Brain Age Review

Platform: Nintendo DS
ERSB: Everyone
Genre: Mental Training
Number of Players: 1 – 16
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: US April 16, 2006
Official Website
Writer: Typhoid

Rating 8.5

I was at a garage sale recently, when the teenage son of the sellers spotted my sporty red DS. He was instantly happy to talk to a girl about her DS. Interest quickly turned to horror when he found out I had Brain Age in the system. “I heard that SUCKS!” I smiled and said I disagreed; that it was an almost permanent resident of my DS. His response? “But… it’s just learning!”

I carry my DS around to survive the lulls in activity during the day. I’m always looking for games that I can pick up and put down, even within the same few minutes. I’m also a raging nerd, and the idea of a game that can train your brain to stay in fighting shape (or at least keep fresh on math) attracts me. Learning is fun and being smart is cool. So there.

There are actually two different games in this cartridge: the brain training part, and Sudoku. Daily training claims to “train your brain in minutes a day” using math, reading, reasoning and other skills. It keeps track of your scores at the different types of exercises, and you can observe your changes over time.

Sudoku is a game that combines math and reasoning skills. You use the stylus to fill in grids of 9 numbers that should equal 9 in all directions.

Graphics:
Most “graphics” are numbers or letters, so it’s not entirely impressive there. The most notable graphic is that every day you perform daily training, you get to put a stamp on the calendar’s date. You can design your own stamp with your stylus, which I like a LOT. A dirty mind that is allowed to flourish is a happy mind. I do have a complaint: that I don’t seem to be able to recall my drawing from memory that it requests from me. I’d like to keep those, maybe put them on a virtual refrigerator.

Controls:
I’ve had a little bit of difficulty with the stylus and voice recognition. I thought it was just my dysfunction, but I had a few friends try it too. Maybe it’s my Midwestern accent, but it won’t accept us saying “Blue.” Also it has about 60% accuracy with my written numbers, so I’m had to relearn how to write. Now I know how to print, write in cursive, type, and write in DS.

Flow:
Short bursts of training or nice relaxing Sudoku. Very happy flow.

Fun Factor:
It’ll depend a lot on who you are. I love both training and Sudoku, but that might be because I love learning. I’m also a sucker for the positive reinforcement that the game gives you (Mr. Disembodied Head Ryuta talks to you constantly). However it might be better described as “addictive” than just “fun.”

Is there a female playable character:
Naught. However, since the only “character” I’ve run into in the game is the comical representation of the male inspiration (Ryuta) of the game, it’s not necessarily excluding women. Also the game content itself was fine concerning women.

Replay Value:
High for both games. The Brain Training part is meant to play for short durations (5-10 minutes) for long periods of time (months). Though there aren’t unlimited Sudoku puzzles, you can just try to improve your old times. This is a game you can turn on hundreds of times and still stay interested- as long as you were interested in the first place.

Brain Age is the game I play the most on my DS. I don’t think it qualifies as my “favorite” game because it’s certainly not the most “fun” game. However I’ve come to think of it as part of my DS bundle (system, AC adapter, case and Brain Age) and that certainly says something.