Danny's quest for the DS took him to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Let us rewind the clock back to June 2006. Like many others, I was one of the lucky people to pick up the original Nintendo DS at launch in late November 2004. While the original DS did provide me with a fair amount of enjoyment, it was not until I purchased the DS Lite that I really started to enjoy the system and all that it had to offer. In the early summer of 2006, the DS Lite was on the cusp of being released in America. Around the same time, I was set to travel to Japan for two weeks with a group from my university. This trip was going to mark my first time setting foot in the Land of the Rising Sun. As awesome as that was, I couldn't help but think about how I was going to miss the North American release of the DS Lite! Big deal, right? I could just pick one up in on my trip! Well, with the Lite selling like hotcakes in Japan since its launch in March 2006, the system was not easily obtainable. Nevertheless, nothing was going to keep me from trying to get one.
Throughout my two weeks in Japan, I frequented game and electronic stores in hopes of finding the ever-so-elusive DS Lite. Armed with my handful of Japanese phrases, a few vocabulary words, and a Japanese guide book, I tried like crazy to procure the unprocurable. Apologetic store clerks and posted signs kept telling me that the DS Lite was avoiding me.
After a week and a half, I had nearly given up on finding a DS Lite. There was only one glimmer of hope on the horizon. For the last few days of my trip, I would be heading to Tokyo, where the chances of finding a DS Lite were greater than they were in the rural areas of Japan. Of course, just the simple fact of being in Japan for the first time in my life was amazing, but if I was to return to the United States without a brand new DS Lite, the trip would feel somewhat incomplete.
Akihabara, the “Electric Town” and the otaku heart of Japan, was my key to success. I started out visiting a few stores in the area but was still coming up short. After about forty-five minutes of searching, I finally came across the Holy Grail - a store that not only had the DS Lite, but had it available in all three of the Japanese launch colors (Ice Blue, Enamel Navy, and Crystal White)! I ended up choosing Ice Blue, mainly because it was not available outside of Japan at that time and I wanted to be able to show off to my friends. A fistful of cash later, I was the happy owner of a DS Lite. When I returned to the United States, DS Lite in hand along with Jam with the Band and Jump Superstars, my mission was accomplished. From that moment forward, the awesome experience of getting the DS Lite coupled with the amazing games available on the platform have made the DS one of my favorite gaming systems of all time.
