Best DS games for a 5 year old??

I bought a DSi for my son for Xmas, and he'll be almost 5 by the time the holidays roll around. I'm totally new to the DS myself having shunned portable gaming systems all these years for the "bigger brother" systems.

What are the best games for his age group - games that are the best overall, with suitable content (he won't be playing "GTA: China Wars" - but I might ;), and most importantly will be easy enough to play at his skill level?

Just from a quick search: definitely Mario Kart (he loves the Wii version) -what about Yoshi's Island?, Nintendogs?, Scribblenauts looks promising?,Zelda: Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks?(I love the Zelda series but I don't know if he'll be able to get into it). Though I dread it, the Pokemon series seems pretty popular. Is it something I should look into for him?

Any educational games for his age group?

I got a DSi for the same price as the DS Lite, and I wanted that model because of the ability to download games online. Any downloadable games worth looking into for him?

Thanks for any helpful replies!

(PS: Is there a way to turn on reply notification, such that if someone replies to my post I'll get an e-mail letting me know? Thanks.)

Something Mario. NSMB or Kart likely. Although my bosses six year old loved Bowser's inside story, but found it a little hard

Sonic Collection, Super Mario Bros, Spongebob Truth or Square, Penguins of Madagascar, Mario Party, Mario Cart, All the Lego Games, Chocobo Tails, Batman the Brave and Bold, Marvel Super Hero Squad, Yoshi, Backyardigans, clubhouse Games.

If he's good at video games at that age he might start enjoying the Castlevanias, Pokemon, Nanostray, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles...

• Animal Crossing
• New Super Mario Bros
• Sonic Rush

I bought a DSi for my son for Xmas, and he'll be almost 5 by the time the holidays roll around. I'm totally new to the DS myself having shunned portable gaming systems all these years for the "bigger brother" systems.

What are the best games for his age group - games that are the best overall, with suitable content (he won't be playing "GTA: China Wars" - but I might ;), and most importantly will be easy enough to play at his skill level?

Just from a quick search: definitely Mario Kart (he loves the Wii version) -what about Yoshi's Island?, Nintendogs?, Scribblenauts looks promising?,Zelda: Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks?(I love the Zelda series but I don't know if he'll be able to get into it). Though I dread it, the Pokemon series seems pretty popular. Is it something I should look into for him?

Any educational games for his age group?

I got a DSi for the same price as the DS Lite, and I wanted that model because of the ability to download games online. Any downloadable games worth looking into for him?

Thanks for any helpful replies!

(PS: Is there a way to turn on reply notification, such that if someone replies to my post I'll get an e-mail letting me know? Thanks.)

jmallen99

My God Daughter is a big sonic fan, she likes that you help save cute little animals.

Kirby games are pretty good for youngsters, too. There are four DS ones -- Kirby Canvas Curse, Kirby Super Star Ultra (a remake of the SNES game), Kirby Squeak Squad, and Kirby Mass Attack. I've only played Canvas Curse (and loved it), but Super Star Ultra or Squeak Squad are probably also great fits. Mass Attack might be a little hard for a 5 year-old.

I'd say Nintendogs, it'll get him hooked on games :P

Animal Crossing - addictive for children AND adults!

Any of the MySims games

Pretty much any sonic or mario game, zelda games may be too hard for a 5 year old. Animal crossing is a lot of fun for all ages, nintendogs is great for for kids. He might also like the lego games, my 7 year old loves lego batman. There are hundreds of kiddies games to choose from.

Animal Crossing, Pokemon, and Kirby are probably the best choices.

The legendary Starfy. Wonderful learning curve, and fun for any age.

Animal Crossing. UprootedDreamer

Yes. Definitely if u don't care about words like jerk and stuff. It's great for little kids.

The legendary Starfy. Wonderful learning curve, and fun for any age.

LOSTLEAD8R

Wow! Thanks so much for all the replies! I definitely saw several titles mentioned over and over. I'll have to check some of those out. Now how do I narrow the list? :)

@rubber-chicken: Good advice on video game addiction. Unfortunately, I'm afraid my son has the same "disease" that I do. I was hoping Gamespot was the "spot" to provide counseling on how to overcome thisproblem.:)

@hydralisk86: One of my son's friends actually got a DS when he was 3!! I thought that was really young and the kid would have to be told to be careful about dropping it all the time. I guess we'll see. The DS models seem fairly sturdy, but I'm definitely not buying him a new one if it breaks! :)

A couple of questions:

New Super Mario Bros (DS): Is the DS version as hard as the Wii version? I'm having a tough time with the Wii NSMB. I don't think my son would have the patience or skill for the DS version if it's just as difficult.

Pokemon: Which one is worth checking out first? I'm totally new to the Pokemon craze (except for Pokemon Snap, or whatever it was called, that came out for the N64 years ago). Which one is best, and should that be the first one my son should play?

Thanks!

You should be buying a 5 year old childrens books and board games not video games honestly

but i would say nintendogs, mario cart, pokemon maybe (if he knows how to read)