The 50 Best Nintendo DS Games - Part Four

Once again we arrive at a Thursday night. That obviously means that it is time to list off ten more of the most fantastic Nintendo DS retail games the system has ever known. This list describes the best and the brightest of the library. Perhaps some of my picks will attract you to tracking down a game or two yourself that you never would have tried out. Regardless, remember that the games on this list must have launched in North America to be included. With that out of the way, let's get to the next ten titles!

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

The final of the two mainline Zelda games to reach the Nintendo DS, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks brought with it the same novel touch control gameplay of Phantom Hourglass with less of the headaches. No longer did players have to traverse an overly familiar Temple of the Ocean King after each dungeon, getting deeper and deeper inside each visit. Instead, players visited a tower after each dungeon, with no need to revisit past areas inside. The sea that players explored in Phantom Hourglass was replaced by a more modern means of transportation, a train. One of my favorite parts of Spirit Tracks was the new role Princess Zelda adapted to, a helper role. No longer was she captured by Ganon, sealed up - no, she could possess Phantoms to help Link solve puzzles. The relationship between the two characters was really genuine, natural, and felt fresh, something great for the series. If you have an open mind to different control schemes (i.e. you aren't an annoying type of gamer who is stuck in his or her comfort zone, won't try anything new, etc.), then The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is a spirited pick.

The Legendary Starfy

After years of games being exclusive to Japan, Nintendo's Starfy character finally swam across the Pacific and into the West with The Legendary Starfy. It is actually the fifth game in the series, but the first for the West. Regardless, the game reminds people a lot of Kirby in its level design, ease of difficulty, and aesthetics. This DS release had 2D sprites and foreground objects while the backgrounds were full 3D renders. It was an interesting and diversified art style, for sure. Starfy could access one of many costumes to turn into a ghost, a seal, a dragon, and even a chicken. Yes, a chicken. How cool is that?! Another cool feature of the game was the ability to play cooperatively with a friend between two DS systems and only one copy of the game between each. Usually players needed two copies of the game for such a mode. Nonetheless, co-op could only be performed during certain areas and boss battles, and not the full game. I really hope that the rest of the Starfy series somehow makes its way to the West. I wish upon a star for such a miracle.

DK: Jungle Climber

One of the more overlooked and under-appreciated Game Boy Advance titles was DK: King of Swing. It didn't possess the same 3D rendering art style of the Donkey Kong Country series, replacing it with a more Saturday morning cartoon feel. In DK: Jungle Climber, the star of the show is, of course, Donkey Kong, but rather than going it alone like in King of Swing, he is partnered up with Diddy Kong. Just like King of Swing, DK: Jungle Climber has you holding down L and R to lea into the air, and cycling between the shoulder button to grab onto pegs, which make up the majority of levels. You're essentially using the L button to clinch the character's left hand, and the R button to clinch the character's right. Grabbing onto one peg at once allows DK or Diddy to spin, allowing them to move through each level. The game is a very atypical platformer, but it contains all of the features of the popular Donkey Kong Country series, such as bananas, bonus areas, bosses, Kremlings, and more. The game is constantly throwing new surprises into the gameplay. For instance, one level has DK being mirrored on the top and bottom screen. The player must watch both screens and navigate both Kongs through the area without hitting an object on either screen, or else the section must be redone. It's these clever ideas and gameplay elements that make for an exciting and challenging game.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin was a series of firsts for the franchise. If I recall correctly, it was the first Castlevania with some form of cooperative multiplayer component, and it was the first handheld Castlevania with English voice work. Portrait of Ruin consists of a setup similar to Dawn of Sorrow's Julius Mode. Players switch between two heroes on their quest to vanquish the vampire king once more. Many puzzles require changing between the two to solve them. The "portrait" in Portrait of Ruin refers to the paintings that both heroes can leap into a la Super Mario 64 to enter new worlds outside of the confines of Dracula's castle - regardless of how expansive it very well is. Like every other Metroid-style Castlevania title, Portrait of Ruin has players earning new abilities to reach previously inaccessible areas. There's a bevy of bonus modes such as Sisters Mode, Richter Mode, Old Axe Armor Mode, and a Boss Rush to relive all of the intense encounters of the game. Despite all of these features and quirks, Portrait of Ruin is probably my least favorite of the Castlevania trilogy on the Nintendo DS. It's still a sensationally worthwhile game to pick up, so don't get me wrong in the slightest.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

The first mainline Dragon Quest to arrive on a Nintendo platform in over a decade, and the first mainline Dragon Quest to launch on a handheld, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies did a lot to evolve the franchise from its old school roots. For example, it brought with it the elimination of random encounters, a nuisance that was a terrific example of archaic game design in classic RPGs. It also brought forth local multiplayer and even some online functionality. A vast shift in philosophy regarding playable characters was also a part of the package with Dragon Quest IX. Players did not get issued a standard hero with no ability to customize his appearance. Instead, players could map out their hero's gender, race, hair style, and all the way down to their eye shape. But don't think that the ninth installment of this epic role-playing series changed for the worst or was indecipherable from the rest of the series. No, turn-based battles were still present and an important part of the game. In fact, Dragon Quest IX was noticeably more challenging than past Dragon Quest games, too, despite being on a Nintendo system. Generally developers get the idea that Nintendo owners want dumb downed experiences. Thankfully, Level-5 did not go this route, and they created a brilliant RPG for it, with tons (and I do mean tons) of quest to partake in. Dragon Quest IX was one meaty experience worthy of any RPG fan's time.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Many people were disappointed with how Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars wasn't in line with typical GTA games (i.e. fully 3D). The game was an overhead viewpoint with a camera that could be revolved around 360 degrees. However, to those who actually played the game, they found a delightful, coarse in content, and full of thrills GTA experience on the Nintendo DS. And finally no longer did I have to run out of a warning zone to lower my police notoriety; I could demolish as many police cars as possible instead. The more my wanted level was, the more cop cars I needed to destroy. No doubt at all that fans of current day GTA have no desire to return to the top-down perspective that Chinatown Wars holds onto. This old school approach to the design not only affected sales of the Nintendo DS version, but it hurt sales when the PSP port was released, too. It is a shame because Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is one of the DS's most expansive, ambitious, and wonderful games (from a Western third-party no less) on the Nintendo DS.

Meteos

What do you get when you partner up the man behind Rez and Lumines, and the creator of Kirby and Super Smash Bros.? Why, you get Meteos, a daring puzzler for the Nintendo DS that arrived within the system's first year on the market. Generally a player will be fixated on the bottom screen where blocks tumble from the top screen to the player's viewpoint and form stacks of blocks. Sounds similar to many puzzle games like Tetris and Lumines, right? Well, the trick here is that the player is able to cycle blocks up and down in the stack with the desire to line up a minimum of three blocks in a row, vertically or horizontally. Once this feat has been achieved, the matching blocks will launch like a rocket and propel themselves into space (in battle mode, they will appear on the player's opponent's side). There are even more ways to manage to ignite even more blocks to create one large propulsion of blocks to clear most of the player's screen. The goal is to send as many blocks as possible into orbit. One of the only downsides to Meteos is that simple scribbling could make the game easier for players without much skill. The sequel to the game, Meteos: Disney Magic, would make efforts to eliminate such tactics. Nonetheless, the original game is still what I perceive to be the definitive version of Meteos.

Metroid Prime Hunters

If you recall back when the Nintendo DS first launched way back in 2004, it came with a rough demo of Metroid Prime Hunters called First Hunt. The full game would be released one-and-a-half years later by NST, a team within Nintendo. Metroid Prime Hunters was quite unlike any other Metroid before it. Its focus was not only just on the single-player experience, but it possessed a fully functionality and extensive multiplayer component. The campaign wasn't that revolutionary. Find keys, battle bosses, escape before the area explodes, rinse and repeat. It could be viewed as repetitive, really. But where the game truly shines is with its multiplayer. Taking 20 or so locales from the story mode, adding a host of weapons, and the bounty hunters shown in the game, and turning Metroid into a frag-fest made for an interesting and entertaining dynamic. Some might complain that the series was shoehorned into a genre that it doesn't fit, but many Nintendo fanatics proclaim that Metroid could be Nintendo's Halo. Regardless of whether or not this is an insane thing to say (well, a lot of Nintendo fanatics come off as insane and scare me deeply anyway), Metroid Prime Hunters and its innovative control scheme made for nights of intense fragging between friends and total strangers, online and off.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

A remake of the very first Fire Emblem game (not that many Westerners played the original), Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon was the first Nintendo DS entry for the series, as the developers wanted to show off the system's touch screen and online capabilities. The latter made for the first Fire Emblem game with online functionality, allowing two players to hop online and battle it out. Shadow Dragon was comprised of twenty-five individual chapters of war and destruction. There are six difficulties to choose from, so everyone from beginners to Fire Emblem veterans could jump in and enjoy the game. Battles are turn-based tactical affairs where over twenty specialized units are available for combat. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is yet another capable entry in the well regarded franchise, and it helps illustrate just how far the series has come. From its earliest days on the Famicom to its latest and one of the most popular installments yet in Fire Emblem: Awakening, the fire burns bright for Nintendo's tactical franchise.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

The final game of Part Four of tonight's article is another kind of tactical RPG, but this time it comes from the universe of Final Fantasy Tactics and the world of Ivalice. It is Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. Many changes took place between this Nintendo DS installment and the Game Boy Advance's Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. For one, there are over 300 unique missions in the game. Some are story-related while others net the player's party with unique rewards. This means that if players want to see everything FFT A2 has to offer, they will have to devote a serious amount of hours to do so. Some enemies have gotten especially large and now take up more than one square on a battlefield. The amount of jobs and abilities has been expanded as well, allowing party members to equip weapons and armor pertaining to their jobs. Through gaining Ability Points, or AP, new abilities are learned. Like Tactics Advance before it, Grimoire of the Rift makes for a whimsical journey, a completely stark contrast to the war-torn version of Ivalice of the original Final Fantasy Tactics. What wraps up this fun-filled tactical RPG is the charming presentation, from the bright and detailed visuals (backgrounds, sprites, special effects, etc.) to the marvelous music. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift is quite the capable game for fans of the series and games where you need to plan your actions out thoroughly to enjoy.

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And just like that we have but one more part to The 50 Best Nintendo DS Games to travel through. Forty games have already been listed and adequately detailed. There's only ten more to go. Will your favorites be mentioned? If you somehow missed a previous part of the list of fifty, check out the various parts here:

The 50 Best Nintendo DS Games - Part One
The 50 Best Nintendo DS Games - Part Two
The 50 Best Nintendo DS Games - Part Three

Top Ten Donkey Kong Games

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of Donkey Kong the arcade game. Who knew that Shigeru Miyamoto and company's love child would grow to become the colossal ape we've all grown to become enamored with? Nintendo might be all about Zelda's anniversary this year, but we at SuperPhillip Central won't forget about the gargantuan gorilla. Let's celebrate with a top ten list of DK's best games!

10) Donkey Kong (Multi)


Let's start things off with the original, shall we? This was the game that ate up quarters in arcades back in the day with players controlling Jumpman (who would go on to have somewhat of a career as Mario...) as he hopped over barrels, scaled ladders, grabbed hammers, and rescued Pauline from Donkey Kong's furry grip. The big ape may have been the titular character, but he took on the role of the villain. Donkey Kong would go on to be ported to home consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Colecovision, and the Atari 2600, to name a few. The above picture comes from the arcade original.

9) Donkey Konga (GCN)


Rhythm is gonna getcha', and boy, is it infectious! This rhythm game came with something Nintendo absolutely adores-- the peripheral. In this case, the peripheral was a bongo-shaped controller with two bongos connected together. Players chose from one of over twenty covers of classic and pop songs such as "Bingo", "We Will Rock You", "Wild Thing", "Louie, Louie", "Rock This Town", "All the Small Things", and many more. The gameplay consisted of banging the left and right bongos as well as clapping (or hitting the rim of the controller) with the various beats the game presented along a timeline. Score high points by hitting beats in succession without fouling up. With a better song selection than its sequel (and because the third game never left Japan), Donkey Konga nabs the ninth spot.

8) DK: Jungle Climber (DS)


Following the climbing clamber of the Game Boy Advance's DK: King of Swing was DK: Jungle Climber for Nintendo DS. Besides the obvious inclusion of the gameplay taking place on both screens, now both DK and Diddy were together. No longer was health determined by how many banana bunches the player possessed. Instead the game used the health system of the Donkey Kong Country series. If DK or Diddy gets hits, they drop out. If DK or Diddy are alone and they get hit, the player loses a life. With one incredibly difficult final boss battle, multiple hidden levels, mini-games, and secrets to uncover, DK: Jungle Climber is one underrated vertical adventure.

7) Donkey Kong '94 (GB)


Putting Donkey Kong once again as the villain, 1994's version of Donkey Kong for the original Game Boy was an all-new adventure. Mario was back, and he ventured through eight worlds of nearly one hundred levels total to save the day from the hairy, overgrown ape. The first four levels were taken straight from the arcade game of DK's roots. Everything else was entirely fresh. Donkey Kong '94 was more puzzle-oriented with a platforming focus. Mario's objective was to run and jump through labyrinth-like levels, taking a key from one point of a level to the locked door. Too bad there's an armada of enemies awaiting him! Donkey Kong '94 is the ultimate in classic Donkey Kong action. You can now purchase it for less than four dollars on the Nintendo 3DS's eShop.

6) DK: King of Swing (GBA)


A shift in play styles for Donkey Kong. Instead of stealing Mario's girlfriends and rolling and jumping through Kremling-infested levels, DK now climbed and leaped off of pegs. Players controlled DK through pressing and holding the shoulder buttons on the Game Boy Advance. One button controlled his left hand while the other controlled his right. K. Rool returned with an army of Kremlings and other familiar characters like Zingers in this intriguing Clu Clu Land-like game. The cartoon art style lent well to the colorful worlds and setting while the music was delightfully chipper and memorable. Look into DK: King of Swing and you'll be surprised at what an overlooked gem this game really is.

5) Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (SNES)


My least favorite of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, the final installment of the Super Nintendo trilogy doesn't even have Donkey Kong in the game. Nonetheless, it sports Dixie Kong and newcomer Kiddie Kong in his only appearance. The overworld maps were fully explorable with secret passages housing Simon Says-like mini-games for Banana Birds. These were key in fully completing the game. It seems that a mechanical tyrant named Kaos is behind the "k"arnage this time around, but savvy players know better... I find DKC3 as the most challenging game of the trilogy which makes for some potentially problematic precision platforming action. Fun times ahead for sure!

4) Donkey Kong Country (SNES)


When Rare got hold of the Donkey Kong license after having worked on a title like Battletoads under the Tradewest moniker, they gave the SNES a graphical beast of a game. All the bells and whistles in the world meant nothing if the gameplay wasn't up to par. Thankfully it was with Donkey Kong being joined by pal Diddy and a cast of crazy, kooky Kongs and villainous Kremlings. The seven unique worlds offered loads of variety such as frenetic factories full of oil drums and flickering lights, icy glaciers with slippery surfaces, and vine-covered valleys infested with vultures. Hidden bonus rooms added to the surplus of secrets Donkey Kong Country had. A true classic in every sense of the word, Donkey Kong Country is a top tier title.

3) Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (GCN)


Using Donkey Konga's bongo controller as the mandatory means of playing the game, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat was a unique game. Some called it a gimmick, but these people only looked skin deep at this entertaining romp. Tapping the left bongo to move left, tapping the right bongo to move right, tapping both to jump, and clapping to attack, Donkey Kong had a full arsenal of moves at his disposal. Not only was getting through fruit-themed levels the goal, but doing so with enough bananas was a side challenge. Creating one continuous combo from start to finish in a level was a task that beginners needed not apply. With intense boss battles against rival Kongs, countless hidden goodies to uncover, and high scores to attain, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat is one of the most original and great games in the grand gorilla's collection. A Wii port in the New Play Control line of software was released utilizing the Wii remote and nunchuk. It's terrific if you don't want to make a sound while playing, and you like bonus content such as a boss rush mode.

2) Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)


After Rare was purchased and then subsequently killed off essentially by Microsoft, it seemed like a game in the vein of Donkey Kong Country was doomed to never happen. Then E3 2010 occurred and Retro Studios was listed as the developer. Dreams of that day danced in the heads of many a-gamer. To think it was finally true made many people very happy, myself included. The end result was one of the most impressive Donkey Kong games ever-- much less one of the most impressive Donkey Kong Country games. Filled to the brim with content, challenge, and gorgeous and creative levels, Donkey Kong Country Returns proved that Retro Studios was without a doubt a brilliant developer and an invaluable asset to Nintendo. Taking on Tikis, testing one's reaction time on the mine cart and booster barrel levels, and bashing down bosses were just three of the many wonderful parts of DKC Returns. Donkey Kong was back and almost better than ever...

1) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)


...But not quite better than ever. Even though advanced and ultra-talented treasure hunters can plow through the game in about two hours with a 102% completion. No easy take indeed! What makes Diddy's Kong Quest (for the longest time I thought it was Diddy Kong's Quest) so engaging apart from the brilliant ambiance that oozes from every orifice of the game is the ingenious level design full of hidden secrets, well-placed enemies, traps, and obstacles, and one of the greatest 16-bit soundtracks in gaming history. This is a classic I can return to (hint for part 3 maybe?). The addition of Dixie Kong and her hair-twirling ability made pesky jumps all the more manageable. Both Kongs were lightweight, so that made larger enemies more troublesome to tackle. Even though Donkey Kong doesn't show up until near the end of the game (he was captured by Kaptain K. Rool), this game still is my favorite Donkey Kong game in the franchise's thirty year history.

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That concludes this top ten. You know what comes next. What are your favorite Donkey Kong games? Are you doing anything special to commemorate the main monkey's 30th anniversary? Sound off in the comments section.

DK Jungle Climber (DS) Review

New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat ships to retailers today. With one quirky platformer comes another with DK Jungle Climber for the Nintendo DS. Here's a review of why you shouldn't miss out on this entertaining game!

The King of Swing Returns For An Encore

DK: King of Swing was an incredibly underrated Game Boy Advance title buried under other hits on the portable platform. Several years later, Paon is back, developing the sequel to that gameplay gem, DK Jungle Climber for the Nintendo DS. Does a duo of screens do Donkey Kong justice, or is this sequel a sour banana? Thankfully, this title does DK: King of Swing proud.

When a gargantuan banana appears at the summit of the tropical Sun Sun Island during one of the DK crew's many days relaxing on the beach, it's up to them to investigate. Turns out the banana isn't of the edible variety-- it's a spaceship piloted by a talking banana representing his banana species. ...Yeah... okay. Players should leave their skepticisms of the story at the front door.

There's a plethora of locales DK and Diddy will traverse.

Everything begins with a skip-able tutorial lesson from Cranky Kong who'll show young whippersnappers the ins and outs of the beginning abilities DK has to unleash upon his foes and to progress through the various stages. DK Jungle Climber, much like its predecessor, has an innovative control set-up. The aim of the game is to use the L and R buttons to climb pegs to advance. The L button controls DK's left hand while the R button controls DK's right. When DK only has a hold of one peg in one hand, he'll simply spin around the peg in a circle. If the vertigo gets to players, by grabbing two pegs with both hands, it sets DK in place. The A button performs a charging attack perfect for speedily climbing pegs or bashing various foes out of the way. The gameplay is quite simple in the first levels, but it leads the player into a false sense of security. There's a lot more to DK Jungle Climber than scaling stationary pegs. Later levels have falling pegs, barrels that need to have a rock tossed at them from far away, and switches that are pulled by holding onto one side with DK's right hand and continuously pulling the lever with DK's left. There's icy rows of pegs which cause DK to slip and lose traction upon, there's giant cobs of corn that spin like tires, and pegs that move in odd patterns. There's a lot more variety than one would expect in a game that is primarily L and R, and each level usually introduces a new gameplay principle to the table, so players will ease into each new challenge and never feel overwhelmed.

Many Donkey Kong Country veterans won't touch a new DK game because it's not exactly a new DKC title. These people are what we call morons. This game is strikingly similar to not only past DKC games but also the first DK King of Swing title. Instead of the cartoony style of King of Swing, DK is back to what appears to be a 3-D model along with other "sprites". Several enemies from past games return such as Zingers, Flitters, Lockjaws, Neckys and more. Diddy Kong could be unlocked in King of Swing, but in Jungle Climber he's readibly available. Unlike, DK: King of Swing where players could regenerate their health by collecting and then using bananas, DK, along with Diddy, are two-hit wonders. If DK gets hit with Diddy, Diddy is lost. If DK doesn't collect a DK barrel before getting hit again, the player loses a life. This fact makes DK Jungle Climber much more difficult than the game that preceded it.

Why work alone?
Have Diddy help you out of a jungle jam!

There's new moves that DK and Diddy can use as well such as power-ups like the hammer and feather. The hammer gives Diddy Kong a giant weapon to spin around and clobber foes and certain breakable blocks with while DK climbs as normal. The feather gives DK and Diddy each a feather to float and fly past obstacles, enemies, and reach new heights. By collecting 100 multi-colored stars, players can touch the bottom screen making DK and his buddy invincible and able to fly around for a limited amount of time. This move is great for reaching an alcove that's otherwise a pain to reach normally. Finally, players can double-tap the A button to send Diddy flying toward an enemy (a great way to pummel those pesky Zingers), an out-of-reach item, or an away platform.

If going from point A to point B isn't all a player is into, they can opt to collect a multitude of items mid-level. There's the good old fashioned K-O-N-G letters which will give the Kong crew an additional life to work with. Also, who could forget those sneaky DK coins that when enough are collected, new cheats are unlocked such as 20 extra lives to work with when the player gets a game over or a faster hammer power-up to work with. There's five banana coins in each level which unlock new, fiendishly difficult extra stages once the final boss (who is one of the hardest in recent memory on a Nintendo plaform) has been defeated. Last by not least, there's oil barrels hidden in most of the levels. Get enough and Funky Kong will charter his plane to you and take you to a secret level.

Each of the six worlds (mostly of five levels each) concludes with an epic boss battle. Some are more memorable than others, but the majority are intuitive and pretty challenging actually. From taking down a gigantic Kremling mech to bashing down a possessed dragon, each battle will put your skills of climbing and dodging to the test.

The first boss- a giant banana battleship!

There's more to do outside of the adventure mode. Challenge mode offers a myriad of mini-games to play and attempt to perfect. There's climbing challenges, banana-grabbing games, barrel-busting bonanzas, barrel-jumping contests, and booster barrel races to partake in. Players get a letter grade based on their performance (up to AAA), and these unlock even more new content for ambitious players to enjoy.

Challenge mode allows players to replay the
various minigames for high scores.

DK Jungle Climber is incredibly polished. The controls are responsive, the presentation is remarkable, and the game presents a solid challenge to those who see it all the way through. The game is colorful, vibrant, and a joy to look at, the music is easily recognizable and memorable, and the amount of content the game offers is fantastic for only $29.99 USD. My only problem with the title is that it has six worlds, but completing the main adventure mode only takes 5-10 hours for most players. However, there are additional modes to unlock, extras to play through, and high score records to demolish. Some players may also find the formula getting a little stale and repetitive by the tale end of the game. DK Jungle Climber is a step (or I guess in this case, peg) above DK: King of Swing. Is it as good as the Donkey Kong Country series? That's not a fair question to ask as the games aren't overly similar. Nonetheless, anyone who picks up Jungle Climber will go bananas with all the excellent gameplay, challenge, and fun to be had. It's easily a fantastic DS game, and I recommend it to anyone despite a couple problems.

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.5/10]