Developers often used the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo DS as an opportunity to try new things. Some games took amazing advantage of the touchscreen like The World Ends With You, while others used both screens to create a unique experience. Nintendo wasn’t just developi💎ng these games either — huge industry names lik🍎e Square Enix and Capcom also made incredible games for the console.
The downside is that these unique games can be difficult to port to new hardware. While many have seen ports and rereleases, others seem stuck on the DS. With the handheld's 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:games only getting rarer as time goes on, prices have been skyrocketing, and games that were released for standard retail price are now sometimes double or triple the cost. These are the best third-party DS games that aren't available anywhere else.
6 Okamiden
Taking place 9 months after the plot of the original game, Okamiden is a genuine treat for fans of Okami. It takes what made Okami so fun, translates it to a touchscreen-based system, and even includes a heartfelt story. While the developers could have easily just made a barebones port of the original, they instead created one of the most genuinely fun third-party games available on the DS. While not the only 168澳洲⛄幸运5开奖网:DS game that deserves a Sw⛄itch remaster, it's high on the list.
5 Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City ♏
Much to the chagrin of fans of the series, Atlus hasn’t released an entry into the Etrian Odyssey series since Etrian Odyssey Nexus back in 2019. While they did end up remaking the first two games for the 3DS, the third game is the only one that was left behind. Etria📖n Odyssey III introduced many features that would become series staples, such as introducing subclasses and forging weapons. Also featur🦋ing the unique mechanic of traversing the sea as well as dungeons, Etrian Odyssey III is definitely worth your time if you enjoyed any of the other games in the series… if you can find it.
4 Pokemon Conquest ♋
Develope♒d by Koei Tecmo, Pokemon Conquest is a game that feels like it came out of nowhere yet makes perfect sense in hindsight. Taking the beloved Pokemon series and pairing up with Koei Tecmo, the creators of the strategy RPG Nobunaga’🌠s Ambition, this game is quite simply one of the best Pokemon spinoffs ever made.
While this game could have easily been an easy cash grab where the developers simply put a Pokemon skin over an entirely different game, they instead beautifully combined the monster-collecting aspect of Pokemon with fun and challenging tactics-based gameplay. The result is a game that is criminally forgotten and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:dese💜rves not just a port, but a full-blown sequel as well.
3 Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroe༒s Of Light
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light is forgotten amongst the sprawl of Final Fantasy games for the DS system, which is a shame. Not only did this game inspire future Square Enix hits Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler, but it even incorporated a co-op battle mode where up to four players could team up and fight monsters togeth⭕er. Even if you’ve never played this game, the inspiration it takes from old-school Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest titles is clear. It honestly feels like JRPG comfort food—incredibly familiar but still its own unique experience.
While other Fi🙈nal Fantasy games for the DS sold better, the foundation for what would become some of Square Enix’s best games in recent years is on display here and this game is an absolute joy to play.
2 Digimon🅠 World Dawn/𓄧Dusk
While we are 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:still waiting for Digimon Survive, let’s look at a different Digimon game from the DS era. Although not actually part of the Digimon World series, Digimon W🉐orld Dawn and Digimon World Dusk were released at the same time, similar tꦿo how Pokemon games are released.
If you’ve played the Cyber Sleuth games, these titles will feel incredibly familiar to you because they are actually part of the Digimon Story series! Not only that, but these games feature the most Digimon of any console game, with over 400 Digimon for players to collect. Featuring gorgeous sprite work that would be replaced with full 3D models in later entries, we would love to have this game on a ඣsystem like the Switch.
1 Spectrobes 😼
Does anyone remember Spectrobes? Having two games on the DS and one game on the Wii, Spectrobes is a series that didn’t overstay its welcome. Taking inspiration from both Pokemon and Digimon, Spectrobes is an interesting monster-collecting and raising game wh👍ere you excavate fossils and awaken them to fight by your side against hostile aliens known as the Krawl.
While we had our complaints with its use of the microphone to awaken Spectrobes, this game was a ton of fun. The final game in the trilogy managed to condense the gameplay to a single screen, so clearly it has the potential to be put on a different system. The last entry may have been released over a decade ago, but that doesn’t mean we aren't hoping for a surprise announcement of a port or a new entry in the series.
