Best Games for Nintendo DS
I have owned my Nintendo DS Lite since December 2006. I have tried out quite a few games and applications. I figured I would summarize them in this posting and keep it updated as new commercial and homebrew applications come out.
It will basically be a list of the ones I always have on me. They are fun and addicting. Here is my list of must have games. If you think of one I might like, drop a comment and I will try it out and add it here. Games marked Commercial you need to buy, but the Homebrew ones are free. You just need to buy a Flash card for the NDS. You can read about my experience buying a NDS flash card. I have an article for homebrew as well called Best Nintendo DS Homebrew.
The Best NDS Games
- Legend Of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass (Commercial)
I honestly have never played a Zelda game before and I find this one awesome. The graphics are crisp and smooth, there is lots of story line, and it is fun to play.
They have made excellent use of the stylus. You can tap and it will move your character around the screen easily. Tap and swipe for attacks works amazingly well. The other neat feature is that you can write notes on your map and some puzzles require you to write on the touchscreen certain numbers. Excellent.
Read the GameSpot Legend Of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass Review.
- MarioKart DS (Commercial)
What can I say? Amazing. Smooth graphics, lots of tracks and mission tracks to pick from. The multiplayer option is fantastic. If you have a wireless router then you are good to go. MarioKart will connect with Nintendo's servers and set you up to race against up to 3 other players around the world. It apparently can match your abilities based on your win/loss record to find competitive drivers.
The most I have had to wait is around 5 minutes before the other 3 players were found. Some of the drivers are pretty good, so you will have your work cut out for you.
I also love the Battle matches. You compete against the computer controlled drivers and have to knock balloons off each other or collect stars. They could have made a harder level though. Even on Hard, I can win 9 out of 10 matches consistently.
Seriously a must have game. I load it up all the time if I'm trying to kill a couple minutes or play for a half hour.
- New Super Mario Brothers (Commercial)
Who would have though a rewrite of this 2D side scroller would turn out so well? It pulls aspects from every Mario game ever written (or so it feels). This breathes life back into the side-scroller genre. The best 2D platformer I have played ever, hands down.
Why? It has super smooth and crisp graphics. The leaves on the piranha plants seem like they blow in the wind. They added familiar characters from the different Mario games, but at the end of every level you still jump on the flag pole just like the original Super Mario.
The game has a lot of levels, hidden levels, and secrets to find. It has lots of playing time. Pick it up.
- Super Mario 64 DS (Commercial)
Simply a classic. I loved this game on the N64 and it is just as great on the NDS. They have even added lots of extras that weren't in the original.
Instead of just playing as Mario, you actually start the game as Yoshi and have to rescue Mario, Luigi, and Wario. Each one can be used and have special abilities. Some stars or areas of a level can only be reached with a specific character or else they are 10 times easier to complete with them.
The controls are a bit hard to get used to since the original Mario 64 utilized the analog joystick on the N64, but it still plays well. You can even use the stylus to simulate the joystick if you want precise control when walking a narrow catwalk or something.
- Lemmings (Homebrew)
This is a homebrew application available for download from the NDS Lemmings site.
A remake of a classic. Easy to play and lots of fun.
The only point of improvement I would ask for is to improve the touch screen. It can be really finicky when trying to select the lemming to use. Basically, anytime you want to pick a lemming it is easiest to pause the game and the give him an ability. You will know he has it, because he changes his look once you pick him. Unpause and you are good to go.
- Warcraft Tower Defense (Homebrew)
Great strategy game. You can sit down and play it for a few minutes, or settle in for an hour. This is a remake of the classic custom map for Warcraft 3. Basically you have to build a gauntlet of towers in an arrangement that will not allow the enemies to pass by and get to their goal. Takes a lot of practice to master each map. He has even provided the ability to create your own maps and share them.
I wrote an article on how to get it running in Warcraft Tower Defense for the NDS.
- QuakeDS (Homebrew)
This guy has done a fantastic job. This is a port of the original game. It can play the shareware or full version of the game, you can save your game, change the control configuration, and works almost flawlessly.
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Category: NintendoDS
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