Hidden Gems on the Nintendo DS - A list of 12 great games and 3 bonus games

[Philosoraptor | 468]

On 10/26/2019 at 10:55 PM, Gloves said:

I had the CD bundle version of Super Robot Taisen but it was one of the first games I sold when I joined NA in 2017. Kiiiiinda regret doing so as I never reeeeally gave the game a proper go, but I will say that I do seem to recall the combat being more fan service than strategy. And I mean that's probably fine for what it is, but I like difficulty in my RPGs if it can be helped.

I liked the combat because you got bonus/critical damage if you hit enemies when they were about to land, which becomes important the further you get into the game. The juggling mechanic was a pretty unique and helped keep the battles engaging. 

@Makar I don't have Digimon World DS, but I do have Dawn and Dusk. Do I need to play Digimon World DS first, or can I just skip it and move straight to Dawn/Dusk?

Also, I nominate Etrian Odyssey III and the Izuna series.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Philosoraptor
*Clarification

[Makar | 1,946]

20 minutes ago, Philosoraptor said:

I liked the combat because you got bonus/critical damage if you hit enemies when they were about to land, which becomes important the further you get into the game. The juggling mechanic was a pretty unique and helped keep the battles engaging. 

@Makar I don't have Digimon World DS, but I do have Dawn and Dusk. Do I need to play Digimon World DS first, or can I just skip it and move straight to Dawn/Dusk?

Also, I nominate Etrian Odyssey III and the Izuna series.

@Philosoraptor they're pretty similar games, yet a bit different. You can skip and move straight to Dawn or dusk. You do not need to play both Dawn and dusk. They're like 99% the same game like Pokemon red and blue. Only slight differences. 

I have the etrian ones and izuna. Never played those either but they're on my list. Which of the 5 of those would you say is the best game?

 

[Romiked2689 | 120]

34 minutes ago, Makar said:

Lol a furry game? This was before furries were a thing right??? Right??? And I've heard about that one. Tower defense isn't really my thing though. 

Definitely before that and before when people were comfortable enough to flock together as furries or brony’s! Society has changed for the better still I’d say. Also nerd is in now hurray!!!(someone tell my wife) also ninja town is pretty good best tower defense some quality gameplay. Also can’t recommend anything else little red zombie bbq is only decent rail shooter on ds. I wouldn’t compare it to other great rail shooters tho 

Edited October 28, 2019 by Romiked2689

[attakid101 | 267]

On 10/24/2019 at 4:23 PM, SoleGoose said:

Radiant Historia is an amazing RPG for the DS. Probably my favorite game for the system, top 5-10 of all time. Nostalgia is also good, although a tad easy. I sunk 60-80 hours into each and didn't regret a minute. Thanks for the list, it reminds me of some that I need to check out or finish playing. I hated Black Sigil, but need to give it a fourth or fifth go; it has to get better, right?

 

just picked up the Radiant Historia remake for my 3DS. Love it so far.

[Philosoraptor | 468]

16 minutes ago, Makar said:

@Philosoraptor they're pretty similar games, yet a bit different. You can skip and move straight to Dawn or dusk. You do not need to play both Dawn and dusk. They're like 99% the same game like Pokemon red and blue. Only slight differences. 

I have the etrian ones and izuna. Never played those either but they're on my list. Which of the 5 of those would you say is the best game?

 

Glad to hear that I can skip Digimon World DS. I've been looking for it locally for years, but I've never managed to find it. 

Of the three Etrian Odyssey games on the DS, III is the best. I and II are good, but they're not as well balanced as III, even though III has some issues with statuses and binds not being as effective as one would hope. The music and story are both better than I and II as well.

As for Izuna, 2 is more forgiving because both party members have to die for you to lose and, while both party members are alive, you have a rechargeable tag attack that hits everything on the screen. Both mechanics give you more options when the game pulls some BS. However, 2 is a continuation of the story from 1, so play 1 first if you care about that. Izuna 1 and 2 (and Etrian Mystery dungeon) a great middle ground between the Pokemon mystery dungeon games, which are very easy for the genre, and the Shiren games, which tend to be some of the most difficult in the genre. 

Of the five, I think I'd say Etrian Odyssey III is the best.

[SoleGoose | 95]

2 hours ago, attakid101 said:

just picked up the Radiant Historia remake for my 3DS. Love it so far.

Awesome to hear! I was super excited for the remake, bought it day one, but I did not enjoy it. They imported a lot of the conventions of modern games whereas the original adhered to earlier styles of gameplay. I played it for a few hours and then turned it off and popped the original in. The changes bugged me, but that could largely be due to the fact that they changed what I was used to. If you don't have that baggage I'm sure you'll have a great time (or if you don't mind modern conventions then it'll probably be a great time as well). There is just so much depth to the game; great narrative, engaging battles, you name it!

[Makar | 1,946]

2 hours ago, Philosoraptor said:

Glad to hear that I can skip Digimon World DS. I've been looking for it locally for years, but I've never managed to find it. 

Of the three Etrian Odyssey games on the DS, III is the best. I and II are good, but they're not as well balanced as III, even though III has some issues with statuses and binds not being as effective as one would hope. The music and story are both better than I and II as well.

As for Izuna, 2 is more forgiving because both party members have to die for you to lose and, while both party members are alive, you have a rechargeable tag attack that hits everything on the screen. Both mechanics give you more options when the game pulls some BS. However, 2 is a continuation of the story from 1, so play 1 first if you care about that. Izuna 1 and 2 (and Etrian Mystery dungeon) a great middle ground between the Pokemon mystery dungeon games, which are very easy for the genre, and the Shiren games, which tend to be some of the most difficult in the genre. 

Of the five, I think I'd say Etrian Odyssey III is the best.

I will say digimon world DS is still worth tracking down (watch out for fakes). Thanks for filling me in on all those! Definitely going to have to give each series a shot one day.

[D~Funk | 284]

@Philosoraptor good to see you bud!

 

Awesome selections as always @Makar! 

Picked out a few i don't think were mentioned yet. Im sure ya'll probably know most of these but maybe some new ds collectors don't. I always highly recommend the Elebits DS game! Way different from the Wii game and way better! Ninja Town is a super fun tower defense game! I love that Konami arcade collection! Has the arcade Contra on it! That Thor game is made by Wayforward and is doper than it should be! 

 

Little Red Riding Hood Zombie BBQ 

Tokyo Beat Down 

Viewtiful Joe Double Trouble 

The Wild West

Scurge Hive 

Barnyard Blast Swine of the Night 

Monster Tale 

Elebits The Adventure of Kai and Zero 

Giana Sisters DS 

Ninja Town 

New Zealand Story Revolution 

Robocalypse 

Commando Steel Disaster 

Aliens Infestation 

The Legend of Kage 2 

Thor God of Thunder 

Devilish 

Freedom Wings 

Ketsui Death Label 

Nanostray 1 & 2 

Konami Classics Series Arcade Hits 

Prism Light the Way 

Trioncube 

Edited October 29, 2019 by D~Funk

[Philosoraptor | 468]

8 hours ago, D~Funk said:

@Philosoraptor good to see you bud!

Picked out a few i don't think were mentioned yet. Im sure ya'll probably know most of these but maybe some new ds collectors don't. I always highly recommend the Elebits DS game! Way different from the Wii game and way better! Ninja Town is a super fun tower defense game! I love that Konami arcade collection! Has the arcade Contra on it! That Thor game is made by Wayforward and is doper than it should be! 

Hell yeah! Good to see you too. Great selection here. I can already see some collectors pulling their hair out trying to track some of these down if they don't go the online route. A couple of these I've never seen in the wild, or I've only seen them once. 

I wish Ketsui Death Label DS was more than just a boss rush, but it's damn good one. It really pushes what the DS can do in terms of SHMUPS.

Arcade Contra is a trip. It's so ridiculous. I also need to try that Elebits game.

[Philosoraptor | 468]

17 hours ago, Makar said:

I will say digimon world DS is still worth tracking down (watch out for fakes). Thanks for filling me in on all those! Definitely going to have to give each series a shot one day.

For sure! I'll keep my eye out for it. Thanks for the information as well! 

[Crazy Climber | 150]

On 10/24/2019 at 2:26 AM, Makar said:

11) Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus
Yes, I know this is a Yu-Gi-Oh game and that this is a well known franchise, but it deserves a spot here. Yu-Gi-Oh has definitely died down in popularity recently and many people might have missed this gem. I've played a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh games, but I have never put in 200+ hours into one of them, and I've never played one for 3 years straight except for this one. What makes this one different and worthy of this list is that the AI in this game is actually intelligent. This means that duels are MUCH tougher than in past Yu-Gi-Oh games. Your opponents also have VERY creative decks, with many being structured around a specific theme of monsters and this makes certain duelists very hard to beat. They have banned a lot of overly powerful cards that weren't banned in other games, which I actually think is a good thing because it makes you think more strategically and it makes the game more challenging. If you don't already know, Yu-Gi-Oh is a card game, a VERY strategic card game at that, so if you love strategy and card games, this is the game to pick up, more specifically, the best Yu-Gi-Oh game to pick up, and it has the most updated cards besides the latest 3DS Yu-Gi-Oh game that is still digital only. 

Similar games - Other Yu-Gi-Oh games
Price for this game: $25-40

 





 

Does this Yugioh game contain an in game tutorial/etc? My younger daughter is getting into Yugioh but I don't have a freakin clue how to play...was thinking I could pick up a hand held video game version, learn how to play at work, then transfer what I have learned to teaching her the actual card game....good idea? Or should I just watch Youtube vids? lol Thanks man!

[Makar | 1,946]

52 minutes ago, Crazy Climber said:

Does this Yugioh game contain an in game tutorial/etc? My younger daughter is getting into Yugioh but I don't have a freakin clue how to play...was thinking I could pick up a hand held video game version, learn how to play at work, then transfer what I have learned to teaching her the actual card game....good idea? Or should I just watch Youtube vids? lol Thanks man!

This game is really good for learning how to play Yu-Gi-Oh. The card game instructions can be very confusing when you get into countering cards with other cards and the order of events that take place. There isn't a tutorial in the game but you can figure most of it out pretty easily from trial and error, and each card tells you what it does. 

I will add that the latest Yu-Gi-Oh game might be the best to teach since there are newer cards with completely different rules. Like xyz monsters and a couple others. But 2011 has everything up to and including synchro monsters. I can give you lots of tips and answer questions if you have them about rules and strategies. 

I actually prefer the games to physical cards because you can get any card in the game and it won't cost you an arm and a leg. Some cards in real life can cost like $20-100 just for one card.

[Crazy Climber | 150]

14 hours ago, Makar said:

This game is really good for learning how to play Yu-Gi-Oh. The card game instructions can be very confusing when you get into countering cards with other cards and the order of events that take place. There isn't a tutorial in the game but you can figure most of it out pretty easily from trial and error, and each card tells you what it does. 

I will add that the latest Yu-Gi-Oh game might be the best to teach since there are newer cards with completely different rules. Like xyz monsters and a couple others. But 2011 has everything up to and including synchro monsters. I can give you lots of tips and answer questions if you have them about rules and strategies. 

I actually prefer the games to physical cards because you can get any card in the game and it won't cost you an arm and a leg. Some cards in real life can cost like $20-100 just for one card.

Nice! Thanks I'll pick this one up and mess around with it to get an understanding then pick up the latest for us to play together, I'm excited now, Thanks again!!

[wrk | 4]

On 10/24/2019 at 7:16 AM, jonebone said:

I have only played a couple handfuls of DS games, but a few that aren't mainstream that I really enjoyed are Ninjatown, Robocalypse and Big Bang Mini. 

Absolutely LOVE Ninjatown and BBM.  

[BreaKBeatZ | 136]

I agree with most of the games here, and will add a few others that I think are hidden gems:

 

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road - Solid RPG with beautiful graphics. It finds a good balance between hardcore and casual RPGs, and probably sold poorly because no one cares about the Wizard of Oz branding.

Bangai-O - This is an amazing shooter that was originally released on the N64 in Japan. Hard to explain, but the action in this game is fast and addictive with tight controls. Check out some gameplay videos if you're interested.

Point Blank DS - Point Blank on the DS? Yes please! Great game for short breaks without committing a lot of time.

Boing! Dokomodake - Cute and fun puzzle platformer that makes good use of the stylus for control.

Knights in the Nightmare - I haven't played this game myself because I've heard it takes a long time to learn the controls and the barrier to entry has kept me away. I've heard great things from everyone that took the time to learn the game, and it looks amazing from some gameplay videos I've seen. The concept is unique and hard to explain, so check out a review video if you're interested.

Dementium: The Ward - Very impressive game for DS hardware. This is a solid horror game with some first-person shooting and puzzle solving.

 

A few "not that hidden" gems - these games are all expensive, so I guess they can't really be "hidden," but they aren't from well known franchises:

Avalon Code  - Awesome RPG that is has a lot of depth and provides many hours of gameplay. Lots of great mechanics and a cool story.

The Dark Spire - Dungeon crawler that is inspired heavily by the Wizardry series. This is a tough game that requires a lot of grinding, puzzle solving, and navigating old school dungeons.

Luminous Arc 1 and 2 - Solid tactical RPGs with unique characters and beautiful manga style artwork. 

Fighting Fantasy - This RPG has a Daggerfall vibe. It tries to do a lot, and even though it falls short in some areas, I really like how ambitious it is and thoroughly enjoyed it. Grinding is required though.

 

 

I have also heard a lot of good things about various graphic novel games on the DS, but that's not really my style. If they interest you, feel free to try - Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors (999), Hotel Dusk: Room 215, and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. I think these have gotten fairly well-known with 999 even receiving a remaster.

Edited October 30, 2019 by BreaKBeatZ

[SoleGoose | 95]

1 minute ago, BreaKBeatZ said:

...

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road - Solid RPG with beautiful graphics. It finds a good balance between hardcore and casual RPGs, and probably sold poorly because no one cares about the Wizard of Oz branding.

...

 

I wanted to like this one, I was super excited to have finally tracked down a copy (thanks Corey!), but the controls are the absolute worst in my mind. Having to use the stylus to control a trackball versus easy d-pad navigation? Having to tap the screen for any basic menu command? Hard pass all around. Hopefully someone hacks it to be playable in a normal fashion down the line because it really looks great otherwise.

 

[Makar | 1,946]

On 10/30/2019 at 8:39 AM, Crazy Climber said:

Nice! Thanks I'll pick this one up and mess around with it to get an understanding then pick up the latest for us to play together, I'm excited now, Thanks again!!

No problem! And like I said, let me know if you have any questions. There's so much strategy in Yu-Gi-Oh. 

Some generic rules I go by are:

Traps and effect monsters are your friends

Avoid attacking most of the time. Let them attack you

Reflective damage is the way to go.

Don't use 5 star and above monsters. They cost too much and can be destroyed easily. 5+ star synchros are okay though.

Try to have cards that can buy you time and can activate on there own. A lot of theme decks can be good but take multiple cards to pull off their stunt and it doesn't usually work too well. 

Order matters. You can't activate traps the same turn you lay them down. So instead of playing swords of revealing light and then laying your dark bribe card, lay your dark bribe down first, then on your next turn activate swords of revealing light so that if your opponent tries to destroy it, you can counter with dark bribe. 

 

[Quaze | 342]

On 10/24/2019 at 5:48 AM, Futureman said:

I recently picked up Black Sigil from my local thrift store. It was CIB and was super suprised at how much it goes for online. Glad to hear its a great game.

It's not, it sucks. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's just not a great game by any definition.

Another GREAT entry here would be Monster Tale, possibly my favourite game in the whole DS library.

[Brickman | 3,983]

I highly recommend Henry Hatsworth. Don’t let the fact that it is made by EA put you off. It’s a fun and challenging action adventure puzzle game.

[Nightowljrm | 72]

On 10/25/2019 at 12:51 AM, The Strangest said:

I’ll throw in Orcs & Elves. It’s a first person dungeon crawler that was originally developed for mobile phones but was ported to the DS. It’s surprisingly better than you would expect and last I checked it’s dirt cheap.

I'm a bit late, but I was coming to this thread to post the very same recommendation.

[MiamiSlice | 3,092]

Did someone recommend Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer yet? Because it's a fantastic port of a fantastic roguelike from the SFC. I mean, if you like roguelikes, I think this is one of the best ones you can play. 

I also have to recommend Soul Bubbles. It was a Toys R Us exclusive and I don't see it mentioned much. It's not very difficult but the play scheme makes great use of the stylus. 

Edited November 7, 2019 by MiamiSlice

[D~Funk | 284]

On 11/5/2019 at 3:19 PM, Quaze said:

It's not, it sucks. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's just not a great game by any definition.

Another GREAT entry here would be Monster Tale, possibly my favourite game in the whole DS library.

Hey now! Black Sigil does not suck! It may be a little slow paced but its actually a pretty decent more traditional style rpg! 

Also, may as well recommend another game while im here. Sands of Destruction is an awesome rpg if anyone hasn't played it! 

Edited November 7, 2019 by D~Funk

[Reed Rothchild | 9,521]

I mentioned it in the past several times, but Prism is fun.  I honestly don't even know how I ended up with it either.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

8 hours ago, D~Funk said:

Hey now! Black Sigil does not suck! It may be a little slow paced but its actually a pretty decent more traditional style rpg! 

Also, may as well recommend another game while im here. Sands of Destruction is an awesome rpg if anyone hasn't played it! 

Nooooooooo!!!! Sands of Destruction is sooooo bad. We cannot be friends. Or maybe we can, but we have to agree to never speak of that game again.

[D~Funk | 284]

1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said:

Nooooooooo!!!! Sands of Destruction is sooooo bad. We cannot be friends. Or maybe we can, but we have to agree to never speak of that game again.