Mega Man DSi Protective Kit Review *UPDATED*

Maverick Hunter Ash was kind enough to put together a little review of the newly released Mega Man DSi protective kit. Is it worth a purchase? Read on:

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" I was pretty excited about the Mega Man 1GB DSi Protection Kit as soon as it was announced -- how rare it is that Capcom throws us Mega Man fans a bone with such a neat peripheral release, right? It's only natural, then, that I rushed out to my local GameStop to pick one up as soon as I'd heard they had made it to stores (although from what I hear, they're pretty rare and tough to find, even now).

In any case, the novelty of such a release would be kind of moot if the product itself sucked -- which, I am very happy to say is not the case here! This is a really nicely put together bunch of accessories, and for $20, the deal you're getting with this kit is just killer. For starters, you're getting a 1 GB SD card -- that itself is almost worth the $20 right there, but there's so much more good stuff in this kit that it's kinda ridiculous.


The centerpiece of the kit -- the "protector" itself -- is a hard, clear piece of plastic with a black outline of Mega Man (the Star Force version, of course) that complements the image of Mega Man that appears on whatever faceplate you decide to put underneath it... though I found that the simple black outline of Mega Man makes the protector look pretty cool on its own, against the bare face of my DSi. Of course, I have a blue DSi, so consider that point moot if you own a black one. In any case, the protector is nice and sturdy and snaps snugly onto the face of your DSi -- no fuss at all. And once it's on, it fits like a glove and doesn't move or rattle at all. This is a well-made product, pure and simple.


The kit comes with six "faceplates" that you can place on the face of your DSi before you affix the protector to customize its look. Each of the faceplates has an image of Mega Man that is placed such that the outlines on the protector line up with the edges of the image of Mega Man's body on the faceplate (assuming you line it up on your DSi correctly, which can be a little tricky). Three of the faceplates are base Star Force 3-themed ones that come in blue, green, and red, while the other three are themed after Black Ace, Red Joker, and "Black Ace vs. Red Joker," and they all feature additional art of Mega Man in his respective form(s). I like some more than others, but none of the faceplates are unattractive or seem out of place. Most fans will probably find themselves having a hard time making a choice about which one they want to use, as the faceplates are all well-designed, sleek, and colorful.

Just as cool as the protector and faceplates is the included Mega Man dongle/screen cleaner. I don't know how well it actually functions as a screen cleaner, but you can't beat having the original Mega Man (in sprite form!) hanging from your DS along with a blue Capcom wrist-holder.

The remaining accessories seem like an afterthought and come off as a little unnecessary. You've got the "Mega Man stylus," which is sadly just a plain, generic blue stylus (that also happens to be almost identical in color to the blue DSi's regular stylus). I suppose there's not much more they could have done with the stylus than make it blue, but something would have been nice. Finally, the three game/SD card cases are... nice, I suppose, but I don't realistically see anyone using them when I imagine most people already have their own DS/DSi cases that house games and such just fine. But hey, again -- we're talking $20. More stuff isn't a bad thing!

In any case, I've included a few pictures so you can all see how this kit works and looks (both by itself and on my DSi) for yourself. But as I've said, if you're on the fence about whether or not to purchase this, take my word for it: go for it. You won't be disappointed. You're getting an amazing bunch of stuff for $20, and the product itself is well-made and feels like Capcom really wanted to please Mega Man fans. And because Capcom wisely avoided going the decal/sticker route with this product, everything is very easily removable if you ever want to go back to having your DS look all-natural.

Consider me pleased. This is a great product that will go very nicely with my new copy of Star Force 3 on Wednesday. :) Thanks for this, Capcom. "

(Please note that my opinions and pictures only apply to the DSi version of the product. I have no idea how the DS Lite version compares, though I can't imagine why it would be any different in terms of quality.)


UPDATE: XHunter's blog provides an in-depth look at the DS Lite version. Check it out, here.