The Nintendo DS: double the screens, double the copies sold of Active Health with Carol Vorderman than any one man can feasibly track. Nintendo’s little flipper of wonders might have had a lot of games and a lot of them were bad, but make no mistake, it also had all time whippers like these 50 amazing games that should all land in your library.
50. Bomberman Land Touch!
The Nintendo DS and party games might sound like a strange mix, but tell that to Hudson Soft. Now, you’d think that Bomberman is about the cute little guys chucking bombs at each other, and you’d be correct. Heck, there’s a battle mode here that lets players relieve the glory days of Bomberman, but Bomberman Land, and specifically Touch!, has a bit more to offer.
Touch is all about exploring the different sections of an amusement park. You’ll wander through an overworld, solve puzzles to unlock new areas, and then compete in minigames that can support up to 10 human players, making this an unmistakable multiplayer game highlight on the Nintendo DS.
49. Chibi-Robo! Park Patrol
Chibi-Robo was perhaps the most original platformer on the Nintendo GameCube, so a follow-up was inevitable. What was unexpected was that in order to go bigger, Nintendo and Skip Ltd actually went smaller, bringing the sequel to the Nintendo DS. The results might not have set the world alight, earning awards like “fifth m ost overlooked game from 2007”, but we’ll always know it’s a whipper.
Park Patrol sees Chibi-Robo, the miniature mecha that could, ditch the house for a public park. Fortunately, life for the four-inch tall robot is less like the survival game Grounded, and more like a wholesome day out. Sure, there’s some enemies to deal with, but for the most part, this is a chill, low stakes platforming affair that players of all ages can enjoy.
48. Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Originally a hidden minigame in the Xbox exclusive racer Project Gotham Racing 2 (shout to Bizarre Creations, you beauties), Geometry Wars came into its own when the Xbox 360 launched. There was a separate game, the most downloaded Xbox Live Arcade game at one point, plus sequel, along with a new iteration in PGR 4, but Bizarre brought the series to Nintendo platforms too.
Enter Geometry Wars: Galaxies, which contained all the usual shape shooting action you’d expect from this series, only this time with a full campaign mode. We’re talking 10 whole galaxies of levels, each with their own maps, challenges and enemies to fight. You even get your own personal drone. A lot of firsts for the series, Galaxies was deep, yet fun and rewarding all at once. Make some room in your library for it.
47. Hotel Dusk: Room 215
The Nintendo DS became home to plenty of visual novel/point and click genre blends. Turns out, giving developers a touchscreen and a stylus means games with a lot of clicking. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 isn’t the only example we’re mentioning in this video, but don’t let its lower position in this ranking fool you, this mystery is well worth your time and energy.
In Hotel Dusk: Room 215, players control former NYPD detective Kyle Hyde as he explores the titular rural Los Angeles hotel looking for his missing former partner. Along the way, Kyle will stumble into a variety of other interconnected mysteries, forcing the detective to rely on his years of NYPD experience. The game even comes complete with an in-game notepad for you to jot down your theories, so you can really make use of that stylus.
46. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Ask someone to name an underrated RPG series chances are they’ll say Golden Sun. Considering the Golden Sun series started out life on the GBA, a Nintendo DS release was always going to be on the cards. It might have taken 8 years, but surely Dark Dawn would give the series new life? Actually, it’s the last ever Golden Sun, but Dark Dawn shouldn’t have been what sent the series into a premature twilight.
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is set 30 years after the events of the original two games. Players control descendants of the heroes of those games, as they try to solve the mystery of various Psynergy Vortexes sapping the world of its elemental energy. As a game, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn offers similar gameplay to the previous entries, albeit with some new spells and Djinns to collect and use, but more of a good thing is fine with us.
45. Mario Vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem
From one Game Boy Advance graduate to another, Mario Vs Donkey Kong allowed Nintendo to revisit the feud between plumber and primate. After Bowser was introduced, Mario and DK kind of became their own separate franchises for a while, but Mario Vs Donkey Kong allowed them to revisit past rivalries, only with a horde of mini Mario toys to fight over.
The fourth game in the series, Mini-Land Mayhem! sees DK once again kidnap Pauline because he was later getting a mini-Pauline toy. Why settle for an imitator I suppose? Essentially Lemmings only with a touchscreen and stylus, you need to navigate Mini-Marios to the exit in order to complete the over 200 levels on offer here. If that’s not enough bang for your buck, there’s even a level editor, giving players a small taste of the creation tools they’d have with Super Mario Maker.
44. Lufia: Curse of the Sinestrals
Another DS RPG that unfortunately killed the series, Lufia: Curse of the Sinestrals in 2010 was Neverland’s attempt after eight years to revive the series. Unfortunately, Neverland filed for bankruptcy only a few years later, but much like Dark Dawn, Lufia: Curse of the Sinestrals doesn’t deserve to be the game that ended the whole series. You want an underappreciated action RPG? This is it.
A remake of Lufia 2, itself a prequel to the first game, Lufia: Curse of the Sinestrals follows Maxim and his growing party of adventurers as they try to deal with the Sinestral threat. A big departure from the 1995 SNES original, Curse of the Sinestrals swapped the turn-based combat for action RPG gameplay, with players using the party’s spells and special abilities to solve puzzles as well as fight enemies. Even as a standalone RPG, Lufia: Curse of the Sinestrals shouldn’t be missed and is just super fun.
43. Super Scribblenauts
As puzzle games go, none take themselves less seriously than Scribblenauts, a game where half of your problems are solved by summoning Cthulhu. Cat stuck up a tree? Cthulhu. Bank robbery? Cthulhu. New experimental pizza topping? Shockingly, also Cthulhu. Scribblenauts might sound like a game for just artistic sorts, but there’s so much charm on offer here that it’s impossible not to love it.
For the uninitiated, Scribblenauts is the game where you solve puzzles by typing out words that summon the corresponding object. You then use those summoned objects, creatures or even people to solve puzzles across various levels and worlds. It’s silly, whimsical and funny, everything that a handheld puzzle game should be. Super Scribblenauts is more of that same formula, only with the added functionality of adjectives, so if you want to see what a massive pregnant purple Cthulhu looks like, play Super Scribblenauts.
42. Yoshi’s Island DS
Given it’s named similarly to, Yoshi’s Island DS sounds like a mere updated port of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. Instead, it’s a full sequel, with Baby Mario and Yoshi working together to protect other babies from the clutches of Bowser and Kamek. One of the babies also happens to be a Baby Bowser, so there’s weird time shenanigans going on. Enough questions, keep throwing eggs.
Yoshi’s Island DS’ gameplay is the same as the first game, only with two screens to line up egg throws. What makes Yoshi’s Island distinct is the introduction of other babies for Yoshi to carry around, with each one offering their own ability to help with platforming. You’ll need to swap babies regularly throughout the game’s levels in order to finally succeed. The graphics are cute, the gameplay is great and the abilities are fun, making Yoshi’s Island DS an easy recommendation.
41. Trauma Center: Under The Knife
In the 2000s, it felt like the Trauma Center series would be a hit for Atlus that’d rival even Shin Megami Tensei or Persona. Those games felt nigh-on inescapable at the time. Either way, it feels surprising that there were only five whole games in the franchise across DS and Nintendo Wii. Still, you want the DS’ best? You’re looking at it.
Playing as doctor Derek Stiles, Trauma Center: Under The Knife is set in the near future of 2018, where most natural diseases have been eradicated. Clearly, that means it’s time for manmade horrors beyond comprehension, as terrorists begin distributing the parasite GUILT. Using Stiles’ surgery skills and Healing Touch, you use your stylus to operate on GUILT victims, enjoying a dramatic story of intrigue and bioterrorism in between operations.
40. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Looking for a visual novel tour de force that’s as fun and confusing a time on a cruise ship as the film Triangle? Well, 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors is a delight. It’s also a game that you don’t have to dig the DS out for if you want to play it today, as it was updated and released on modern platforms along with a port of the sequel, Virtue’s Last Reward, as Zero Escape: The Nonary Games.
While players control Junpei, 999 follows nine kidnapped main characters as they’re forced to compete in a deadly game on a cruise ship. The game is split into two portions, as the visual novel moves the plot forward while allowing the player to make story affecting choices. Between those are Escape sections, where you explore different locked rooms to find the items necessary to escape. It’s a life or death escape room, basically, and it’s utterly incredible.
39. Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard
ATLUS’ Etrian Odyssey might have been tailor-made for the DS, offering old school RPG and dungeon crawling gameplay while making excellent use of the Nintendo DS’ touchscreen and stylus to offer something entirely new. Sure, it’s a difficult game, so if you’re looking for a more casual experience, something like Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes Of Lagaard might not be for you, but for sheer excellence, this is worth playing.
The game opens with the Duke of Lagaard calling for adventurers to reach a flying castle by navigating the Yggdrasil Labyrinth, essentially a dungeon in a giant tree. Players are able to create up to 30 characters, with various classes, stats and abilities, to then take a party of five on the journey to the Labyrinth. With turn-based combat, and the ability to use the stylus to maintain your dungeon maps, Etrian Odyssey 2 is an engaging and deep RPG worth investing your time into.
38. N+
From a flash game to a DS game, N+ is a perfect example of a stellar platforming game that deserves a lot more love than it actually received. Many point to Super Meat Boy as an example of a hardcore platforming flash game that made the transition to console to great success, but N+ has Super Meat Boy beat by two years. It’s time to give N+ its flowers, we say.
Controlling a ninja, players navigate small mazes and platforming puzzles on a very strict timer. You can increase your overall time by collecting gold pieces, but the often ridiculous amount of droids, turrets, mines and missiles that plague any of the game’s many levels stand in your way. Naturally, the ninja is one hit kill, but you have infinite lives and instant restarts, making N+ an excellent example of an addictive, one-more-go platformer. Just be warned, hair being torn out is a distinct possibility.
37. Sonic Rush
Before Sonic Mania, the obvious contender for “best 2D Sonic game since the originals” was Sonic Rush. If nothing else, it was the Sonic game that most tested your abilities to follow a cute creature on screen at any one time, considering Sonic Rush decided to use the dual screen set-up to have its characters racing across both screens. It’s also famous for having a final boss theme use samples from a Malcom X speech. Ludicrous. We love it.
Sonic Rush sees newcomer Blaze The Cat on the hunt for Eggman, while Sonic chases down Eggman from Blaze’s dimension. Players pick either character and race across several zones in classic Sonic 2D platforming action, albeit with 3D(ish) bosses and the Tension Gauge that allows players to use tricks to create boost power. I guess we have Sonic Rush to thank for modern Sonic games becoming boostathons.
36. Okamiden
Unless you’re a hardcore Okami fan, you might not know that there’s a follow-up release. Hell, when Hideki Kamiya announced an Okami sequel in 2024, everyone at that announcement forgot there was an Okami follow-up. It’s a shame really, as Okamiden takes everything that worked about the first Zelda-inspired adventure and applies it to a new game with an admittedly cuter protagonist and a console that lets you wield the Celestial Brush like an actual brush.
Set after the events of the original Okami, demons have returned to Nippon and the humans try once again to summon Amaterasu to rescue them. Ammy is a bit busy though, so her son, Chibiterasu, answers the call. Chibiterasu has the powers of the Celestial Brush, but needs to explore the world and team up with partners. It’s a pretty inventive sequel that deserves some more attention.
35. Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise
It’s clear that there’s a cozy game boom going on right, but instead of Microsoft immediately telling Rare to create a new Viva Pinata game, they’ve had the UK developers fumbling about with Everwild instead. Is that even still in development? A new Viva Pinata would probably do pretty well right now, and if the quality is anything like Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise, they’d be on to a winner.
Pocket Paradise follows much of the same gameplay as its home console counterparts. You’re looking after cute creatures, getting them to mate while creating the perfect environment to attract new Pinatas. Between the map on the Dual Screen and the stylus interaction, Pocket Paradise fits the DS like a glove. It’s a game you’ll boot up for five minutes, then wake up six hours later from your fugue state with an immaculate garden and drool hanging out your mouth.
34. Disgaea DS
The DS might be home to a lot of remakes, but with a stylus and touchscreen, of course developers are going to try and explore new ways to experience classics. 2003’s Disgaea: Hour of Darkness for the PS2 might not have been out long enough to be a classic, considering it only took three years to release it on the PSP as Afternoon of Darkness, and another two for the DS release, but it did bring an excellent tactical RPG to a larger audience.
Disgaea DS is essentially the DS port of the PSP version, including new features like the alternative protagonist Etna and a suite of multiplayer modes. Granted, some language options were removed due to the limited storage space on the DS cartridge, but the DS version did throw in new features like Demon Gadgets and more unlockable characters. For those wanting an excellent tactical RPG about defending the Netherworld, Disgaea DS is your best bet.
33. Lunar Knights
Viewers of our GBA videos will know we’re suckers for mentioning Boktai, so it’s probably not a surprise to see Lunar Knights place fairly high. It might not be called Boktai, it might not have solar ray scanning like those original games did, but the core gameplay, the vampire fighting and everything in between is as Boktai as it gets. Plus, if you did own the GBA Boktai games, you could chuck them in the DS’ second slot and enjoy some additional sun-sensing benefits.
Lunar Knights follows the edgy Lucian with his darkness powers and the more hopeful sharpshooter Aaron, who can harness light powers. Together, they’ll fight through various dungeons, defeat the boss vampires and send their caskets off into outer space. Each boss unlocks a new element, which can be used to change the in-game climate and access new areas.
32. Anno: Create A New World/Dawn Of Discovery
Not to be confused with Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery, Anno: Create A New World, or simply Dawn of Discovery as it was known in North America is the better game. They’re in the same series but there’s a 300 year difference in terms of setting. While Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery adds a couple more features, with multiplayer being the most crucial addition, CANW streamlines a stuffy yet mechanically deep strategy game for handheld platforms, which is no small feat.
CANW offers two modes of play, with the story mode following King George’s sons, William and Edward, looking to solve their kingdom’s drought and famine issues. Edward thinks force is the only option, so you play as William and try to establish negotiations and trade with other nations. It’s essentially a tutorial for the game’s continuous mode, where you establish your colonies and battle rival nations. If you want a Civ-style strategy game on the go, CANW is unbeatable.
31. Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land
Diehard Tony Hawk fans will remember American Wasteland, the Hawkman’s first “attempt” at a fully open world skating game. See: 8 levels connected by long ass corridors. Still, what’s more overlooked is the handheld tie-in game, Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land. Yes, it uses the eight instead of spelling it properly, don’t worry about it. Though similar to Wasteland, Sk8land has a few key differences.
Both follow a young skate rat who travels to LA to totally shred gnarly style, dude. In Sk8land though, you’re recruited by Tony Hawk specifically, with American Sk8land being the name of one of Tony’s old stomping grounds. You’ll meet pros, do sick tricks and ultimately try to restore American Sk8land. While you can’t get off your board here, you can use the touchscreen to create art and the microphone for soundclips during special tricks and bails. It was practically a creative player’s dream game.
30. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Clearly, Capcom localising a former Japan-only GBA game in was the right decision, as Capcom are still milking the Ace Attorney series in its many forms to this day. To think it all started with just a simple DS port of a visual novel. No one has any objections to more Phoenix Wright these days, that’s for sure.
If you somehow don’t know what Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is all about, you control the titular rookie defense attorney as he’s thrown into the deep end of massive murder trials, forced to help the prime suspect prove their innocence. The game is split into two halves, with players investigating the crime scene and the evidence before being launched into the courtroom itself. Here, they need to poke holes in the prosecution’s arguments, using the previously gathered evidence, facts and statements to do so. Who knew courtroom drama could be so engaging?
29. Rhythm Heaven
Rhythm Heaven isn’t the first ever rhythm action game, but the genre received a new standardbearer when launched on the Nintendo DS. Granted, it follows the Phoenix Wright issue of being a Japan-only GBA release first, with Rhythm Tengoku launching on the GBA in 2006, but it would only take three short years for Nintendo to release the sequel worldwide.
Each one of Rhythm Heaven’s 50 levels required players to use the stylus and touchscreen to keep up with the beat by listening and following visual clues, with the levels themselves, ranging in style and animation. Like other rhythm action games, Heaven is not an easy game to truly master, with some of those later remix levels truly testing your ability to stay on beat and memorise patterns, but if Guitar Hero: On Tour and its weird grip pad wasn’t doing it for you, Rhythm Heaven was the upgrade.
28. Picross 3D
The DS library got really obsessed with puzzle games that were designed to improve your cognitive abilities, from whatever licensed versions of Sudoku featuring a d-list celebrity, the various brands of “Brain Training” or, the subject of this entry, Picross. Also known as nonogram puzzles, Picross is art meets logic puzzle, using numbers to guide players on what squares they can press.
Picross gives players a square grid with numbers on the side and top, with the numbers determining how many coloured blocks are present in that row. Using that information, you need to reveal the image. Picross 3D takes the formula and, literally, cubes it, giving players an extra dimension to solve in order to reveal 3D images of various things. Naturally, adding a whole other side of things makes the puzzles more intimidating, but think of the years of cognitive ability you’ll earn next time Dr Kawashima analyses you.
27. Bangai-O Spirits
You thought you might get through a Cultured Vultures video without some kind of Treasure mention? Fool. Anyone looking for amazing shoot ‘em up action, Bangai-O Spirits is unmissable. A sequel to a shoot ‘em up that originally released on the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast, Bangai-O took the tagline of “be the bullet hell” literally way before Vampire Survivors arrived on the scene.
As a sequel, Bangai-O Spirits is a more of the same style follow-up, albeit with a host of new gameplay abilities. The core of the game revolves around EX Attacks, which unleashes a barrage of missiles in either every direction or against one specific enemy. The catch is that the closer you are to enemies, and the longer you charge it, the more missiles you fire, to the point where the entire screen is missiles. Everything is missiles, it’s always been missiles, it will always be missiles. Bangai-O, you beautiful bastard.
26. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
We’re definitely not the first people to notice this, but did you ever clock how some DS games would have a subtitle with the letters D and S? Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor could be considered as guilty of this too, but then you have to remember that preceded this game by about a decade, so there goes that theory. It also has Persona 5 Tactics beat on being the first SMT-related tactical RPG.
Another off-shoot of the SMT franchise, Devil Survivor tells a brand new story of a lockdown within a specific area of Tokyo due to the appearance of demons. Fortunately, gaming devices known as COMPs can be used to forge contracts with demons. Using your COMP in tactical RPG battles, you need to forge relationships with the various characters and factions and spend your time wisely across seven days, otherwise everyone in the story will die. No pressure or anything.
25. Peggle: Dual Shot
There we go: Devil Survivor might not have been an example, but Peggle: Dual Shot? We got you by the short and curlies there, PopCap Games. Joke’s on us though, as there’s not even a Dual Shot in the game, just a collection of the original Peggle and its DLC, Peggle Nights, albeit with about 10 extra unlockable levels created by Q Entertainment, the team responsible for the DS port.
Peggle can easily be described as the pachinko puzzle game, with players firing balls with the goal to clear red pegs off the screen. Hit every red peg, you win, but clear every red and blue peg, you score even more points. With hardly any exclusive features beyond using the stylus to control aiming, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Peggle: Dual Shot doesn’t deserve its place here, but when the gameplay is as addictive as Peggle’s is, it deserves all the flowers in the world.
24. Shantae: Risky’s Revenge
WayForward’s late 2002 Game Boy Color release might’ve ensured Shantae would struggle to find an audience, even though you could easily play GBC games on the GBA. Even so, those who did pick up the game despite its late release found a charming and absorbing platformer with light Metroidvania elements, so they were no doubt thrilled when, eight years later, WayForward released a sequel for the Nintendo DS.
Now technically, the Shantae sequel was a DSiWare exclusive game, with the DSi being a revised DS with built-in camera and online support. It’s still technically a DS though so we’re including it. Sue us. Titled Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, the sequel doubled down on the Metroidvania elements, with the titular half-genie chasing down the pirate Risky Boots in order to retrieve a stolen magic lamp. With plenty of abilities to unlock and secrets to find, Shantae was proof that DSiWare games could stand up to the bigger counterparts.
23. Radiant Historia
It feels like ATLUS might have had a bit of a chokehold on the DS, as plenty of their excellent RPGs rank among the best DS games of all time. Radiant Historia is another one that deserves more recognition but often feels overlooked. Considering ATLUS love re-releasing or remaking their older games, even cult classic ones like Raidou, perhaps the time is now for them to bring Radiant Historia to non-handheld platforms too?
Set in the war-torn continent of Vainqueur, Radiant Historia follows Stocke, a young lad given a book called the White Chronicle. With this, he can travel through separate timelines to unravel the mystery of the Sand Plague, an affliction causing desertification across the continent. Players need to use the knowledge gained across the timelines to find new paths, while engaging in turn-based combat on 3×3 grids. Placement manipulation and party configuration are all important, making this an RPG with plenty of depth.
22. Meteos
Again, DS puzzle games were huge hits, and while we’ll get to Tetris, one that enjoyed a lot of critical success was May-tay-ows. Developed by Peggle porters Q Entertainment, this was a match 3 game that, although Tetris-like, had enough of its own ideas to warrant interest. Also, it had a full blown story mode about an intergalactic war, which might be an example of going in too hard, to be honest.
Players used the stylus to navigate groups of coloured blocks, or May-tay-ows as they fell from top to bottom. Match three or more of the same colour, they would ignite and rise to the top of the screen, taking them and anything above them with it. With that, the goal is to create as big a combo as possible. With power-ups and playable characters that have their own powers, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into here, making it a real Nintendo DS delight.
21. Elite Beat Agents
Earlier on, we mentioned that Rhythm Heaven became the gold standard of the rhythm action genre, which isn’t entirely undeserved. We just happen to think that Elite Beat Agents is just a little bit better. Developed by iNiS Corporation, Elite Beat Agents was an early example of why Japanese developers should port their games to the West. The first game, a Japan-only release titled Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan saw massive Western imports, leading iNiS to just make a Western specific game.
Elite Beat Agents followed a similar premise, where well dressed spies of a government agency are deployed to help people in crisis, typically through dancing and motivation like a cheer squad. A dapper cheer squad, but a cheer squad nonetheless. Players use the DS’ touchscreen in rhythm with the music while laughing at the absurd, comic book style video that plays throughout. It’s a tough one, but try not to smile playing this, even while failing.
20. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Few tactical RPG franchises are as highly regarded as the Fire Emblem series. Originally released for the Famicom back in the 80s, the Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon remake shows just how far these games have come. Not just graphically or in terms of depth, but also in popularity. These titles have been getting pretty popular US releases for a long time now, with Shadow Dragon using the DS touchscreen beautifully while also offering a massive and very dramatic story.
Of course, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is also a blast to play. If you’ve never played these games before, Shadow Dragon’s story, visuals, combat system, and tools for management all work together to make for a good introduction.
Be ready to sink dozens of hours into Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon though, if you find yourself having a lot of fun with protagonist Marth and his quest to get back his father’s kingdom from neighboring aggressors.
19. Tetris DS
The original Tetris sold a hell of a lot of Game Boys. There’s a certain cosmic harmony then to having Tetris DS on the Nintendo DS. While there are innumerable Tetris updates and sequels out there, this one might be among the very best, but it definitely has a place among the best Nintendo DS games released during the lifespan of the console.
Tetris DS doesn’t forget to include the game you know and love, but it also offers several enhancements and slightly different ways to approach gameplay. The DS touchscreen had the potential to work brilliantly with the iconic puzzler, and Nintendo didn’t let players down with what they released.
You may not expect much on the visual and music side of things (even if that theme remains as good as ever), but both of those elements celebrate the history of not only this game, but also Nintendo itself. Tetris is Tetris, and Tetris always whips.
18. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky being released to the Nintendo DS came as quite a shock, as the series had been a staple of the PlayStation consoles for the past several entries. The massive Nintendo DS audience was seen as the right avenue to go for the ninth entry in the Dragon Quest series, and the result is one of the best JRPGs of the period, and certainly one of the best JRPGs released for the DS itself.
With almost overwhelming customization potential for a hero of your own design, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky is a voluminous RPG experience. Cel-shaded visuals, a suitably gorgeous and varied soundtrack, and a vibrant array of colors for characters and backgrounds all serve to enhance the large-scale story.
Combat and other RPG elements stay true to the DQ formula, but Sentinels of the Starry Sky still manages to make even grinding fun.
17. Metroid Prime Hunters
While Metroid Prime: Hunters might not be the best Metroid game out there, the title still has a lot to offer. It’s almost underrated among DS games, owing to just how huge that library of games really is. Metroid Prime: Hunters wound up getting lost in the shuffle, making it all the more worthwhile to dig up a copy and try it for yourself.
As you can imagine, the touchscreen plays a fairly big part in the gameplay. The stylus and screen can be used to help with a number of tasks, including switching weapons, easy aiming, and even transforming into the morph ball. It’s not intrusive and serves to put a unique spin on the more familiar aspects of the game.
Metroid Prime: Hunters is a worthy DS outing for Samus, and it hits the most satisfying Metroid beats more than once. Just don’t get duped into buying the demo version. Signed, an idiot who did that…
16. Nintendogs
Nintendogs proved to be a blockbuster franchise for Nintendo, opening up the handheld seemingly to people who didn’t play a lot of video games.
Whether or not that bothers you, it’s impossible to deny that the presentation, visuals, and full potential of these games doesn’t make for a winning formula.
No, Nintendogs is rightfully a classic for the DS. It’s just that the next fifteen entries are even better. Nintendogs allowed players to pick, train, and interact with a virtual dog (cats were added later) that could sometimes indeed feel like the real thing.
It was and remains an astonishingly impressive simulation game. It’s easy to get attached to your dog, who you can even enter in competitions for cash and other prizes. And also pet whenever you like.
15. WarioWare: Touched!
There’s been a WarioWare game for every Nintendo console released over the past 20 years, starting with the Game Boy Advance. The Nintendo DS continued the tradition quite nicely with the release of WarioWare: Touched! in 2004.
This was only the third game in the series, but everyone involved clearly knew what they were doing. You can see this in the way Touched! maintains all the weirder and more irreverent parts that consist of not only the visuals and sense of humor, but with the micros-sized games themselves, as well.
It’s not surprising that WarioWare: Touched! includes a dazzling and miles-deep range of bit-sized microgames that have you doing everything from popping balloons to waving goodbye to relatives. The touchscreen is implemented to fantastic effect with these games, and using the stylus has arguably never been this much fun.
14. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Believe it or not, but there are currently 9 games featuring characters from the Professor Layton series, with Professor Layton and the Unwound Future still regarded by some as the best.
Once again you control Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke in their efforts to understand the mysteries behind a scientist named Dr. Alain Stahngun and his time machine. Once again it’s up to you to solve a long series of complex mysteries to progress and even enhance the ongoing story. Professor Layton understands the formula of its puzzle games.
However, where each game shines is in the diversity of the puzzles themselves. Number-based puzzles exist alongside puzzles that challenge your eyes and perception, and that’s just the beginning. Those who love these sorts of puzzle games have lauded Professor Layton and the Unwound Future as a masterpiece for combining its many challenges with storybook graphics, great characters, and a really good story.
13. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
The creator of the hilarious, challenging, and overall brilliant Phoenix Wright series also gave us Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.
We almost wish Ghost Trick had become a sprawling franchise instead. The premise of a man who wakes up dead as a spirit and has no idea why is certainly one that could inspire additional games. We’ll have to just content ourselves with knowing Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a perfect DS game, but one that was destined for relative obscurity before an eventual Switch port.
You are tasked with restoring your memory and figuring out why you died. Moving between reality and the spirit world, Sissell comes armed with various abilities, including the ability to possess corpses and ask them about their deaths. Lots of fun touches can be found here, with an unexpectedly sweet and funny story too.
12. New Super Mario Bros
It had been quite some time since a traditional 2D Mario game had come out before Nintendo turned to the classic style once again. New Super Mario Bros was released in 2006, some 15 years after Mario’s last adventure in this arena and helped in its own way to generate a desire for 2D platformers with modern benefits and decades of history of what works and what doesn’t.
Nintendo put a lot of work into New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo DS, which becomes clear from the moment you’re greeted with something that looks familiar but plays and even looks vastly different from everything that came before.
New Super Mario Bros gives the classic Mario universe and concept a stunning coat of paint, and then puts a new spin on everything from the level designs to the power-ups. New Super Mario Bros is a blueprint for doing nostalgia right.
11. Kirby: Canvas Curse
When it comes to Kirby on the DS, you would at least hope for a fun Kirby game that uses the stylus in interesting ways. Kirby: Canvas Curse meets those expectations with a unique game that has you guiding Kirby along rainbow paths with limited ink.
This isn’t the longest Kirby game by a mile, but it has surprising layers to its gimmick that improve the experience the deeper you go. You’ll be surprised at how quickly and easily you take to the game’s challenge of moving through these stages as efficiently as you can (remember that your ink to create paths is limited).
You’ll be even more surprised by how invested you become in the mechanics and progression of Kirby: Canvas Curse. Some may find the gameplay to be a little frustrating, or monotonous, but most will find it engaging. Kirby: Canvas Curse finds yet another way to reinvent its deceptively simple hero.
10. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
After two very successful titles for the Game Boy Advance, it was inevitable that we’d get a DS entry in the form of Advance Wars: Dual Strike.
The game remains a formidable example of how to flawlessly adapt your franchise to the demands and advantages of a new console. Not surprisingly, Dual Strike takes full advantage of the bottom touchscreen here, adding new dimensions to the addictive, challenging gameplay.
Dual-wield commanding officers, additional unit types to control, and a plethora of new and fan favorite game modes made Advance Wars: Dual Strike a pretty appealing package in 2005. It remains one of the most entertaining chapters in this beloved strategy series, with strong graphics, sound, and character design to boot. Advance Wars is as engrossing as it is challenging. For the right kind of gamer, that challenge is essential.
9. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
While the Nintendo DS Zelda offerings didn’t quite reach the heights of other Nintendo consoles, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is still a near-perfect game. It looks and feels like a Zelda title, so let’s give it its due. Phantom Hourglass focuses on a large dungeon over the numerous smaller ones that are often found in Link’s console adventures.
You also have the sometimes-frustrating reality that this game functions almost entirely with the DS stylus. The d-pad is used for shortcuts only. This takes a minute of adjustment, but it won’t be long before it all makes sense. Phantom Hourglass is wonderfully responsive.
At no point does this game forget to be a lot of fun to just play and knock around. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a worthy sequel to Wind Waker that too many people (even Zelda fans) overlook.
8. Chrono Trigger
Originally released for the SNES in 1995, this 2008 edition (which is several hundred dollars cheaper than the SNES version on eBay) upgraded everything from a sight and sound standpoint. They also threw in enough to make this edition of the game stand on its own.
While the story of young Chrono, his friends, and a time machine that takes this JRPG classic across thousands of years is completely intact, Chrono Trigger for the DS added several additional features. Starting with how perfectly the touchscreen is utilized, the game also includes an extra dungeon, and even yet another ending.
Chrono Trigger is one of the best JRPGs ever, so it makes sense that its DS port would be one of the best DS games ever, as well. We try to avoid putting ports in these lists much, but that’s just how much this game pulls our trigger. Wait what
7. Animal Crossing: Wild World
The first Animal Crossing game released for one of Nintendo’s handhelds, Animal Crossing: Wild World took players even further than the surprise 2001 GameCube hit.
The sandbox qualities of Animal Crossing were widely expanded upon here, with even deeper and more absorbing customization options to give players even greater control over themselves and their surroundings. The game also works wonderfully with the touchscreen and stylus, allowing players to manage their inventory, write a message, or even work on designs for their villagers.
Playing Wild World today is still impressively fun and engaging, although keep in mind things like online play are now lost to time. Animal Crossing: Wild World proved the success of the first game could be improved upon in just about every way, eventually leading up to the wild days of New Horizons during a certain worldwide event that we can’t quite recall. Musta just been that fun.
6. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Three awesome Castlevania titles made their way to the DS over the lifespan of the system. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is the best one for having the most compelling story and characters, as well for the way it expanded upon the game’s Tactical Soul System.
The touchscreen can be a little frustrating at times, but there’s something intensely satisfying about using the stylus to successfully seal and destroy the boss you’ve just been fighting. There’s no question that Dawn of Sorrow is a Castlevania title for the difficulty alone. This is also arguably the toughest of the three DS Castlevania titles.
It’s also clear that Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a Metroidvania classic in every sense of the word, as well. Exploration is a blast, and you can honestly sometimes get lost simply in wandering around one of the best DS games that visually still takes our breath away after 15+ years.
5. The World Ends with You
Nothing used the dual screens of the Nintendo DS quite like The World Ends with You did. This enthusiastically complex (initially) and very different sort of RPG for the DS from Square Enix forced players to actively work with both screens while in combat.
The end result for a first-time player is often the same. You start by wanting to dropkick your DS into the heart of the sun, but you eventually get into the rhythm of The World Ends with You’s unique challenges, and learn to thrive in this varied environment.
The World Ends with You didn’t stop there. The character designs and contemporary setting create a world no one is going to confuse with a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest game anytime soon. You’re also bound to fall in love with characters who make up The World Ends with You, so maybe buy that sequel that nobody seemed to and we might get another one someday? Maybe?
4. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is kind of amazing for two reasons. It was still pretty wild in 2009 to see an action-adventure game about drug deals and other facets of a criminal rampage on a Nintendo console. Chinatown Wars was an impressive effort on Nintendo’s part to appeal to a larger range of gamers, long before Devil’s Third broke sales records.
Did it work? Far more than you might have guessed, As Huang Lee, you’ve been left for dead, and it’s up to you to get some nasty revenge and regain a crucial and priceless family heirloom. There’s a lot of other stuff to do, as well.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars looks fantastic for what it is, plays extremely well with the particulars of the DS, and is jam-packed with missions and side quests. It was a big winner on the DS in 2009 and it’s still good now.
3. Mario Kart DS
The third best selling Nintendo DS game of all time, Mario Kart DS was a hit in every sense of the word. The fact that it came with online play was just the beginning, as imperfect as it was.
The game nonetheless brought to the DS everything players wanted in a fifth entry in a decade-old mascot racer franchise. Then it added 16 new tracks, 16 classic tracks, new items, and even a compulsory new battle mode. Mario Kart DS didn’t skimp on a thing, offering the same fundamentally fun experience with just the right amount of improvements.
Some of the most beloved Mario Kart tracks ever can be found here for the first time, with a very solid selection of classic tracks from previous games. Controlling the game is a breeze, and even the graphics and character models still look surprisingly good after so many years.
2. Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver
For some fans, Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver still represents the greatest heights the franchise has ever achieved. What’s wild is how little the series seems to have progressed since this.
Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver were remakes of earlier beloved titles, refined and improved for a whole new generation. Both games are loaded to the brim with new features which expand on the beloved gameplay and core components of collecting and training your Pokémon. For instance, now the creepy old dude calls a child who brought them Pokemon to breed when their eggs are ready.
There were a lot of incredible Pokémon games on the Nintendo DS, and we are completely cool if you want to swap in your favourites, but we’ll always fly a flag for Lugia. Ho-oh is alright too.. But it wasn’t quite as good as:
1. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
The Mario franchise was well over 20 years old by the time Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story was released for the Nintendo DS in 2009. Handing the reins for development over to AlphaDream, Nintendo proved with the release of this bizarre, hilarious, and quite challenging RPG hybrid that their iconic mascots could still anchor a must-play title.
From an offbeat premise that takes the relationship pitting Mario & Luigi against Bowser to strange heights, including signing Bowser up to an off-shore tax haven, to reflecting that strangeness in the easy-to-understand-but-difficult-to-master gameplay, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is the very best example of what the DS achieved and made unique in its time as Nintendo’s handheld console of choice.
It’s a visual treat that challenges Mario fans or just casual players in ways they had never encountered before. No surprise that Bowser’s Inside Story would later get a sequel and a terrific remake on the 3DS, but none have quite the same magic as this, the best DS game ever.
READ NEXT: 20 Best Games of 2001
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