Another ten on my list to play this year going in order on the Metacritic all-time best list for DS.
11. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (#25 MC)
I like the zoomed in perspective when a unit fires. That seems new to the series. I've had this game for a long time but have barely touched it. I'll be happy to dig in deeper this time around.
12. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (#32)
All four DS games shown in this trailer. I might have started with the third game, Unwound Future, and then played the rest of the series.
13. Final Fantasy IV (#35)
I still have this, thankfully. I got stuck in the metal dungeon way back, but I loved the game. I can't wait to replay it.
14. Space Invaders Extreme (#37)
The Pac-Man C.E. treatment for Space Invaders. It plays fast and has loads of new gameplay elements.
15. Peggle Dual Shot (#38)
More Peggle! I can't wait. This property should've kept going. What happened?
16. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (#41)
See trailer above covering all four Prof. Layton games on DS. This was the second one which I don't have any memories of, but I still own it.
17. Dark Void Zero (#42)
A Metroid style spinoff of the 2010 Dark Void console game. It was on the DSiWare and 3DS eShop and I owned it on one of those, but I'm not sure I have access to it anymore. I've had trouble getting my 3DS creditials back online.
18. Dragon Quest V (#44)
We got 1-3 and 7 reimagined recently. How about the Erdrick trilogy, 4-6. I hope they do it because this DS remake is expensive.
19. Professor Layton and the Last Specter (#54)
See the above trailer for all 4 Prof. Layton DS games. I don't have any specific memories of this the fourth game in the series.
20. Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (#56)
Even though this game will likely frustrate me with its stylus controls, I've always been wowed by its graphics. I think it's the best looking game on the DS.
Comments
daftman
05/11/2026 at 01:33 PM
The Professor Layton games are such a huge blindspot for me. I think I would like them but I just never got around to playing them. The only one I have is the crossover with Phoenix Wright and I haven't played that either.
I don't know if your aging reflexes will cause you any trouble with Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, but I did not think the stylus controls were a hindrance to the gameplay at all. It was a great play experience. Of course, I was a teenager when I played it, so take that all with a grain of salt lol
KnightDriver
05/14/2026 at 06:42 PM
I'd like to try that Phoenix Wright/Layton crossover. I think the Layton games have a system that lets you replay a failed puzzle by spending some collectible. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like it. If a game goes easy on me, I'm more likely to stick with it.
I'm very skeptical of stylus controls, but I'm sure some games do it well. I'll take you word on it and try to pick up a copy.
Cary Woodham
05/12/2026 at 08:13 AM
I could never get into the Prof. Layton games because the puzzles felt like math homework. I sure do like the style, though.
That 3D version of FF4 is way too hard.
Dark Void really feels like a long lost Capcom NES game.
Space Invaders Extreme is awesome on any platform it's on.
KnightDriver
05/14/2026 at 06:52 PM
They do. Like your very first math class.
I couldn't find a useful weapon for the no metal weapons dungeon the last time I played FF4. I'll remember to keep something useful in my inventory this time around.
Original Space Invaders kind of bores me, but I was so surprised by Extreme and the second one.
SanAndreas
05/13/2026 at 03:41 PM
I'd love for an Advance Wars DS collection to come to Switch/2. Sadly, the first collection was a huge mess that didn't sell well (the games were good, but the marketing around it was a disaster), so I doubt that's ever happening unless Nintendo decides to fill a hole in its release schedule.
KnightDriver
05/14/2026 at 06:55 PM
That's too bad. It was a rare day-one buy for me, and I'm not giving it up no matter what crazy price it rises to on the resale market. I'd love to play the six or so Japanese "Wars" series games that came before the GBA games too. Put those in a collection.
SanAndreas
05/19/2026 at 07:42 AM
I bought it myself. Like I said, the games are great, but the behind-the-scenes stuff with Nintendo and Wayforward messed things up. Nintendo backed out of releasing it earlier because its release date coincided with Russia's invasion of Ukraine (the first Advance Wars released the day after 9/11, incidentally).
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