100 Classic Book Collection

System: DS
Developer: Genius Sonority Inc.
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Various
Players: 1

100 classic books, eh? It’s good to know Nintendo somehow got a hold of my old exercise books from primary school that contained the crudely explained adventures of the meat pie gang. Filled with burning rage and mince, they could have been the next big thing. Well no, not quite - although you’re bound to find a few novels in this collection that dare to rival them. From Alice's bizarre time in Wonderland to Sherlock Holmes' love of looking at London through a magnifying glass, there's something for everyone. For a full list of what's included, please click on over.

I'm sure there's a good reason why none of the Goosebumps books have been included. A murderous doll? How did they possibly come up with these ideas! The DS is quite obviously held on its side (*Gasp* – like a book), with the stylus used to turn pages by lightly swiping across the screen. Alternatively, the L and R buttons do the same thing. There's much less effort involved with simply pressing down on a shoulder button; it's like a glimpse into the future where robot maids crash through walls. It's also possible to skip to any page instantly, with a pop-up slider on the touch screen. Up to three bookmarks can be placed in each book at any one time (handy if you're sharing the DS around I suppose), with the software asking if you want to resume from where you left off the next time the book is opened.

Selecting a book is as easy as scrolling through the virtual bookshelf and tapping on whatever takes your fancy. The initial tap brings up the option of reading a brief summary of the story. They're sorted by their respective authors, in alphabetical order. They can be also be arranged by genre if you so desire. Can't decide what to eat? I mean read? 100 Classic Book Collection includes a mascot of sorts in the form of an owl (the Japanese version contained a cat very similar to the one that hangs out in the Wii's Photo Channel) that can help suggest something you might enjoy via a little quiz. Questions such as what you like to do on a rainy day and what your last dream was about eventually bring up a few results.


For those that may be concerned about ruining their eyesight as a result of trying to read hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pages worth of text off the DS' tiny screens, never fear! Two font sizes are available; 'small' and 'large'. The default small setting is more than adequate, with crisp, clear text that splits across both screens nicely.

Two music options are available to listen to whilst reading, with 'Classical' and 'Easy Listening' rotating through various songs. There's really not enough of it though, and it's a tad disappointing that you can't listen to the title screen music... outside of the actual title screen. It's quite beautiful. Aside from that, a vast amount of ambient noise is on offer, giving the illusion of reading at the beach, in front of a fireplace or even on a train. There are about ten different locations you can pretend you're at. The train one in particular is really well done, as it's literally three seconds of noise looped continuously. It'll drive you insane.

Genius Sonority (Pokémon Battle Revolution, Dragon Quest Swords) has done an exceptional job with the presentation, including little touches and additional content that really bring the package together. Considering all these books are public domain - freely available to download as text files - you'd sure hope so. What's more, Nintendo will be offering additional novels over the Wi-Fi Connection, with ten more right from the get-go. Depending on the size of each book, you'll be able to store around twenty more on the cartridge.


Users can also rank each book upon completion with selections such as 'shocking', 'boring' or 'exciting'. Your opinions are uploaded online for the world to see, so you'd better make sure you hate everything in traditional Internet fashion. All-in-all, 100 Classic Book Collection is a quality effort, and it's nice to see the DS expanding further with software such as this.


Score: 8/10 - "Good buy"
"Is this a dagger which I see before me... wait, no, just a DS cartridge. That was a close o-oh God, it's stabbing me anyway!"

Review by Lance McGill (Infernal Monkey)