the gang

65 reasons to own a DS

41. Super Princess Peach
She cries to get out of trouble, can be made to destroy when angry, floats about when happy and can regenerate at will. Super platformer or dating trainer? Either way, SPP is a worthy addition to you collection as long as you have an excuse when your friends ask.

42. Mega Man ZX
Not so much a return to form for Capcom as it is an extension of form, Mega Man ZX is a great addition for those of us who love the Blue Bomber, even if he is a girl now. You know, if you want him to be. I want him to be.

43. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan
As excellent as Elite Beat Agents but with more weird Japanese pop.

44. Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
A little bit lemmings, a little bit Lost Vikings and a whole lot Mario vs. Donkey Kong, this puzzler starts easily enough but can become satisfyingly challenging surprisingly quickly. Add the ability to create and share your own maps and you have a winner.

45. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All
If they ever stop making this series I will have an … wait for it … OBJECTION!

46. Kirby Squeak Squad
If you are a fan of the original Kirby games and love the gulp-for-abilities mechanic there is no reason not to own this game. Conservatively estimating, there are a billion abilities and a million billion collectibles. Oh, and ghost Kirby. Not even with a bat can this one be, as they say, beat.

47. Polarium
Confusing at first, challenging after a time and in the end strikingly satisfying for the puzzle lover. An excellent early showing for the DS’s unique interface.

48. Ouendan 2
The sequel to the tap-till-you-taper Elite Beat Agents is crazier, louder and all around tappier than its predecessor. Though we don’t know if it’s coming to the US any time soon, it sure is worth a look if you can get your hands on it.

49. Planet Puzzle League
Though it is easy to fall into the ‘like Tetris but with…’ trap when describing line/combo puzzlers, it is safe to say that this game is very much like Tetris in that it will grip you, hold on to you and make you think about sliding pretty much everything you own into a chain combo while not playing.

50. Pokemon Diamond
Yeah, it’s more of the same, but you LOVE the same! Want more Pokemans? Let Diamond give you them.

51. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
You don’t need to like the new films. You don’t need to care about Anakin Skywalker. You don’t even need to be a Star Wars fan. If you like video games at all, this will be a satisfying experience for you. For a handheld game it is huge. It is fun, diverse and totally polished. Dogfights FTW, BTW (BBQ TBD RLY).

52. Nintendogs: Lab & Friends
Have a girlfriend? She begging you for a puppy? Need I say more?

53. Yoshi’s Island DS
The natural sequel to the SNES Yoshi’s Island, this game does what a good sequel needs to: New characters, a few new mechanics and a good deal of polish on an already impressive platform. Miyamoto would be (and for all accounts, is) proud.

54. Jump Superstars
150+ characters, 27 Anime/Manga series’, crazy Koma upgrades; it’s like my 13yr old self threw up awesome onto a plate of badass and then ate it. Too bad Akira isn’t a Jump property because Tetsuo Shima wants a fight.

55. Sonic Rush
A much needed return to form for Sonic fans. Fewer pointless characters (though they are there), sweet 2D platforming action and, most importantly, blazing fast speed. Its detractors have pointed to a high average of into-the-pit deaths but I would ask them two questions: Have you ever played a classic Sonic game before? You sucked at it, didn’t you?

56. Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits
Contra. Gradius. Rush-N-Attack. There are other games in this compilation, but who gives a rip. Let me repeat this for clarity: Contra. Gradius. Rush-N-Attack.

57. Bust-a-Move DS
This here’s a cheer for all the fellas tryin’ to do what those crazy bubble spitting dragon things tell us. Pop fifty bubbles ’cause you’re overzealous. Get the high score to make your lady jealous. Okay smarty, go to a party…Woah. WTF? What comes next?

58. Zoo Keeper
Like Bejeweled but with the severed heads of your favorite furry purries. Morbid, to be sure, but addictive. DO NOT TRY IN REAL LIFE (they don’t disappear when you get three in a row.)

59. Nanostray
A fun SHMUP for the DS. Light on touch interface but heavy on bullet waves, this game is a consummate addition to any SHMUPper’s library.

60. Nippon Curling Kyoukai Kounin – Minna no Curling DS
Take all of the spine-tingling excitement of real life Curling and add cute anime women; what more could anyone ask for? This is basically the most fun you can have sliding a rock across ice. Seriously. To top it off, this milestone in gaming fits in the palm of your hand and is whole-heartedly endorsed by the Japan Curling Association.

61. Magical Starsign
With its touch based control scheme, planet based power-up and multiple multiplayer options this is a no brainer for RPG fans. It helps that the story is interesting as well, if not a tiny bit crystal-hippy.

62. Mega Man Battle Network 5
WILY DID IT!!! It took us five games to get here, but we did, and Wily is finally back! If you like the chip system and are into the Mega Man universe, this one is a must have. Though the gameplay has been left largely unchanged since the first game, the story is excellent.

63. Madden NFL 07
What is there to say, this is a Madden game. If you like the previous 2.1 billion iterations of this game, you will like this one. One thing I will say for Madden 07 is that they give a shout out to the old school NES favorite, Tecmo Bowl and make several players in the game pretty much unstoppable. I’m not giving anything away, but look at Tampa Bay’s running game.

64. Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
Lighter than your average FF fare, Chocobo Tales lets you play around in the FF universe by way of mini (and is some cases micro) games that are fun for the FF fan on the run.

65. Big Brain Academy
If you feel like knocking yourself down a peg or two by having a slug with a hat tell you that you have “dormant faculties” and “potential”, give this game a shot. Big Brain Academy is the warm-fuzzy version of Brain Age that sets you upon mental quandaries such as matching chocolate bars and making sure the dog finds his bone. Prepare to be challenged.

We hope you enjoyed the list and maybe even read about a game you never thought of picking up. We do get commissions from Nintendo (just kidding…?) No doubt you saw some games on the list you aren’t crazy about, but someone who works here has played and enjoyed every title on the list.

Join us tomorrow when we look at some of the best GBA games you can play on your DS as well as a sample of promising DS titles that are coming out soon.

Part II

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[…] a response to PSP Fanboy’s list of 60 reasons to own a PSP, VideoLamer has posted a rebuttal featuring 65 reasons to own a DS. While it’s primarily a list of the best DS games […]

lyskan
lyskan
16 years ago

I hope these aren’t in order. and I saw JSS on the list but not JUS… they’re both good. and you forgot about ds download play, great wifi multiplayer and no region protection. you did all games, the psp list had other stuff… wait… the psp doesn’t have any great games…

TrueTallus
TrueTallus
16 years ago

Nervous Brickdown makes 66… if you like arkanoid at all, anyway.

jarrad
jarrad
16 years ago

I feel like an ass because I don’t have a DS.

Ace25
Ace25
16 years ago

Well, I can’t agree on the whole list, and there are a few sequels that really shouldn’t be in the list, one or the other is good enough. Castlevania, as well as Elite Beat Agents/Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, and games that are similar like Puyo Pop & Bust a Move.. but I still say there is a solid 40 games to choose from. I strongly belive the DS is a better system (I had a DS & PSP and traded in my PSP for a second DS to play friends who didn’t have one).

Scurge Hive? That game was aweful, you can’t control the isometric movement very well with a D-Pad.

Zelda is nice though, at least the Japanese version I have been playing.

Dat Phan Boi
Dat Phan Boi
16 years ago

Hey, here is 66 Awesome PSP Games:

1. Lumines
2. Wipeout Pure
3. GTA: Liberty City Stories
4. GTA: Vice City…
5. Tekken Dark Resurrection
6. Ridge Racer
7. MGS: Portable Ops
8. Metal Gear Ac!d
9. Daxter
10. Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
11. Burnout Legends
12. 300: March to Glory
13. Ace Combat X
14. Puzzle Quest
15. LocoRoco
16. Lego Star Wars: The Original
17. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 10th…
18. Crush
19. Virtua Tennis 3
20. PQ2: Practical IQ
21. Prince of Persia: Rival Swords
22. PaRappa the Rapper
23. Dungeon Maker
24. Innocent Life
25. Ape Escape
26. Hot Shots Golf
27. MLB 06: The Show
28. The Bigs
29. THUG 2 Remix
30. Mega Man Powered Up
31. Winning Eleven
32. Socom
33. Sid Meirs Pirates!
34. Tales of Eternia
35. Lumines 2
36. The Warriors
37. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
38. Gitaroo Man Lives
39. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06
40. FIFA 07
41. Street Fighter Alpha 3
42. NBA live 06
43. Valkyre Profile: Lenneth
44. SSX on tour
45. Twisted Metal
46. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X
47. Madden NFL 07
48. Metal Slug Anthology
49. Guilty Gear Judgment
50. Mercury Meltdown
51. ATV Offroad
52. Field Commander
53. Killzone Liberation
54. Exit
55. Gradius Collection
56. Lemmings
57. Capcom Classics
58. Activision Hits
59. Me and My Katamari
60. Infected
61. Bomberman
62. Bust-A-Move Deluxe
63. Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition
64. Mortal Combat Unchained
65. Death Jr.
66. PoPoLoCrois

Lots of great games and awesome features. No scratchy touch screens

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[…] guys at Videolamer wrote an interesting article in response to PSP Fanboy’s ‘60 reasons to own a […]

yan
yan
16 years ago

One reason why I don’t use it: no linux… there is even linux for the iPhone, see http://zonow.com/78

trackback
16 years ago

[…] Britain, every reason on this list is the reason anyone should buy a game system – Games. X Men sexread more | digg story RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Cartoons Fans Lounge […]

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[…] 65 Reasons to Own a DS. Reasons I own a DS: #2, #8, #14, #41 (It’s a great game, seriously!), and #53. Permalink You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. […]

thief
16 years ago

actually, there is linux for the DS. You just need a flashcart, like an R4.

google stuff before you post, fools.

guest
guest
16 years ago

Not to be rude, but this is a retarded article, and a poor attempt to compete with the PSP article. Not everyone has the same taste in games….

Sharp
Sharp
16 years ago

To the guy with the psp game list, get real. Just because there ARE 66 psp games doesn’t mean there are that many good ones. Having owned a psp, I know for a fact that many of those sucked. My first game for the psp was THUG2. I loved it on consoles. It sucked and I traded it in the next day for “Untold Legends”. That was better, but still pretty bad. Your list starts off strong, but eventually you’re just grasping for straws. Death Jr? Seriously? Come on, man.

Oh by the way. Note how I said “Had” a psp. Personally, I loved the device, but I never played any commercial games, I just used it as a portable emulator. You know why I don’t have it any more? THE SCREEN BROKE.

trackback
16 years ago

65 reasons to own a DS…

65 reasons to own a Nintendo DS…

pat
Admin
pat
16 years ago

haha i actually had to read digg comments to know that the picture of “the gang” is the backstreet boys.

@guest – we agree that not everyone has the same taste. thus several of us collaborated on this article.

Matt
16 years ago

And my response to Dat Phan Boi’s comment is thus: actually, the touch screen on my DS is surprisingly scratch-free, and I got the DS Lite on launch day, well over a year ago. And also, as the article stated, we at vl like the PSP. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take a look at the other side of the coin and give our impressions on what makes the DS so special. Oh, and I love guest’s response “Not to be rude, but this is retarded…” I’m pretty sure that’s being rude there buddy, but thanks for the heads up:)

cptnspoon
cptnspoon
16 years ago

@ yan:

What do you call DSLinux then?!

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[…] 65 เกมส์ไม่ควรพลาดสำหรับ Nintendo DS […]

trackback
16 years ago

65 reasons to own a DS…

[…]Hot on the heels of the PSP Fanboy article "60 reasons to own a PSP," this article is 5 better. Instead of analog nubs, failing movie formats and obscure features only available in Britain, every reason on this list is the reason anyone …

Ryan
Ryan
16 years ago

Who cares even if it couldn’t run linux it does the one thing it’s meant to do better than any other hand held ever made and that’s play games.IMO DS is the first hand held that isn’t just a shitty version of a console.

Jordan Lund
Jordan Lund
16 years ago

You guys have to be kidding, right?

I’ve got a DS and the majority of the games on that system suck. There are a bare handful worth playing once and that’s about it.

3. Advance Wars: Dual Strike – I loved the GBA versions of this game, but this one is lacking. Why are the graphics worse than the GBA versions? They’re smaller, not as detailed. Anyone considering getting a DS for this title should just stick to the superior GBA versions.

13. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney – An interesting premise that gets lost in “Tap the screen to continue! OK Tap the screen to continue! Wait… wait… TAP THE SCREEN TO CONTINUE!” gameplay. There’s really no game here. It’s just an electronic comic book that gets boring very quickly.

14. Super Mario 64 DS – I was never a fan of Super Mario 64. It was boring and un-compelling. The last thing I want to do is play it again 10 years later.

16. Animal Crossing: Wild World – Hey, here’s an idea… let’s take an RPG and strip out everything that makes playing an RPG interesting!

20. Final Fantasy III – The reason I bought a DS. One week later the battery lost it’s charge. I haven’t put it on the charger since.

26. Trace Memory – Survival horror without the survival or the horror. Again, like Animal Crossing, take an established genre and remove everything that makes that genre interesting.

30. Bomberman – I love Bomberman, really, but there have been better implementations of it. Plus do I really need a 14th copy of Bomberman?

37. Brain Training – You would have to pay me to play a game involving 1st grade math workbooks. I’m serious. Pay me to torture my brain and I’ll consider it.

38. Trauma Center: Under the Knife – Very cool game and no grist for my mill. That being said, the Wii version is the same damn game. Same injuries in the same order, same objective. Having the DS version negates the need for the Wii version and vice versa.

39. Hotel Dusk – Same problem as the Phoenix Wright games. Gameplay consists of tapping the screen every 20 to 40 seconds or so. No challenge.

45. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All – Same problem as the last one, but if you thought tapping the screen periodically to progress in the game, wait until you do it as an amnesiac! Wow!

jay
Admin
jay
16 years ago

You caught us, this was all a joke. Mario 64 was a shitty game, Final Fantasy III is bad because your battery died, and Trauma Center retroactively became a bad game once the Wii version was released. Man does the DS suck.

guy
guy
16 years ago

LOL @ 21, that is the funniest thing i heard all day. Its hard to believe that you wrote all that, and didn’t say anything worthwhile.

Also, This list blows, sure the DS is amazing, but just listing 65 games is a terrible idea.

Sharp
Sharp
16 years ago

Fair enough, guy.

Also, “Jordan Lund” is either an asocial supergenius, or a total bullsh***er, because he said Phoenix Wright was like an interactive comic book. Not that I think that’s a bad deal, but that’s only kind of like the court portion of the game. Not to mention even the court portion is filled with difficult puzzles (and some not-so difficult puzzles) that I assumed kept him from ever getting to the investigative part. I severely doubt he’s just autistic and got all the puzzles immediately.

Also, brain training is not for the younger audience.

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[…] response to pspfanboys’s 60 reasons to own a psp, there was this lame’ response for owning a ds, which was just a list of games. Sure, we get the point: the ds is about the games, […]

Matt
16 years ago

Step aside everyone, I’ll handle this:

:pulls up sleeves:
http://objection.mrdictionary.net/go.php?n=2058433

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[…] 65 reasons to own a DS 65个买DS的理由 […]

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[…] 65 reasons to own a DS – videolamer.com The DS is a weaker machine than the PSP but it still has a few tricks that can be used as bullet points on the back of its box. Everyone knows about the second screen, the touch screen, and the wireless. Frankly, if it were up to small features, a DS list wouldn’t get very high. But those things aren’t what make the system worth owning. The DS is ultimately popular with gamers because of its games. Any list that wants to convince a gamer to buy a system should focus on games, and so without further lecturing…here are the games (in no particular order). […]

Dat Phan Boi
Dat Phan Boi
16 years ago

To Sharp and Matt. If you are very careful with your DS then I am sure its fine. But if you are like Sharp (that PSP screen didn’t crack itself) then you are relaxed with your handhled like most people. I got a cover for my PSP, have had it two years and it is still perfect.

Also, there are a lot more than 66 games. there are over three hundred. you can’t tell me that the 66 I posted aren’t better than the 65 posted on this page, you just can’t. Each has remakes, and those are fun, but I agree with Jordan Lund, just play them on the original systems, especially the Advance (which I own and think is superior to the DS) I have had my advance for nearly five years and it is still great.

Also, I left out some upcoming PSP games that will be fun:
Dead head Fred, Rainbow Six Vegas, Tiger Woods 08, D&D Tactics,Brave Story, Alien Syndrome, Monster Hunter Freedom 2, Manhunt 2, Crazy Taxi, God of War…the list goes on.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney looks like a PSP homebrew…a bad one.

Sharp
Sharp
16 years ago

Graphics aren’t everything. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is one of the best games on the DS, and if you were to put the two together in a bundle, it would be a better deal than 9/10 of the games on your list. I’m making exceptions, since no matter how you slice it, Tekken DR is a great game. Burnout legends? Not so much.

And my psp screen got cracked because I carried it around in my bag. Odd how that never happenned to my ds.

Steve
Steve
16 years ago

A few games shouldn’t be on this list, and a few that aren’t should be. Trioncube FTW. But the point is made. The DS is 100% bomb.

Sharp
Sharp
16 years ago

Bomb? Well, it didn’t bomb, so I’m just gonna assume you mean “The Bomb”.

jay
Admin
jay
16 years ago

Diggity.

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[…] Filed under: Digg Articles, Video Games — Jason Jeffrey @ 12:38 pm Straight from Videolamer: “The DS is a weaker machine than the PSP but it still has a few tricks that can be used as […]

Shigeru
Shigeru
16 years ago

Funny how these kind of list sites always get the crackhead flamer anti-fans who just HAVE to jump in and say “this system sucks, because, um, it just sucks and my favorite system rules”. You poor PSP folks who have to try to prop up your system by trying to trash the DS are sad and pathetic. The DS blows the PSP away in the only real medium that matters to anyone…it outsells it in a landslide. Oh, and that’s not only in the heavily-biased Japan, that’s Stateside too.

If you want the real reasons to own a DS, I can spell them out for you much easier: cheaper, more durable, doesn’t require as much in the way of add-ons to be functional for its purpose, longer battery life, and far more games (and original games) available if you include the titles for the GBA (which did have quite a few very good games) than the PSP. You can weed out the goofy, childish, and just plain odd games and still find plenty to keep you interested at almost any age level.

jordanlund
jordanlund
16 years ago

“The DS blows the PSP away in the only real medium that matters to anyone…it outsells it in a landslide. ”

Sales is a popularity contest, it has nothing to do with quality. Or do you honestly think that McDonalds makes the best hamburgers on the planet? Honda has better cars than Mercedes?

The reasons the DS sells more are because it’s cheaper and kids want one. That’s pretty much it. It doesn’t have better games than the PSP.

jay
Admin
jay
16 years ago

If your argument is that there is no ultimate objective good or bad, then I agree with you. The Saturn is better than the PSX, the Master System better than the NES and so forth, at least to some people and their opinions are as valid as anyone else’s.

As I’ve said a handful of times now, this article isn’t supposed to prove the games listed are better than other games. The list doesn’t even need to be there, I just figured people would be upset if they didn’t have more content to argue about. The point of the article is both to lightly mock lists of what makes things better than other things (specifically the PSP Fanboy article) as well as make the argument that games are what should matter most to a games system.

Now of course this is also just a subjective stance. We could decide that since there is no real objectivity there is no need to write opinions down anymore, but then what would I do on my Friday nights?

Sharp
Sharp
16 years ago

Just jumping in again, saturn was better than the PSX and anyone who says otherwise is a big dummyhead.

Oh, that’s right. I went there.

thelama
thelama
16 years ago

You are kidding right? This is such a sh!t ‘article’. 65 games – of which more than 1/2 are lame. I own a psp (which I rate highly) and also want a DS but this doesn’t attract me in the slightest. If i wanted a list of 65 games, i would have gone to Amazon and look at ‘DS Games’.

Quite frankly, what a lame comeback to the psp article, no thought applied whatsoever.

jay
Admin
jay
16 years ago

We are all adults here, thelama, you may use the word “shit”. Your insults reminded me to check out the PSP Fanboy article. They seem stalled on number 46 – they haven’t updated the list since July 2nd.

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[…] 65 reasons to own a DS. I’m sure more will emerge with E3. […]

Flab Face
Flab Face
15 years ago

I’d love to have a DS but… i’m not allowed so i’ve been trying 2 win a game console for my whole life!

Flab Face
Flab Face
15 years ago

and no… we’re NOT all adults here you immature ****!

get paid to upload
13 years ago

I can see that you are an expert at your field! I am launching a world wide web web page soon, and your particulars will possibly be pretty useful for me.. Thanks for all of your help and wishing you all the success.

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[…] Yesterday we covered 65 DS games as something of a jesting response to a PSP Fanboy article. Some readers decided to ignore the point of our piece, which was that games are, at least by our standards, the real reason to buy or not buy a system. For those people, we now present a second reason (in their view) to buy a DS — backwards compatibility. […]