Best Nintendo DS Games of All Time
All yer Pokemons, all yer Marios, all yer Wind Waker spin offs. The DS had a fantastic run, and is still regarded by many as the best handheld ever. Its innovative dual-screen set up and resistive touch interface enabled some brilliant innovations to come along, and also helped a renaissance of the point and click genre to gain traction with hardcore and casual alike.
Everyone will remember is those apps that helped us expand our minds and fine-tune our faculties. Brain training. Sight training. Maths training. Dictionaries and novels, painting programs, the lot. It was also the console which gave rise to a whole new series of 2D Mario games, doing what Nintendo does best – reinventing the past, and making it fresher than ever.
The DS might well have had the most eclectic game library of its era, and enjoyed a long spell as the handheld top-dog. Check out our list for its best moments and beloved oddities.
- All Genres Action Action Adventure Action RPG Adventure Arcade Battle Royale Beat 'em Up Board Games Card Casual City Builder Collection Combat Dance Educational Family Fantasy Fighting First Person First-Person Shooter Fitness Flight Football Horror Indie Management Massively Multiplayer Massively Multiplayer Online Metroidvania Mini Game MOBA Multiplayer Music Open World Party Pinball Platformer Puzzle Quiz Racing Real-time Retro Roguelike Roguelite RPG Science Fiction Shoot 'em Up Shooter Side-scroller Simulation Singing Soccer Space Sport Sports Stealth Strategy Survival Survival Horror Tactical Third Person Turn Based Virtual Pet Virtual Reality Visual Novel Wrestling
- All Platforms 3DO Android Apple II Atari 2600 Atari 5200 Atari 7800 Atari 8-bit Atari Lynx Atari ST Atari XEGS Classic Macintosh Commodore / Amiga Dreamcast Game Boy Game Boy Advance Game Boy Color Game Gear Gameboy Advance GameCube Genesis Google Stadia iOS Jaguar Linux macOS Neo Geo NES Nintendo 3DS Nintendo 64 Nintendo DS Nintendo DSi Nintendo Switch PC PlayStation PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 PS Vita PSP SEGA 32X SEGA CD SEGA Master System SEGA Saturn SNES Test Platform Web Wii Wii U Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series S/X Xbox Series X
- All Time 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
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101
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Take me for a ride.Reviewed on: 19 October 2009
Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo DS, PS Vita, PSP
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92
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
Mario and Donkey Kong return in a brilliant DS puzzler.Reviewed on: 10 April 2007
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Wii U
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9
Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber
More monkey magic from the handheld masters?Reviewed on: 19 November 2007
Platforms: Nintendo DS
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94
New Super Mario Bros.
A triumphant return for everyone's favourite plumber?Reviewed on: 30 June 2006
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Wii U
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95
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96
Pokemon Black Version
How do you get a Pikachu on a bus?Reviewed on: 14 February 2011
Platforms: Nintendo DS
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97
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98
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99
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910
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Mr Drippy, we love you. Level 5 delivers the best JRPG we've played in years.Reviewed on: 17 January 2013
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
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-11
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-12
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing
Reviewed on:
Platforms: iOS, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
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913
Pokemon Diamond
Are these first true DS Pokémon games worth catching?Reviewed on: 26 July 2007
Platforms: Nintendo DS
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914
Call of Duty: World at War
Treyarch's done good.Reviewed on: 14 November 2008
Platforms: Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One
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-15
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Reviewed on:
Platforms: macOS, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One
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916
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917
Pokémon Pearl
Are these first true DS Pokémon games worth catching?Reviewed on: 26 July 2007
Platforms: Nintendo DS
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918
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
The best game on the DS?Reviewed on: 13 November 2008
Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo DS
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-19
Need for Speed: Undercover
Reviewed on:
Platforms: iOS, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
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920
Rock Band 3
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before.Reviewed on: 02 November 2010
Platforms: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
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921
The Sims 2
It's the return of the little people in our slightly belated review...Reviewed on: 22 December 2004
Platforms: Classic Macintosh, Game Boy Advance, Gameboy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox
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922
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Animal Crossing goes portable and wireless in this wonderful DS title from Nintendo.Reviewed on: 19 April 2006
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Wii U
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923
Colin McRae: DiRT 2
You'll want to get dirty.Reviewed on: 03 September 2009
Platforms: Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
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924
Mario Kart DS
We loved this so much we couldn't stop playing it to write the reviewReviewed on: 16 January 2006
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Wii U
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-25
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926
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Take on the role of an Ace Attorney in Capcom's excellent courtroom drama.Reviewed on: 18 April 2006
Platforms: Android, Game Boy Advance, iOS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PC, Wii
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927
DEFCON: Global Thermonuclear War
Nuking your mates in the face has never been so strategic.Reviewed on: 15 June 2007
Platforms: Nintendo DS, PC
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928
Elite Beat Agents
If you've got rhythm you're going to love Elite Beat Agents.Reviewed on: 08 August 2007
Platforms: Nintendo DS
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929
Quantum of Solace
CoD4 meets Gears of War in the best Bond game in years.Reviewed on: 31 October 2008
Platforms: Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
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930
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Simply Marvelous.Reviewed on: 14 November 2013
Platforms: Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
