The 15 Best Nintendo DS Games of All Time

The Mario Kart franchise is always great no matter what system it's released on. And of all those games, Mario Kart DS is considered one of the best of the series. There are different aspects of the previous games it improved on but the biggest change was its inclusion of online play. 

It's hard to describe how amazing this was back when the game launched. Online play in non-PC games was slowly becoming the norm. Then you have a handheld device that actually has built-in Wi-Fi, and Mario Kart is the perfect game for multiplayer. Mario Kart DS wasn't built around multiplayer like the latest versions, but the fact it had the option was just incredible. The game also had a special multiplayer option where one DS with the cart was able to set up a race with anyone with a DS nearby even if they didn't have the game. 

If there was one game you needed to buy for the Nintendo DS, it was Mario Kart DS. The facing was and the option to play others online was hard to resist. If you pick up this game now, however, online play is not going to be available as the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service has been sunset.

Release Date: Nov. 15, 2005

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: Kart racer

Developer: Nintendo

Occasionally, there are games that come out and are so unique that they become instant classics. That's the case with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney with its charm and quirkiness that you just had to play it in order to experience it yourself. 

Think about it: This game's whole selling point is playing as a lawyer in a courtroom drama. But it just works. As Phoenix Wright, you need to gather all the evidence of a crime scene and then use that evidence to defend your client. For a game without any combat, guns or anything else that would characterize it as an "action game," the courtroom scenes are exciting. Especially those moments when you make the "Objection!" and present the right evidence to prove the lie the witness is telling, the background music turns off, and the game is silent as Phoenix calmly explains the contradiction in the testimony. The tension then builds up and he gives a "Take That!" causing the witness to crumble leading to a not guilty verdict. 

There's a reason why Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney started an entire franchise consisting of several games, multiple spin-offs, an anime series and a movie.  

Release Date: Oct. 11, 2005

Platforms: Nintendo DS, iOS, Wii

Genre: Adventure game

Developer: Capcom

Capcom was on a roll with the Nintendo DS. One of the most beloved games came from the Japanese developer toward the end of the Nintendo DS life, and it was one of the quirkiest around. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective has players trying to solve their own death, but as a ghost.  

Being a ghost, there are only a few actions at your disposal. Moving stuff, traveling to different areas via the phone line and communicating with other dead bodies are just some of the ghost tricks available. As weird as the game is, the story unfolds in a compelling way. It's when you reach the end that you realize just how great the game is.

It's the strangeness and the unique themes that make Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective such a remarkable game. The game keeps the fun simple yet offers complexity that makes it engaging from start to finish. 

Release Date: June 19, 2010

Platforms: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch

Genre: Puzzle adventure game

Developer: Capcom

Back in the 2000s, Rockstar Games was firing on all cylinders when it came to the Grand Theft Auto series. It started in 2001 with GTA 3 when it made a 3D open-world game that evolved from its 2D top-down perspective. GTA: Chinatown Wars, however, brought back the 2D formula and made some interesting changes to the Grand Theft Auto series that haven't been replicated. 

Chinatown Wars made a lot of use of the Nintendo DS touch controls like when stealing a car, you'll need to do a hot-wiring mini-game. What I thought was genius was how it implemented a drug trade. Across Liberty City, there are drug deals and you can buy certain drugs from them for a price and look for other dealers who are willing to buy those drugs for a higher price. It was such a novel idea that you had to wonder why it took so long to get implemented. 

It was easy to dismiss GTA: Chinatown Wars at the time for not being a 3D title, but those who did missed out on a great game. 

Release Date: March 17, 2009

Platforms: Nintendo DS, iOS, Android, PSP

Genre: Action-adventure game

Developer: Rockstar Leeds

When the Castlevania franchise came to the Gameboy Advance, it began focusing on the Metroidvania-style of games that was introduced with 1997's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Of these portable Castlevania games, Dawn of Sorrow is one of the best. 

Dawn of Sorrow takes those previous portable Castlevania games that were already exceptional and improves on all of them. And since it is the first Castlevania game on the Nintendo DS, it also showcased a big jump in graphics for these portable games that started on the Gameboy Advance. 

Dawn of Sorrow is one of those games that benefited from being on the Nintendo DS. The dual-screen allowed for a constant view of the map which helps a lot since Metroidvania games require so much backtracking as well as display the current stats. Taking all of this into account is what makes Dawn of Sorrow such a great Nintendo DS game.

Release Date: Oct. 4, 2005

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: Action RPG

Developer: Konami

It wouldn't be a proper best-of list for a Nintendo console without a Mario game. After years of staying 3D or just rehashing the old 2D games, Nintendo made a brand Super Mario Bros. game in 2006. 

As usual, Princess Peach is kidnapped, but this time it's the combo of Bowser and Bowser Jr. behind the the plot. Mario goes to save her, but this time he has a few new tricks up his sleeve including the Mega Mushroom that makes Mario big enough to take up the entire screen. 

There's something so charming about New Super Mario Bros. It hits you on all the feels and takes you back to the first Mario Bros. game that you played. 

Release Date: May 15, 2006

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Nintendo

Elite Beat Agent is another example of the Nintendo DS being a new home for quirky games. It doesn't get as quirky as a rhythm game about a trio of secret agents cheering on people who need motivation whether it's a babysitter needing help with rowdy kids or a baseball player who needs to save his fans. 

The game uses the Nintendo DS touchscreen and stylus requiring players to slide and tap to covers of well-known songs like Earth, Wind & Fire's September, Madonna's Material Girl and Cher's Believe. This game came out a little after the release of Guitar Hero so gamers like myself were just getting into this whole rhythm game genre. 

There's something to say about games that are just fun and that's what Elite Beat Agents is. You don't have to worry about a big overarching plot or overly complicated gameplay. Just stay on beat and you'll win. 

Release Date: Nov. 8, 2006

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: Rhythm game

Developer: iNiS

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was the first of the series to hit the Nintendo DS with the previous ones only on the Gameboy Advance, and it's easily one of the best. 

Bowser's Inside Story finds Mario and Luigi in the weirdest of places: inside Bowser's body. Through some weird circumstances and strange mushrooms, the bothers have to make their way through Bowser's body in order to save the Mushroom Kingdom. That strange twist is what makes the game so great, adding to the franchise's charm and giving you a fresh take on the Mario Bros. 

Release Date: Sept. 15, 2009

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: RPG

Developer: Nintendo

Pokemon Black and Pokemon White were the fifth generation of the Pokemon franchise and the first brand-new games to be released on the Nintendo DS. At first glance, these two games don't seem much different than previous Pokemon games, which all have more Pokemon to catch and new areas to explore. But these two offer some new themes that make the game more interesting than previous titles. 

The games are the first in the franchise to have a darker tone to them. The antagonist isn't someone who just wants to be the very best, like no one ever was. Instead, the bad guy challenges the idea of why humans should be the ones controlling Pokemon. Why can't the Pokemon just be left alone? 

The theme alone makes Pokemon Black and Pokemon White worth a play-through. But the games ask some interesting questions about the world of Pokemon while also throwing in some adorable creatures to look at. 

Release Date: Nov. 6, 2011

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: RPG

Developer: Game Freak

One of the new franchises published by Nintendo for the DS was the Professor Layton games. The games follow Professor Layton and his assistant Luke as they investigate mysteries. It's the gameplay that is what makes the game so unique, though. 

In Professor Layton's world, everyone is seemingly in love with puzzles and brain teasers so to progress through the game, you'll have to solve them. Some of these puzzles are ones you might have seen in a kid's book or on a child's placemat while eating at a restaurant. In most puzzle games, you're just bombarded with puzzles without any rhyme or reason, but with the Professor Layton games, they contribute to the gameplay and move you through the story. 

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is the the third game in the franchise and the end to a trilogy storyline arc. For someone who has played through the first two games, the Unwound Future really puts a bow on the trilogy making it the best of the three. 

Release Date: Feb. 10, 2008

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: Puzzle adventiure

Developer: Level-5

Fire Emblem is a long-running tactical RPG from Nintendo that started back on the NES. While Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is the 11th entry in the franchise, it's actually a remake of the very first game. Because of this, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon introduces the series protagonist Marth who gathers a band of warriors to take on the Shadow Dragon Medeus. He'll have to seek out the legendary treasure, the Fire Emblem, to defeat the evil forces and save the world. 

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon uses the same tactical RPG gameplay of the original game. which would become a mainstay for the franchise. That gameplay is what makes the game, though. Players have a squad of soldiers who fight against a group of bad guys, and it's the strategizing involved in taking out the enemies that makes the game so compelling. And if a character dies on the battlefield, they will be gone from the game entirely. Every move counts and that pressure is what makes the Fire Emblem franchise so good. 

Release Date: Feb. 16, 2009

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: Tactical RPG

Developer: Intelligent Systems

It's a bit strange to say there was a DS game that reminds me of the Saw movies, but that is exactly what 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors does. 

The game itself is a giant mystery with nine people who find themselves trapped on a cruise ship by some mysterious figure. They don't know who the other people are, but they're all held captive and forced to participate in this deranged game. 

It's that bit mystery and other puzzles in need of solving that makes 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors so much fun. There's a lot you don't know, but the game gives you real stakes to solve the puzzles or else people start dying. 

Release Date: Dec. 10, 2009

Platforms: Nintendo DS, PS Vita, iOS

Genre: Adventure game

Developer: Chunsoft

One of the best games to come out of the SNES was Chrono Trigger. A legendary team up between the RPG developer powerhouse of Square and Enix (which would eventually lead to their merger), it was the pinnacle of RPGs when it first came out in 1995. 

What makes this version of Chrono Trigger so significant and worth the purchase was that it was an amalgamation of everything related to the game. In 2001, a port of Chrono Trigger was released for the PlayStation that had some new content, but it had some frustratingly long load times that were common for the CD-based console. With the Nintendo DS version, Chrono Trigger was back on a cartridge, which meant no load times, and it had all the new content as well as even more goodies. 

This version of Chrono Trigger also had new areas added, a better translation and a new final boss and an ending that offered more clear ties with its sequel, Chrono Cross. All of this new content and improvements on the original game made the Nintendo DS version of Chrono Trigger the premiere edition. 

Release Date: Nov. 20, 2008

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: RPG

Developer: Square Enix

Just like how you can't have a Nintendo console best list without including a Super Mario Bros. game, there must be a Legend of Zelda game. Of the Zelda titles released for the Nintendo DS, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is easily the best of the bunch. 

Phantom Hourglass is a sequel to Wind Waker with Link once again saving the world. And like in the previous game, he's also sailing the seas as well as exploring dungeons and defeating monsters to find the treasures to help him. Its combination of fun gameplay, charming characters and full use of the Nintendo DS features easily makes it one of the best games for the system. 

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2007

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Genre: Action adventure game

Developer: Nintendo