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[ductape]

Hey so my son is 4 and hes pretty good for his age. For example I got him New Super Mario on the DS and he does alright on the platforming parts of the game but I dont think he really gets the overall meta game. We also play Skylanders Trap Team and he does pretty good, again not fully getting the metagame but he can get around, swap figures, fill the traps and battle around a bit.

I have been trying to figure out what to get him next on the DS, we have an old one. I think he would really like Pokemon but I have never played any of them and not sure he will be able to understand it well enough to enjoy it.

Do any of the Pokemon games have enough gameplay that is not overly complicated? He doesn't need to fully understand the game to enjoy it, but there needs to be enough of it to play at a simpler level, if you understand what I mean.

Any other games come to mind? Maybe more platformers? Yoshi or something?

Thanks!

[Scripten]

Pokemon does have a lot of reading, but it's not particularly hard. The feedback mechanics might be confusing for a younger kid, but I'd recommend just taking a look at a video and seeing how he reacts when something "happens" in the game.

Also, Kirby's Epic Yarn is a really fantastic game for younger kids while also scaling when they are older and more skilled.

[MrRoboto75]

Kirby games tend to be pretty easy, and are usually for younger kids.  If your talking pre 3ds, you have Squeak Squad and Superstar Ultra.  SU is probably the better deal, a lot more content for your buck and it might be a tad easier to understand.  Do note, final bosses in some Kirby games can get a little on the creepy side.

Now, back in the day I myself have played pokemon when I was like 4-6.  Of course back then it was red and blue, which are a bit simpler to grasp than the more modern ones.  Nowadays there are more pokemon and systems to it.  If he can grasp how types work and how some beat others (its basically rock/paper/scissors, most of it is pretty logical), he might be fine.  But yeah, there's a bit of reading to do.

You could also try mario kart, the old ds one was pretty good.

[Yoink]

I'm not sure if Animal Crossing would be exciting enough, but I'm told it went down a treat with some of my younger relatives.

[Ozyton]

I'm assuming you mean 3DS and not DS.
I forget if this has a demo or not, but you could try Fantasy Life. I haven't played it all the way through, and there's probably as bit toooo much dialog, but it seems like a neat game where when you're tired of fighting monsters and such you can go out and gather resources to craft furniture, clothes, and other stuff.

The starting quest for each job is fairly lengthy unfortunately, and while you can skip them all it's basically like skipping the first chapter of a book, so beware of that.

[Ghills]

Pokemon is essentially a dog-fighting simulator, and some kids are upset by that. If they're thoughtful or smart enough to think about the battles it can be a bit traumatizing, depending on their personality, and I wouldn't recommend it for a 4 year old.  Also, some gym battles require a lot of planning and understanding Pokemon types, and there is quite a bit of dialogue.   I don't think it's a great fit for your son.

Seconding the recommendation for Kirby, and maybe some platforming Donkey Kong games.

It sounds like he likes playing games with you.  Maybe games that are played co-op would be a good fit.  Plus, this way you get to see what each game is like.  I know some parents who were terribly surprised to find out that Pokemon is a dog-fighting simulator, because they'd never played it.

[BigD145]

I'm not sure if Animal Crossing would be exciting enough, but I'm told it went down a treat with some of my younger relatives.

Animal Crossing is a good way for a parent to engage with their child in the game, assuming the parent is willing to play. It will at least teach patience, sharing, giving, memory, and the value of money after Tom Nook takes it all.

[itisnotlogical]

Pokemon is essentially a dog-fighting simulator, and some kids are upset by that. If they're thoughtful or smart enough to think about the battles it can be a bit traumatizing, depending on their personality, and I wouldn't recommend it for a 4 year old.  Also, some gym battles require a lot of planning and understanding Pokemon types, and there is quite a bit of dialogue.   I don't think it's a great fit for your son.

That's giving kids both too much and too little credit.

I think Pokemon would be great. It's not much more complicated than "fire beats grass, grass beats water", and so on. I think children 4+ years old can get rock-paper-scissors.

And yes, it's kinda like dog fighting, if you view it a certain way. But the emphasis is on friendship and forming a bond with your Pokemon, and it's not like your Pokemon have to be put down because they can't fight, or have their eyes gouged out. The trainers that abuse their Pokemon and don't care for them are the villains. And if a child has questions, they can talk to their parents about it and have a thoughtful discussion that results in increased understanding.

[Trapezohedron]

I had fun with the pokemanz on the 5-7th year of my life.

I don't see anything wrong with it.

[Ghills]

Pokemon is essentially a dog-fighting simulator, and some kids are upset by that. If they're thoughtful or smart enough to think about the battles it can be a bit traumatizing, depending on their personality, and I wouldn't recommend it for a 4 year old.  Also, some gym battles require a lot of planning and understanding Pokemon types, and there is quite a bit of dialogue.   I don't think it's a great fit for your son.

That's giving kids both too much and too little credit.

I think Pokemon would be great. It's not much more complicated than "fire beats grass, grass beats water", and so on. I think children 4+ years old can get rock-paper-scissors.

And yes, it's kinda like dog fighting, if you view it a certain way. But the emphasis is on friendship and forming a bond with your Pokemon, and it's not like your Pokemon have to be put down because they can't fight, or have their eyes gouged out. The trainers that abuse their Pokemon and don't care for them are the villains. And if a child has questions, they can talk to their parents about it and have a thoughtful discussion that results in increased understanding.

Every kid is different. I know some who would be very sad about the battles, some who wouldn't care, some who would rationalize. 

Like I said in my post, it's not the elemental alignments, it's the long-term planning required for the gym battles.  Pokemon isn't that simple at the later stages. 7 year old is fine, 4 year old probably would need to work with an adult.  Depending on the kid, that may or may not be fun. 

I think the game is not a slam-dunk for a pre-schooler, so I tried to give OP some information I know other parents have been concerned by so he could make an informed decision. 

[i2amroy]

Like I said in my post, it's not the elemental alignments, it's the long-term planning required for the gym battles.  Pokemon isn't that simple at the later stages. 7 year old is fine, 4 year old probably would need to work with an adult.  Depending on the kid, that may or may not be fun. 

No offense, but have you actually played the games? Because it's totally possible to just go around sparring pokemon in the grass until you can walk in with whatever team you want and then run in and wreck every gym leader. Heck, as long as you can beat at least 1 of the gym leader's pokemon (which even a random number generator should be able to do with 6 pokemon) you can get the exact same result by challenging the gym leader because your pokemon will still level up over many matches with the same gym leader. Like default pokemon is easy enough that it's totally possible to bang your head against the metaphorical wall until it becomes hard enough that the wall shatters, and if it takes you longer to get from place to place (which it probably would for a small child) then it only becomes easier, since your team has leveled up more on the journey to a new location.

Similarly your moral objects are almost word for words the one's I've heard in my area from concerned parents who have never actually played the games or had to sit through their kid watching the show. Heck, even my mom (who is rather a rather anti-violence person) was willing to go up against my brother's school to defend his pokemon backpack after having been exposed to it enough by us (she won that battle ).

That said my biggest objections to giving Pokemon is that there is a lot of talking and some of the plots that tell you where to go can sometimes be a bit indirect. It's certainly a much less structured experience than something like Mario where you tend to go in only 1 direction or something like Skylanders where they tend to pretty much hold your hand to tell you what to do next through the game. It's also a lot less visually flashy than those games are while being a bit heavier on the logic side of things. If you think your 4 year-old can handle that then I'd say go ahead, I've seen some very smart 4 year-olds. On the other hand if you think that he's not quite ready yet then feel free to wait a year or two before grabbing it, it's certainly a very fun game.

My suggestion would be that if you aren't sure then don't be afraid to look up some Let's Plays of whatever particular game you were looking at on youtube to let you get a chance to see the gameplay and decide for yourself if your kid can handle it. It's your kid after all.

[MrRoboto75]

Would a young kid have the patience to level grind, though

[endlessblaze]

I still play Pokemon.

As long as he doesn't do any online battles he should be fine.

Reason being though the storyline is very easy online battles are full of  meta.  Where everyone tries to optimize there mons. Grinding, breeding, trading, trying to obtain good nature-mon combinations.

None of that's need in story line though.  ((Except MAYBE the elite four. and those are end game right before champion)

Edit-
I have never had to grind that much,  I basically just walk in and demolish most gym leaders..

If you don't have a 3ds I would say go for heartgold/soul silver
If you do then I recomend X/Y or omega ruby/alpha shapiere

As for Kirby, agian. Just some bosses to watch out for. I recomend Kirbysuperstar ultra. It's got multiple adventures of varying dificulty he can select, so he should be alright.

[BigD145]

You could also just pick up the original games and a Gameboy Color on the cheap. Get some rechargeable AA's.

[itisnotlogical]

I was able to read pretty competently at 4-5 years old, but then I was a freakish bookworm at that age. I would read warning labels and appliance manuals just because I was curious what they said.