Best Nintendo DS Games: Curated Essentials by Genre

The DS has one of the strongest libraries ever. Essentials by category:

Action / Adventure

• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass / Spirit Tracks – Touch-centric Zelda.
• Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow / Order of Ecclesia – Metroidvania peaks.
• Metroid Prime Hunters – FPS with online (AltWFC works).
• Contra 4 – Brutal, gorgeous run-and-gun.

RPG

• Dragon Quest IX – Infinite post-game, multiplayer, alchemy.
• Chrono Trigger (DS) – Definitive version of the classic.
• Pokémon HeartGold / SoulSilver – Best Pokémon games ever (Pokéwalker support).
• Etrian Odyssey I/II/III – Dungeon crawling, map drawing.
• The World Ends With You – Unique dual-screen combat, Shibuya style.

Strategy / Tactics

• Advance Wars: Dual Strike / Days of Ruin – Turn-based perfection.
• Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon / New Mystery of the Emblem – Permadeath, avatar.
• Final Fantasy Tactics A2 – Deep jobs, story.

Puzzle / Unique

• Professor Layton Series (4 on DS) – Charming puzzles, story.
• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective – Time-rewind mystery, Shu Takumi writing.
• 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors – Visual novel, escape rooms, mind-bending plot.
• Scribblenauts / Super Scribblenauts – Write anything, solve creatively.
• Elite Beat Agents / Ouendan 2 – Rhythm, touch, absurd stories.

Platformer

• New Super Mario Bros. – 2D Mario renaissance.
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! – Lemmings-style.
• Wario Land: Shake It! – Gorgeous sprite work, shake mechanics.

Simulation / Life

• Animal Crossing: Wild World – Portable town life.
• Nintendogs + Cats (3DS) – Better than DS originals.
• Harvest Moon DS / Cute – Farming, marriage.

Hidden Gems

• Solatorobo: Red the Hunter – Anime mech action, great story.
• Infinite Space – Sci-fi fleet RPG (PlatinumGames).
• Contact – Dual-screen RPG, quirky humor.
• Retro Game Challenge – NES-era fake games + challenges.

Start with Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Dragon Quest IX, Advance Wars Dual Strike, Ghost Trick, Chrono Trigger DS.