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Your favorite Nintendo DS "hidden gems"?
- Thread starter Lant_War
- Start date
Yeah, I initially had the GBA version and enjoyed it there as well.
The same company also did Racing Gears Advance, which was a lot of fun too.
YES
I've never played this game but I always wondered if it's any good
The wikipedia article makes it seem like straight up softcore porn
As a teenage boy I remember trying to dress up the main girl so she'd look like my crush. I should pop it back into my DS and see what that actually entailed. It was a fun game, even if I'd be way too embarrassed to buy a remaster on anything someone could see me play it on.
YES
YES
Ghost Trick
YES YES YES
(though I feel like people 'sorta' know about this one more than most?
YES
YES
Age of Empires: Age of Kings
Yes, a Age of Empires game made it onto the Nintendo DS. Unlike the games on PC though it was a turn based strategy game that had the base building and resource management of the PC games, but the combat is very similar to Advance Wars as you had matchups between units and see both sides' numbers go down after an encounter (or if you were smart how much of an advantage you had on your attack). Its was a medieval setting Advance Wars style of combat that Wargroove is now utilizing. There's also Age of Empires: Mythologies (or Age of Mythology) on DS too, but I weirdly enough never played it (though it looks very similar).
Here's an old X Play review of Age of Kings on DS:
One of the two, I forget which, had a pretty severe game breaking bug that would make completing a campaign impossible. Otherwise they were both pretty, surprisingly, great.
Pretty much, yeah.
I wonder what percentage of quality DS games are nearly impossible to get rereleased due to the dual screen usage. Like, I'm not sure if Hatsworth would work anymore.
Oh boy, by 90%... WTF were they thinking ?
... Money I guess :D
Bought it last year, played the intro and it was pretty interesting indeed.
From the Abyss
This wasn't a great game, but it was a pretty fun, proc gen action RPG along the lines of the Mana series or more specifically it reminded me of the underrated Shining Soul games on GBA. This game also has spears/polearm weapons which is a major plus in my book since so few games feature them.
The Dark Spire (already mentioned in thread)
This game is actually amazing. Such a rad throwback first person dungeon crawler a-la Wizardry. Much darker and less anime fanservice than the Etrian Odyssey games. Also it has one of the best soundtracks in gaming
I've been after that game for ages, so I never noticed they were from the same devs! Explains a bit, they must like that isometric look.
Anyway, on topic, some other DS recs:
- Tony Hawk's American Sk8land: one of the last classic-feeling TH games. There are probably better versions of the concept on portables, but I like how this one looks.
- Ivy the Kiwi: the kiwi runs, you guide him by drawing vines he can run on. You can also use the vines to make him change direction or propel him around the level. It's also on Wii IIRC, but I'd imagine this is the version to get.
- Kaiju Busters Powered: the DS didn't have Monster Hunter, but it had this. There's also Element Hunters, which loons similar, but I haven't tried that one.
- Custom Robo Arena: I know it's a Nintendo IP, but hardly anyone talks about this game. I want a revival, damn it.
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I love its cheeky humor and juggle based battle system. I'm still salty that the sequel never came out of Japan.
Easily Ouendan and Ouendan 2. Fantastic little gems I could play hours trying to chain combos and get high scores.
Then came EBA. I remember looking at the track list for the first time and was so disappointed by it. I remember someone said it should have had 'It's the end of the world as we know it' by R.E.M as the final stage. Instead we got Village People, Believe and Sk8er Boi. What a misfire.
Then came EBA. I remember looking at the track list for the first time and was so disappointed by it. I remember someone said it should have had 'It's the end of the world as we know it' by R.E.M as the final stage. Instead we got Village People, Believe and Sk8er Boi. What a misfire.
I don't really agree with that, the Metroid name was invoked a lot at the time but IIRC the game is made up of linear levels?
Scurge: Hive is always the first game that comes to mind, even if it was originally a GBA game. But the higher resolution and bottom screen map made it a nicer version to play.
It's basically an isometric Metroid game, albeit with a timer that decreases between save points. As much as I hate time limits in games, though, it actually played into the overall game.
This looks really interesting. However, I really despise isometric games. My brain just doesn't work that way for some reason. How well does it control?
I'm mad they never released it here
one of the best games on the system
It does have a fan translation, for those interested. I didn't stick with it, but it seemed to be complete.
I always wanted to learn how to draw, and this little software is really great. I started using it a few weeks back, but I missed the extra lessons and dropped it to play other stuff. Today I decided to get back to it and redo the main lessons that take you to the extra lesson related to the main one, and I did that not just because I wanted to learn hot to draw, but also because the last few weeks have been really terrible to my mental health to the point that I'm feeling like sh*t not only in my mind, but it's also affecting my body. I'm feeling sick without being physically ill, I don't have a cold or fever, or anything. But this little software helped me forget all my problems for the few minutes I used it today. So if you, like me, want to learn how to draw and paint, or just want some sort of relaxation, I highly recommend it.
I've literally seen every game I can think of as a hidden gem listed already, im surprised FF: 4 hero's of light and ninjatown only got one mention though...
phantasy star zero, even though it's from a well known series I always meet people who never heard of the entry. It's deep for a DS game and the graphics always impress me for the hardware.
Snapdots on the eshop (dsiware), still one of the best puzzle games on the system IMO
Big Bang mini, 2d shooter but super stylized and I love the soundtrack...
Eco creatures, not a great RTS but if your a fan of the genre it's simple fun
I'd also add zombie daisuki for another strategy game. it's pretty cheap to pick up (sub 20$?) and you don't need to know really any Japanese to get it. The story/art is fun to play through and it's a cool gem to have for a DS collector.
phantasy star zero, even though it's from a well known series I always meet people who never heard of the entry. It's deep for a DS game and the graphics always impress me for the hardware.
Snapdots on the eshop (dsiware), still one of the best puzzle games on the system IMO
Big Bang mini, 2d shooter but super stylized and I love the soundtrack...
Eco creatures, not a great RTS but if your a fan of the genre it's simple fun
I'd also add zombie daisuki for another strategy game. it's pretty cheap to pick up (sub 20$?) and you don't need to know really any Japanese to get it. The story/art is fun to play through and it's a cool gem to have for a DS collector.
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Anything by CING: Hotel Dusk, Last Window, Another Code/Trace Memory, hell, I even loved AGAIN.
Other gems I liked:
This was surprisingly good!
Doraemon: Nobita to Midori no Kyojinden DS. Based on the 2008 movie of the same name (minus the DS part)
It's a really nice platformer. Intergrating Doraemon's gadgets quite well into the gameplay. And easy to beat even if you're not fluent in Japanese, but you can die a lot if you're reckless.
Maestro! Jump in Music.
Europe-only rhythm game, had an excellent licensed music library, great gameplay and controls. Only saw a single review and a single forum thread for this one ever but it is criminally underplayed.
Europe-only rhythm game, had an excellent licensed music library, great gameplay and controls. Only saw a single review and a single forum thread for this one ever but it is criminally underplayed.
AKA Clubhouse Games
Amazing! Hope it comes on Switch. Been eyeing steam version for ages but prefer portable.Also this game was amazing and it came out of nowhere.
