Nintendo is famous worldwide for its childhood-defining home consoles such as the N64 and GameCube, but it’s arguably more well-known and successful in its line of mobile consoles, with the second most popular of which being the fantastic Nintendo DS.
Having sold over 154 million units since 2004, the Nintendo DS is the third best-selling gaming console of all time thanks to its easy-to-understand controls, Game Boy Advance backwards compatibility, and massive library of addictive solo and multiplayer titles that made every early 2000s kid and gaming adult need the DS.
While the DS is now over 20 years old, there are still a ton of great games that are fun from the very start to play from it, no matter if they’re played at home or on the go by young or veteran gamers alike.
10
Nintendogs
Gamers’ First Digital Pet
Many ’90s gamers grew up raising and playing with digital pets through titles like Tamagotchi, but for those who grew up in the early 2000s, one of their first experiences with raising pets on their own was with the Nintendogs series.
Here, players can adopt puppies of various dog breeds depending on the version of Nintendogs owned, such as dalmatians, dachshunds, and pugs, and take care of them using the DS’ stylus and built-in microphone.
The stylus allowed players to pet, brush, bathe, play, and walk with their puppy while the microphone was used to teach pups their name and tricks, which could then be shown off in agility, disc, and obedience contests to win prize money to purchase more pups, toys, accessories, and other supplies.
9
Elite Beat Agents
Nintendo’s Greatest Rhythm Game
While most of Nintendo’s long-running franchises saw game releases on the DS, the handheld console was also home to many new, original titles that quickly became cult classics, such as iNiS’ rhythm game Elite Beat Agents.
A spiritual successor to the Japan-exclusive Ouendan series, Elite Beat Agents has people play as the titular agents as they’re sent out across the world, motivating people to overcome issues and obstacles through their inspiring dance moves and singing to popular songs such as Earth, Wind, & Fire’s “September.”
Gameplay-wise, the game centers on players using the stylus to tap markers and spin discs at precise times to successfully perform actions and lead to the best possible outcomes for civilians’ issues, making replaying levels a ton of fun as players attempt to play in perfect sync with the songs’ beats.
8
Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
An Underrated PS1 Port
Despite being a handheld console, the DS received a few ports, remasters, and remakes from home console titles such as Super Mario 64 DS, with one of the most underrated being Resident Evil: Deadly Silence.
Released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Resident Evil in 2006, Deadly Silence is essentially a port of the original PlayStation 1 Resident Evil game in terms of story, gameplay, and graphics, albeit with a few changes to the game’s inventory system and the addition of touch-screen support and a few new puzzles in Rebirth mode.
Deadly Silence is just as fun and unintentionally hilarious as the original Resident Evil in both its Classic and Rebirth modes, making it one of the platform’s few great Mature titles and setting the stage for future RE games to debut on succeeding DS platforms like Resident Evil: Revelations on the 3DS.
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7
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
A Calm But Fun Puzzle Game
With the introduction of the DS’ touch-screen and stylus, the handheld became the home to many interactive puzzle games of varying quality. One of the best that went on to launch a fan-favorite Nintendo franchise was Professor Layton and the Curious Village.
Inspired by Akira Tago’s Head Gymnastics puzzle book series, Curious Village has players follow the adventures of archaeology professor Hershel Layton and his assistant Luke as they strive to solve mysteries to find the Golden Apple of the late Baron Augustus Reinhold in the village of St. Mystere.
This quickly gets the duo caught up in family drama, murder investigations, and dangerous traps, with most of the gameplay being centered around brainteasers from locals with both the story and puzzles combining to make one of the DS’s most calming yet intriguing adventures ever released.
6
Animal Crossing: Wild World
A Perfect Sequel
Nintendo’s life simulation game Animal Crossing took the world by storm on the N64 and GameCube, but I’d argue that the franchise truly became a global phenomenon following the release of Animal Crossing: Wild World for the DS in 2005.
Much like many Animal Crossing games, Wild World begins with the player’s human villager striving to work off their debt to Tom Nook, with players being tasked to work for Nook by interacting with other villagers, planting trees, and completing other assignments while being able to customize a house and the village itself on their free time.
What made Wild World instantly more fun than its predecessor was the plethora of new villagers and features it introduced, such as the ability to design custom clothing patterns using the stylus and playing with friends online, allowing people to visit other villages and trade items together.
5
Metroid Prime Hunters
Diving Into Online Multiplayer
In 2002, Nintendo socked the gaming world by releasing the FPS masterpiece that was Metroid Prime, and while it did receive a sequel with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, it also got an underrated spinoff in 2006 with the DS exclusive Metroid Prime Hunters.
Set in between the first two mainline Prime games, Hunters remarkably recreates the Prime FPS exploration experience for a handheld, with Samus Aran being sent to the Alimbic Cluster in the Tetra Galaxy to secure or destroy a mysterious “ultimate power” before other bounty hunters can get their hands on it.
The single-player campaign of Hunters is great from start to finish, but Hunters additionally features Prime‘s only online PvP multiplayer, with players who don’t have a copy of Hunters being able to connect with a host and play as the game’s seven bounty hunters in Quake-like maps and team or free-for-all matches.
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4
Kirby Super Star Ultra
One of the Best Kirby Games of All Time
Nintendo’s lovable pink icon Kirby got his start on handheld platforms, and some of his greatest games are found on Nintendo’s many mobile consoles, with one of his best being Kirby Super Star Ultra.
A remake of 1996’s Kirby Super Star, Ultra was made to celebrate Kirby‘s 15th anniversary as a character and a franchise, with most of Ultra‘s gameplay and stories remaining true to the original alongside fantastic new modes including Revenge of the King, Helper to Hero, Meta Knightmare Ultra, and The True Arena.
Playing through all of Ultra‘s graphically enhanced modes is fun to do solo, but what made Kirby Super Star Ultra all the more fun to play right from the start was the ability for anyone with a DS to join a host’s game as a Helper in all of its modes through DS Download Play, making it a perfect game to play with friends on long car or bus rides.
3
New Super Mario Bros.
Reviving the 2D Platformer
Ever since the N64 launched Super Mario 64, 3D Mario games reigned supreme for about a decade. While the Game Boys did receive 2D Mario games of their own, none of them reached such monumental heights as the genre-reviving New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS.
New Super Mario Bros. returned Mario to his basic 2D side-scrolling roots in a new, energetic, and highly entertaining way with the game’s story following Mario or Luigi traveling across eight worlds and over 80 levels to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser and Bowser Jr.
The gameplay of New Super Mario Bros. was fun right from the start, thanks in large part to its easy-to-understand controls and new power-ups to use, such as the Blue Koopa Shell, the Mega Mushroom, and the Mini Mushroom, with all of these features going on to lay the groundwork for all 2D Mario games going forward up to Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
2
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
The Best Pokémon Remakes
The Nintendo DS era was a golden age for Pokémon games, with the platform seeing two mainline Pokémon generations debut on the handheld, on top of countless, underrated spinoffs. But the best Pokémon games to release on the DS are, without a doubt, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver, HeartGold and SoulSilver were built utilizing many aspects of Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, allowing players to revisit the Johto and Kanto regions with a new graphical overhaul and then-modern Pokémon battle mechanics while remaining true to the original games’ story.
What made playing through HeartGold and SoulSilver especially fun to play right from the start was the ability to trade and battle with players online from other HG and SS players, as well as Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum players, allowing people to explore and walk with Pokémon from every mainline region up to that point.
1
Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart at its Peak
New Super Mario Bros. may have been the best-selling game on the DS, but for anyone who grew up with the DS in school, they’ll know that the best game to play with friends on the handheld was Mario Kart DS.
The fifth entry in the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart DS pits 11 Mario characters and R.O.B. from the NES against each other in fun races on 32 tracks from previous Mario Kart entries and new ones such as Waluigi Pinball or in free-for-all Battle modes on six tracks, such as one on the faces of an original DS.
While Mario Kart DS is pretty fun to play solo, what made it incredibly fun and competitive, especially on bus rides to school, was the ability for anyone with a DS to play the game with a host via DS Download Play, allowing people who didn’t have a copy of the game to play as Shy Guys but still able to participate in all of the game’s modes.
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