#there is a plot and theming and every board and minigame uses the DS's hardware and the theming REALLY well

[illdothehotvoice]

Hey remember when the Mario Party DS piracy horror series was a thing and I was like "Man this is triggering me and making me paranoid as fuck but hopefully it'll get more eyes on Mario Party DS cause it's my favorite and severely underrated!" And then no one has talked about Mario Party DS since??

[gamersonthego]

Matt Giguere’s Top 25 DS Games

It’s strange to think Nintendo, once again, had to prove themselves in the handheld space after the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance handily served every bit of competition it faced. Yet in 2004, the Nintendo DS faced an uphill battle to show that having the best and fastest hardware wouldn’t necessarily result in the best sales. 16 years and 154 million units later, the legacy of the DS is strong, evident in the deluge of smartphone and mobile games that rely on a touch interface. It’s a shame Nintendo and other publishers are not being better stewards to their catalogues of games as there are still many that are only playable on the original hardware, and few seem to make the jump to the current set of consoles and computers. Still, it is easy to find an original DS that works and there are still plenty of cheap titles to pick up. Here’s a selection of my favorite games to hit the handheld.

1. Meteos

Can a puzzle game top Tetris?  Honestly, thanks to the minds of Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Masahiro Sakurai, Meteos manages to blast past the mesosphere and comes the closest to a space rendezvous with the original falling brick puzzler. What makes it fun to play? While it can get rather hectic and fast paced, the touch screen makes matching three or more pieces a cinch. Blasting off these little “meteos” using rocket propulsion and fighting against the forces of gravity creates a very addictive hook with some variety that keeps it from being stale. It is a simple and effective puzzle game that showcases why a touch-based interface can work for some games better than what button presses can do. Add in easy to use single cart multiplayer and the single-player Star Trip mode to keep you sharp, and you have a puzzle game for the ages.  

2. Elite Beat Agents

Imagine being stuck in an impossible situation, like having to face down a runaway golem, or sneak into a corporate office using your ninja powers? Who do you call to help in this situation? This is a job for the Elite Beat Agents: A government agency that cheers you on to the grooves of radio hits from the ’70s to the ’00s. The idea of playing a rhythm game where you have to tap and slide didn’t sit well with my snobbish DDR and Guitar Hero ways. Why tap a screen when I can “dance” and “rock out?” Little did I know this was just as valid a way to feel the music and beat out a jam, and soon after I was feeling the hand cramps of too much furious tapping while I carefully made sure I didn't “Ouendan” the bottom screen. There’s a very strange energy to this game that permeates from the different scenarios to the beat of the soundtrack. I might not dig every song served in the playlist, but I can’t help but try and top my score on Sk8er Boi for the 100th time! With all the trouble in the world, maybe we need more games (and people) like EBA these days.

3. Advance Wars: Dual Strike

Oh Advance Wars, your time was too short over here. But hey! At least we were given a great first outing on the DS, and all these years later, it is still a blast to play. Using the second screen to quickly glance at unit and area information is a welcomed addition, but Second Front battles add a new dimension to the core strategy game that really sells the top screen. Throw in all the CO Tag Powers and a map editor built for a touch interface, and it’s hard to see how anything can top this release of Advance Wars. But seriously Intelligent Systems and Nintendo, please give the franchise one more shot!  

4. Tetris DS

Yeah, it's Tetris. But also, it’s Tetris! Maybe it is one of those “skips a generation” thing, as you can kind of plot the best versions of portable Tetris are on the GameBoy, the DS, and the Switch. Tetris DS may be sacrilegious to some with its hold options and infinity spin technique, but this is what I think makes this version unique beyond the various modes and dual screen support. To me it creates a faster version of Tetris that is easy to get into, but can be a fun challenge to master. The addition of Nintendo-themed boards to go with the different modes of play not seen in other versions also adds to this unique addition to the Tetris line. Looking for a version of Tetris with more to do than just the base game? Tetris DS has the most to offer.  

5. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

This game should have been a hit. Maybe the marketing hyped this game up too much? Maybe more people were spoiled by the full 3D realization of the GTA formula with GTA 3? Maybe the music wasn’t the same without the radio hits? Maybe if the synthwave revival had hit the scene sooner it would’ve helped? Whatever the case, this is a gem of a GTA game. While it misses out on the full production of the home console and PSP “Stories” line (I think full voice acting would have helped this version of the game immensely,) just about every aspect of the big brother version is here in this miniature version of Liberty City. From hijacking cars to outrunning the fuzz, this top-down 3D GTA gives a full helping of the open world mayhem the series is known for. The bottom screen minigames can get a touch annoying, but they hardly get in the way like many other games on the DS. Rounding out this game is the drug peddling economy minigame. Not only does it fit the setting and overall style of the game, but  it enables a great opportunity for emergent gameplay to unfold with big risks and big gains. It baffles me* how Rockstar won’t develop this further in their games’ single player campaigns. Check it out, as it’s still rather cheap on the DS and is also available on the PSP and most modern mobile devices. *I’m clearly ignoring the real money cash flow of online microtransactions. 6. Kirby: Canvas Curse

7. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

8. Mario Kart DS

9. Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck

10. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

11. WarioWare Touched!

12. Star Fox Command

13. Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

14. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

15. Final Fantasy IV

16. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

17. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!

18. The World Ends with You

19. Professor Layton and the Curious Village

20. Mega Man XZ

21. Pokemon Black/White

22. Photo Dojo

23. Style Savvy

24. New Super Mario Bros

25. The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass

[classicdaisycalico]

Opinion on Mario party ds? Like story mode, mini games, animations, and the collection?

I’m gonna be honest, Anon; I’m probably a little biased since I have the game.

But for a little handheld, it’s impressive how much was packed into it! The team names were adorable, the figure collections were pretty nice, and even the badges gave a little insight as to what certain characters were like, which is pretty nice. And the boards, of course, had some super interesting gimmicks, but they didn’t take away from the main point of reaching Star spaces and paying for Stars, which is always good. The items you could use to trip people up were pretty cool, too, and I actually liked the hex mechanic.

Now let’s talk minigames. I liked how the puzzle mode had a puzzle from every previous Mario Party that had a puzzle in it. Oh, and the fact that “Mario’s Puzzle Party” threw all the way back with the classic Mario character faces was a really nice touch. The actual minigames themselves were super fun and I thought they made some pretty clever use of the DS hardware. I remember loving the touch screen games like Cucumberjacks and Cherry-Go-Round because of how stupidly easy it was to just go ham on the stylus. The varying difficulty of the minigames was also pretty reasonable (the chance games notwithstanding, obviously). Although there were times I got a little annoyed with Cheep Chump and Cyber Scamper, particularly the former.

Also, the music was was written for the game was pretty nice, too! Like, the World 1-2 remix for Boogie Beam? A bop. The music box arrangement of the SMB theme for Call of the Goomba? Legendary. I feel like every minigame BGM was perfectly suitable for its respective minigame, given its circumstances.

Finally, we got the Story Mode. I think the plotline was pretty unique, especially in regard to the environments of the party boards. But beyond the first time you unlock the Triangle Twisters puzzle, the Sky Crystals don’t carry much meaning after that. I mean...it could have been unlocked the same way, but without it being integral to the plot. If anything, the Sky Crystals could have easily just existed as being enough to overpower Bowser’s Minimizer device or the Megamorph belt that he uses in the final boss battle. Also, speaking of Bowser, I’m surprised Jr wasn’t involved in the final boss battle somehow. He was with his dad every incident before that! Where did he go?

Looking at the story mode from a more general lens, the little artwork that went along with the cutscenes was really nice! I also like how they included DK and Diddy before and after their scuffle with Dry Bones in the jungle. (Not gonna lie, their parts in the story mode were some of the best ones).

Overall, it’s a pretty great game. I’d give it a solid 8/10. Sorry this post is so long, Anon; there’s a lot going on with it, so logically, there’s a lot to say! Hopefully, this answer is more than sufficient for ya!