10. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
I’ll admit it: I haven’t played almost any Zeldas before this. In fact, except for the brief week that I had an NES and played Super Mario Bros. 3, after which I got a PS1, I don’t have almost any experience with Nintendo. I was born during the birth of the fifth generation, and my sweet childhood memories lay with the PS1 and PS2. I picked this game up though, due to it being one of the most promising-sounding games at the time that I bought it. I’ve read about Legend of Zelda’s storylines and characters on the internet plenty, so I had some kind of weak grasp on what the series was about. I started playing, and it was pretty good. Control scheme was, as my first NDS game, surprising, and I liked it, and though the storyline wasn’t something very epic, the game somehow kept me playing, and I liked it.
9. Metal Slug 7
What can be said about the Metal Slug series, that hasn’t been said? Basically a run-of-the-mill 2D shoot-’em-up that were popular in the ’90s, with the quirky and cartoony (and violent) charming and memorable art style, Metal Slug is among many peoples’ eyes, one of the best and most famous 2D shoot-’em-up series. I had as much experience with Metal Slug before this that much, that I’ve played Metal Slug X on the PS1. Needless to say, the controls are tight, the humor is great, the game is fun, and the mech battles are a fun addition.
8. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
For many DS gamers, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars’ critical acclaim may be familiar. Why did I give this the 8th spot, not the 1st? Well, for one, there are in my opinion better games, and two, as much as the game was interesting in the beginning, with the great stylus-based mini-games, nicely-done cutscenes and the wonderful fun that’s to be had driving around in the city at high-speed, and lets not mention the fantastic re-creation of GTA IV’s Liberty City, the more I played, the less I felt like I wanted to play this. I guess it was the sudden down-grade from the consoles, or because of how much I’ve played the GTAs over the years. As long as I did like it, it was wonderful, though.
7. Suikoden Tierkreis
And again, even though they were on one of my favorite consoles of all time, I have not played any of the Suikodens. The game starts off in a village, with foreign invaders blah-blah-blah. Sounds pretty cliché, but the story gets only better, and better. Plenty of different places to visit, great story, memorable characters and 108 different characters to collect, that you can use in your party. The combat is regular turn-based JRPG fare, but it’s done decently, so if you don’t like turn-based games at all, the gameplay will probably turn you off. Overall a very engaging and interesting game though, and I definitely recommend to any JRPG fan.
6. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Ah, Kingdom Hearts. The games on the PS2 are one of my most favorite games of all time, this probably being the reason that I loved this game so much, despite its flaws. The game was definitely a disappointment compared to the other ones in the series, but the gameplay was terrific (except for the hardware which you used to play it with) and the storyline went a little bit more interesting near the end, almost redeeming the snail-slow start. And the music, oh god, the music. Without music, Kingdom Hearts wouldn’t be the same. The music makes me cry, the music makes me feel sadness, the music makes me feel upbeat when the game’s soundtrack is set like that. The music is what makes most of the games memorability, the music is what plays with my emotions the most in the series. Especially Roxas’ theme. That song makes me so sad, but at the same time, it’s so beatiful. Yoko Shimomura is a musical genius, no doubt about it.
5. Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is a remake from an old SNES JRPG, that came out in 1995. Luckily, I’ve also never played this game. I heard a lot about the game, much before the DS remake was announced or came out, and all I heard was praise. So, when it came out, I bought it, played it, and I absolutely adored it. Charming visuals, memorable characters, excellent and often unpredictable storyline and a good combat system. Even though a small downgrade from the PS1 graphics, this game brought me back memories of all the JRPGs I used to play on the PS1. In some ways, it really did that, and very much so.
4. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director’s Cut
Man, this list shows how much great, classic games I haven’t played until this generation, when I have become a far bigger gamer than the last ones. Anyone who knows the Broken Sword series, knows that they’re absolutely wonderful point-and-click games, casting George Stobbart as the main character. My first experience with the Broken Sword series was Broken Sword II, on the PS1, when my cousin bought it. I played it, and then, one day, when I got this game, I remember Broken Sword II. I got it, alongside with this game, and completed both of them. Very engrossing story, memorable and humorous characters, puzzles that aren’t too hard, but often not too obvious and funny dialogue. Oh, yes, and a wonderful, cartoon-y art style too.
3. The World Ends With You
Well, the same developers as Kingdom Hearts, one of my favorite game series of all time. I simply could not resist the game, especially after the rave reviews. I picked this up, and I remember that I was hospitalized for a short while, and this game was one of the only games I played. I had plenty, but this was the one that I played, and played, and played, until I got through with it. I loved the story and its progression, the twists, the characters, the missions were varied, the combat was brilliant, though I put the top screen character to AI control, since controlling both would’ve been too much, and I wouldn’t have enjoyed and paid so much attention to running around with Neku and using pins as much as I did. Overall, a very, very great game, and not only high on my DS games of all time list, but pretty high on my overall favorite games of all time list.
2. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Like I said before, only one game per series. I would put both of the games (that are so far released in English) on this list near the very top, but I have to give this honor to Diabolical Box. The games are about equal, both charming adventure-puzzle games, and both are as memorable and great as puzzling games can go. I picked DB though, because Curious Village took place in only one place, the village. Diabolical Box went through many different scenarios, and you talked to a whole lot more people in more places. That’s why I’m picking Diabolical Box for this one. What this series also has is that when I finished Diabolical Box, and, of course, Curious Village, I felt that I didn’t want this game to end. I didn’t want to go back to the real world, to live my life. Throughout the game, I started to feel such a strong affection to the universe and its characters, that it was amazing.
1. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Now, my choice for this game to be on the top spot may be due to some sort of nostalgia or feelings that I have for the game that aren’t affected by its quality, but there’s no denying that these games deserve a top spot on anybody’s DS list. To be honest, I had no idea which one to put in the first spot, Professor Layton or Phoenix Wright. While the Phoenix Wright series are more focused on humor and ridiculousness, the Professor Layton games take themselves a bit more seriously, but are still very, very excellent games. Thus, in order to not make it look unpleasant to the eye, I’m just going to point out here that the Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright series are kind of sharing the two top spots. In any case, the Phoenix Wright series are fantastic games. Very, very memorable and great characters, and the gameplay is great fun, though it sounds boring on paper. Definitely recommend it to anyone, purely because of the situations, dialogue and characters this game has to offer.
Honorable mentions:
Scribblenauts
The Castlevania series
Elite Beat Agents
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Mario&Luigi: Partners in Time (have not yet played M&L3)
New Super Mario Bros.
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
http://gamingbolt.com/2009/11/01/top-10-nintendo-ds-games-of-all-time-5-1/
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I must say it was BOLD of them to put Phoenix Wright as number 1 instead of NSMB Wii which most sites (including IGN) put.
In fact I agree with them on the number 1 spot, the phoenix wright games have been so engrossing through their music, funny script & whacky characters.....not to forget GRIPPING plots!
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