The Best of the Nintendo DS – Staff Opinions!
Brian says… Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow!
This was an incredibly tough choice, as there were a ton of standout third-party DS games. Ultimately though, I have to go with Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Dawn of Sorrow is what introduced me to the Castlevania series, and I was definitely not disappointed. It’s a really great adventure game. The Tactical Soul system – in which players obtain new abilities by absorbing souls – brought some interesting variety to the table. It was also great to experience the Metroid-esque gameplay. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is just one of those games that you count on being great given the IP’s track record, and thankfully, it lived up to expectations.
Patrick says… Ghost Trick!
Brian and I have written enough about Ghost Trick over the last few days that I don’t have much more to say than “it’s good, please play it.”
It’s good, please play it.
Austin says… Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars!
My experience with the DS library is painfully limited, but among the few games that I did play was my very first self-purchased M-rated game, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. I admit, it’s not my very favorite third party game, but with a mind for site politics I decided to bring it up because I don’t think anyone else will mention it. And it’s worth mentioning.
It falls under the category “innately playable”, with an astonishingly smooth framerate, a lock-on system that lets you shoot with arcade-like mindlessness, and a top-down perspective that makes driving at extremely high speeds with a bunch of cops chasing you roughly as exhilarating as riding a mattress down a flight of stairs. It’s stupid fun. Really stupid, and really fun.
Kirara says… Chrono Trigger
It is kind of hard up to sum up this game in a few words as most of them have been said before. Technically speaking this is really a SNES game, however the DS release is in my opinion is truly the definitive version. This game is not only for me the Best Third Party game – some would say it is one of the greatest games of all time. This was probably one of the most challenging and fun games that I played on the DS. Chrono Trigger had crazy plot twists and revolutionary multiple endings, super detailed graphics for its time and a very different battle system. The music for the game was also quite unique as two composers worked on it, starting with Yasnouri Mitsuda turning over the reigns after falling ill to Final Fantasy composer, Nobuo Uematsu. This game is one of the best old school RPG’s you can find and if you haven’t played it I highly recommend checking it out!
Brian says… Mario Kart DS!
I’ve talked about how much I love Mario Kart DS many times before. It’s not only my most-played DS game, but possibly my most-played handheld game of all time. To me, this was Mario Kart at its best. The series has evolved since Mario Kart DS launched, but I feel as though it nailed pretty much everything. It got battle mode and versus mode right. It’s the only Mario Kart with a mission mode. It introduced online play for the first time. The tracks are well-designed. There’s so much to love here! So even though Mario Kart has gotten prettier over the years and the racing has been fine-tuned, the DS entry is fundamentally one of the franchise’s best releases.
Patrick says… Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan 2!
I have to call it a tie between these two iNIS-developed games, since they’re both so similar. Both brought the company’s style of upbeat, story-driven rhythm game to the DS, destroying many touch screens with their involving, challenging gameplay. What made the Ouendan games and Elite Beat Agents work was the presentation – without the comic book setup of a bunch of cheerleaders helping with ridiculous problems they just wouldn’t be as entertaining. Indeed, several games have ripped off their gameplay, but none of them have the same infectious energy and unique style of these classics. Of the games, Ouendan 2 has better note maps and more difficult songs, but there aren’t any covers of David Bowie songs so I’d say it’s about equal with Elite Beat Agents. Every game in the series is excellent and I’m still playing them even after earning an S Rank in every stage. Both Ouendan titles also have a special place to me as they were the first Japanese games I imported, starting a trend that will inevitably end in rooms filled with Famicom cartridges and me being abandoned by everyone I loved. These games are pretty great.
Austin says… Elite Beat Agents!
Elite Beat Agents is a tremendously special game, I think. It occupies some of the same philosophical space as a game like Earthbound with its tangled message of positivity, but its face is that of the forever-accessible rhythm game. It’ll make you laugh. It’ll make you cry. It’ll make you shake your hips to the groovy rhythm.
If you find the rhythm and music genre to be one of the more innately enjoyable types of games out there, please go purchase a copy of Elite Beat Agents at earliest your convenience.
