Let’s be honest—most people discovering the Nintendo DS today aren’t dusting off clamshell consoles. They’re booting it up on a Retroid, Steam Deck, or Android handheld. And that’s totally fine. The DS was weird, innovative, and full of games that still slap in 2025, even if you’re mapping touch inputs to analog sticks.
If you’ve never played a DS before, these 25 picks will show you exactly what made it special—and which ones are worth emulating.
1. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Solve your own murder by possessing objects. Brilliant puzzle mechanics, killer style, and one of the best twists on the system.
2. The World Ends With You
Stylish, fast, and chaotic. JRPG with touchscreen combat and a fashion-based stat system. Pure DS energy.
3. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Escape room visual novel with psychological horror and branching paths. One of the smartest games on the system.
4. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Classic Metroidvania with a monster-collecting twist. You’ll ignore the touchscreen gimmick, but everything else is gold.
5. Elite Beat Agents
Possibly the most fun rhythm game ever made. Taps, slides, and absurd dance moves set to everything from Queen to Avril Lavigne.
6. Radiant Historia (NDS/3DS)
A deeply written time-travel RPG that feels like Chrono Trigger‘s thoughtful cousin. Complex but rewarding.
7. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Turn-based strategy perfected. Big maps, varied units, and tons of content. One of the last great Advance Wars entries.
8. Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Noir visual novel with rotoscope animation and puzzle-solving. You will miss your touchscreen, but it’s still gripping.
9. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Funny, weird, and surprisingly deep RPG where you play inside Bowser. Great timing-based combat.
10. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Series)
Objection! Courtroom drama meets visual novel absurdity. Easy to run, impossible to put down.
11. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Classic turn-based RPG with a branching family saga and monster recruiting. Top-tier storytelling.
12. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Puzzle game disguised as a charming British mystery. Engaging brainteasers and lovable characters.
13. Picross 3D
A 3D puzzle where you chip away at blocks to reveal hidden shapes. Surprisingly satisfying for how little it should make sense.
14. TWEWY: Final Remix (Switch)
If DS controls are too much hassle, play the Switch version. Still captures the spirit, minus the dual-screen chaos.
15. Chrono Trigger (DS Port)
The definitive edition of one of the greatest RPGs ever. Still holds up. Always will.
16. Okamiden
The mini sequel to Ōkami. Gorgeous art and stylus-driven powers. Touchscreen-heavy, but playable with tweaks.
17. Bangai-O Spirits
Explosions. Thousands of them. A 2D bullet hell puzzle-shooter hybrid that’s more fun than it has any right to be.
18. Yoshi’s Island DS
Classic platforming with multiple baby powers. Not perfect, but colorful, creative, and accessible.
19. WarioWare: Touched!
Microgame chaos with tons of touch-based absurdity. Runs fine with analog inputs and still hilarious.
20. Lunar Knights
Spiritual successor to Boktai. Real-time action RPG with vampires, sci-fi, and weather-based mechanics. Criminally ignored.
21. Contra 4
Old-school difficulty with slick visuals and dual-screen vertical action. Requires real reflexes, but it’s doable with remapping.
22. Meteos
Fast-paced puzzle game with rocket-powered blocks. Underrated and surprisingly tactical.
23. Final Fantasy Tactics A2
Tactical RPG with deep customization and hundreds of hours of gameplay. Not as tight as the original, but still addictive.
24. Kirby: Canvas Curse
One of the most touchscreen-heavy games on DS… but still somehow playable with clever emulation. Worth it for its originality.
25. Custom Robo Arena
Build a robot. Blow stuff up. Repeat. Underrated gem that nails DS-era action-RPG mayhem.
