I went over the Metacritic list of best DS games and made my own list with comments. There's certainly many more great games I didn't mention for various reasons.
Chrono Trigger (MC #3) - I almost bought this way back in '08, and several times after that, but I never did. I hope there is a remaster for consoles sometime so I can finally play it. What's up with that. It's one of the most celebrated RPGs and still no remaster or remake?
Mario & Lugi: Bowser's Inside Story (#5), Partners in Time (#21) - I think I've only played a little bit of Inside Story, but at least I own it and can dig in deeper soon. Partners in Time was my intro to the series. It was a Gamefly rental of mine in '05 and I completed it. I've been a fan of the series ever since.
Advance Wars: Dual Strike (#7), Days of Ruin (#25) - Dual Strike was the reason I got a DS, my first real handheld since the Mattel Electronic's Baseball I had as a kid (I got the Gameboy series of handhelds later). Also, Dual Strike was the first Advance Wars game I played when it came out in '05. Days of Ruin I picked up years ago but, for some weird reason, never played. Time to change that.
The World Ends with You (#11) - This was a RPG with an unique battle system that I remember podcaster Kat Bailey talking about a lot. I somehow got a loose cart but never played it much. I'm excited to revisit it.
Dragon Quest IX (#13), DQ IV (#97), DQ VI (#129) - I still have a loose cart of IX (I only buy boxed DS games now). I played it a lot but, as with all DQ games, it exhausted me eventually. It's so darn long and involved. Still, I'd revisit it in a heartbeat. IV and VI I'd love to have but $$$. Luckily IV is getting a remake for consoles out soon. It's about time.
Kirby: Canvas Curse (#19), Mass Attack (#61), Super Star Ultra (#176) - I'm determined to get all the Kirby games. They are a little pricey now though, but maybe enough in-store credit will get me to pull the trigger on one of these.
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (#20) - A game I got day-one (a rarity for me) in late 2009 probably because of the colorful graphics and interesting puzzle/battle system. I absolutely loved it and bought it again when it came to Xbox Live. I became a fan of developer Capybara Games (now just Capy), but I haven't found another as appealing to me as this one. In looking at their history though, I think I need to check some of their other games out. Superbrothers is on Switch now.
Planet Puzzle League (#22) - I've been curious about this for a long time. It's an Intelligent Systems game with great music and gameplay. Is it for me though? Too much like Tetris, and I might not enjoy it. I've seen it around in my game stores for a reasonable price, so I might pick it up.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (#24), Curious Village (#32), Diabolical Box (#41), The Last Specter (#54) - I rented Unwound Future from Gamefly back in 2010. It was my intro to Prof. Layton. I usually don't last long playing puzzle-based games, but I loved this one. The story even made me cry in the end, which is super rare. Curious Village ('08) was the first one in the series, Diabolical Box the second, Last Specter the fourth. I own and have played them all and can't wait to replay them.
Final Fantasy IV (#35), FF III (#154) - I played quite a ways into IV back in '08 but got stuck on the no metal weapons dungeon. I couldn't figure that one out. I love these game though and when I return to it, I will figure it out. It's nice that the Pixel Remastered versions are out there now, but I will always keep these as favorite handheld RPGs.
Space Invaders Extreme (#37), S.I.E. 2 (#74) - I just recently got hip to these 2008 and 2009 reimaginings of Space Invaders. This is how it should be done. Just like the way Pac-Man was reimagined in Championship Edition, SI: Extreme 1-2 turns the basic SI gameplay into a wild ride of explosive graphics and new, inventive gameplay.
Peggle Dual Shot (#38) - Oh man! A few months ago, I was replaying all the Peggle games and was so in need of more. What happened to that series anyway? But I discovered this DS game and have been hunting high and low for it locally in my game stores. No luck yet, so I might have to try online; although, I try to resist that 'cause it's just too easy for me to get out of control. For this though, it might be worth it.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (#57) - I am playing this next week. I hope I can grok it because last time I could not for the the life of me figure out its gameplay. It was highly touted in the game magazines in 2006 (remember magazines?). I heard about it all the time and picked up a loose cart of it probably a few years later based on all the hype and that it's a DQ spinoff.
Dawn of Discovery (#67), Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery (#136) - I have the Wii version of one of these and really enjoyed it. They are simplified versions of historic strategy games Anno 1404 and 1701 done in the best possible way. I have 1701 and can't wait to see how it plays. You got to dummy down the deep gameplay of these strategy games to make them enjoyable on a handheld or console imo.
Okamiden (#73) - After Okami on PS2, there was this in 2011, and I bought it day-one, but just like the first game, I didn't get all the way through it. It's really good though. I need to try it again.
Etrian Odyssey II (#77), EO III (#159), EO (#194) - I was head over heels crazy for this series back in '08 because it was so much like Wizardry but with loads of new ideas. They are so perfect on a handheld too, with drawing the map with the stylus on the lower screen. I somehow still have EO II CIB, the other two just carts. It's no use getting those CIB now though 'cause pricey.
WarioWare Touched! (#83) - Like Kirby, I now want all the Wario games after being blown away by Shake It on Wii.
Age of Empires: Age of Kings (#99), Mythologies (#130) - Age of Kings is the game that introduced me to Age of Empires. These, just like Dawn of Discovery, are perfect reductions of the massively complex PC games for handheld devices. There's a ton of real history text you can read in the games as well that I spent good time in between battles reading on my DS in '06 and '08.
Pokemon Conquest (#105) - It's such a weird combination of Nobunaga's Ambition with Pokemon, but it seemed like a good introduction for me into the world of Pokemon. Subsequently, I've found the Mystery Dungeon games to be that, but I bought this back in 2012 and didn't manage to get too into it. I have to replay it.
And that's all I have to say on the DS games ranked 100 to 75 on Metacritic. I noticed the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games I like so much are down in the 60s. Poo on that!
Auf Weidersehen!
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