Contact (2006). Play online

Summary

Contact on the Nintendo DS is a weirdly charming RPG that feels more like a tech‑toy than a traditional quest. From the moment the Professor speaks straight to you, the game blurs the line between player and character – you watch Terry swing weapons on autopilot while you hand‑pick costumes, decals and skill upgrades. Switching between a pixel‑perfect top screen and a richly detailed bottom screen underscores that “alien” relationship, a visual joke that only a DS could pull off. Eight outfits – from fisherman to pilot – grant new elemental powers, and each weapon class (gloves, clubs, swords) levels up only by actually using it. The instant‑gain experience system lets Terry grow defensive when hit and stronger when he deals damage, while fame, courage and karma dictate how townsfolk react to his antics. A cooking mini‑game, food digestion timers, and a Wi‑Fi “Contact Mode” that turns friends’ codes into NPC advisers add layers of random delight. Critics called it quirky and shallow, but for anyone who loves off‑beat systems and retro‑flavored art, it’s a title worth plugging in.

Storyline

The Contact on Nintendo DS opens with a scientist called the Professor fleeing through space from the mysterious CosmoNOTs, the Cosmic Nihilist Organization for Terror. His ship crashes on an alien world and the power‑providing cells are scattered, leaving him stranded. He recruits a young boy named Terry to search the planet for the missing cells, promising that only by helping the Professor can Terry find a way home.

The game treats the player as a separate character; the characters acknowledge that the DS is controlling Terry. Through sticker‑like “decals” the player can grant Terry special abilities, and the Professor constantly talks directly to the player, offering hints and warning him to keep the player’s presence secret from Terry.

As the adventure unfolds, the Klaxon Army pursues them, the hidden cells lie in dangerous zones, and the Professor’s true motives become increasingly ambiguous.