Nintendo DS Walkthrough

The best way to learn how to navigate through that menu is to take a look at our Nintendo DS walkthrough. In the guide below, we will outline some of the key features and functions that you are able to access on the Nintendo DS aside from the DS and Game Boy Advance games themselves, of course.

For the purposes of this Nintendo DS walkthrough, we will not describe how to operate the in-game menus found within specific DS titles. Instead, this guide will walk you through the main functions that are are able to access from the DS home screen. For more information, be sure to check out our article on how a Nintendo DS works. This will help to explain the touchscreen and Wi-Fi connectivity.

To turn on the Nintendo DS Lite, there is a slider switch along the right edge. For the older DS (aka DS Phat), the power switch is located near the top-left corner above the directional pad. Upon turning on the Nintendo DS, you will be presented with a health and safety warning screen. You can either tap the touchscreen or press any face button to advance beyond this screen.

After that, you will be presented with the Nintendo DS main menu. The upper screen will display your user name, the date, the time, your logo, and a battery meter. On the lower screen (the touchscreen), you will be shown four main options and three additional ones.

The upper-most box will start the game inserted in the DS slot. The two boxes in the center are for PictoChat and DS Download Play (both of which are described in further detail below). The lowermost box starts the Game Boy Advance game.

Along the lower edge of the touchscreen, you will find three additional icons. The "sun" icon on the left adjusts the brightness (DS Lite only). There are four levels of brightness and each tap cycles through a successive level. The center icon, which looks like a small DS, activates the settings menu (described below). The right icon, which looks like a small clock, is used to turn the alarm function on and off. You set the time for the alarm through the settings menu.

Pictochat is the built-in chat function of the Nintendo DS. It operates using the integrated Wi-Fi, connecting you to any Nintendo DS in the area as long as the other units are also connected to the Pictochat service.

Upon choosing Pictochat from the main menu, you will have to choose one of four chat rooms. Decide among your nearby friends which room you will select. Each chat room can support up to 16 users at any given time. After choosing the room, a virtual keyboard will appear on the touchscreen and all chat messages from users in that chat room will be displayed on the upper screen. There are icons for alternate character keyboards. Also, the text area can be used with a stylus for handwriting and drawings.

Choosing this feature automatically activates the Wi-Fi radio and starts searching for available downloads. The DS Download Play feature serves two purposes.

If you are near a DS Download Station, located in GameStop and other retail stores, they offer the ability to download free Nintendo DS games on a trial basis. You do not need to ask for permission. Just take out your DS, boot up the DS Download Play feature, and allow it to find the available free downloads.

The other purpose is when you are sharing games with friends. This is the single cart multiplayer feature found in certain DS titles. The person who owns the single DS cartridge will go through the in-game menu to allow other DS units to connect and download from it. The other units use the DS Download Play to download the temporary game.

The settings menu is accessed by tapping the DS icon on the bottom of the main menu's touchscreen. You go forward by tapping or hitting the A button. To go back, hit the B button. Upon opening the settings menu, you will be presented with four icons.

The first (pink), which looks like a wrench, offers three options. The one at the top defines your start-up mode. The one that looks like a globe is for choosing a language. The one on the right defines your GBA mode settings.

The second (blue), which looks like a clock and calendar, is where you set the date (top), alarm time (center), and current time (right).

The third (green), which looks like a person, is for entering user information. There are four sections here. The top, left, center, and right icons are for favorite color, birthday, nickname, and personal message, respectively.

The fourth (yellow), is for touchscreen calibration.

If there is something that was not covered in this Nintendo DS walkthrough that you would like to know, do not hesitate to ask through the comment form below.

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