The Nintendo DS Turns 20 Today. Will We Ever Play These Games Again?
The Nintendo DS is 20 years old as of November 21, but it feels like it arrived even longer ago than that given the rapid changes we’ve seen to gaming—handheld, mobile gaming, especially—since it came out in 2004. Sony entered and exited the handheld space during those two decades. Nintendo moved on from having a dedicated handheld to a hybrid one, and now they’re set to reveal a successor to that system. Valve introduced the Steam Deck, multiple competitors arrived in its wake, and the retro handheld scene introduced two or three new options on what feels like a weekly basis.
The dual-screen DS and 3DS remain unique—until Anbernic officially reveals its own take on that for retro gaming—which has complicated bringing many of its titles to modern systems. In some cases, they were not only designed with the full use of a dual-screen setup in mind, but also the use of a stylus, and maybe even using the DS in its “book” form where it was held sideways for a more vertical orientation. Not everything on the DS that did so is going to be stuck there forever, but sometimes, you end up with concessions in quality made, such as with the ports of The World Ends With You. Other times, you end up with Ghost Trick, however, so it’s worth thinking about what all should move on from its DS origins and end up on modern systems.
Let’s take a look at some DS titles that should be rescued from the platform, as it were, as well as some others that likely can’t be brought into the present, as they were made for the DS in a way that makes removing them from that context difficult or impossible with today’s hardware.
Re-release These!
Bangai-O Spirits
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: D3 Publisher
2008
Things are tough enough for Treasure’s Bangai-O these days—the original N64 release was Japan-only and limited to 10,000 copies, the modified Dreamcast port sells for an average of $70 disc-only on second-hand markets, and we just lost access to the Xbox Live Arcade release, Missile Fury, when that shop closed its doors. So, it’s good that its DS iteration, Bangai-O Spirits, didn’t take that much advantage of that system’s specifics: you play with the buttons instead of using the stylus or touch controls, for instance, and while both screens are used, it’s not in such a way that can’t be replicated or renovated on single-screen platforms in the present.
Spirits is pretty different from the other two Bangai-O titles, in that each level is like a self-contained puzzle to be solved. Explosively solved, yes, but still, they’re puzzles. You have to find the angle or the order of operations or the proper enemies to attack first so you can survive long enough to complete said environmental puzzle, rather than going through an entire stage making it from Point A to Point B all while defeating tons of foes. You still fire off more missiles than you can count all at once, though, so don’t worry. It’s very much Bangai-O, and it very much rules.
And, since Treasure made the custom level editor for the game sound-based—you record the sound coming from the system onto your computer, then share that with others so they can play it to their own DS—a modern release of the game would, in theory, be able to import all of the custom stages that are still floating around out there on existing cartridges or saved sound files. A forward-thinking idea that should be used toward that purpose.
Radiant Historia
Developer: Atlus, Headlock
Publisher: Atlus USA
2011
Sure, Radiant Historia already received an expanded re-release on the 3DS, but that was in 2018. The Switch released in 2017, and the 3DS was discontinued in 2020. It’s been a few years already, and it’s not like late-life 3DS titles were setting sales records, either, with all of the attention on Nintendo’s hybrid system.
It’s one of the better RPGs of its generation, a story about time travel and trying again and again to make your way through the world. It’s actually a linear tale despite all of that, which drew the ire of some critics considering the choices you get to make, but these choices were “correct” or “incorrect,” and you didn’t always know which you were picking until you had made them and got to see the story hit an immediate or eventual dead end. Linear though it might have been, you still explore every single possibility of this one story, to the point that you actually operate on two separate, branched timelines you normally would not be able to work on without the time manipulation that powers the game’s plot, and learn more about the world and its people in the process.
And hey, if that’s not enough, Yoko Shimomura composed the soundtrack for both editions of the game, and it’s hard to argue against having her work out there for more people to enjoy on more platforms.
Sonic Rush, Sonic Rush Adventure, Sonic Colors
Developer: Sonic Team, Dimps
Publisher: Sega
2005, 2007, 2010
“But Marc, Sonic Colors has already been re-released this generation.” Yes, the Wii edition of the game made its way to modern platforms, sure, but the superior DS version of Sonic Colors continues to languish in the past. It’s been lumped in here with Sonic Rush and its sequel, Rush Adventure, because they all share a similar setup and gameplay. This trio of titles used the dual-screen nature of the DS to give us extremely vertically-oriented Sonic levels that could only be designed with this system in mind, which makes porting them elsewhere difficult. Impossible, though? There has to be a way to make it work.
Listen, if we can live in a world where Taito’s three-screen arcade Darius can be ported to the Switch and Playstation 4, its resolution vastly different than the contemporary home releases of the game in order to ensure that you got the same kind of view—albeit more zoomed out—that arcade goers did in the ‘80s, well, someone at Sega can figure out making these DS titles work on modern platforms. Release them through Steam, and let everyone with a rotating monitor take advantage of a TATE mode for vertical orientation that mimics the extremely tall nature of the level display for the DS. Zoom out bigtime like Taito with Darius so we can see it all despite being limited to just the one screen. Release them on Switch (or Switch 2) with a special handheld-specific mode that allows for vertical play using the system’s stand and detached controllers features. Get the scientists working on whatever technology you need to do this, Sega, because these games are worth the effort.
Infinite Space
Developer: PlatinumGames, Nude Maker
Publisher: Sega
2010
Sega and Platinum initially worked together on the first few of the latter’s releases after they formed, and while those were almost all action titles, there was also Infinite Space—a menu-based tactical space RPG where the tactical part has to do with creating and deploying and fighting with fleets of space cruisers and battleships. There are over 200 crew members, an intricate and well-told story, and those battles might have utilized the touchscreen and stylus on the DS, but they don’t have to. A controller would work just fine, or mouse and keyboard, as well,
Meteos
Developer: Q Entertainment
Publisher: Nintendo
2005
Nintendo might have published Meteos in North America, but it’s not their game, not really. If you need some proof, there was also an Xbox Live Arcade version of the puzzle game released, as well as an (inferior) Disney-centric sequel that changed a central mechanic in a way that ruined some of the tension and strategy of the original. Meteos was actually a Bandai-published title in Japan that Nintendo was happy to publish overseas when the opportunity arose, since (1) it was obviously great and perfect for their new handheld and (2) Masahiro Sakurai, of Kirby and Smash Bros. fame, was the game’s designer, alongside Tetsuya Mizuguchi of Lumines, Space Channel 5, and Rez fame as the producer. (A list he’d keep on adding to with the likes of Child of Eden and Tetris Effect, post-Meteos.)
I bring this up to point out that a port of Meteos to Windows, for example, would do a lot to maintain the kind of gameplay speed and precision of the original stylus-based puzzler. You could play Meteos with buttons even on the DS, but it’s a much slower, less enjoyable game that way. You could play it with touch controls on the Switch, but only undocked, but something is missing there compared to the precision of a stylus. That said, it would still be better than playing with buttons—maybe the IR function of the Joy-Cons could sub in when docked. Hey, this isn’t for me to figure out, leave that to whichever studio steps into Q’s shoes for this hypothetical re-release.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Developer: AlphaDream
Publisher: Nintendo
2009, 2019
Bowser’s Inside Story is another DS title that received a 3DS re-release, but the same argument as before holds on that one. It’s a bit more reliant on the various bits of tech the DS featured than Radiant Historia was, however, as it leaned heavily on touch controls, and, not just the dual-screen feature, but also the “book” mode of the system that had you turn it more vertically oriented. That was for the battles where Bowser grew to a massive size to fight similarly huge foes, kaiju style. This is the best of the Mario & Luigi games, if you were somehow unaware, and bits like that are a not insignificant part of that.
Bowser’s Inside Story could be a little bit compromised by switching to a system where some of the touch-based minigames that take place inside of Bowser’s body (don’t ask) have to switch to buttons, or going normal and horizontal takes a little something from the kaiju battles. However! None of these should break the game, as it were, or cause the kind of damage to the narrative and overall feel of the game a la The World Ends With You. These are simply workarounds that might make for a less definitive version of the title, but an existing one, which is no small thing considering the alternative.
…These Probably Can’t Be Re-released
Elite Beat Agents
Developer: iNiS
Publisher: Nintendo
2006
Forget any trouble with song licensing or anything like that. The dual-screen issue could be solved by having gameplay on the left and the ridiculous music video/song-and-dance numbers on the right, or vice versa, splitting one screen into “two” only horizontally. The reason Elite Beat Agents probably can’t be easily ported over to a system without a stylus is because of how aggressively stylus-forward the design was. This isn’t Hatsune Miku—no offense intended—where it was designed for buttons and has been able to remain that way throughout multiple eras of consoles. Elite Beat Agents (and its pair of Japan-only titles in the same series) have only existed on the DS, and it was so that their screen-ruining gameplay could be at its finest, its most aggressive, its most oh my god there are so many things to touch and slide and swirl and spin. No, seriously, anyone who’s played knows how important screen protectors are if you ever want to see your bottom screen again instead of just a mass of torn up everything.
I’d love to be wrong about the fate of an absolutely bonkers game. Nintendo didn’t bother bringing these to the 3DS, though, and they didn’t make moves to add them to the Wii U, or even to that system’s DS Virtual Console. Maybe the gameplay changes alone aren’t enough to stop this from happening, but when combined with the other stuff that was dismissed at the start of this section, well. You might just need to find a copy the old-fashioned way, if you’ve still got a DS to play it on.
Art Style: Pictobits
Developer: skip Ltd.
Publisher: Nintendo
2009
There were plenty of high-quality games released on the DSiWare service—the handheld’s answer to WiiWare—but maybe none as good as Pictobits. It’s a falling block puzzle game where you pick up individual blocks from larger shapes, and either store them for later use or put them back where you need them, in order to clear them. You have to match at least four of the same color block, and when you do, there’s a brief freeze which allows you to place other blocks to make additional clears, creating some serious combos for score that also earn you extra coins. Coins are useful in-level, for buying back storage space you sacrificed to clear rows of blocks whose absence will keep you from running out of space and losing, or, out of levels, for buying additional stages, or songs from the game’s soundtrack. You might be wondering how badly you need the second of those, but let me tell you: listen to the chiptune remix of Bowser’s theme from Super Mario Bros. that isn’t held back by mid ‘80s console audio hardware, and you’ll know exactly why this was brought up.
Even more than Elite Beat Agents, Pictobits is married to the stylus and the kind of speed and precision it allowed for. You might not miss it as much in some of the early stages, but as the game takes some major leaps in difficulty that expect you to be not just good, but great at the game… you’re going to miss that stylus. If the Switch 2 has a stylus to help with touch controls, then hey, awesome, Pictobits can be properly ported. Until such a time, if it ever exists, however, you’ll just have to hope you already bought Pictobits on your DSi or 3DS while you had the chance.
Kirby: Mass Attack
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo
2011
Whereas Kirby Super Star Ultra and Squeak Squad merely harnessed the power of the DS to improve on the look and performance of previous 2D entries, Kirby: Mass Attack married itself to the system. You can control up to 10 diminutive Kirby sprites at a time, flicking them this way or that or leading the group as a whole with the stylus. It’s the kind of game that exists because the stylus option existed in the first place—without a replacement, that’s going to be tough to replicate in a way that still feels as good and as purposeful as the original setup.
Which is a real shame, because Mass Attack is a top-tier Kirby title, in no small part due to the way the gameplay received a major shakeup—Canvas Curse might have leaned in even more heavily by removing Kirby’s legs and making him a ball following paths that you drew for him with the stylus, but that, at least, could be copied close enough with your finger and the kind of touch screens we see in use today. Mass Attack requires stylus-level precision, so again: Switch 2, bring back the stylus.
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Tecmo
2008
It’s not that you couldn’t re-release Ninja Gaiden’s DS entry on another system in the present. It’s more why would you? It worked the way it did because it was made in a specific way for a specific system that wasn’t about to match up with what the Xbox 360 was putting out, as far as horsepower and sheer enemy volume and such went. Holding the system vertically in its “book” form and emphasizing platforming, making the controls stylus-based because buttons aren’t exactly easy to use when the system is held that way… these were designs made with the DS in mind, specifically, in order to make a different kind of Ninja Gaiden title.
Dragon Sword is a nifty game, and was an innovative way to bring Ninja Gaiden back to Nintendo after almost a couple of decades away, but without a DS-style system to inherit it, something would likely be lost with a re-release. But hey, don’t worry, this is Ninja Gaiden we’re talking about, anyway. The source code has probably been lost, rendering the entire discussion moot.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!
Developer: Nintendo Software Technology
Publisher: Nintendo
2009
There have been quite a few Nintendo games listed here, but there’s a reason for that: no one had more incentive to push the DS-specific features of the system than they did, since it was theirs and all. And that means no one has a list of games that might not work on a non-DS system like Nintendo, too.
Minis March Again! has you using the stylus to start up the mini Mario windup toys, but that’s not the problem. The issue is that you are going to pick up a ton of blocks to be distributed and redistributed all over the levels these minis march in, so that they can cross gaps or climb stairs or have their progress temporarily blocked to redirect them elsewhere, and so on. Maybe this is something you can do with buttons, but again, it was all designed with the speed the stylus allowed in mind. You’ll probably fail and die a lot more without some major rebalancing, and if it’s rebalanced too much, is it even Minis March Again! anymore? The standard levels would be tough enough, but the ones you unlock after completing the initial game, where the minis don’t even wait for you to wake them before they start marching? Forget it.
Maybe it can be rebalanced and ported in a satisfying way, though! These games aren’t all here because there is absolutely no way they could ever work on a non-DS system. It’s just that it’s more likely that, barring some real magic being worked, the DS versions would remain the definitive one, because of whatever sacrifices or compromises need to be made to make a strong reminder of what made the DS special into just another game on another system. And that’s a bit of a shame, given we lack a DS of our own these days, 20 years after the original graced us with its presence.
Marc Normandin covers retro videogames at Retro XP, which you can read for free but support through his Patreon, and can be found on Twitter at @Marc_Normandin.