Nintendo DS/DSiWare/3DS game recommendations

[asahelix]

Hello! I was requested to make this thread lol so here we are! This is my list game recommendations. Please add yours to this thread!!!

DS

• Pokémon Black/White
• Chrono Trigger
• Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story
• Club Penguin Elite Penguin Force
• WarioWare Touched

DSiWare

• Shantae Risky's Revenge
• Bird & Beans
• Go! Go! Kokopolo
• Mighty Milky Way
• Mighty Flip Champs

3DS

• Tomodachi Life
• Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
• Miitopia
• Uhh.. I dunno I forgot sorry

These are probably all very surface level reccomendations tbh lol

[fablefound]

okay, i haven't actually played ALLLLL of these (a good few i've just downloaded) but i did homebrew both my 3ds and dsi a while back, so here's some stuff i acquired...

for the ds/dsi:

• i still have a lot of my childhood pokemon games--black and white are great, and i also enjoyed their sequels, as well as just about everything g4 that i got my hands on, particularly the g4 mystery dungeon and pokemon ranger games, as well as heart gold/soul silver and the diamond/pearl/platinum games.
• can't go wrong with cooking mama, if you're just looking for fun relaxing (okay, admittedly occasionally stressful) minigames with an adorable aesthetic
• minigames too much? try microgames in warioware: touched!
• haven't had the chance to play them, but i've heard great things about the professor layton games
• similar sentiment about the world ends with you which i'll get to, uh, eventually
• finally for dsware, magician's quest mysterious times is considered something of a hidden gem. i never got too into it, but it's very cute. animal crossing wizard school...

for the 3ds:

• unsurprisingly i have fond memories of the mainline/remake pokemon games, though i haven't played them in like a decade lol
• i recently wrapped up a playthrough of style savvy which was SO cute and fun!! had way more substance and content than i would've expected.
• seconding the tomodachi life rec. played it for MONTHS when i got it. i have the sequel preordered.
• i just started ocarina of time which makes it like... my third-ever zelda game? still getting used to the controls but it's fun so far.
• i also have majora's mask downloaded, which i plan to play after beating ocarina.
• have yet to play it, but have heard great things about rune factory 4.
• spent literal YEARS on animal crossing new leaf and still regularly get nostalgic for it.
• you can get a lot of indie/rpg games on a homebrew. i haven't really played with em yet besides off, but i also have oneshot and yume nikki and cave story downloaded.
• i also have tetris and a couple picross apps. just for funsies.
• finally, i have rhythm heaven and project mirai dx. 3ds is definitely not where i go when i want rhythm games, but why not?

tldr: homebrew 3dses are so much fun... so many games at ur fingertips!!

[ValyceNegative]

Ace Attorney Ace Attorney Ace Attorney! If you have a DS you HAVE to try the series! <3 And if it grabs you you can follow their adventures with the subsequent titles for 3DS.
Oh, and if you like musical games... Rhythm Heaven! Elite Beat Agents! Osu Tatakae Ouendan! The last one is basically the japanese version of Elite Beat Agent but still very easy to pickup even without knowing the japanese language. Taiko No Tatsujin is the same, very easy to pick up and play!

[Cyber_Cyan]

YES ! DS and 3DS are my beloved go to handhelds !!

For the DS

I you like horror games you have to give Dementium The Ward and Dementium II a try, it's awesome !! The first one had a decent remastered version on 3DS.
Also Nanashi no Game (though I think only the first one has an English patch).
If you like Animal Crossing, you'll love Enchanted Wizard which is eerily similar but takes place in a wizard school.
If you want some fun shoot'em up, I recommend Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ !
For cozy and cute games:
- Cookie Shop
- Tamagotchi Connexion Corner Shop 1, 2 and 3
- Maestro Jump in Music ! An unusual rythm game that's very addictive
- Big Bang Mini

And if you like rythm game, I recommend the Japanese version of Elite Beat Agents : Osu!Tatakae!Oendan!


For the 3DS

I can't recommend the Yokai Watch series enough, it's my go to when I want to chill. If you like gachas and Pokemon like games, you'll love it.

I have yet to try Fantasy Life, but I loved Story of Seasons.

Also, the 3DS was blessed with Kirby Planet Robobot (a customizable Mecha Kirby... What's not to love  )

The Zero Escape series if you like puzzles and visual novels !!

[Lyonid]

This is perfect, and I have been waiting for this moment. I have been taking my modded 2DSXL EVERYWHERE because I love this little thing. Here are some essentials people should give a try if they are looking for just an interesting experience.

NDS

• Dragon Quest V: One of the strongest and most impactful RPGs to me with an amazing story and characters you can fall in love with very easily.
• Dragon Quest IX: Very unique spin on an RPG where you create your own party from scratch. It has some super cool multiplayer functions that can be very well worth your time, and I think the animations are just so cool.
• WarioWare DIY: If you want to genuinely create something this game is just limiting enough for you to get to it very fast. I think their game editor is incredible and very true to what we have all been doing with our websites. I never finished any of the actual games because making those microgames was too addicting to me as a kid.
• Rune Factory 1, 2, 3: They all rock. It's amazing to check out the roots of the series. They can feel clunky, but just spending some time in that world is always a blast. RF2 has a very unique but tedious generational aspect to it which I love and hate. 3 is just very solid and fun because you have a farm in a cool tree.
• Viva Pinata: Pokopia has been big recently, and this is a big inspiration for the game. You have a little garden that you decorate with your touch screen and make habitable for your pinatas. Eventually you unlock new ones by luring them with different food, and eventually you'll get a little cutscene of them dancing in a couple to create babies. Genuine gem and I wish for the series to make a return.
• MySims: It feels weirdly off-brand compared to their PC, Wii counterpart, but I do enjoy the quirky nature of this series. Strong Animal Crossing inspiration with tons of good and bad minigames. You run around, make friends with other characters and decorate your house. The other entries are very good as well to dabble in a little bit.
• Magician's Quest: This is THE Animal Crossing clone, and it does it so well. It's so quirky and odd. You are a magician who can learn little spells. It does the whole dess-up, decoration, animal villager stuff in it, but it also features a very unique mechanic where each month there is kind of a "critter of the month" story. You do some quests, learn distinct spells and learn about some mythical creature that is goofing around in your town. The music is amazing and the vibes are very comforting. The animals are all utter freaks and I love them.
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky: Just play it. It's great. The story is so lovely. The character writing is so strong, and the whole mystery dungeon loop works very well. It can be a bit challenging and frustrating, even, but there is a fun mechanic that allows people to rescue you.

3DS

• Fire Emblem Awakening: Revival of the series that really feels like the devs where just throwing everything they had at us (and they did). Iconic characters, really fun gameplay, some great writing, and a great place to start if you struggle with GBA Emblem. It has a really good gay hack as well. Echoes is just one of the prettiest games the 3DS has despite the lacklustre retro maps, but it makes up for it imho.
• Shin Megami Tensei 4: Amazing RPG with some really fun narrative twists and strong worldbuilding. Great entry to the SMT series as you have to overcome a rather brutal early game that teaches you very well what the systems are about.
• Monster Hunter 3/4 Ultimate: Both rock in their own way with unique and iconic monsters. 3 gives you a good feel of how the early Wii era felt and 4 has a great story with some awesome designs and mechanics. Don't go into Generations first.
• Fantasy Life: Beloved game where you take on all kinds of jobs that all kind of intertwine. The main appeal lies in the exploration and how you slowly build up your character to make us of everything the world has to offer.
• Animal Crossing New Leaf: Kind of obligatory but probably the most packed Animal Crossing with lots of interesting systems. Perfect soundtrack, genuinely beautiful to look at and the beginning of Power Fantasy Crossing.
• Rune Factory 4: Kind of a perfect game with an abundance of story events, complex farming mechanics and a story that kind of stuck with me. Huge time sink for a series that was deemed over at the time.

I am also seconding everything above. This system has so many bangers, and is worth you time.

[candycanearter07]

Ace Attorney Ace Attorney Ace Attorney! If you have a DS you HAVE to try the series! <3 And if it grabs you you can follow their adventures with the subsequent titles for 3DS.
Oh, and if you like musical games... Rhythm Heaven! Elite Beat Agents! Osu Tatakae Ouendan! The last one is basically the japanese version of Elite Beat Agent but still very easy to pickup even without knowing the japanese language. Taiko No Tatsujin is the same, very easy to pick up and play!

As an additional note, all 4 of the DS* games were ported to 3DS with better graphics and a bit of 3D effect, its quite nice and I like having the entire series on one device.

*technically the original trilogy was released as GBA games in japan, but the US version was originally released on the DS

[asahelix]

seconding the tomodachi life rec. played it for MONTHS when i got it. i have the sequel preordered.

Heck yeah!!! I had a phase for a few months when I couldn't stop playing the game until it admittedly got very stale after a while. I have also booked an appointment with my local Walmart to purchase the new game when it releases, so please wish me luck (or pray, whatever fits) that I won't accidentally waste all my money on useless junk like food or hygiene products instead!!! I wish the demo was a little bit better since they kinda just lock you outta the whole thing once you unlock clothes lol. Attached are some Miis of my OCs that I made for both the 2nd and 3rd Tomodachi Life games!

[asahelix]

Big Bang Mini

Thanks for mentioning this game because I was trying to figure out the name of it for a while! Some dude I knew had the game and it looked really interesting lol.

I can't recommend the Yokai Watch series enough, it's my go to when I want to chill. If you like gachas and Pokemon like games, you'll love it.

Hate to admit it, but I didn't really like the first Yokai Watch when I first played it. I have it on my 3DS so maybe I just need to revisit it? Are there any games in the series specifically that I should play?

[asahelix]

Sorry for the amount of times I qouted ya, but I wanted to put my input on each of these suggestions!

WarioWare DIY

Loved, LOVED this game as a kid, dude! I actually did play all the default microgames and... they're the literal worst in the entire WarioWare series imo (didn't play the two Switch games so)! Making microgames, music, and comics was also fun even though I sucked at doing all of those... Good times, definitely sunk in a good amount of time on it too.

Viva Pinata

How does it comapare to the Xbox 360 games? I played those and had a phase during the 2020 pandemic where I played the game for like, a month when I had Gamepass lol. They're fun lil time wasters for a genre of game I'm honestly not a huge fan of!

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky

Will do! I've tried to get into the Mystery Dungeon games, but they just didn't click with me, for whatever reason. Maybe because I'm so fatigued from Pokémon as a franchise.

Animal Crossing New Leaf

I need to start a save on this game because, admittedly, I've never played it! I did play New Horizons and enjoyed it a lil bit. Not a huge fan of games like this in all honesty (minus Tomodachi Life lol). It's sitting on my 3DS right now waiting for me though...

[fablefound]

Attached are some Miis of my OCs that I made for both the 2nd and 3rd Tomodachi Life games!

YESSSS tomodachi life truly is oc heaven. i'm gonna be adding so many of my little guys in there--i don't have the time or energy to reteach myself how to draw, but making them as miis? absolutely doable LOL

[clownvomitz]

+1 for tomodachi life, especially for making OCs. it’s so good.

for DS i’ve picked up Elite Beat Agents and it’s super fun!! i also play a lot of the DS port for plants vs zombies heh.

i’ve also been playing story of seasons: trio of towns for 3DS. im a sucker for farm sims so i cant help but play it LOL!