get the XL over the normal-sized DSi.
The real question is, how far away is the Nintendo 3DS?
