List of recommended DS Games, Software, and Hardware

 

Animal Crossing: Wild World

I'm sure by now my town is weedy and my house is full of mice

 

Arkanoid DS

While not my favorite port, I wanted it to use the Taito paddle

 

Big Bang Mini

Colorful and fun in short bursts

 

Big Brain Academy

I haven't played in a while. I think my brain is shrinking.

 

Brain Age

Another fun game that makes you think.

 

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

As I'm writing this list, I am waiting for my DS to charge so I can play this some more.

 

DK: Jungle Climber

I enjoyed King of Swing on the Gameboy Advance, so I had to get the sequel.

 

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

I don't play through a lot of RPGs. I have a fondness for the DQ series. This is my favorite yet.

 

Elite Beat Agents

Silly and fun rhythm game.

 

Giana Sisters DS

Call me blasphemer, but I'm not much of a fan of the C64 game. However, the DS game has given me several hours of joyful bliss. It's FUN!

 

Guitar Hero: On Tour

It's fun, but (sadly) my hand cramps up AND I'm afraid of shredding my touchscreen.

 

Jumble Madness

The game is good fun, if you enjoy these sorts of puzzles.

 

Korg-DS10

With Korg DS-10, I have written several bonky tunes for inclusion in my own games.

 

Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart is my favorite racing game on any platform.

 

Music Monstars

A bit short and the music was like midi, but it was entertaining while it lasted.

 

Neves

Fun... if you like tangram puzzles. I wish Capcom would make a sequel to their PC game, Tang Chi, except for the DS.

 

New Super Mario Bros

Just good fun.

 

Opera DS Browser

Sure, it's slow and painful at times, but I can check email and read forums in bed!

 

Picross DS

This is the game that pushed me to buy a DS.

 

Picross 3D

I thought this would be overly complicated... not so. It's good fun!

 

Planet Puzzle League

Fun with a friend, but I don't have any so... it doesn't get played much. :/

 

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

The Professor Layton games are fantastic, if you like puzzles.

 

Retro Game Challenge

I really like the Haggleman games which are reminiscent of Ninja Jajamaru-Kun

 

Rhythm Heaven

A quirky and fun game, that I need to spend more time with.

 

Scribblenauts

Tons of replay value... I like to find the most creative ways to complete the puzzles.

 

Soul Bubbles

This was exclusively sold at ToysRUs, so I'm not sure that a lot of people know about the game. I find it very relaxing.

 

Space Invaders Extreme

Abnoxious, loud, and colorful. I like it quite a lot.

 

Space Bust-A-Move

It's Puzzle Bobble, which is good in my opinion. I have the DS paddle which makes it better.

 

Tetris DS

Gotta love Tetris! This is one of the better ports, IMO.

 

Umihare Kuwase Shun

I love the games in this series. The DS version is more of the same.

 

Warioware D.I.Y.

This is great, if you have a list of friends to share your creations with!

 

Homebrew & Emulation

 

Animatee

A fun little animation tool.

 

imgview

Great for looking at pictures (or comic book scans) on the DS

 

Knytt Stories DS

I love Knytt Stories on the PC. This isn' as good, but it's as close as it's gonna get for the DS.

 

Lemmings DS

A very nice port of a game that I don't play as much as I should.

 

 

jEnesisDS

Sega Genesis Emulator - some small problems, but pretty nice overall

 

Lameboy

The Gameboy has a huge selection of games that are still fun today. This is a good way to play them.

 

MrDo DS

Mr. Do is one of my favorite arcade games. This emulator emulates most (all?) of the Mr. Do arcade games (excluding the Neo*Geo game) as well as a couple of other Universal games.

 

msxDS

Play MSX games on the DS! (had to rename the ROM file extensions to .ROM, if I remember correctly)

 

NeoDS

A very nice Neo*Geo emulator. (It's surprising how well this runs!)

 

Nes DS

NES emulator with some small issues.

 

NitroGrafX

A very nice Turbo GrafX 16 Emulator!

 

s8DS

An excellent emulator that plays Sega Master System, Gamegear, SG-1000, and ColecoVision ROMs.

 

SNemulDS

A decent Super Nintendo Emu with layering issues.

 

Solomon's Key DS

An arcade Emulator for another of my favorites.

 

Other Hardware:

 

CycloDS Evolution

You'll need a flash cartridge to run homebrew and emulators. CycloDS is not one the least expensive flash cartridge, but (in my opinion) it is one of the best.

 

EZFlash V 3-in-1

RAM, Rumble, and Flash cart - all in one. (slot-2 / GBA port) This acts as a rumble pak, memory expansion (for the Opera Browser), and a flash cartridge for loading Gameboy Advance Games from a slot-1 device (like the CycloDS).

 

Taito Paddle

It sticks out of a Lite funny and it'll drain your battery power, but the Taito paddle is totally cool and adds a lot to the feel and gameplay of those games that are compatible.

 

Games I mean to play:

 

Advanced Wars (I love the GBA version)

Castlevania Games

Kirby Games

 

...

 

 

I'm writing this list while I do laundry and wait for my DS to charge (so I can play Broken Sword some more). Also, I can already see that I've forgotten a few games and things. I'll probably update the list later.

 

It can be tedious and discouraging to try and find a good game amidst the heaps of shovelware and complete suckage! If you have any suggestions, please send 'em my way.

 

Adios!