Some of my Favourite Games for the Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS is an iconic console. I’ll never forget the excitement of unwrapping a coral pink DS Lite for my 8th birthday back in 2008, or the feeling of cracking open the box of a brand new DSi in 2010. I want to look back at some of my absolute favourite DS games from the early 2000s; I never realised how many different genres I enjoyed!

Note: I will hold back from mentioning Dragon Quest IX again, but you can read my thoughts on it in my top RPG article as well as my discussion of when we will see it again!

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

With a huge range of monsters to collect from the Dragon Quest library, I spent plenty of hours on this game. Source: Square Enix

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker follows yet another young protagonist on his quest to become the number one monster scout through a tournament taking place on the Green Bays islands. We follow his journey as an undercover spy for the CELL monster research agency, to uncover the truth of the monster catching tournament on the islands.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker released back in 2006, right when monster catcher games like Pokémon and Digimon were peaking in popularity. Monsters: Joker was Dragon Quest’s attempt at their own monster catcher spinoff, and I think it really works! Dragon Quest already has a huge library of iconic monsters, so why not use them in battle yourself? I liked having a team of 3 monsters to face off against foes, allowing you to use a wide range of moves in one battle. The game was challenging and engaging, and I really enjoyed the twists in the plot!

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team

I feel like this spinoff is often overlooked next to the mainline Pokémon DS titles, but I really love it! Source: The Pokémon Company

We all know the typical Pokémon battle, but what if we got to play as the Pokémon? The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games answer that question, allowing players to play as a human that has transformed into a Pokémon. You now get to make friends with other Pokémon and navigate dungeons.

In 2005, one of the first instalment in the Mystery Dungeon franchise came to the DS: Blue Rescue Team. I loved the quiz at the beginning that told you which Pokémon you were most like, the characters were interesting and you grow a real attachment to them (especially the partner you choose!) and this game in particular was the first ever piece of media to make me cry. True story. I wanted to stay with my friends in the Pokémon world forever!

Yoshi’s Island DS

The aesthetic and music in this game makes me feel so nostalgic. I still struggle with that skiing level though. Source: Artoon

In this sequel to 1995’s Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island on the SNES, Yoshi and baby Mario are joined by baby Peach, baby Donkey Kong, baby Wario and baby Bowser to rescue baby Luigi from Kamek and (adult) Bowser. It’s a similar platformer to its predecessor, but with the addition of the new babies, you gain access to a host of new abilities and challenges.

I really enjoyed this game as a kid, especially because Yoshi is my favourite Mario character. I liked the range of skills that each of the babies had, and figuring out when to change babies to unlock new areas. I also just enjoyed making eggs out of every single enemy I came across and having a huge trail behind me just in case I needed them. The game provides a real platforming challenge, and as it progresses it has some very difficult levels! The art style and music is very charming too.

Animal Crossing: Wild World

Even the box art of this game reminds me of simpler times. I spent so many hours on this! Source: Nintendo

Animal Crossing is an iconic franchise, that can’t be denied. Starting out its life on the GameCube, the second instalment came to the DS in the form of Animal Crossing: Wild World back in 2005. The game allowed players to move to a new town populated by a cute cast of animal villagers, design clothes, collect bugs, fossils and fish and decorate their homes; staple activities in the Animal Crossing world.

Wild World was my first exposure to the world of Animal Crossing, and I was addicted. The ability to play with others all over the world was super exciting, and I loved spending a slow Sunday collecting bugs and inviting my favourite villagers over to my home. I just had to make sure I didn’t forget about the meeting or my animal friends would explode in anger at me. This game came out during the peak of “rude” Animal Crossing villager and NPC interactions, and you can really tell. The Resetti music still makes me shudder.

These are just a handful of my Nintendo DS favourites; thinking about these games makes me very nostalgic! I may have to revisit my DS and play these games again for old time’s sake.