NDS Best use of the touch screen

[Snowy_Bernas]

Hey everyone, hope yall are having a good day. Im here to make my first de facto post after my itnroductiom. Recently i was going through some games i used to play and checked the NDS library, often i found that most games or ignored the touch screen or used it for major gameplay mechanics. So i wanted to ask what were some of the best uses you saw of the NDS touch screen as part pf the gameplay. For me its on The World Ends With You but im curious. Thanks for reading.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

"Boogie" combines the D-Pad and TS pretty greatly.

"Summon Night: Twin Age" used it a lot, and mostly well.

"Call Of Duty" is awkward, but works.

 

[moon200218]

that train zelda game
the boat zelda game
both on nds for course

 

[Ikagura]

So i wanted to ask what were some of the best uses you saw of the NDS touch screen as part of the gameplay.

Meteos.

 

[Rakoniomm]

Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Rhythm Heaven, any Eterian Oddesy game uhhh Kirby Canvas curse





I kinda want to say 999 but it utilized the dual screen aspect very very VERY well into the story, but the touch screen is just normal typical point and click style

 

[Ikagura]

Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Rhythm Heaven, any Eterian Oddesy game uhhh Kirby Canvas curse

Canvas Curse was fun (albeit short) and basically the game that jumpstarted modern Kirby as we know it because of some of the stuff in it.

 

[Snowy_Bernas]

that train zelda game
the boat zelda game
both on nds for course

Thats one fo the most obvious cases i didnt even remember to think about, good answer and taste tho.

 

[IHeartRetro]

As someone who is directionally challenged, just having a map helps so much.

 

[Snowy_Bernas]

As someone who is directionally challenged, just having a map helps so much.

Thats something ive never thought about, but the maps on touch screen were also a good use for it.

 

[IHeartRetro]

Thats something ive never thought about, but the maps on touch screen were also a good use for it.

Especially metroidvanias. They were god sends.

 

[Snowy_Bernas]

Especially metroidvanias. They were god sends.

Thats a divine use. Im playing Castlevania Ara of Sorrow on the Gba and its kinda annoying to have a button just for a map overlay.

 

[IHeartRetro]

Thats a divine use. Im playing Castlevania Ara of Sorrow on the Gba and its kinda annoying to have a button just for a map overlay.

Yeah. I played Circle of the Moon not to long ago and I swear, I've made wrong turns all the time. This is why I can't speedrun xD

With games like that, it needs something. The DS second screen really offered so much. Flashing bright beacon showing where you are, filled out in real time. Its amazing.

 

[Snowy_Bernas]

I honestly get lost in other types of games easily too, some ojrpgs with open world sections make me backtrack mentally the dialogue to figure out where to go. Happened to me in Tales of Vesperia due to some dialogue skipping, slow movement and the open map with no area names.

 

[Megarockman _1987 Megarockman _1987]

Skate it NDS!!!

Also nice TWENTY PFP!!!

 

[IHeartRetro]

I honestly get lost in other types of games easily too, some ojrpgs with open world sections make me backtrack mentally the dialogue to figure out where to go. Happened to me in Tales of Vesperia due to some dialogue skipping, slow movement and the open map with no area names.

For me its my mind can remember a bit easier a 3d space map than a 2d. You can imagine yourself in the Resident Evil mansion and map it out in your mind. The castlevania symphony of the night map though? Its not so easy to imagine you being on a 2d space.

 

[Snowy_Bernas]

Skate it NDS!!!
View attachment 184794
Also nice TWENTY PFP!!!

Thanks, TWEWY is one of the games that resttored my love for gaming. Also, nice you have a nice PFP too

Post automatically merged: May 14, 2026

For me its my mind can remember a bit easier a 3d space map than a 2d. You can imagine yourself in the Resident Evil mansion and map it out in your mind. The castlevania symphony of the night map though? Its not so easy to imagine you being on a 2d space.

I can ge tyour point but for me its easier to view a 2d map, mostly because i can jmagine it a constant plane like a big screen on my head. Its pretty interesting to see how the human mind has different approaches and diffilcuties to the same problems.

 

[MrSoFarAway]

I loved playing Inazuma Eleven on the DS. A perfect fusion of touchscreen controls and football.

 

[Snowy_Bernas]

I loved playing Inazuma Eleven on the DS. A perfect fusion of touchscreen controls and football.

Thats one of the games i thought when writtign this post. I played Inazuma Eleven Galaxy for the 3DS recently and the use of the touch screen was wonderfull and a good adaptation of football to a videogame.

 

[IHeartRetro]

Thanks, TWEWY is one of the games that resttored my love for gaming. Also, nice you have a nice PFP too

Post automatically merged: May 14, 2026

I can ge tyour point but for me its easier to view a 2d map, mostly because i can jmagine it a constant plane like a big screen on my head. Its pretty interesting to see how the human mind has different approaches and diffilcuties to the same problems.

I agree! We are truly a diverse race, us humans are.

 

[Snowy_Bernas]

I agree! We are truly a diverse race, us humans are.

This is one of the things that interest me the most in life. How we can unite under same ideals and connect to eachother to create bigger things. If you stop and think about it, we managed to create a fictional reality in a screem that we can control just to play. Gaming itself is a wonderfull creation.

 

[PSVitaForever]

These ones come to mind.

Okamiden (USA + Spanish Patched) DS ROM – The Repo

Okamiden (USA + Spanish Patched) DS ROM Languages: English, Spanish Patched. For the NDS.

retrogametalk.com

Kirby: Power Paintbrush (Europe) DS ROM – The Repo

Kirby: Power Paintbrush (Europe) DS ROM Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish. For the NDS.

retrogametalk.com

 

[IHeartRetro]

This is one of the things that interest me the most in life. How we can unite under same ideals and connect to eachother to create bigger things. If you stop and think about it, we managed to create a fictional reality in a screem that we can control just to play. Gaming itself is a wonderfull creation.

The power of imagination is great. If you zoom out a little, a lot of science today makes it where, just fifty years ago we be called witches. Watching tv in your hands, playing games with fantastical visuals and more. The airplane is a crazy creation in itself.

Back to gaming though, the DS two screens were so revolutionary that they brought it to the Wii U. Kinda. The idea of two screens I remember feeling like magic.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Elite Beat Agents: Never expected a Rhytm game to be so smooth in a small screen, but they made it work (Small gripe, what a shame there was no Vocaloid Rhythm game for the DS)

Contact is ALL about touch controls, so of course some creative puzzles would be used there

My favorite use of course must be Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, it feels like an actual RTS for computers, i dislike Final Fantasy XII, but that spinoff is worth a play for creative controls alone

HONORABLE MENTIONS any game where the second screen is the maps

 

[Sheepy765]

The Taiko no Tatsujin games feel right at home on the DS. I have some spare stylus that I hold like drumsticks when I play.

 

[Ikagura]

Especially metroidvanias. They were god sends.

I agree that it's simple yet effective and doesn't shoehorn the touch screen too much into normal gameplay.