Hey, listen!

I've not actually picked up an Xbox controller for over a week. Not because I'm bored with it, but because of a little guy in a green suit. I bought The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for my Nintendo DS.
Now, my DS hasn't seen the light of day for a year or more. It's not one of those Lite versions, I'm still admiring the touch screen on my original DS thank you very much. Heavier (yes), buttons a little cramped (yes), earlier chance of obtaining RSI (yes), but the DS is still a dream machine.
I've seen the ads for Brain Training and Animal Crossing, but what I've been saving for is classic Nintendo, and so far I've got it in shovelfuls.
The music's there, the little jingle when doors open, the fiendish puzzles, the basic sword training from the old guy in the village. It's all here. They've added in touch screen skills, so you can now write notes on your map so you remember those forgotten clues and stab, slice and spin the stylus on the screen to watch Link perform his trademark attack. Hiiiyar!
But what do I find most intriguing of all? The fact that ever since I first picked up A Link To the Past from Dixons at Lakeside (instead of UN Squadron, I'll let you know!) I've always called my character 'Link'. Not 'Tim'. It's always Link. Always will be. More on PH as I play through…
In other developments I've asked the Facilities Manager where I work if I can get hold of the Nintendo magazine archive. It's currently sitting in some damp corner of an archiving warehouse, probably feeling unloved. I thought it would be ace to scan a few pages and add them to my blog. Cue anecdotal annotations…
I also see that Nintendo has announced the forthcoming Wii version release of Mario Kart, now with bikes. With bikes. WITH BIKES. This is Mario KART. Quite frankly, they'll never match the original in my opinion. But by god I need a Wii for this. A mate of mine at work says it's mint.