Recommend me a DS game please

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

So I went ahead and got a DS. Basically I'm going on a trip in July for nearly 3 weeks(Europe if you must know) and for the long plane flights and bus rides, I got a hand-held.
Now I got the DS rather than the 3DS because I have more than a few GBA games I still wants to play and for whatever reason the 3DS is not backwards compatible to such a degree. It's mostly Advanced Wars, Kirby and FF6/3 Advanced.

I'm looking to get maybe 2-5 DS games. I've done some research and found a Pokémon game(whatever colors are the DS versions), various Mario/Zelda games, Contra # and a few JRPGs as stand-outs.

Didn't buy any, but they were on multiple Top - # lists.

I'd prefer not to get another Mario or Zelda game, simply because I've played my fair share of them, but I'm willing to listen if there's a truly remarkable game out there.

What do you recommend and why? I consider any genre and/or immersion level valid, so long as it's fun.

 

[madwarper]

Have you tried the Etrian Odyssey series? A first person dungeon crawler, where you draw the map as you go on the touch screen, with turn-based RPG combat.

EO1, EO2 and EO3 are out on the DS. EO 4 and EO Untold (EO1 remastered) are out on the 3DS.

Spoiler

 

[Scarim Coral]

Let see-

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Not as great compared to the GBA games but if you're a fan of the original and like a good RPG then this is for you!

Hotel Dusk and Last Window. A highly underrated game. It's a good detective puzzle game and best of all, it's got a GOOD story. Seriously it kind of like a visual novel a little bit.

Any Professor Layton games. If you want a puzzle game (as in all kinds of puzzles) then this is for you and the great characters and story are a nice bonus too!

Infinite Space. Another underrated game and also an unconventional RPG to boot. Sure the battle gameplay is simple at most but if you loved spaceship (and building the interior in tetris form) and descision making with consequences (not as deep as any Bioware games) then you must get this game!

The World Ends With You. Another unconventional rpg but it is highly rated for a good reason. Awesome soundtrack, interesting gameplay mechanic and good characters and story!

 

[wintercoat]

Have I got something for you!

I give you /v/'s Recommended Games Wiki! [http://vsrecommendedgames.wikia.com/wiki//v/%27s_Recommended_Games_Wiki]

For all your game choosing needs!

For some personal recommendations:

The Professor Layton games are really, really good puzzle collection games. With a plot! They're easy to pick up and play in short intervals, though you may find that they pull you in and keep you hooked for much longer(shit, I'm starting to sound like a paid advert, aren't I?) In a similar vein, the Ace Attorney games are also great, though I personally didn't like them as much as the Layton games. Also, also? Ghost Trick. Get it. Nao!

Any of the Castlevania games are well worth getting if you're into Metroidvanias. Aliens: Infestation and the two Spider Man games are also good Metroidvania-style games.

For JRPGs, Dragon Quest 4-6 are good buys. Better in my opinion than the Final Fantasy remakes on the system. Didn't personally like DQ 9, but I'll throw that out there as well. For something a bit different, check out Dragon Quest Heros: Rocket Slime. Tons of fun, and packed to the gills with slime-based puns!

If you're a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series(or even if you aren't), both of the ones on the DS are well worth picking up.

While I know you said that you don't want to get a Mario game, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is a great game. It's an RPG, rather than a platformer, and well worth a look.

Speaking of platformers/Metroidvanias. Monster Tale. If you don't mind a ton of constant backtracking, it's one of the best platformers I've ever played. The backtracking is the only reason it isn't in my top 5, but it's easily in my top ten.

List is getting a bit long, so only one more recommendation. Pokemon Conquest. It's a Pokemon strategy RPG, and before i sold my copy, I had put in over 100 hours into it. It can get repetitive, but even if you just play it for the first campaign(which is less than 10% of the overall things to do), it's worth playing just to see Pokemon done differently.

To be honest, I could go on. Coincidentally, I just this week retired my DS and bought a New 3DS. I put thousands of hours into dozens of games on that thing over 11 years. I can honestly say that it was the best system, handheld or console, that I've ever bought. Here's to plenty of hours spent playing great games on a great system. I hope you find something you like. Cheers!

 

[Fhqwhgod]

EO1, EO2 and EO3 are out on the DS.

I just wanted to recommend these as well. While I only ever played the 3DS games (Etrian Odyssey 4 + 1 Untold, Persona Q) these are still amazing J-RPGs that will offer an actual challenge. I don't know how well you will be able to draw the maps on the small DS screen though.

And since we are on hard JRPGs the original Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is a great S-RPG that will also occupy you for a while. This one also had a 3DS remake though. If you ever want to get one of those maybe you should get that version instead.

 

[SoreWristed]

The professor layton games are tailormade for long road trips. Beside being some of the best puzzle games out there, you can share some of the more interesting puzzles you find with your road buddies (if you are travelling with buddies).
And even when you just play it by yourself, i found that my neighbour on the plane was extremely interested and asked if he could have a go. None of this game is time based, so no worries when you suddenly need to close it because you totally missed the fact that the plane has landed and the cabin has emptied.

You do need to get your head around the fact that puzzles are the main currency in the game...

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Elite Beat Agents

Most fun I've had with my DS and I own many of the other recommendations I this thread.

 

[greenzero3]

Any of the Castlevania games are well worth getting if you're into Metroidvanias.

Order of Ecclesia needs more attention.

Shame about what happened to the Castlevania franchise since then, Mirror of Fate is terrible.

 

[DizzyCriminal]

Soul Bubbles, Its a great puzzle/adventure game that would only work on the DS.
Dragon Quest IX, It will kill any amount of time you throw at it.
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, A turn based strategy/match 3 puzzler that more games should rip off.

 

[AT God]

Edit: really should have read all of the OP, you clearly know what advance wars is. So if you don't want to read a really long rambling attempt at explaining it, if you at all liked Advance Wars, definitely get Dual Strike. And if you still want more, get Days of Ruin, just know that it has none of the characters from the other games and is a bit more anime than the previous games. It's also rated T because the grizzled mentor character says damn and hell a lot, very serious stuff.

I don't know if it suits your interests but the Advanced Wars series was/is the system seller for me on DS/GBA. If you have ever played Fire Emblem you will know how to control things, you move units turn based on a grid, attacking and such. The only difference is that it is set in some sort of realistic sense, instead of swordsmen and magicians you have military units that have set weaknesses and strengths, of varying costs, you capture buildings to increase your money and you destroy units. It is essentially Fire Emblem without the anime storyline (mostly) and without heroic units, every unit has 10 HP and it comes down to what is fighting what to see how much damage is done. For instance: infantry men attacking a tank wouldn't even do 1 damage, the tank's counterattack would do about 5-6 damage. A group of rocket launcher infantry would do much heavier damage to a tank, like 6 or 7, and since the tank squad is damaged, it's counter attack would be significantly weaker, like maybe 1-3 damage in return. Plus there are things like environment bonuses (Units in a forest tile are more resistant to damage than units on a road or in a field).

There are only 2 DS Advanced Wars games, Advance Wars Dual Strike, and Advance Wars Days of Ruin. Days of Ruin is basically a reboot, it uses generally the same units and gameplay style but involves none of the original characters/world/story of Dual Strike, which is basically the third game in a the series established by the first 2 GBA games. Plot isn't very important to the first 3 so playing Dual Strike first isn't going to hurt, you could read the plots of the first two games in probably 20 minutes online but you wouldn't miss much. I personally prefer Dual Strike because it is more familiar and there are some more absurd units and stuff. Days of Ruin tried to be all serious, it is completely new, extremely Anime characters fighting in a world destroyed by nuclear war, there is some sillyness with an amnesiac anime girl who has strange memories and a lot of silly drama and anime chicks with silly outfits. I'll admit, the story is more interesting because they seem to understand that there is actually some violence going on as opposed to the original games which seem to think everything is some sort of game, but as someone who isn't a fan of anime tropes it got pretty lame at some bits.

I haven't played Fire Emblem so I don't know how much the details of the games match but looking at a video of GBA Fire Emblem gameplay looks exactly like Advance Wars gameplay, same artstyle (different setting/themes though) and I think the basic idea is the same. Also, worth noting that while I hear Fire Emblem is much harder, Advance Wars is in no way easy. I've been playing them for years and I have only beaten each game once on the normal difficulty, usually with very bad scores on the harder levels.

If you get Dual Strike and like it, I would recommend playing the original 2 games for GBA, they are weaker gameplaywise (obviously) but they are still really fun if you like the general idea.

Sadly I don't know if the series will ever continue, I think more focus is put into Fire Emblem nowadays so I don't know if there will ever be more Advance Wars games but I love them so much if one came out for 3DS it would be a system seller for me, I love the series that much.

 

[NoDamnNames]

pokemon Heart gold and soul silver are not only contenders for the best Ds games but may be some of the best rpgs ever made by nintendo.

 

[Danny Dowling]

Final Fantasy 3
Mario 64 DS
Sonic Chronicles
Dragon Quest IX
Advance Wars Dual Strike (actually any of the 3 on DS tbh)
Metroid Prime Hunters (I think it's called)
Sonic Mega Collection (it's called something like that)

Yeah, those are pretty good.

 

[Kardsymalone]

999
Ghost Trick
TWEWY
Radient historia
Infinite Space
Dokopon Kingdom
Solobatoro
the EO series
Pokemon games
Animal Crossing games
Harvest Moon games
Dragon quest games
Advanced Wars games

 

[Chaos James]

I'd say, if you haven't already, pick up Golden Sun and Golden Sun 2 for the GBA. Then, grab Golden Sun: Dark Dawn on the DS. Nice little trilogy of RPGs, and should keep you more then busy blowing through all three.

If you play Pokemon, I'd recommend HeartGold/SoulSilver, DS remakes of Gold/Silver/Crystal. Excellent remake. That's about all I can offer as suggestions, XD, I really don't own many DS games.

 

[Abbyka]

Rune Factory series. It's addicting as heck. It combines Harvest Moon with role playing games. First one is a tad short and probably a little too easy but you should play the whole series beginning to end to really appreciate it. I'm currently playing Rune Factory Frontier on the Wii(not all of the games are on DS unfortunately). I know the first three are on DS, as I've purchased them with my tax refund recently all in one go. There is also 4, which I haven't purchased yet, but that one is 3DS only. Tides of Destiny is the only other one that isn't on DS or 3DS. It's on PS3 or Wii I believe(worth buying though, it's my favorite so far).

If you're an anime fan and love shipping characters together you'll love this game for that reason too. You can build friendships and even marry one of the girls(or boys in Tides of Destiny since it gives you the option to play as a girl after you beat the game). I am SO guilty of doing that. o.o;;

But also, seeing Chaos James' avatar I'm also reminded of the Disgaea games. I know some of them are DS. That's the next series I plan on binge purchasing.

 

[And Man]

The World Ends With You. It's an excellent JRPG with a very unique battle system:
You control two characters that fight on the two different screens. You control the character on the top screen with the D-pad, and the character on the bottom screen with the touch screen. It can be hard to get used to at first, but it works really well and is pretty great once you get a handle on what is essential fighting two real-time battles at once.
The game has, in my opinion, a pretty great story, with an interesting plot/setting basis, memorable characters, significant character growth, and quite a few twists.
TWEWY is also the only DS game I've played that has successfully used every feature of the DS in a good, non-clunky way.

Now if only Squenix would make a goddamn sequel. I'm still salty about that teaser site a few years back that just turned out to be an iOS port.

Other great games include Elite Beat Agents, a rhythm game in which you help people in peril by dancing to motivate them; Advance Wars: Dual Strike, a great turn-based strategy wargame with loads of content; Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky, if you're into JRPGs/Dragon Quest.

 

[CaitSeith]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. It's really funny.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Any of the 3 Castlevanias on DS. Just don't get Order of Ecclesia if you have a habit of swearing at difficult games while playing in public.

I see someone already brought up Advance Wars, definitely seconding.

 

[Islandbuffilo]

I've having a ball with Solatorobo: Red the hunter. Its a 2.5D RPG platformer, featuring mechs and a grapple mechanics.
Might be a tad hard to find though.

 

[Ravenbom]

Professor Layton is pretty much made for traveling and trips. Its easy to pick up and put down at any time, and just full of charm.
Like other people have mentioned, The World Ends With You. It's by far the best game on the DS.

Since you like Advanced Wars and Fire Emblem has already been mentioned, there's also Disgaea which plays similar and has 100s of hours of game and Final Fantasy Tactics (on DS I believe it's A2: Grimoire the Rift, as in Advanced 2. It's not a sequel and you don't have to play the previous to get into it) and lastly, if you liked Final Fantasy 12 like I did and like the FF Tactics series, then there's Final Fantasy XII: Revenent Wings.


Personally, for travel: Professor Layton, Picross, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and/or one of the Puzzle Quest games. They're all fun and easy to pick up and put down at any point.
Oh! and like other people said, Elite Beat Agents. It's just plain fun and kept a big dumb smile on my face the entire time I was playing it. Also easy to pick up at any time and play.