The DS is well-known for its unusual design features, the two-screen format and the touch screen. Many of the DS's most popular games make good use of these features, and there are many outstanding games, like Meteos, that make strong enough use of them that they could fairly be said to depend on these features. There wouldn't be too much to Brain Age without the handwriting input, and it is hard to imagine Elite Beat Agents existing at all without either the unique interface or the simultaneous cutscene/gameplay presentation.
But for as much attention as the DS gets for its unique features, many of its best games use them in only the most cursory of ways. Some of the best-reviewed, most popular DS games have only optional touch-screen use, or some function that is nonessential to gameplay. Some games squander their second screen on inventories and maps. Many such games not only could have worked just as well on other systems, they are from long-standing series that worked just fine back in the dark ages when game systems only had a single screen and controls were mapped only to buttons.
The games on this list are the highest-ranked games according to Metacritic that fall under the category of "traditional" games. In fact, the top four DS games according to Metacritic are all traditional. Each game on this list is an excellent DS game that is excellent independent of the DS' inherent advantages.
1. Mario Kart DS (Metacritic rank: 1)
The Mario Kart formula hasn't changed since the beginning of the series: Mario universe characters race in adorably tiny little cars, and throw stuff at each other. And they haven't needed to change. Mario Kart games are always well-received, always popular, and always staples of the multiplayer Nintendo experience. The DS version controls just like its predecessors: with the D-pad and buttons, to great effect. The bottom screen shows a map of the track-- map screens, of course, are the second-screen display for games that don't need the second screen. The DS version brought the welcome addition of online play, but internet connectivity is hardly unique to the DS.
2. Advance Wars: Dual Strike (Metacritic rank: 2)
Like the other games on the list, Advance Wars comes from a line of games that dates back to the NES (or, more accurately, the Famicom: the series is called Famicom Wars in Japan.) Predictably, for the series to have made it into the 21st century, previous incarnations must have been okay without touch screens. And they were! When the strategy series finally made it outside Japan in its Game Boy Advance form (hence the "Advance Wars" title) it became a hit in Western territories. Advance Wars: Dual Strike's optional stylus controls are just that-- optional, and dispreferred to the traditional button/D-pad interface. The character portraits on the second screen might add to the experience for some players, and the unit information is somewhat useful, but these features aren't essential to gameplay.
3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Metacritic rank: 3)
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow benefits more than most of the other games from the DS's dual screens, but even so, the second screen is almost completely unnecessary. Map screens have been included in Castlevania since the very beginning; constantly-updated automaps have been a part of the game since the series went free-roaming in Symphony of the Night. The DS version allows you to have a constant view of the map screen, which is nice. It doesn't change the nature of the game at all, and it hardly means that the game is better on DS than it would have been on any other system. The touch screen implementation in this game is somewhere between "token" and "annoying", breaking the flow of boss battles and forcing you to draw shapes on the screen correctly to kill bosses. We're glad Konami didn't try to make Dawn of Sorrow more "innovative."
4. New Super Mario Bros. (Metacritic rank: 4)
New Super Mario Bros. is about as traditional as a game can get. It draws directly from the original Super Mario Bros., the game from which many design traditions originated. There's nothing more complicated here than there was in the Super NES Super Mario World. Mario runs, jumps, breaks blocks, collects powerups, and shoots fireballs just like he has for the last twenty years. And as such, NSMB would have been equally brilliant on any system of the last twenty years. All of the brilliance of NSMB is in the level design anyway! The bottom screen is kind of a joke-- do we really need a progress bar for Mario levels? The touch screen is only used to select reserve items, which was controlled by the Select button in Super Mario World, and works about as well in either case.
5. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (Metacritic rank: 9)
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is a confluence of classic game influences: it's a platforming RPG set in the venerated Mario universe. RPG's as a genre are generally not innovative in terms of control schemes: any method of input will allow for choosing from menus. Mario & Luigi: PiT uses some good old-fashioned platforming in its interface, which makes it somewhat more control-intensive than your average Dragon Quest, but still something that has been proven to work on the NES pad many times. Furthermore, this specific series has been proven to be great on the Game Boy Advance, which was both screen- and touch!-deficient.
The common thread for all these games is that they are from series with origins on previous systems. These were games that were designed for the DS not because of the interesting design properties of the DS, but because of the system's interesting sales properties. All of them are sequels to series with entries on the GBA. It's ironic that so many of the best games on a system well-known for creating entire new genres and gamers are traditional games that appeal to the DS audience not because of their novelty, but because of their undeniable quality.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-22-2007 @ 7:31PM
WhatIsThatThing said...
Now I want to play Partner's in Time again. So I think I will. Good, short game.
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3-22-2007 @ 8:16PM
Rubang B said...
I recently beat Superstar Saga, but I forgot to pick up Partners in Time. Thanks for reminding me.
Of the other 4 games on the list:
I have and completed Mario Kart DS.
I borrowed and completed Advance Wars DS.
I have and HAVEN'T OPENED Castlevania: DoS.
I have and completed New SMB.
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3-22-2007 @ 9:12PM
Nushio said...
Haha, I decided to restart Partners in Time last night.
I just remembered why I loved it so much, its a hilarious and addictive game.
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3-22-2007 @ 9:30PM
Steve 3.2 said...
Hopefully developers see this and realize that they shouldn't use the touch screen in their game if it doesn't fit. A good game is a good game.
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3-22-2007 @ 10:24PM
Fox said...
I disagree with several of your choices here.
Mario Kart: While the second screen in Mario Kart at first seems useless and entirely a "we had to do SOMETHING with it" type of move, I have to say that that second screen is the second best thing to happen to the series after internet play. I am always looking at it to check up on who has what, what's coming after me, and how close my opponents are. I can hardly play a different Mario Kart, or for that matter racing game, without feeling like something is missing. I have to say it is one of my favorite features of MK DS, and totally won me over even though I was very skeptical of its use at first.
Advance Wars: You mean people actually use the button interface at all? The stylus control is so much more precise and faster, sure it is technically "optional" , but I can't imagine why anyone would think that using the buttons was actually faster or better. I mean to move from one end of the map to the other scrolling with the D-pad is a pain compared to a swipe and a tap with the stylus.
Partners in Time: This game actually significantly benefited from two screens. Controlling both brothers and being able to see them at the same time made many of the unique puzzles undoable on other platforms. I'd agree it wasn't exactly ground-breaking, but still wasn't a game where its use of the second screen was throwaway.
However, I will fully agree with you about the NSMB selection. I probably would have preferred it if they just would have turned the touch screen off during the adventure mode. Would have saved more battery life.
Meh, I guess it is all down to personal opinion, but still, I do believe that the games I mentioned only benefited from the unique capabilities of the DS, and that though perhaps they could possibly be done on other systems, the experience wouldn't be as enjoyable. After all, who can deny that using the second screen perspective in Mario Kart to perfectly lay a banana in front of the second-place racer is an awesome thing?
With all due respect,
Fox
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3-22-2007 @ 10:55PM
hvnlysoldr said...
It could be said that reviewers are more comfortable with traditional games and that they aren't interested in non-traditional games. If they don't like them in the first place it'll negatively affect their score. Plus those are games that attract non-gamers who wouldn't really read the reviews anyway.
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3-22-2007 @ 11:53PM
ThatFuzzyBastard said...
I'd agree with all your choices---all good, all doable on any system---except Partners In Time. In fact, I think one of the really smart things Nintendo did with PiT was to make a game that reminded people that the touch screen isn't the only unusual aspect of the DS---there's also that second screen what the whole system be named after. Sure, a lot of the time it's just a map, but a number of the battles make really clever use of the second screen, and the cutscenes (an essential part of the RPG genre) are very clever in their use of the two screens (even as it keeps the top screen as an overworld map).
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3-23-2007 @ 12:15AM
Matt said...
@ Fox (#5)
Stylus controls are not necessary to jump across the screen in Advance Wars DS. Pressing R will switch to the next unused unit much more quickly, or pressing start (plus D-pad) will allow you to quickly navigate large maps. Fine-tuned movement controls also seemed difficult to me with the stylus, but maybe that's my shaky hands. All preference, I guess, but neither is necessarily faster.
"DS Battles" are a new feature, however, that arguably could not have been pulled off as well on the GBA.
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3-23-2007 @ 12:20AM
Rubang B said...
This is just going by Metacritic. While traditional game reviewers may prefer these games, I think more dollars are being made with Nintendogs and Brain Age right now. I'm waiting for the crossover, Brain Dogs.
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3-23-2007 @ 12:37AM
Rubang B said...
I too preferred the R button and D-Pad to the stylus controls for Advance Wars. I also barely use the stylus in Animal Crossing!
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3-23-2007 @ 1:30AM
Shanks said...
The best example of avoiding unnecessary DS features comes from one of the most venerated franchises of all time: FF3 doesn't use the top screen at all (if you discount the menu moving the overworld/dungeon image up top and the FMV), and its touch screen control is "dispreferred," as issuing battle commands is frustrating and the Mognet keyboard is just atrocious.
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3-23-2007 @ 1:48AM
Ibrahim said...
Yeah, stylus controls are annoying in Advance Wars because they aren't always 100% precise, especially with such small areas for units or commands. It's the most frustrating thing when you lose a bunch of speed points because you clicked wait when you meant to click attack. After a while I just gave up on using the stylus entirely. The only game I have (out of 3) that really uses the stylus is Hunters, the other game being FFIII which although is nicer with the stylus for walking, really doesn't help much and is actually a step back in battles. While I like the new, "innovative" game style being supported by the DS, I wish companies would focus on making solid games rather than trying to appear "innovative," because honestly, at this point "innovation" is starting to become over-hyped and overrated. Right now, Advance Wars is my favorite game of the three, because it is such a solid game with incredible replay value with the 300 trophies thing. I think more games should include some sort of trophy/medal system, like SSBM, because that really adds to the longevity of the game.
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3-23-2007 @ 3:48AM
kcgb said...
Personally I couldn't stand Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. I felt it really suffered from a lack of exploration and sidequests of any kind. (once you were done with an area you NEVER had to come back). The original Mario & Luigi is one of my favorite GBA titles and was really disappointed that they didn't do anything cool with it on the DS (although if I remember correctly Alphadream didn't have have a touch screen until very late into their development cycle).
As for the rest of the titles they all took tried and true gameplay methods and greatly improved upon them (in my opinion Mario Kart DS is the best in the series).
I do feel that Advance Wars DS would greatly have benefited from Wi-FI play, but wireless play in general was already a vast improvement which made it much more feasible to play multiplayer matches.
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3-23-2007 @ 5:28AM
Bill McCai said...
I like playing Advance Wars entirely with the stylus. It just seems really natural and easy.
But yeah, the stylus never leaves its slot during mariokart playtime.
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3-23-2007 @ 8:29AM
dantebk said...
One of the great things about the DS that has nothing to do with its features, is that it allows game developers to make simpler SNES (and occasionally N64) style games that they couldn't get away with for a modern home console.
So I agree with the point of the article, and think the whole thing is quite simple: People loved SNES, and people love DS.
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3-23-2007 @ 2:30PM
CB said...
"Advance Wars: Dual Strike's optional stylus controls are just that-- optional, and dispreferred to the traditional button/D-pad interface."
The D-pad is much slower than zipping around to various units with the stylus. Greatest game ever, I have over 500 hours in on it! Kinda sad thinking that's 21 days!
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3-23-2007 @ 2:52PM
SatansClause said...
"4. Hopefully developers see this and realize that they shouldn't use the touch screen in their game if it doesn't fit. A good game is a good game."
I hope for the same thing. I think the early devs felt the pressure to use the full potential of the DS by slapping crap wherever they could. Most likely, this scramble was fueled by review sites commenting on whether or not the touch-screen was used. I remember reading a review or two wagging their finger for not using the touch-screen.
I have to agree with Fox regarding Mario Kart DS. At first, the second screen feels like filler. That is, until you are actually gaming hard and have to glance at your map every 5 seconds. It really brings in the much needed tension in this cartoony racer.
I do think New Super Mario Bros.'s second screen was a joke. If anything, they should of had a screensaver or some kind of distracting animation on the bottom. Maybe a quick access to the mini-games for when you're stuck in the main game (ha!) and want to chill. Turning off the bottom screen would of looked bad.
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3-27-2007 @ 3:36AM
Daeseok said...
Advance Wars is just fine without the stylus... Ache in your arms, really. But when you design a map yourself, well then it counts.
Castlevania's upper screen is just a map, as it says- but personally I think being able to see a map all the time is the best thing ever happened in 2D Castlevania series. I had to stop the game countless times when playing GBA versions- how annoying.
And New Super Mario? Come on! Without the touch screen you can't enjoy mini games- which is quite important for me.
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