The Top 10 First Party Nintendo DS Games

Alright, it’s time to wrap up this series of features by counting down the best first party games on the Nintendo DS. Well, first and second party games, really. If it was published by Nintendo, it’s fair game. Anyway, the ten Nintendo-published games you guys voted as the best on the console are as follows (hope you like plumbers and Pokémon)…

#10. Pokémon Black/White

The New York-inspired Unova region served as the setting for this sort-of reboot to the Pokémon series. Though the game’s added 155 new Pokemon, those were the only critters you could encounter, at least throughout the main storyline. Unova might have lacked the variation of other regions, but it’s hard to complain too much when one of them is a golem ghost robot that you can fly around on. Black and White placed more focus on narrative than any other entry in the series, adding the character of N who put forth the idea that “hey, maybe basically enslaving these creatures is a bad idea”. While this attempt at moral ambiguity didn’t really work out, it at least resulted in the most memorable ending to any game in the series.

The old Pokemon were all given a fresh look with new animated sprites, and the games also added hidden abilities, which shook up the competitive side of things by making a few Pokemon like Ninetales a bit more useful. Unfortunately these were almost all linked to the now-defunct browser-based games on the Pokemon Global Link so it isn’t actually possible to obtain these rare abilities in the game they originally came from any more. Oh well, there are still plenty of other reasons to revisit Black and White, like the fact that it has arguably the best soundtrack of any game in the series. Black and White also boasted some neat wireless features, which could be used to locally battle, trade, take on “Entralink” missions and even check compatibility. Though these features would be further refined in X and Y, it was handy to connect with friends through the game’s infrared sensor, unless they were those cheapskates who pirated the game.

#9. Professor Layton & the Unwound Future

Of all the Professor Layton games on the DS, you guys voted the Unwound or Lost Future as the best one on the console, which is great because it’s the only one I played. This third and chronologically final entry in the series saw Layton and Luke travelling to a dystopian version of London seemingly ruled by the Professor himself. This strange new setting came with heaps of mysteries to uncover, like how is Luke’s future self so hot? And as expected of a plot based around time travel, the Unwound Future really ramps up the crazy, especially in later chapters. Still, the game’s story ends up being surprisingly touching, with quite a memorable tear-jerker of a conclusion. Of course, the game strikes a good balance between narrative and puzzle solving; there are heaps of brain-teasers to uncover and solve and with a handful of side distractions, there’s plenty here to keep you bouncing parrots and guiding toy cars for hours. Real classy stuff.

#8. New Super Mario Bros.

The old New Super Mario Bros. might not seem as impressive now it was followed by a string of sequels with crazy co-op modes and more powerups, but as the first new 2D Mario game made in fourteen years it was a pretty big deal at the time. Perhaps it’s a little simplistic in retrospect, but there’s something undeniably appealing about this return to the Mushroom Kingdom and the way it mixes retro platforming with 3D graphics and new moves like wall-jumping. Additionally, the Mini and Mega Mushroom powerups and hidden Star Coins added some variety to the game’s eighty levels. There’s a reason why New Super Mario Bros. is the highest-selling game on the Nintendo DS – it’s a fine platformer, even if the soundtrack had a few “BWAH”s too many.

#7. Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver were one (two?) of the first games I reviewed for this site, and I still stand by them being some the best on the console. These remakes updated the second generation of Game Boy games with all the improved graphics, revised mechanics and online functionality you’d expect, but Game Freak went above and beyond when it came to adding new content to the game. Not only did they retain the massive Battle Frontier from Pokémon Platinum, but HeartGold and SoulSilver featured the Pokéathlon, a surprisingly addictive tournament where you face off against other teams in series of stylus-tapping minigames. Every Pokémon could follow behind your trainer, which added a cute sense of companionship that later games in the series failed to capture – at least until you could start hand-feeding them macaroons. The new feature of walking alongside your Pokémon also extended to the game’s Pokéwalker device. This fancy pedometer leveled your Pokémon as you walked; covering long distances also gave you access to some rare items and creatures, making it a useful addition to the game. Sure, other Pokémon games might have had more interesting settings or smoother difficulty curves, but what they didn’t have was VOLTORB FLIP.

#6. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

There were plenty of excellent RPGs on the Nintendo DS, but none of them were quite as hilarious as the epic adventures of King Bowser. Previously cast to the sidelines or dunked in lava, the iconic villain took the center stage as he punched, rolled and stomped his way through the Mushroom Kingdom to get revenge on that fan-favourite antagonist, Fawful. The game’s evolution of the series’ frantic turned-based battles saw Bowser using timed button presses to counter opponents by taking cover in his spiky shell or just punching the living daylights out of them. Bowser could also summon all his usual underlings –Bob’ombs, Goombas and Magikoopas- through using the touch screen, swallow enemies with his new vacuum breath or even grow huge to take down massive, screen-filling bosses. But what really made Bowser’s Inside Story shine wasn’t the battles, but the comedic banter, which worked in part due to the game’s extremely expressive sprites. Oh yeah, Mario and Luigi might have been in it too.

#5. Super Mario 64 DS

Despite being the oldest game on this list, this launch title proved popular enough to crack the top five. Nintendo took one of the best 3D platformers of all time and expanded it for a new audience, adding more to collect and more characters to play as. Maybe it should’ve been called “Super Yoshi 64”, as the game begins with the green dinosaur descending from the castle roof in search of Mario. Though it isn’t long before you can switch back to the usual hero, playing as Yoshi and the unlockable Luigi and Wario gives this DS update a bit more variety than the original. Each has their own special talent –Mario can wall jump, Luigi can run on water- and they’re put to good use in both the iconic levels and the shallow, but enjoyable multiplayer mode. Super Mario 64 DS was also the rare game that put the DS “thumb strap” to use in an approximation of the original game’s analog controls. It never worked quite as well, but it made for a novel use of the touch screen, along with the dozens of included minigames.

#4. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

It seems like you guys had mixed reactions to Phantom Hourglass, which also showed up on the “most disappointing” list, but overall it left players with a positive impression. Yeah, the Temple of the Ocean King and its lengthy, repetitive stealth segments stunk, but the game had plenty of other good ideas to make up for that. The DS stylus was used both in guiding Link around and navigating the oceanic setting. Every map could be drawn on to set reminders or fill in blank areas, which was an incredibly handy feature. Annotating the map opened up all kinds of puzzles, as did the touch-controlled versions of traditional Zelda items like the boomerang and bomchus. Phantom Hourglass certainly had some flaws, but there are few other DS games that made such good use of both the touch screen and other unique features of the console (let me tell you about transferring seals…).

#3. Pokémon Diamond, Pearl & Platinum

The fourth generation of Pokémon games kicked off with a bang. The pair of Diamond and Pearl brought more to the table than just over a hundred new creatures to collect. For starters, they revised some of the gameplay mechanics underpinning the whole experience like the split between “physical” and “special” attacks for each type of technique. There was a heap of content to the games, especially Platinum, which added the Battle Frontier, more Legendary Pokémon to pursue and some online minigames. Oh yeah, this generation brought online battling and trading to the series for the first time, which made it easier than ever to actually catch ‘em all. Also handy was the “Pokétch” device that turned the console’s lower screen into a calculator, memo pad, berry searcher and kitchen timer, among other functions. I’m not particularly familiar with the unique flavour of the wintry Sinnoh region, but most of the new Pokémon it introduced were pretty cool, giving new evolutions and baby versions to some overlooked Pokémon like Roselia and Murkrow. You could also capture the God of the Pokémon world, which is always fun.

#2. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Seemingly destined to take second place on every list it appears on is The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. It always struck me as one of the least popular games in the Zelda series due to its relatively low sales and the immediate backlash to Link driving a train, but I guess you guys proved me wrong. Spirit Tracks improved up the formula set up by Phantom Hourglass with more original items, a less annoying central dungeon and a train for Link to drive. It also gave Zelda a more active role in the story; the princess accompanied Link and could possess the fearsome Phantom Guardians that would usually hunt him down. All up, it’s a great game, or so I’m led to believe by all your votes. I didn’t actually play it so I don’t know much outside of the fact that Link drives a train.

#1. Mario Kart DS

It might seem a bit quaint now to you kids with your bikes, gliders and crazy anti-gravity racetracks, but Mario Kart DS represented a huge leap forward for the series. For starters, the game doubled the usual amount of tracks with a collection of circuits from the Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance and even a few downsized GameCube courses. This huge list of tracks mixed classics like Baby Park and Frappe Snowland and creative new courses like Waluigi Pinball and Airship Fortress. Th best battle stage of all time -Mario Kart 64’s Block Fort- was also in the game. There was heaps to do even if you didn’t have DS-owning friends nearby; Mario Kart DS featured a “mission” mode with bite-sized objectives and even boss fights.

It was also possible to race online for the first time in the series, although in retrospective this online functionality with its limited selection of tracks wasn’t particularly good. I certainly don’t have any fond memories of the Wi-Fi Connection and its frequent disconnects, but as the first Nintendo DS game to feature online play, Mario Kart DS is important to both the history of the series and the console itself. And it’s a lot of fun to play, too.

What do you think? Did your favourite games make the top ten? If not, just keep repeating to yourself “it’s just a popularity contest, it’s just a popularity contest.” That’s what I did when I saw that none of the Advance Wars games received a single vote. In all seriousness, thank you to everyone who cast their votes and made this series of features of possible. Thanks for reading all of these Nintendo DS anniversary features, but we’ve still got one more to go! Keep an eye out for the “Staff Opinions” article where the Nintendo Everything staff fight to the death over their top DS picks.