Reviews from

in the past


i used to play this game when i was little and would cry when the game called me stupid... which was quite often.....

needless to say, i never was too fond of this "Ryuta Kawashima" fellow.

I spent every. single. day. playing Brain Age in elementary school for like 2 years straight. My times tables? Immaculate. Connecting letters to numbers? A breeze. Sudoku? Child's play compared to my mathematical prowess. Go ahead, ask me what 2 x 7 is. Still don't believe me?

My prefrontal cortex has expanded so far beyond human comprehension that my head is exactly like Sheen's in that one episode of Jimmy Neutron where he becomes mega smart. Even MENSA had to turn me away for being too mathematically skilled, which I can understand with jealousy being a disease and all that jazz. Any reviews that state that this game doesn't teach anything or improve your brain power are coming from those that are simply smooth-brained and cannot fathom the concept of completing the Head Count and Low to High mini games without their neurons short-circuiting. I can understand how these preschool-tier mini games are mentally taxing and labor-intensive on the common man, but I implore that any self-respecting individual with a thirst for knowledge consult Dr. Ryuta Kawashima's disembodied head on how to enhance their prefrontal cortex, lest you continue to live your life with a flaccid hippocampus.

Lets not even get started on my artistic skills since I started Dr. Kawashima's daily mental exercises. Even though his drawings are rather sub-par for a college graduate, mine are what The Louvre has been BEGGING to have on their measly walls. Between you and me, I think Dr. Kawashima gets jealous of how much more detailed and talented I am at drawing than he is, because more often that not he HAS to give some little bullshit critique on my work. I could draw a giraffe PERFECTLY and he'll be like "Erm you need to focus on the neck...". Like alright buddy, keep that same attitude when I ride to the highest echelon of artistry and sell a booger on canvas for $540 million bucks. Like I said before, jealousy is a disease, and if you dedicate your days to playing Brain Age, that jealousy seems to infest your closest colleagues and peers.

This all having been said, Brain Age is just simply NOT ENOUGH if you're an average Joe or Susan. If you're desperately seeking arithmetic growth for reasons major or shallow, you MUST also play Brain Age Express Math, Sudoku, and Arts & Letters for the Nintendo DSi, as well as Brain Age 2, Brain Age: Concentration Training, and Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch. It is imperative that you play these games consecutively everyday for a minimum of 20 years before you see even a modicum of change in your prefrontal cortex, and that minimum is being on the generous side of my estimation. Now I know you're all DYING to ask me how these subsequent games helped me achieve my mathematical and artistic mastery in life, the truth is: I simply did not need the additional training to get to where I am today. My desire for the highest tier of academic prowess was kickstarted when I was in utero, therefore I came into this world with an IQ that cannot be humanly measured, and these additional games are merely children's building blocks. No I will not elaborate further on my IQ, please respect my privacy.

I do have to extend my most sincere thanks to Dr. Kawashima, not only as a fellow contemporary of intelligent society, but also as a colleague and formerly a teacher-- as I strongly believe in my heart of hearts that I have surpassed the teacher, and now he is MY student. If anyone has read this review and has been thoroughly enlightened by my statistically correct and impressive perspective, I highly encourage you to embark the pursuit of mathematical and creative genius by playing Brain Age for Nintendo DS.

TLDR (for my folks that cannot read more than a paragraph without a major crisis ensuing); I am smarter than Dr. Kawashima and (maybe) you could be too if you play this game and it's successors.

Pros: Comprehensive work plans and exercises to help meet your desired Brain Age goals, silly little pictures to keep you engaged in your prolonged learning regimen, funny noises to accommodate the elementary-level inteligence you will harbor when you first play Brain Age, and Dr. Kawashima gives you encouraging words most of the time.

Cons: Dr. Kawashima RUDELY falls asleep on you if you study late into the night, do not expect Dr. Kawashima to respect your creative talents... he can never just give you a compliment for some reason.

This was honestly a pretty fun game. Fell out of the habit of playing it every morning after a bit, but it was a good time.

i remember my grandma got addicted to this game and she got really sad whenever i had to leave with the ds

then she hopped on candy crush and destroyed dr. kawashima's hard work


It had some fun minigames that worked well with the DS's unique form factor.

j. robert oppenheimer actually trained his brain in minutes a day with brain age, which is how he got the intellectual capability to develop the nuclear bomb. brain age, unfortunately, does not train your moral capabilities, so oppenheimer was to focused on whether he could to consider whether he should.

i spent so much time playing this and look where it got me

Primero hice todos los Sudokus del 2 sin usar pistas ni explicaciones.
Ahora lo he hecho con el 1.
Ahora me apodan: "El Señor de los Sudokus".

It was a fun little novelty, I guess. Not that I really got a lot out of the "tests", but some of the minigames were fun.

More fun than it feels like it should be? After awhile it became just a package of Sudoku puzzles, which kept me coming back for quite a bit longer.

When I was on the bus once as a kid, I had a ton of DS games, yet for some reason my two friends ONLY wanted to play this one.

There's something inexplicably compelling about Brain Age. I think it has to be the presentation, for better and worse. The charming drawings and Dr. Kawashima's reserved quirkiness add life & personality. However, the academic framing gives the busywork an unearned air of legitimacy. Excelling at Brain Age's tasks satisfies in the same ways scholastic success can, which, frankly, sucks considering how academically valueless Brain Age's "training" is.

You know those apps that exist for old people to keep their brain active? Yeah, this is the precurser to those.

this game is the reason why i can confidently say my IQ is above you average gamer, ive scored as high as 197 IQ in many test and have won mathematics awards. i would recommend your kids to play this to make them geniuses like me, only if u can handle all the knowledge your kids will drop oon you. oh well... you peasant couldnt understand ahaha anyway bye!

not as good as the second instalment but it can be fun. i dont know if it actually helps with learning in any meaningful way.

It's not really a game, per se, more of a gamified learning tool before that idea was popularized.

Still makes more sense than an IQ test.

it's pretty fun but it doesn't recognize my shitty writing most of the time..


Lets be real, this game made everyone feel dumb

It's hilarious that this pseudo-science nonsense was a mainstream video game hit. It's kind of fun in how ridiculous it is. You yell at your DS while holding it like a book. You solve ridiculous little problems quickly. It's a very novel program but it's very clear it is absolutely not assisting your brain in any meaningful way. But there's not too many games where the disassociated 3D head of a Japanese neuroscientist happily sells you on his quack ideas on the piece of software you have for your gameboy.