"But to me and the development staff of Mother 3, and perhaps even to the producer, Shigesato Itoi, this makes perfect sense when we're standing on our packed Tokyo trains with our GBAs in one hand, the overhead handles in the other and our Nintendo DSes sitting mournfully in our backpacks. For all of the DS's potential for innovation, it simply can't overcome the environmental pressures of Tokyo's 12 million people, unless you're one of the lucky few who can consistently get a seat on your morning commute."

One Hand Behind My Back

Those interested in portable gaming accessibility should also read this insertcredit feature about Tsuukin Hitofude (aka Polarium).

The recent release of Starfox Command for the DS takes an interesting approach to accomplishing epic goals in a short time frame. Instead of the classic longer linear adventure, Starfox knocks down the towering adventure into a series of shorter storylines that provide a variety of paths that you may follow through choose-your-adventure like segments between missions. In the course of 2 hours I can save the universe but lose the girl or even mistakenly help my nemesis save the day.

I believe one of the Pokémon games had an "L=A" feature.

I was just thinkin about one handed gaming a couple weeks ago, while on a crowded bus. My DS Lite is a big step backward for mobile gaming on some levels.. as the stylus controls require some stability to use accurately. I can't perform surgery in Trauma Center while bouncing around in a bus, you know? And I wish Ouendan let you mash buttons as an alternative to stylus controls. There are a few people out there who enjoy playing DDR with the gamepad instead of a dancemat, afteral..

I think maybe handheld systems need more buttons on the back of the system. Something like the PS2's dual-shock controller. The Dual shock has 6 buttons and a joystick all within reach of a single hand.