Gamertell Review: Myst for DS
Title: Myst
Price: $29.99
System(s): Nintendo DS
Release Date: May, 13, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Empire Interactive (Hoplite Research)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Pros: It is a portable version of a beloved, classic PC game.
Cons: The graphics are horrible. The touch screen controls are atrocious. Sometimes the save function doesn’t work right. There are numerous, sometimes game ending, glitches.
Overall Score: Two thumbs down, 20/100, F, No stars
Do not waste your money, or your time, on the DS port of the PC classic Myst. It is an abomination, practically unplayable and the very existence of this version of Myst tarnishes the memory of the original. Go pick up a copy of Real Myst or Myst 10th Anniversary DVD Edition.
Obviously quality control took a vacation
Myst DS has the worst graphics I have ever seen, and I reviewed Flipper Critters. It is just atrocious. Everything is dull, dated and dilapidated, and Hoplite Research clearly was slacking when putting things together. Sometimes switches don’t match up, and text or crucial buttons are minuscule. It’s depressing.
There are screen shot and magnification features built into the game, to supposedly assist players, but both features make things worse. Seriously - draw what you want to remember on a napkin or something, because it’d look better than the screen shot function. Sometimes the screen shot function won’t even capture the exact image you want, and its easy to forget what you wanted to capture. The magnifying glass does make things bigger, but images also get blurrier.
The horrible graphics also mean that some switches or buttons must be pressed only consist of a few pixels. Put on a screen protector, because after tapping 15 times on a single spot to activate a switch, you’ll start boring a hole through the screen.
The audio was supposedly redone as well, but frankly I couldn’t tell any difference. The re-mastering didn’t work. I compared my copy of Real Myst to Myst DS, and I thought the voices and music in Real Myst were superior. The DS voices also ended up muted and unintelligible at times. Since the voice overs provide crucial information, subtitles would have been a nice touch. Especially since portable gamers can’t always have the volume on.
Be prepared to restart
Of course, these failings pale when compared to the game glitches. I don’t know what the Myst series did to deserve such dishonor. Maybe the Stranger stole Princess Peach or smashed a Chaos Emerald.
Let’s start from the beginning. I opened the box, placed the cartridge in my DS, and played for about 10 minutes. At this point, both screens froze. I have no idea why. I had to turn off my DS and start again.
So I restarted. With some luck, I managed to collect the access keys for each of the ages. I headed to the Stoneship Age. I completed the floor compass puzzle, and saved after that. I figured I would decide what color page to take, then return later. When I came back, I needed to redo that puzzle.
I investigated online to see if my problems were unique. Checks at Amazon and Gamefaqs confirmed that my game was not a special snowflake, and everyone had the same issues..
Missed Opportunity
The original Myst was a masterpiece which deserves every accolade it has received and a place of honor in some sort of virtual, video game hall of fame. The DS version of Myst deserves some space in a New Mexico landfill. The only reason Myst DS gets 20/100 is for nostalgia value and box art.
If you don’t believe me, then look at the Myst DS trailer.
Site [GameStop]
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I can’t recall (it’s been a long time since I last played either the DS or PC version of Myst).
One of the user created faqs at Gamefaqs should have the location though - http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/game/939943.html
on June 26, 2008 at 05:44 PM - LINKOk. Thanks.
on June 26, 2008 at 06:18 PM - LINKUh, the link you posted was for a page full of walkthroughs for pc and psp, not ds.
on June 26, 2008 at 06:21 PM - LINKIts the same thing. The walkthroughs for the PSP games will work perfectly for the DS game. :D
on June 26, 2008 at 06:30 PM - LINKThankyou.
on June 26, 2008 at 06:56 PM - LINKJenni, patience is most definitely your godly element. Which is probably what got you into this whole “let’s play this DS Myst game” thing in the first place ;-)
on June 26, 2008 at 11:33 PM - LINKYou may be right, since I managed to also suffer through both Flipper Critters and Puzzle de Harvest Moon. XD
on June 27, 2008 at 03:09 PM - LINKOn Myst, in the Stoneship era, when I press any compass button other than the correct one, the screen goes pretty much blank, just as the earlier commenter stated. If I press the correct button, the screen brightens up, but I can no longer navigate away from the compass. From the brighter room, I can click on a “wrong” button, and get the lights-out screen...and I can hear button clicks. This must be a bug, I guess? Anyone have any ideas? My six control buttons at the bottom of the screen still work.
on August 27, 2008 at 05:11 PM - LINK@ Amarand Agasi - Yup, you’ve encountered another one of the many glitches/bugs of Myst DS. Basically, if you get those, you’ll have to restart to get rid of it. So much for quality control, huh?
on August 27, 2008 at 07:29 PM - LINKBut that’s just terrible. I’ve spent days and days (tedious days) getting to this point...I’m like two objects away from the end. *Sighs* Really? There’s no way to fix it at all?
on August 27, 2008 at 10:59 PM - LINKWell, if you try reloading from your last save point and doing that over again, then maybe it will be okay?
I know that if I got a glitch, sometimes if I reloaded from my last save, it’d occasionally be okay if I tried it again.
I hope you don’t encounter it again!
on August 27, 2008 at 11:05 PM - LINKI hate to say this, but where it occurred in the game, this might be just too much effort to go through an play it again, especially on the DS. I, unfortunately, have only three save points and the first two are before and after I clicked the button (zoomed in) and the third was from a week ago when I was only just looking around, getting things set-up. Are there a lot of other game carts with bugs like this? Do the manufacturers/developers ever have a way to compensate folks? Like swap the game out for a less-buggy release or something?
Good news is, I do own the latest Myst collection for the PC, but I never got it working at all on the WinXP system for my girlfriend so...maybe I will renew my efforts on that front again. :)
on August 27, 2008 at 11:10 PM - LINKWell, I know SNK did a cart replacement with that Card Fighters DS game, because there was a glitch which wouldn’t let you finish the game.
There’s no arrangement like that with Myst DS though. The European release of this game was flawed as well, so if they were going to fix it or anything, they would have done it before it was released in the US.
Go for the PC version - its better anyways. :D
on August 27, 2008 at 11:13 PM - LINKSo I’ve heard (about the PC version being better). Actually the original Mac version (in my memory) was better than this. *Laughs* Certainly less buggy. Thanks for the info! I mainly wanted to post this to A) see if I had any options and B) to make others know they aren’t alone.
on August 27, 2008 at 11:16 PM - LINK