Hello everyone, and welcome to the new:

Nintendo DS Recommendation Thread

ALL DS RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS THREAD.

[QUOTE="Soulreavercross"] If you want an opinion about which game to get, this is the thread to post it in. If you are going on vacation and want a good DS game, but don't know what to choose, post it in this thread. The DS forum is cluttered with too many of those 'recommendation' thread when we have a big bold sticky thread for it right here! Also, all those x or y recommendations threads will now be locked and the user possibly moderated because those are recommendation threads too and belongs in THIS thread for example Pokemon or Mario Kart should be posted in here! Violate those rules and face the wraith of the Moderators [/QUOTE]

Table of Contents

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No, really. We need one. The DS has been around for about three years now, and in that time it has amassed a huge collection of games with something for everyone. This list is quite long, and for that reason I've included a "tag" system.

If you're looking for a specific genre, search for its tag (Ctrl+F in most browsers.)

For example, if I wanted a roleplaying game I would search for "RPG7," and it would bring me to the proper section!

Upcoming Games---(UPC0)

Action---(ACN1)

Adventure---(ADV2)

Fighting---(FIG3)

Minigames/ Game Collections---(MIN4)

Platformers---(PLT5)

Puzzle---(PUZ6)

Racing---(RAC7)

Role Playing Games---(RPG8 )

Shooters---(SHR9 )

Sports---(SP10)

Strategy---(STG11)

Text Adventure---(TX12)

Virtual Life---(VL13)

Imports---(IM14)

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UPC0

Upcoming

Those About to be Released (We salute you.)

There are always plenty of games on the way. To save you some time, cash, and brain cells, I've tried to only include those that people have high expectations for. If you think something is missing, tell me! I'll almost definitely include it.

EU and AUS release dates are often vague or unreliable. These dates only apply to US releases unless otherwise specified.

The DSi will be released on April 5th in North America for $180 USD.

It will be released on April 1st in AU for $300 AUD.

It will be released on April 3rd in Europe. Retail price currently unknown.

Avalon Code: (March 3rd )

Blood of Bahamut (TBA 2009)

Blue Dragon Plus (February 24)

Dokapon Journey (April 14th)

Dragon Quest IX: Guardian of the Starry Night (TBA 2009 )

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (Spring 2009)

Flower, Sun, Rain (April 15th)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (March 17 )

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (TBA)

K

Legacy of Ys: Books I and II (Feb 10)

Ni No Kuni: The Another World (TBA 2009)

Phantasy Star Zero (TBA)

Pokemon Platinum (March 22)

Project Exile (March 17th? )

Puzzle Quest Galactrix (February 24th)

Rhythm Heaven (April 5th )

Shining Force Feather (TBA)

Sigma Harmonics (TBA)

Suikoden: Tierkris (March 17th)

Tales of Hearts (TBA )

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (March 16th)

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Updates

v1.48- Dragon Quest V, Retro Game Challenge, and Big Bang Mini are going up today, and release dates are being updated. I'm going to have to add Fire Emblem later, once GS puts up the review. Then again, the Kirby Superstar Ultra review still isn't up. (HINT, HINT.)

v1.47- Holidays are over, time for another update. Today includes Chrono Trigger, Castlevania OoE, DragonBall: Origins, Civ Revolution, Bleach 2, Disagaea, Age of Empires:Mythologies ,Legend of Kage, Metal Slug 7, and Ninjatown. Also updating the release list and writing my own mini-review for Kirby Superstar Ultra, because GS hasn't gotten around to it after MORE THAN 120 DAYS.

v1.46- All right, enough procrastination. Adding Civilization Revolution, GRID, Bangai-O, N+, Dragon Quest IV, and Lock's Quest today. Also updated the upcoming games list.

v1.45- E3 is over, time to update the upcoming games list. Also adding FFTA2, FF4, Etrian Odyssey 2, et al. It's a busy time for RPGs.

v1.44- The World Ends With You is up, and I fixed more release dates.

v1.43- Today I'm adding Ninja Gaiden: DS and Nanostray 2. I'm also updating the upcoming games list.

v1.42- I finally got the better of my procrastination and I'm now adding Crystal Chronicles: RoF and Apollo Justice. A lot of games have been announcd recently too, I'll get those up here.

v1.41- Whoops! I forgot to add Professor Layton this past week because I've... been too busy playing Professor Layton. Fixed a couple of release dates and added a few games too.

v1.4- Fixed the tags, put back the mysteriously disapearing racing section, and added three new games.

v1.3- The Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings review is finally in, I'll add that now. I also updated the release dates (so many TBA 2008s make me sad.) I also just realized my tag system skips the sports games, oops! I'll fix that ASAP.

v1.2- The reviews are finally starting to come in. I'll be adding Contra 4, and Mario Party DS. I'm also adding The World Ends With You, formerly known as It's a Wonderful World to the upcoming games list.

v1.1- Adding DQM: Joker and a GBA list. It was suprisingly hard to picl only 20 series! I'm also waiting on the Contra 4 and Mortal Kombat. Don't make me wait too long, Gamespot.

v1.0- It's finally complete! There are still a few things to be done, but the meat of the thread is here. I also added Dementium: The Ward to "Action." In the future I may add accessories and the top 10 or so GBA games.

ACN1

Action

(No time to think, just play)

Bomberman Land Touch!

The Good

• Traditional battle mode is a party when three or more people are involved
• Minigames are diverse and fun
• Eight players offline with only one copy of the game, four players online
• Only takes a couple button presses to jump into an online match.

The Bad

• Battle mode can be played online, but the minigames can't.

Contra 4

• Addictively challenging level designs
• Awesome boss fights
• Tons of great extras, including two unlockable oldschool Contra games
• Great mix of nostalgia and new content.

• Difficulty level is rage-inducing at times
• It's a short game
• No multiplayer in the older Contra games, and only multicard play for the DS game.

Custom Robo Arena

The Good

• Robo battles are fast and exciting
• Fully customizable robos
• Likable characters and funny dialogue
• Plenty of multiplayer options, including online play.

The Bad

• Story mode is lengthy but too easy
• Weapons are poorly balanced.

Dementium: The Ward

• Incredible, atmospheric sound design
• Fantastic graphics with no slowdown.

• Dull, repetitive level design
• Poorly implemented save system
• Short and has absolutely no replay value.

Dragonball: Origins

• Detailed character models
• Cutscenes include moments from the show
• Large, fun repertoire of moves
• Contains scenes cut from the English-dubbed anime.

• • Frame rate stutters frequently
  • Imprecise controls when the screen gets crowded
  • Some of the original scenes are startlingly risque.

Elite Beat Agents

The Good

• Top-notch rhythmic gameplay that requires a good deal of practice to master
• completely outlandish cutscenes and stage scenarios
• plenty of off-the-wall licensed music that's fun to play with
• four difficulty levels and a multiplayer mode.

The Bad

• A few of the more recent songs feel woefully out of place
• difficulty can occasionally be a bit too much.

Metroid Prime Pinball

The Good

• Convincing pinball physics and a good number of well-designed tables
• Plenty of signature Metroid touches will quickly stand out to fans
• Attractive visuals and great audio
• Rumble pak helps mimic the feel of a real pinball table.

The Bad

• Only two main single-player tables and one multiplayer table
• Bumping the table via the touch screen is a little awkward.

Resident Evil: Deadly Silence

The Good

• A faithful translation of Capcom's original survival horror.
• Features two playable characters plus two distinctly different single-player modes.
• Some excellent sound and music, plus voice acting that's so bad it's funny
• Creative minigames make use of the touch screen and microphone.

The Bad

• Visuals look grainy and washed out.
• Controls are clunky and can take getting used to
• Cheesy video and dialogue don't really fit with the game's serious theme.

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword

The Good

• Production values are through the roof
• Stylus-only combat keeps you engaged by letting you string together loads of dazzling attacks
• Brilliantly captures the spirit and tone of the previous games.

• The level of challenge, especially in boss battles, is underwhelming
• Some level designs create occasional control issues.

Nervous Brickdown

The Good

• Stylus controls are intuitive and responsive
• Tons of catchy music
• Constantly tweaks breakout formula to make it feel fresh again
• No shortage of visual flair.

The Bad

• Levels are occasionally too involved for their own good
• 10 levels can be burned through in a few short hours.

Trauma Center: Under the Knife

The Good

• A wide variety of surgical scenarios
• Easy to use touch-screen controls
• Quirky visuals
• Challenge mode adds replay value.

The Bad

• Sometimes too difficult for its own good
• Story mode isn't exceptionally long.

See also: TRAUMA CENTER 2

ADV2

Adventure

Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime

The Good

• Unique slime mechanics are amusing and well-implemented
• Variety of monsters and music from Dragon Quest's past
• Good tank-battle multiplayer.

The Bad

• Game is easy to breeze through
• Slime puns without cessation.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, The

• Gorgeous visuals
• Touch-screen controls work wonderfully
• Lots of nifty puzzles to solve
• Great boss fights.

• A few pacing problems make certain sections of the game a bit of a drag
• Some experienced players might find the game a touch easy.

Lost in Blue

The Good

• Island is fun to explore
• Plenty of items to collect to help ensure your survival
• Real sense of fighting against the elements.

The Bad

• Constant micromanagement required
• Limited inventory space enforces timesinks
• Travel has a tendency to get tedious.

FIG3

Fighting

Bleach: The Blade of Fate

The Good

• Tons of characters and unlockables
• Smooth "Easy-to-learn but difficult-to-master" gameplay
• Wi-Fi greatly enhances the experience.

The Bad

• Game is fairly easy
• Storylines after first character are quite short.

Bleach: Dark Souls

• Tight fighting engine with loads of abilities
• Balanced spirit card system
• Graphics and sound are faithful to show
• 40-plus characters on roster.

• Core action is largely unchanged
• Problematic lag in online matches.

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MIN4

Minigames/Game Collections

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day

• Great sudoku
• Clean presentation
• Good multiplayer options.

• Speech and handwriting recognition is still a little shaky.

Clubhouse Games

The Good

• Forty-two different games
• most games allow local and online multiplayer modes
• presentation emphasizes clarity over flash
• highly accessible interface uses the touch screen exclusively.

The Bad

• Certain card games impose hand limits and allow negative bankrolls
• Can't send messages to strangers in worldwide mode.

Mario Party DS

The Good

• More than 70 dramatically different minigames
• Controls can be picked up in seconds
• The touch screen and microphone are put to good use
• Plenty of play modes for one player or multiple players
• Multiplayer requires only one cartridge.

• Opponent AI is too rigid
• To get the most enjoyment, you need to play against other people
• Doesn't offer an online mode like so many other Nintendo games do nowadays.

WarioWare: Touched!

The Good

• Game's design is the right kind of crazy
• Interesting unlockables.

The Bad

• Super-repetitive microgames get old almost immediately
• Not as much fun as the other games in the series.
• Quite short, more so than past games.

PLT5

Platformer

(Simple 2-D bliss)

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

The Good

• Follows the tried-and-true Castlevania formula
• Smooth animation and detailed backgrounds
• Excellent music
• Wide variety of bosses, enemies keep you busy.

The Bad

• Doesn't distinguish itself from previous Castlevanias
• Touch-screen seems mostly unnecessary

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

• Streamlined level design minimizes backtracking
• Environments and musical score create a foreboding mood
• Varied boss battles
• Combat system is versatile and rewarding.

• The boss fights can be too punishing
• Some art is recycled.

DK Jungle Climber

• Unique control scheme
• Bright visuals
• Well-balanced difficulty
• So many bananas.

• Donkey Kong comes off as delicate.

Kirby: Canvas Curse

The Good

• Interesting control over Kirby and the environment
• Great presentation
• Variety, lots of unlockables.

The Bad

• No multiplayer.

Kirby Superstar Ultra

The Good

• Great update of best in the series
• Variety of gameplay modes
• Wide selection of copy abilities, each with multiple attacks
• Lots of unlockables

The Bad

• Some modes may be too short and easy
• Most game modes require 2 cards for multiplayer.

Mega Man ZX

The Good

• Multiple Model X forms offer a variety of play types.
• Tough bosses and challenging level design
• Great music.

The Bad

• Some of the levels and enemies blur the line between challenging and frustrating
• The world map could use more detail
• Save system too unforgiving.

See Also:

Mega Man ZX Advent

N+

The Good

• Hundreds of challenges to complete
• Addictive gameplay
• Thought-provoking puzzles
• Tight controls
• Excellent tools for creating environments.

The Bad

• Higher price than other versions

New Super Mario Bros.

The Good

• Terrific control
• Great gameplay that still works
• Great presentation
• Evokes the original games without feeling shameless.

The Bad

• Additional modes aren't as interesting as the main game
• Some levels seem a little too short.

Sonic Rush Adventure

• Great level designs
• Fun, hip-hop-infused soundtrack
• Dynamic blending of 2D gameplay and 3D graphics
• Sea-travel levels break up the action.

• Story sequences feel disposable
• Playing the same levels repeatedly eventually gets tiresome.

See Also:

Sonic Rush

Super Mario 64 DS

The Good

• A great update of an old game
• Just enough has been changed to make old players think
• Minigames are fun and highly addictive.

The Bad

• Control isn't as tight as the original
• Sound occasionally a little tinny.

Yoshi's Island DS

The Good

• Wildly diverse with lots of huge levels
• all of the abilities give players plenty to do
• graphics and music provide a charming atmosphere
• unlocking everything is a challenge, even if finishing the game is easy
• improves on the original without mucking anything up.

The Bad

• Some people may not like the cleaned-up graphics
• music tends to be understated

PUZ6

Puzzle

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis

The Good

• Navigating the Minis around stages is great fun
• more than 80 different stages, with plenty of variety
• cute, colorful visuals
• level-creation mode is wonderful.

The Bad

• You'll get through the main story mode very quickly
• some stages are still extremely easy, but not as many as the last game.

Meteos

The Good

• Innovatively designed, crazy-fast puzzle action
• Great fun in single-player and multiplayer
• Multiplayer requires only one cartridge
• Universe-about-to-be-annihilated premise always a plus in a puzzle game.

The Bad

• Some interface elements a little hard to see
• Fun but formulaic gameplay might not hold your interest indefinitely.

Picross DS

• Lots of puzzles to solve
• Hectic online action provides a lasting challenge.

• Zooming in on puzzles can be hard to deal with
• Music gets repetitive.

Planet Puzzle League

The Good

• Brain-bending puzzle mode
• Interesting combo mechanic
• Robust online options
• You can talk to other players via voice chat.

The Bad

• Normal game often degenerates into chaos
• So-so graphics
• Not as new as its price tag.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

The Good

• RPG context adds depth to familiar puzzle gameplay
• Puzzle gameplay makes traditional RPG structure way more addictive
• Lush soundtrack
• Main quest is ridiculously long.

The Bad

• Enemies can be frustrating, even early on
• Cramped presentation affects gameplay.

Tetris DS

The Good

• Great selection of modes
• Online play
• Amazing game sharing
• Dude! it's Tetris.

The Bad

• Compromising gameplay options that can't be turned off
• Meager mode selection online
• Dude? It's Tetris.

RAC7

Racing

G.R.I.D.

The Good

• Good variety of races and events
• Track creator lets you make tracks and share them with friends
• Internal damage system encourages precise driving
• Plenty of great-looking licensed cars
• Dedicated friends and rivals list.

The Bad

• Some odd car animations
• Sense of speed is lacking.

Mario Kart DS

• Eight players with a single copy of the game
• Gameplay is better than ever
• Plenty of single-player content
• Lots of fun stuff to unlock
• Human competition from all over the world.

• Hanging out at McDonald's to play online.

Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City

• Driving is fast-paced and vicious
• Wingman and unwreck features are fun to exploit
• Slaphappy opponents and saucy cutaways give the game attitude
• You can customize your car with a ridiculous number of parts and decals
• Multiplayer mode greatly extends the replay value.

• Some features from the console versions are scaled back or missing
• Hardware limitationslimit the graphics and audio
• Crashes are common.

Race Driver: Create and Race

• Loads of content
• Strong multiplayer component
• Racing is fast and fun
• Solid frame rate.

• AI can be obnoxious
• Grainy tracks make it tough to see turns.

RPG8

Role Playing Games

Chrono Trigger

• A lovable cast of memorable heroes and empathetic villains
• Epic story with 14 possible endings
• Innovative, engaging combat system
• Brand-new ending, dungeons, and items give veterans something to look for
• Beautiful, haunting soundtrack.

• Monster arena is a lackluster addition
• New missions are frustrating, repetitive fetch quests.

Dragon Quest IV

The Good

• Captivating, uniquely presented storyline
• Impressive dual-screen presentation
• Detailed sprites and 3D environments
• Additional chapter and optional content add depth.

The Bad

• Battles a little too easy at the start
• Minimal monster variety early on
• Save system can get a tad annoying.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

• Wonderful visuals
• More than 200 monsters to capture
• Involving and addictive customization system.

• Level grinding can be intimidating
• No online head-to-head
• Could have benefited from a more interesting battle system.

Etrian Odyssey

The Good

• Highly customizable, immersive gameplay
• extreme difficulty makes for a good deal of excitement
• deliberate but well paced, especially for being so long.

The Bad

• Far too much backtracking
• gameplay could have been streamlined with a few minor tweaks.

Final Fantasy III

The Good

• Great-looking fully 3D visuals breathe new life and personality into an old game
• job system helps add variety and depth to all of the combat
• lengthy quest will keep you busy for hours and hours.

The Bad

• 3D visuals could have been smoother, and the DS's top screen is barely used
• game can feel punishing at times, partly due to the lack of save points.

Final Fantasy IV

• Some of the most memorable characters in the Final Fantasy universe
• New augment system lets you customize your characters
• New translation feels more authentic than previous attempts.

• Voice acting is weak.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

The Good

• Each character has a unique selection of attacks and tribal abilities
• Slick mix of monster killing, platforming, and puzzle-solving
• Charming cast of characters
• Up to four local players can adventure together.

• Certain tasks are cumbersome to pull off in the single-player campaign
• Useless artificial intelligence
• Major slowdown in ad hoc play, and no Wi-Fi multiplayer.

Lunar Knights

The Good

• Story is engaging and well told
• amazingly catchy music
• a ton of unique mechanics keep the well-worn dungeon-crawling formula fresh
• adventure is lengthy without overstaying its welcome.

The Bad

• Space sequences feel a little clumsy
• combat can be unforgiving.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

The Good

• Superb gameplay
• Engaging combat system
• Meaty quest
• Wonderful graphics.

The Bad

• Weak battle theme music
• Occasionally awkward viewing angle makes jumping tricky.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

The Good

• Colorful presentation blends 2D and 3D
• Enthusiastic soundtrack
• Introduces online play
• Lengthy, engaging single-player story
• more than 100 new Pokémon.

The Bad

• New touch-screen controls underwhelming
• Online hampered by accessibility issues

Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon

• Combat integrates into farmlife formula surprisingly well
• Plenty of unique activities to keep busy with.

• Actual combat feels stilted
• 2D and 3D graphics don't mesh very well.

The World Ends With You

• Innovative combat system that can be easily tailored to suit
• Compelling story with some genuinely heartfelt moments
• Makes full use of all of the DS's technical capabilities
• Top-notch presentation
• Awesome soundtrack.

• Some pin powers get mixed up in the execution
• Only one save game per cartridge.

SHR9

Shooters

Bangai-O Spirits

The Good

• Outstanding control
• Great assortment of powerful weapons
• Level editor adds lots of value
• It's easy to share and receive user-created levels.

The Bad

• Steep difficulty can be off-putting
• Lacks a Campaign mode.

Brothers In Arms DS

The Good

• Graphics push the DS hardware to its limits
• Cover mechanic works well and is quite useful
• Can be mindless fun in short bursts.

The Bad

• Controls are awkward.
• No real story and simple objectives.
• Lots of annoying visual and camera quirks.

Metroid Prime: Hunters

The Good

• Surprisingly fluid and precise control, once you get used to it
• Lots of multiplayer options for multi-card, local play
• Four-player online play
• Great look and presentation, complete with numerous cut-scenes.
• Lefty-friendly control options.

The Bad

• Level design is limited and linear
• Bosses repeat
• Online matches against random players are limited to battle mode.

Nanostray 2

• Great-looking 3D enemies and backgrounds
• Sharp touch-screen controls
• Good range of difficulty won't exclude novices
• Challenges and simulators offer a refreshing change of pace.

• D pad controls too sluggish
• Disappointing single-card play .

Star Fox Command

The Good

• Great touch-screen controls make flying around fun
• Some original strategic elements and multiple storylines
• Multiplayer dogfighting playable online or locally with one copy of the game.

The Bad

• Most story missions feel randomly generated and don't pose much challenge
• Lack of variety in the multiplayer modes.

Sports

Mario Hoops 3 on 3

• Control is laid out in an interesting way
• has a good number of different courts and characters
• has control options for left- and right-handed players.

• Requires second copy of the game for real multiplayer
• single-player isn't too engaging
• minigame modes are lame.

Tony Hawk's American Sk8land

The Good

• Great graphics
• Ability to add your own custom sound effects
• Plays a lot like the console games
• Cool graphics
• Online scoreboards.

The Bad

• Longtime players might find the game a little easy
• No graffiti mode.

See Also:

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

STG11

Strategy

(Need more vespene gas)

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

• Terrific online support
• Huge amounts of single- and multiplayer content
• New visuals look sharper, more detailed.

• Writing isn't strong enough to support grim look and feel
• Single-player campaign can be excessively difficult.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike

The Good

• Perfectly tuned, incredibly deep, addictive, and approachable strategic gameplay.
• Tons of different gameplay options make for limitless variety.
• Great AI for solo play, plus tons of local multiplayer options.
• Memorable characters and a good story-driven campaign.

The Bad

• Campaign is a little easy for series fans
• Gameplay and visuals recycled from past entries.

Age of Empires: Mythologies

• Brilliant blend of RTS and turn-based design conventions
• Outstanding strategic depth
• Lengthy campaign and numerous other modes
• Solid interface and presentation values.

• A little formulaic when it comes to scenario design.

Disgaea

• Good amount of depth and replay value
• Item world provides limitless customization
• Lots of bonus features, including multiplayer and guest characters.

• No online multiplayer support
• Audio and visuals are less impressive than in other versions.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

The Good

• Incredible graphics and visuals
• Touch-screen controls make managing your army a snap
• Riveting story with plenty of twists and turns
• Balthier.

• Some large battles suffer graphical slowdown
• Terrain occasionally obscures enemies.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2

• Great presentation
• Good musical score
• Plenty of depth.

• Excessively long battles with little payoff
• Weak stylus controls
• Restrictive battle rules.

LostMagic

The Good

• Excellent controls
• Clean, colorful visuals
• Varied level design.

The Bad

• Micromanaging monster movement
• Rollercoaster difficulty.

Lock's Quest

The Good

• Building defenses is easy and intuitive
• Intuitive stylus-intensive controls
• Challenging multiplayer mode is icing on the cake.

The Bad

• Camera view can make it difficult to build on some maps
• Occasional control snag when the screen gets crowded.

Luminous Arc

• Mid-battle level-up system adds unique twist to the turn-based gameplay
• Likeable cast of characters
• Lengthy main adventure with some nice replay extras.

• Story is formulaic and shallow
• A few grating vocal performances.

Ninjatown

• Controls are easy to learn
• Combat moves at a quick pace
• Extremely well-balance
• Quick battles make it perfect for gaming on the go.

• Difficult to adjust strategy on the fly
• Lots of trial and error.

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

The Good

• Engrossing strategic depth
• Many ways to claim victory
• Meets high standard of the Civilization series.

The bad

• Busy maps can feel visually cluttered
• Diplomacy is a bit limited
• Sound is best left off.

TX12

Text Adventure

(You are standing in an open field west of a white house...)

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

• New forensic investigation abilities add much-needed variety
• Improved visual presentation
• Last case is quite interesting and provides a good payoff.

• Forensic investigation tools are underused
• New characters aren't as charming and interesting as the old ones.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215

The Good

• Great detective noir storyline that's both clever and thoughtful.
• Character graphics are sharp and unique.
• Top-notch dialogue.

The Bad

• Protracted item/people-hunting situations periodically rear their ugly heads.
• Sometimes-slow pacing will probably drive some people up the wall.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

The Good

• Unique and colorful game.
• Excellent presentation.
• Flawless sound effects.
• Great use of the DS microphone and touch screen.

The Bad

• Sometimes a bit linear
• Limited replay value.

See Also:

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice for All

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations

VL13

Virtual Life

(Because real life is boring)

Animal Crossing: Wild World

The Good

• The exact same brand of addictive gameplay from the first game is front and center here
• Many more fish, bugs, fossils, and other crazy things to collect
• Writing is still very sharp, and the new characters are pretty much all great
• Online play.

The Bad

• Some odd restrictions on the multiplayer features
• A few of the new day-to-day tasks are kind of dull.

Nintendogs (All versions)

The Good

• Lifelike, endearing puppies
• Easy-to-use training interface
• Lots of unlockable accessories, dog breeds, and other items
• Great in short- and medium-length bursts.

The Bad

• A few restrictions feel unnecessarily limiting at times.

Whoops, I ran out of space! I apologize for this section looking so ugly and out of place, but there are too many good games to be played, and no room in the 5 posts above.

Recommended Import Sites:
Play-Asia

NCSX

YesAsia

Jump! Ultimate Stars

Though easier than it's predecessor (Jump! Superstars), Jump! Ultimate Stars is a large enough expansion that it is superior in nearly every other way and throws in Wi-Fi to sweeten the deal. It's highly recommended for anyone who likes anime, fighting games, or even just anyone who has a DS.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan

The wacky Japanese predecessor to the equally wacky Elite Beat Agents. Addictive and fully of catchy music you can't understand; but it doesn't matter-this one is all about the gameplay.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2

Building on the zany humor, awesome music, and excellent gameplay of the first while including refinements added in by Elite Beat Agents, this is quite possibly the best game in the series.

Taiko no Tatsujin

Perhaps the cutest ryhtm game around, and with a spoonfuls of quirkiness and charm, the DS edition of the Drum Master series has an excellent variety of high-quality songs, great gameplay, and and is very import-friendly.

Got a spare GBA slot and nothing to fill it? While the DS library is already huge, you're doing yourself a huge disservice by not playing at least a few of these games:

Advance Wars

Astro Boy: Omega Factor

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Drill Dozer

Final Fantasy IV Advance Final Fantasy V Advance Final Fantasy VI Advance

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Fire Emblem Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Golden Sun Golden Sun: The Lost Age

Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town

The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood

Kirby & the Amazing Mirror

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Metroid Fusion Metroid: Zero Mission

Monster Rancher Advance

Phantasy Star Collection

Riviera: The Promised Land

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival

Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis

WarioWare Inc.: Mega MicroGame$