Any decent games for the Nintendo DS?

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Fyro

Golden Squire
127
0
I'll be living in Alaska for three months this summer and I wanted something to do on my days off. My wife bought a DS a few years ago, I've never touched it, but I was wondering if there are any decent games for it.

Are there any decent time-consuming RPGs that are not overly kiddie? Not sure if any of you play the DS, I know we are mostly a PC / Console home, but I thought I would try my luck here first.

Plus nets, or whatever the fuck they're called now, for anyone that helps me. Thanks-
 

spronk

FPS noob
22,473
25,379
i'm playing bravely default (play about 3 hours a week for the last... 5 months?) and its at least 50 hours. its a wee bit kiddie but also pretty final fantasy-ish, story seems pretty complicated and has some complex themes and then that weird "TEE HEE HEE" kiddie stuff suddenly pop in

i've heard fire emblem awakening is also really good, haven't started it yet

i know pokemon X or Y sounds super kiddie but i've heard its really fun too, i always enjoyed pet battles in wow

i really liked zelda a link between time, still havent finished it
 
463
0
The World Ends With You was a favorite of mine. Survive the soundtrack and the game is fantastic.
Edit: Just saw your post under this. The World Ends With You is entirely stylus controlled, but in a wonderful way. If it's a deal breaker then you'll miss out on one of the best DS games made.
Also Pokemon X and Y are both for 3DS.
 

Fyro

Golden Squire
127
0
i'm playing bravely default (play about 3 hours a week for the last... 5 months?) and its at least 50 hours. its a wee bit kiddie but also pretty final fantasy-ish, story seems pretty complicated and has some complex themes and then that weird "TEE HEE HEE" kiddie stuff suddenly pop in

i've heard fire emblem awakening is also really good, haven't started it yet

i know pokemon X or Y sounds super kiddie but i've heard its really fun too, i always enjoyed pet battles in wow

i really liked zelda a link between time, still havent finished it
She has Pokemon Pearl. I tried playing it, but found it amazingly kiddie. I loved Blue, Red, and Yellow back in the day. Are Pokemon X and Y more similar to the roots or Pearl?


Also - any game that is good that doesn't require the fucking stylus, I can't stand those things.
 

Vorph

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
10,943
4,640
Radiant Historia would be my top pick.

Devil Survivor 1 & 2 for sure if you like Shin Megami Tensei and SRPGs. There's also stuff like Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume if you like SRPGs but not SMT.

For 'time-consuming' you pretty much can't beat the Etrian Odyssey games. I played DS games on my PC though, and excessively grindy RPGs are much less appealing there than they would be on a daily commute or whatever.

There's also a whole bunch of DS versions of game series you've probably played before: Final Fantasy III/IV (avoid Tactics A2 like the fucking plague if you don't want kiddie shit), Suikoden, Disgaea, Chrono Trigger, Front Mission, etc.

No idea how easy/hard any of those are to find now, since as I said I played them on my computer.
 

Needless

Toe Sucker
9,146
3,263
Non 3DS RPGs off the top of my head worth playing (including ports):

Chrono Trigger
Dragon Quest 9 (very underrated)
The World Ends With You
Final Fantasy IV (3D remake)
Final Fantasy III (3D remake)
Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver/Black/White (albeit kind of "kiddy")
Radiant Historia
Shin Megami: Devil Survivor

Others:
All Phoenix Wright games
Professor Layton
Elite Beat Agents (kind of like dance dance revolution with your stylus)
Trauma Center series
Puzzle Quest

DS/DS Lite also opens you up to Gameboy Advance RPGs as well, which is a boat load too lol
 

The Ancient_sl

shitlord
7,386
16
The World Ends With You is a great unique RPG.
Phoenix Wright games aren't really RPGs but honestly it's 3(4) games that play exactly the same but they are so good you can play and replay all of them and not get board.
Elite Beat Agents is just fun.
I haven't played them personally but there are some mario/luigi RPGs that get stellar reviews. I'd try them before the JRPG retreads which honestly feel stale.

Of the list I gave Phoenix Wright doesn't require stylus, except for one bonus chapter in the 1st game. Also if you are feeling bold you can play the best part of the game by shouting at the screen which just feels good.
 

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
42,271
50,239
+1 for The World Ends With You. I'm not a fan of the stylus either but TWEWY was amazing, one of the only innovative things to come out of Square in ages.
 

Wuyley_sl

shitlord
1,443
13
One of my top 5 games ever is Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The rest of the series is basically "more of the same" but still enjoyable and it has cool animation / story. Pick up the first one if you like puzzle games.

New Super Mario Bros. 'nuff said

Chrono Trigger. Rehash of the Snes but if you didn't play it before, its a must buy

Mario Cart. Plenty of time killing there.
 

spronk

FPS noob
22,473
25,379
oh yeah ds won't play 3ds games. with a regular DS you may wanna get a pirate card, I think its called R4DS, then you can buy a 8 or 16gb microSD card and download like 100 games from piratebay or wherever and just try em all and see what games you like. The R4DS only costs like $20, you can't easily pirate 3DS games but the DS was easy to pirate on

i'd recommend though buying a 3DS XL, you can get it on sale for $150 all the time and the screen size is way, way, way better than the old DS. plus by now your DS battery life may be really shitty
 

Mures

Blackwing Lair Raider
4,014
511
There is another castlevania game that is really good on ds too, I forget what its called though, some stylus needed, but its pretty minimal. If you like playing pinball metroid pinball is pretty good, also tetris on ds is pretty amazing if you like tetris, it has classic tetris and several other game modes.
 

Vorph

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
10,943
4,640
There is another castlevania game that is really good on ds too, I forget what its called though, some stylus needed, but its pretty minimal. If you like playing pinball metroid pinball is pretty good, also tetris on ds is pretty amazing if you like tetris, it has classic tetris and several other game modes.
There's 3 Castlevania games on DS: Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia. You're probably thinking of DoS though, PoR was a bit of a step down in quality imo.
 

Szlia

Member
6,547
1,310
I will take my contrarian cap and say that FFIII is a terrible game, that The World Ends With You is a hodgepodge of 25 confusing and semi-optional game systems with an unhealthy dose of mystico-emo-pop anime trope on top (though it can't be accused of not being an original game) and that Dragon Quest IX is by a significant margin the worst Dragon Quest I played (and I played 7 out of 9). Tetris DS is an abomination (mostly because you can rotate pieces infinitely which totally screw the timing of the game). Etrian Odyssey I have not played so I can't say.

I will though recommend the remake ofDragon Quest Vas it is one of the best RPG ever made (to be more precise, it's a port of the 3D PS2 remake of the original SNES game and that PS2 remake is one of the best game I played in my life). TheDragon Quest IV and VIremakes are a tad bellow but also brilliant.

I will second thePhoenix Wrightserie. It is both thrilling and hilarious, but it's dangerously close to interactive novels: it's 85% reading!

I will second theCastlevaniagames. They are neat timewasting Metroidvania games in the spirit of the classic Symphony of the Night. I think it's indeed Portrait of Ruin is a little below par in that serie.

I will second theLaytongames. It's a time so polished and charming and pleasant that it becomes irritating, but if you are into classic puzzles and riddles it gives a lot to chew on. Pleasantly challenging without being overly difficult. On that note, there are a number of classic time wasters available such as Sudoku or Picross if that's your thing.

While being stylus based, I also second the electrifying and wackyElite Beat Agentbut will also mention the marvelously designedRhythm Heaven(the gamplay of many of the mini games is amazing, but on top of that many of them tell a story about performance, about being part of a team, about living up to expectations, it's a masterpiece).