Your favorite Nintendo DS "hidden gems"?

[Slick Butter]

There are tons, but two no one mentioned:

Contact

Ghost Trick

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I was gonna say Contact! Love that game, i wish there were more games like it (are there?)

Not sure Ghost Trick is "hidden" but it is a gem and worth mentioning in case someone hasn't heard of it.

 

[TyrantGuardian]

Does Meteos count as a hidden gem? This game is amazing.

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Possibly the best game on the system.

 

[CheapJi]

a lot of people know ghost trick but I seriously don't know a lot of people that played the thing.
play it people it's great.

 

[Knurek]

Definitely Pic Pic

Also Hudson's Illust Logic+Colorful Logic aka Color Picross:

\
Soul Bubbles is amazeballs:

Maestro: Jump in Music:

Last Window is great too, if you enjoyed Hotel Dusk:

 

[Deleted member 176]

Henry Hatsworth sucks.

My answer is Hotel Dusk.

 

[Akumatica]

Since OP listed Ace Attorney Investigations 2, here's a few more with fan translations-

Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love-

Game Center CX 2 (sequel to Retro Game Challenge)

Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! (the 3rd Chibi-Robo! game)-

 

[Sumio Mondo]

Fan translations included?

Okay then Mystery of the Emblem is actually one of the best Fire Emblem games, every FE fan should play it.

Game blew me away.

 

[denpanosekai]

Feels like we have this thread every other week. Not that there's anything wrong with that!!!

- Tokyo Beatdown
- Away: Shuffle Dungeon
- Jake Hunter: Memories of the past (includes the first game)

And... controversial opinion time....

- Suikoden Tierkreis

^ Play it with cheats enabled and it shines.

 

[9-Volt]

Does anybody remember this game? This was a surprisingly fun strategy game by Success but mostly ignored when it came out. Speaking of Success, this was a strategy gem by them too:

It was super hard but this also made the game quite fun too. It had an interesting story too.

 

[Knurek]

Does anybody remember this game? This was a surprisingly fun strategy game by Success but mostly ignored when it came out.

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Fun fact. Music for the game is composed by Motoi Sakuraba (Tales of series, Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, Resonance of Fate, Dark Souls)

 

[FrostyLemon]

This is my favourite bomberman game and I think it was only released in Europe?

Also this game was amazing and it came out of nowhere.

 

[LazyLain]

Lots of great stuff in this thread, but Ghost Trick would be my pick.

Also, haven't played enough of it myself to decide whether it's actually a gem, but maybe My World My Way?

 

[Servbot24]

I don't know if it's hidden, but Meteos is one of my favorite games ever.

 

[Ekid]

The DS library was so ridiculous that even while reading this thread I'm like "oh yeah I enjoyed that one too" even though I totally forgot it existed.

A few I can think off right now:
-Lunar Knights
-Bleach: The Blade of Fate
-Geometry Wars
-Magical Starsign
-Jump Ultimate Stars

 

[GamerJM]

Ouendan/EBA trilogy
999
Fire Emblem: Shin Monshou
Devil Survivor 2

These are all kind of the basic ones but they're still my favorites. I've played like ~100 DS games and there's still an astonishing number of stuff being mentioned here I need to delve into.

 

[Lirose]

The DS was full of gems. Some of the more hidden ones I can think of would be :-

- Mysterious Quest : Mysterious Times
- The Urbz : Sims in the City
- Touch Detective (1, 2 1/2)

Agree with majority of the previous games, a lot of stellar titles mentioned. I miss the magical time of the Nintendo DS...

 

[LexusRacer]

Sorry double posted.

 

[Wilco]

This thread brings back memories... I loved the DS library.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
Ghost Trick
Last Window/Hotel Dusk
Time Hollow
Picross 3D
Alien Infestation
Meteos
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
Ouendan
Puzzle Quest

 

[LexusRacer]

 

[Parshias]

Infinite Space is the best game Platinum has ever produced.

Spoiler

Even though it was mostly Nude Maker doing the work.

 

[Mollymauk]

I preferred the spritework in the DS version of Might and Magic Clash of Heroes to its console version.
Alice in a Wonderland had a great visual style in contrast to the garishly ugly Burton film.
The Dark Spire
Knights in the Nightmare

 

[dadjumper]

Umihara Kawase Shun Complete Edition.

It's a port of Shun for the PS1, and also includes a port of 1 for the Super Famicom. Really great little package, and a ton of fun on the DS controls. Probably my fave Umihara game.

 

[Deleted member 30887]

infinite space was an awesome rpg and it never ever received that slow burn rise in popularity 999 got either.

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Is this game like the Legend of galactic heroes anime. I'm thinking of buying this if I can find a copy.

 

[Tace]

Great little Sims game that could use more love. Was full of quirky characters and a nice progression system
Believe it was on GBA as well

 

[AniHawk]

Is this game like the Legend of galactic heroes anime. I'm thinking of buying this if I can find a copy.

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i never saw it. the story is more of a very serious take on the story gurren lagann tells, although i think it does it much better.

 

[dubc]

For those recommending Infinite Space, the slow battle animation didn't turn you off of it? I played a couple hours and I found it overly slow (the battle animation not the game as a whole). It was the main reason I stopped playing it.

 

[Deleted member 30887]

i never saw it. the story is more of a very serious take on the story gurren lagann tells, although i think it does it much better.

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That's good too. Been looking for an epic space opera experience lately. Now to find a copy.

 

[ZugZug123]

As much as I like the 3DS, the library never beat the DS one in terms of variaty. One of my fave games is Boxlife, I have no idea who was the crazy person that tuned a game about making boxes into something so compelling and well made.

 

[Merton]

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

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I dont think so, it was weird but not porn

 

[AniHawk]

That's good too. Been looking for an epic space opera experience lately. Now to find a copy.

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the eu versions might be cheaper. ds is region free so that helps.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

My favorite lesser known games are already covered. Rocket Slime, Chibi-Robo! (Park Patrol and Okaeri!), Lost in Blue are probably my top three out of overlooked DS titles. There's also a pretty solid entry in the Viva Piñata series (Pocket Paradise) for the DS if you enjoy that sort of thing.

 

[Cess007]

Anything by CING: Hotel Dusk, Last Window, Another Code/Trace Memory, hell, I even loved AGAIN.

Other gems I liked:

 

[bottledfox]

Also this game was amazing and it came out of nowhere.

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Agreed. Clash of Heroes is probably the best puzzle/RPG I've played, and it was a very well represented sub-genre on the DS. Shoutout to Puzzle Quest: Galactrix as well.

 

[Asbsand]

YYeeeeah, OP, I'm so excited and ResetERA I love your consistent respect and passion for this 2004 handheld system and oh man, I got so much to talk about with you gu--

3 - Ace Attorney Investigations 2

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Goodbye. >:(

 

[Richter1887]

Thread came at the worst time ever. I wanted to save some cash this month...

 

[CatSoul]

Y'all are making me realize my game library wasn't very adventurous as a kid. Haven't seen one game I played in this thread yet. (I did own Nostalgia but never played it. Gonna try to find it now.)

(I also did ask for Devil Survivor, but my parents were either hesitant about purchasing me it or simply couldn't find it.)

 

[TwinBahamut]

Infinite Space and Retro Game Challenge both come to mind.

Not being able to play the sequel to Retro Game Challenge really annoys me. I loved the retro RPG in there and always wanted to play its sequel.

 

[wondermagenta]

 

[julia crawford]

Had a great time with this after picking it up from a thrift store for cheap.

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End boss is fuuuuuucked tho

 

[Ragnarok Flames]

 

[Giga Man]

I'm the guy the OP was talking about who brought up Monster Tale! I have Nintendo Power to thank for even bringing this game to my attention. Here's the box art to get your attention.

Some of the music is pretty great, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK5iQnLKU38
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyWwbkpgnms

I also want to give a huge shout out to Jump Ultimate Stars, the Shonen Jump manga cross-over fighting game that has yet to be matched. It's the definitive action manga cross-over experience!

Another game I'd like to highlight isn't a substantial one, but it's one I had a good time with. Giana Sisters DS. It's really easy and not too much of a challenge, but there's a decent amount of game there, and it's just relaxing to play. I was at a point in my life where I just wanted something simple and clean to play that had a decent amount of charm to it, and this game was just what I needed. I got it for about $10, too!

 

[ArbitraryWater]

Fan translations included?

Okay then Mystery of the Emblem is actually one of the best Fire Emblem games, every FE fan should play it.

Game blew me away.

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It's a crime that New Mystery never came over here, given how much better it is than Shadow Dragon.

To give my own answer, The Dark Spire is this weird, uncompromising dungeon crawler that takes after the original Wizardry games even more than something like Etrian Odyssey does. I don't necessarily know if it's my favorite obscure game on the system (it has a lot of intentional old-school bullshit) but it still sticks out in my memory as a really neat thing.

 

[Guaraná]

Hotel Dusk Room 215 is not a hidden gem in the sense that is not hidden, but its my favorite DS game.

 

[Ogawa-san]

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

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I came here with this game in mind. It's a bunch of touch minigames, weird but fun.

 

[BlueStarEXSF]

 

[Foldedpencil]

Ghost Trick

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If you have not played this, buy a DS, get this game, and enjoy. I knew there was a twist in it somewhere, I looked for it the whole time, but when it came I was still surprised.

 

[Aexact]

infinite space was an awesome rpg and it never ever received that slow burn rise in popularity 999 got either.

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The puzzles in 999 had a functional escape the room style. I dunno what Infinite Space was trying to do.

But despite the DS's limitations it was the grandest space opera I've ever played. A universe that feels vast. A span of time of wide eyed youth to the adult legend. Aliens that look and feel alien. What an adventure.

 

[Tarot Deck]

Oh god, there are way way waaaaaaay too many hidden gems on the DS.

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I was gonna say this.

And going by the replies I know I missed most of them

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Dragonball Z: Attack of the Saiyans is a pretty surprisingly solid turn based RPG with some great spritework and neat combination attack mechanics.

I think MonolithSoft developed it...?

 

[Deleted member 21709]

Arkanoid DS with controller