DS Games Discussion

[King N]

Now that everyone is using a 3DS, lets remember the good old DS. So, lets discuss some good DS games. I'll edit this thread with some details later.
(Some details about the games are welcome)

Note: I will add a poll later, and this thread will function as a list of good DS games.
Notenote: DO NOT DISCUSS 3DS GAMES.
Notenotenote: No Pokemons please

Some good DS games to get the discussion started(no particular order):

• The World Ends With you
• GTA Chinatown Wars
• Chrono Trigger
• Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
• Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin
• Star Fox Commando
• The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
• The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
• Mario Kart DS
• Final Fantasy (Series)
• Professor Layton (series)
• Elite Beat Agents
• Ace Attorney (series)
• Animal Crossing: Wild World
• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
• Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
• 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
• (Super) Scribblenauts
• Kirby: Canvas Curse
• Wariowave:: Touched
• Hotel Dusk 215
• Kirby Superstar Ultra
• Jump Ultimate Stars
• Trauma Center: Under the Knife 1&2
• Kingdom Hearts (series)
• Plants vs Zombies

 

[RBG]

Elite Beat Agents by far is my favourite DS game ever.

 

[Nastyjungle]

i spent an embarrassing amount of my life playing Wild World, top notch game

 

[KnightoftheWind]

The Ace Attorney series is the best DS exclusive series out there imo.

EDIT: By extension, I might as well mention Ghost Trick as well. That game really deserved to sell more than it did.

 

[King N]

i spent an embarrassing amount of my life playing Wild World, top notch game

The Ace Attorney series is the best DS exclusive series out there imo.

EDIT: By extension, I might as well mention Ghost Trick as well. That game really deserved to sell more than it did.

I still don't know how the hell I forgot these three.

Thanks for the additions btw.

 

[jumpluff]

Agreeing with all the suggestions so far, I loved every single one of them. I'd also like to say that Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is one of the best games on the DS, and it's very expansive. It'll keep you engaged for ages. If you like RPGs or just being entertained for awhile, pick it up.

If you're into puzzles and story, 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors is one of my favourite DS games. It's a visual novel / graphic adventure, the gameplay consisting of solving puzzles to escape from rooms (similar to old adventure games). It has multiple endings, all of which have to be obtained to understand the intricate and gripping story. The game had me basically in stasis for days as I raced through it to uncover the truth.

I mentioned DQIX earlier, and if there's one of the strengths the DS has, it's the great amount of excellent RPGs available on it. Another one I really am obligated to recommend is Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. However, if you can pick up the enhanced remake for the 3DS (Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked), do it, because it has voice acting, more demons, and an extended plots. Devil Survivor is a grid-based tactical JRPG set in a military lockdown in Tokyo. You might have guessed ;p, but it centres around survival. Again, multiple endings, most of them pretty fun. The decisions you make (which are time-based, so you do have to be careful, which adds to the difficulty) are often life-or-death. Additionally, Devil Survivor 2 will be released in NA on the DS early 2012. Yeah, the DS, not the 3DS. :)

Deviating from the more story-based, darker games I've listed here, I'm going to lighten things up with a recommendation of Scribblenauts. If you have to play one or the other, take the sequel, Super Scribblenauts, which greatly improves on the flaws of its predecessor. Scribblenauts is a delightfully open-ended puzzle game. You write something (a noun) to summon it. It has a huge dictionary and Super Scribblenauts grants you the power of adjectives, giving you basically limitless potential. There are so many ways to solve levels, as efficiently or amusingly as you like, and there's also a level creator. Hell, it's fun to just summon things and watch them fight to the death.

And lastly, a super cute recommendation in the form of Kirby: Canvas Curse. A fresh spin on things and an enjoyable platformer with actually good stylus gameplay. Not much more to say here!

PS: I have to thank PK Gaming for introducing Ghost Trick, 999, and Devil Survivor into my life <3333

 

[Honus]

Oh man, I really want to get 999 and Ghost Trick, I've heard both are excellent but haven't gotten the chance to play either. Also, everyone should pick up a Professor Layton game if they already haven't; every game in the series is really well done and the storyline is always top-notch.

 

[King N]

Oh man, I really want to get 999 and Ghost Trick, I've heard both are excellent but haven't gotten the chance to play either. Also, everyone should pick up a Professor Layton game if they already haven't; every game in the series is really well done and the storyline is always top-notch.

I bought both 999 and Ghost Trick some months ago. Both were excellent, but IDK why 999 was a bit confusing for me.

I added all the games mentioned above and some other games too.

If anyone thinks that any game which I added is not too good, please post here.

 

[Blue_Tornado]

The Ace Attorney series is the best DS exclusive series out there imo.

You do know that most of them are remakes made for the DS, right?

 

[smashlloyd20]

Just saying guys, if you have to pick up one Layton game it's Unwound Future. Don't care if you haven't played a Layton game before, it's the best of the three by far.

Also, Kirby Canvas Curse is fun but SSU is far better. Just saying.

 

[King N]

Just saying guys, if you have to pick up one Layton game it's Unwound Future. Don't care if you haven't played a Layton game before, it's the best of the three by far.

Also, Kirby Canvas Curse is fun but SSU is far better. Just saying.

You realize there are four games now, don't you?

 

[TheMantyke]

Meteos is a fun game from the early days of the DS (the pre-mariokart DS days where people were wondering if the DS would be a failure). It's a bizarre puzzle game, but it has a ton of unlockables and replay value.

The two Mario RPGs on the DS are great choices. If you have to pick one or the other though, Mario and Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story is by far the better pick. After a while, Partners in Time starts to feel like a chore to play, while Bowsers Inside Story is amazing from start to finish.

Also, if by no Pokemon discussion, we just meant no discussion of the main games, PMD 2 is okay, but I found it lacking compared to the original (although I was starved in anticipation of DP playing through the first one). Pokemon Ranger is also pretty cool too, and you get a free Manaphy!

 

[Forte.EXE]

Nearly finished with Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. I love the gameplay, puzzles, and the characters a lot. My only gripe is that the game feels way too short. I plan on picking up Professor Layton and the Curious Village next, as I've heard good things about the series, and Kirby Mass Attack.

Edit: I am shocked that no one has mentioned Radiant Historia, one of the best handheld turn-based RPGs to come out this year.

 

[Danmire]

Speaking of Layton, I just finished Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. Two music pieces in the game, (The Diabolical Box theme and Layton's theme) are fucking amazing. The puzzles are really fun too, but some are harder than others. Just gotta use your brain. I'm gonna get other Layton games because of this one game xD

 

[Yamata no Orochi]

I was looking around the store looking for a good puzzle game and the guy at the counter told me I should pick one of the Professor Layton games. I started out with Professor Layton and the Last Specter and it's a good start because it's the first part chronologically. This is already becoming one of my favorite franchises.

 

[smashlloyd20]

Yeah sorry. Last Specter just didn't engage me like Unwound Future...the plot wasn't as deep and the characters weren't as engagingly gentlemanly. I cried man tears at the end of Unwound Future...

 

[breh]

no New Super Mario Bros.?

anyway, I didn't like Mass Attack too much. I got to the fourth world, at which point I pretty much stopped playing. Frankly, the game is just not fun at some times. It really feels like you're trying to control a bunch of really stupid AI characters and make them not run into death (something they will gladly do). It becomes really frustrating to do the stage over again just to find all the medals and 100% it. Some of the gimmicks in the game are admittedly really damn neat (that balloon level in (I think) the third world really amazed me for some reason!), but that does not make up for a concept that is inherently frustrating.

 

[Furosuto]

How could you guys forget to mention heartgold and soulsilver!? While some may disagree, I thought they were great remakes.

 

[verbatim]

No love for Megaman ZX and Megaman Zero Collection?

I felt that while Megaman ZX wasn't comparable to past entries in the Megaman universe, that it was still a great game in its own right. I'm still on Survival Road...

Megaman Zero, I love the game, but the difficulty level...(probably the hardest handheld game I've ever played) The story is beautiful and the graphics are great.

 

[Temperantia]

Seconding verbatim

Also, the Etrian Odyssey series deserves a mention. The games are old-school, hardcore Turn-based RPG's and should not be attempted by those with little patience. Although, if you can handle the heat, their charmingly retro design and self-made map system will keep you hooked.

On that note, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is probably the best Turn-based Dungeon-Crawler RPG I've ever played. It manages stand out in the genre with the interesting demon collection and battle mechanics a la Pokemon. Add in the terrific story that one comes to expect from the SMT series, and you've got a great, but difficult game.

 

[smashlloyd20]

Ah well I'm dumb. Zero Collection was amazing guys.

 

[jumpluff]

Also, Kirby Canvas Curse is fun but SSU is far better. Just saying.

I haven't played SSU yet; I suppose I should. ^^;

Temperantia, Strange Journey is the next DS game I plan to play... lol omg such a backlog ;_;

I hear Radiant Historia is amazing as well, but... yeah... backlog... Has anyone other than FORTE.EXE played it? Atlus has made so many superb DS games... :)

 

[Thorns]

I hear Radiant Historia is amazing as well, but... yeah... backlog... Has anyone other than FORTE.EXE played it? Atlus has made so many superb DS games... :)

excellent game, it's got all the features of a jrpg that makes them charming yet it's got features typical of a seventh-generation rpg to prevent it from becoming stale unlike some other generic rpgs released for the ds. though playtime leaves something to be desired, it doesn't have a new game+ or much endgame content at all (in fact you can complete the game fully the first time you clear the story, though some sidequests were obviously designed for the endgame yet you can cheese through them if you're patient enough)

the ds is my favourite console, something i make no secret about. unfortunately my ds has lost its battery power meaning it has to be plugged in to play, kind of defeating the purpose of a handheld console, on top of that the touch screen is fucked so there's a lot of games i can't enjoy fully but despite that i still love it

also i'm sad to hear that the ace attorney series is not going to be localised anymore due to the high localisation costs coupled with poor sales (though capcom only has themselves to blame for ace attorney selling poorly, it's never advertised and understocked, hell in australia we got apollo justice before trials and tribulations)

that really cuts me cause i was really looking forward to miles edgeworth 2 :(

 

[Luxpluff91]

Front Mission and Suikoden Tierkeis are 2 other excellent RPGs for the DS. Suikoden's cutscenes and voice acting in particular are awesome, and Front Mission is an all-time favorite of mine.

 

[Forte.EXE]

excellent game, it's got all the features of a jrpg that makes them charming yet it's got features typical of a seventh-generation rpg to prevent it from becoming stale unlike some other generic rpgs released for the ds. though playtime leaves something to be desired, it doesn't have a new game+ or much endgame content at all (in fact you can complete the game fully the first time you clear the story, though some sidequests were obviously designed for the endgame yet you can cheese through them if you're patient enough)

the ds is my favourite console, something i make no secret about. unfortunately my ds has lost its battery power meaning it has to be plugged in to play, kind of defeating the purpose of a handheld console, on top of that the touch screen is fucked so there's a lot of games i can't enjoy fully but despite that i still love it

also i'm sad to hear that the ace attorney series is not going to be localised anymore due to the high localisation costs coupled with poor sales (though capcom only has themselves to blame for ace attorney selling poorly, it's never advertised and understocked, hell in australia we got apollo justice before trials and tribulations)

that really cuts me cause i was really looking forward to miles edgeworth 2 :(

I disagree with Radiant Historia having a low playtime. I personally sunk over 50 hours worth of actually playing (as in little to no grinding), due to sidequests, making sure I got 100% completion. I will concede that it doesn't offer much post-game, especially considering the extra boss can be defeated before you're finished with the game. I still love it, since it reminds me so much of Chrono Trigger, and the battle system works so well.

We're also not likely to be getting a sequel to Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, or the localization of further Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney games, because of low sales. And yet, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Street Fighter IV: Now with extra costumes and more DLC sell exceptionally well all the time. I guess being able to pump out mindless updates to games and repackaging them is more profitable than actually creating new games.