The 10 best and weirdest Nintendo DS games to celebrate the 20th anniversary

GameCentral honours the Nintendo DS’s 20th day by celebrating the astir bizarre entries successful its extended catalogue of games.

This whitethorn daze immoderate younger readers, but the archetypal Nintendo DS was monolithic erstwhile it came out. In fact, it remains 1 of the best-selling consoles ever made, 2nd lone to the PlayStation 2.

It’s apt it’ll yet beryllium overtaken by the Nintendo Switch, but holding onto that presumption each these years, adjacent arsenic acold much almighty hardware has travel out, shows conscionable however beloved the DS was.

We initially planned to observe the console’s 20th day with its all-time champion games, similar the archetypal Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story and Ghost Trick, but past we remembered however the DS was location to each mode of delightfully unusual releases; plentifulness of which volition apt ne'er get a modern time remaster and are already fading from memory.

So, fto america toast to the forgotten, weirder entries successful the DS’ library; ones that are inactive worthy experiencing adjacent today.

Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland (2006)

It is shocking that Tingle, a recurring broadside quality successful The Legend Of Zelda series, got to beryllium the main prima successful not 1 but 2 games, agelong earlier Echoes Of Wisdom yet gave Zelda a due protagonist relation (no, the CD-i games don’t count).

Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland astir feels similar a parody, with the titular Tingle exploring dungeons and selling items to gain capable wealth to physique a operation and scope the paradise that is Rupeeland. It is arsenic unserious arsenic it sounds, with adjacent Tingle’s wellness straight tied to your rupee count.

It did good capable to warrant a 2009 sequel – each astir pursuing relationships with antithetic women – but that was, possibly unsurprisingly, a Japanese merchandise only.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)

Despite what you mightiness think, determination person been tons of Grand Theft Auto games connected Nintendo formats, including the GTA: The Trilogy remasters, but besides stretching each the mode backmost to the Game Boy Color. That unsocial is beauteous unusual but Rockstar went 1 measurement further connected the DS, with a large fund touchscreen exclusive.

While GTA: Chinatown Wars did spot a PlayStation Portable larboard 7 months aft launch, the archetypal was marketed solely for the DS and was adjacent portion of Nintendo’s E3 2008 showcase. It was each precise un-Nintendo-like, particularly erstwhile the crippled caught flak for having a drug-selling mechanic.

Perhaps much shocking was that Chinatown Wars was precise good, being explicitly designed for the DS’ capabilities and not conscionable a watered-down larboard of modern GTA 4.

Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure (2009)

With a sanction similar Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure, you’d beryllium forgiven for assuming this was immoderate benignant of Professor Layton rip-off. Especially erstwhile you larn the crippled stars a British man defined by his headgear, who’s precise bully astatine solving puzzles.

However, the Layton similarities extremity there, arsenic this isn’t conscionable a match-three benignant puzzle crippled but a 2D action-platformer too. All the platforming takes spot connected the apical screen, with defeated enemies becoming puzzle blocks connected the bottommost screen. You indispensable past nexus chains of coloured blocks utilizing the stylus to guarantee the enemies don’t travel backmost and capable up meters for performing ace attacks.

It’s amazingly progressive and an effectual blend of some gameplay styles. It was besides a uncommon but invited alteration of gait from EA Tiburon, amended known nowadays arsenic EA Orlando, which mostly worked connected sports games similar EA’s Madden NFL series.

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2009)

Before AI: The Somnium Files, manager and writer Kotaro Uchikoshi made a sanction for himself with the Zero Escape bid of ocular novels, of which 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors was the first. Nine radical find themselves trapped connected a sinking vessel and indispensable lick flight country puzzles to past successful a deadly crippled of choice; 1 wherever breaking the rules volition acceptable disconnected bombs successful their stomachs.

Initially thing of a rarity, acknowledgment to its Japan and US exclusivity, the crippled soon garnered rather the pursuing acknowledgment to its analyzable branching storyline, that touches connected thought-provoking topics and concepts portion besides revelling successful off-the-wall, sometimes juvenile, humour. It besides had a neat gimmick wherever each the quality dialog took spot connected the apical surface portion ongoing narration appeared connected the bottommost screen.

Surprisingly, it fared precise good successful the West, with mediocre Japanese income for some it and its superior sequel, Virtue’s Last Reward, precise astir sidesplitting the series. Fortunately, Uchikoshi would get to wrapper up the franchise with a 3rd game, and each 3 are easy disposable connected modern platforms.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (2005)

A long-time GameCentral favourite, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan is simply a delightfully silly crippled wherever you assistance radical successful need, beryllium it a students struggling to survey oregon a potter seeking inspiration, by tapping your stylus to the bushed of a assortment of Japanese popular songs.

Aside from satisfying rhythm-action gameplay, the scenarios are progressively over-the-top and hilarious. The precise conception of radical calling connected a cheerleader squad to rally them done immoderate occupation they person – including an asteroid crashing into the Earth – is large amusive each connected its own

Although it ne'er near Japan, it was a fashionable import rubric that encouraged the much planetary affable follow-up Elite Beat Agents, which was good but wasn’t rather arsenic good. There was different Japan-only sequel successful 2007, but that was sadly the past we’ve seen of the Ouendan series, barring cameos successful Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Pokémon Conquest (2012)

In a post-Pokémon Smile and Pokémon Sleep world, Pokémon Conquest whitethorn inactive beryllium the strangest spin-off successful the franchise’s history. Not lone was it The Pokémon Company’s archetypal (and truthful far, only) stab astatine the tactical role-playing genre, Pokémon Conquest doubled arsenic a crossover with Koei Tecmo’s Nobunaga’s Ambition series.

While it was surely excessively casual for those who had chopped their teeth connected thing similar Advance Wars, Pokémon Conquest remains 1 of the amended Pokémon spin-offs acknowledgment successful portion to a ludicrous premise that, contempt each odds, really works rather well. As such, it has cultivated its ain devoted fanbase.

It’s a shame it didn’t look to permission overmuch of an impact, since it ne'er saw a follow-up. There person been immoderate different coagulated spin-offs since then, namely Pokkén Tournament and New Pokémon Snap, but nary of them are astir arsenic unusual arsenic this.

Slide Adventure MAGKID (2007)

Even immoderate of the astir diehard Nintendo fans won’t person heard of this one. Like Ouendan, this was a Japanese exclusive, but it doesn’t look to person been overmuch of a deed successful its location country. Slide Adventure MAGKID is worthy remembering, though, if lone for its caller question power gimmick.

It came with a peculiar accessory called the Slide Controller, which you plugged into the DS’ bottommost slot. You past had to remainder it against a level surface, and it acted similar a machine mouse, allowing you to descent the DS to determination the titular Mag Kid and lick puzzles.

There’s amusive to beryllium had successful the sheer novelty of the crippled but wherefore Nintendo thought it justified its ain peripheral, that had to beryllium sold successful a larger container than usual, is simply a mystery. Although it’s overmuch little perplexing arsenic to wherefore it was ne'er released successful the West.

Soul Bubbles (2008)

Another aged schoolhouse GameCentral favourite, Soul Bubbles puts you successful power of a shaman whose ngo is to herd spirits done assorted levels by containing them successful bubbles.

Using the touchscreen to gully and usher these bubbles sounds elemental enough, but wherever Soul Bubbles excels is successful its biology puzzle-solving. Sometimes your bubble is excessively large to walk done spaces, truthful you indispensable disagreement the spirits into a concatenation of smaller bubbles. Other times, the bubbles request to beryllium frozen oregon filled with water, truthful there’s much complexity to it than you whitethorn expect.

On apical of that, the full crippled has a relaxing ambiance and boasts immoderate of the astir gorgeous visuals we’ve seen connected the DS. If you ever stumble crossed a second-hand transcript of Soul Bubbles, you beryllium it to yourself to drawback it up and springiness this long-forgotten gem a chance.

Super Princess Peach (2005)

When it comes to Super Mario games for the DS, Super Princess Peach is good remembered but not for the close reasons. In immoderate basal relation reversal, Mario has been kidnapped by Bowser and Peach indispensable prevention him. Rather than trust connected her ain platforming skills, though, Peach’s main powers are her ain emotions.

You activate these powers by tapping the antithetic coloured hearts connected the bottommost screen. Joy, for example, makes her interval done the air, portion sadness makes her tally accelerated arsenic she cries a waterfall of tears. The sexist undertones, wherever Peach is portrayed arsenic an emotionally unstable wreck, are nary uncertainty unintentional but hard to ignore.

If you tin look past that, Super Princess Peach is an different coagulated platformer that isn’t conscionable a run-of-the-mill Super Mario Bros. clone, with Peach arsenic the playable character. It surely offers much of a situation than the overly elemental Princess Peach Showtime, but the definitive Peach solo escapade has yet to emerge.

The World Ends With You (2007)

Even astir 2 decades later, The World Ends With You remains 1 of the astir courageously archetypal role-playing games retired there, particularly erstwhile it comes to the gameplay.

Its combat, which demands you wage attraction to some screens portion controlling 2 characters simultaneously, tin beryllium off-putting and hard to parse, but figuring retired however it each works is worthy it. Combined with the stylish creation benignant and music, The World Ends With You stood retired amongst its peers of the clip for taking afloat vantage of the DS’ capabilities.

While the Switch remaster and 2021 sequel are surely much approachable, we honestly miss the risks the archetypal crippled took. If possible, it’s worthy tracking down a DS transcript and experiencing however it was meant to beryllium played because, similar galore of the games connected this list, it’s truthful overmuch much amusive connected its archetypal hardware.

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