What's a game that got you into owning a Nintendo DS?

[Benjamillion]

For me it had to be Mario Kart DS, it was the first time that "retro track" cups were introduced, competing with players online and designing your own kart emblem with the DS stylus. I had countless trips lugging my DS along to play it.

 

[Deleted member 884]

My first game bought with the NDS Lite has been Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

Best 2000 Castlevania ever, Soma best character of all time.

 

[Jeff]

Animal Crossing Wild World

 

[Tonberry]

I was 10 when the DS released and were obsessed with gimmicks, so me and my brother were foaming at the mouth for Kirby Power Paintbrush (or Canvas Curse as yanks know it) because playing a game with a stylus like that seemed so cool.
It was a fun game too. Completed it several times over, but I remember it being pretty hard for a Kirby game.

Then there was also Animal Crossing Wild World, which we got shortly after. The idea of portable Animal Crossing just blew my mind, and even though I kind of like Wild World the least out of all AC games, it was still fun for what it was, and I remember playing it in local wireless with classmates one or two times.

Since I loved drawing back then too, the whole stylus gimmick never felt weird to me back then, I even loved Phantom Hourglass just because I thought it was such a neat way to play games.

 

[Benjamillion]

My first game bought with the NDS has been Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

That was my second game to get! Loved seeing the graphical capabilities that it used!

Animal Crossing Wild World

Wished I'd picked that one up sooner, I was slowly getting into the games by the time City Folk was out.

I was 10 when the DS released and were obsessed with gimmicks, so me and my brother were foaming at the mouth for Kirby Power Paintbrush (or Canvas Curse as yanks know it) because playing a game with a stylus like that seemed so cool.
It was a fun game too. Completed it several times over, but I remember it being pretty hard for a Kirby game.

Then there was also Animal Crossing Wild World, which we got shortly after. The idea of portable Animal Crossing just blew my mind, and even though I kind of like Wild World the least out of all AC games, it was still fun for what it was, and I remember playing it in local wireless with classmates one or two times.

Since I loved drawing back then too, the whole stylus gimmick never felt weird to me back then, I even loved Phantom Hourglass just because I thought it was such a neat way to play games.

There's still a lot of of DS games that I haven't played myself that all have their own unique gameplay making use of the hardware. I'm kind of curious to want to play Nintendogs at some point lol

 

[DunkeyKong]

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and New Super Mario Bros, peak childhood memories

 

[Tonberry]

That was my second game to get! Loved seeing the graphical capabilities that it used!



Wished I'd picked that one up sooner, I was slowly getting into the games by the time City Folk was out.



There's still a lot of of DS games that I haven't played myself that all have their own unique gameplay making use of the hardware. I'm kind of curious to want to play Nintendogs at some point lol

I was obsessed with Nintendogs for a little while! I didn't even like dogs as a kid (in fact I was terrified of them) but something about that game was super enjoyable.
I had a golden retriever with the incredibly original name Fluffy (since I thought you had to have an english name for it to hear you) and I remember maxing out all of its stats.

I wonder how he's doing... Maybe I should dig out the cart and check up on him?

 

[Gorse]

I was interested in the Kirby games too, and Squeak Squad was my first DS game — it was OK. It’s kind of rightly been forgotten by history because it’s pretty bland, especially among the other Kirby DS games, which range from great (Mass Attack) to excellent (Super Star Ultra).

But what really got me excited for the DS was Pocket Monsters Diamond and Pearl. Me and my friends had played all the Gen 3 games through to completion again and again, spinoffs included, and we followed Gen 4’s development closely. I remember logging onto Bulbapedia at like age 8, seeing the new starters, and just about losing my little head.

When I got the game, I was quite impressed! The DS Pokemon games had this kind of “sleek”, high-quality presentation to them that made ‘em feel really professional and well-made. Gen 4 isn’t really my favourite one, but I like a lot of it and it’s pretty nostalgic for me. (Through weird circumstances, I actually had both Diamond and Pearl.) We repeated our hype cycle when Platinum came out, and by the time of HG/SS I was active online with other people into the games, too, and got the chance to be somewhat involved in the culture. Good times!

Post automatically merged: Mar 16, 2025

I'm kind of curious to want to play Nintendogs at some point lol

Nintendogs is a very well-detailed game for the time — it’s one of those games Nintendo was making for hyper-casuals, so there’s lots of polish — and I’d certainly say it’s worth a play at least once to get the idea of it. It isn’t actually very “gamey”, but it’s cute for a few hours.

 

[Boog111]

Final Fantasy III. I believe it was the first system it was available on at the time.

 

[Tonberry]

I was interested in the Kirby games too, and Squeak Squad was my first DS game — it was OK. It’s kind of rightly been forgotten by history because it’s pretty bland, especially among the other Kirby DS games, which range from great (Mass Attack) to excellent (Super Star Ultra).

But what really got me excited for the DS was Pocket Monsters Diamond and Pearl. Me and my friends had played all the Gen 3 games through to completion again and again, spinoffs included, and we followed Gen 4’s development closely. I remember logging onto Bulbapedia at like age 8, seeing the new starters, and just about losing my little head.

When I got the game, I was quite impressed! The DS Pokemon games had this kind of “sleek”, high-quality presentation to them that made ‘em feel really professional and well-made. Gen 4 isn’t really my favourite one, but I like a lot of it and it’s pretty nostalgic for me. (Through weird circumstances, I actually had both Diamond and Pearl.) We repeated our hype cycle when Platinum came out, and by the time of HG/SS I was active online with other people into the games, too, and got the chance to be somewhat involved in the culture. Good times!

I never got to play the mainline gen4 games, but I got HG/SS like two years after it released and it blew my mind. You're totally right about them feeling weirdly high-quality. Compared to other Pokémon games they feel almost luxurious in presentation and with its meaty content. Easily my all-time favorite Pokémon game, and probably one of my all-time favorites in general.

 

[MasterEn]

i have no idea. my first game for it was super mario 64 ds. i don't have memories of asking for it. i think i was hell bent on owning every nintendo console and handheld. i got it one, birthday, christmas? and i played it until i had gotten a 3ds.

 

[pr0xy]

Flower, Sun and Rain. Not exactly a system seller, but I'm a massive Suda51 fan, so it was a no-brainer.
Also it was a cheap, used NDS Lite, which made the decision easier.

 

[MiwaSata]

Pokémon Soulsilver, I got it and DS as a birthday/christmas gift as a kid!

 

[PSVitaForever]

It's been my first console, I saw an ad for it and to me the idea of touching a screen to make things happens in games was wonderful; also, the price was not too high. My first game on it has been "Another Code" (the screeshots of it were in that same ad), I loved it, and after that I never regret my purchase because I found a lot of amazing titles on DS!

 

[RustySK]

Since I was on one of my sporadic "I'll only play PC games from now on" phases throughout the early days, I got my first DS fairly late into the system's life and then spent the next couple years going backwards through the library.
Order of Ecclesia was what convinced me to give the system a shot.

 

[otogirisou]

ni no kuni

 

[bjork]

Seeing that it could hold a DS game and a GBA game at the same time was what sold me on it, but I don't even remember what was at launch. Mario 64 DS?

 

[nktoooo]

I was like 5 when I got my DS Lite. I absolutely COULD NOT stop playing The Backyardigans DS on there. Bought a DSi recently and to this day I'm still obsessed with this game.
I also played Brain Age, but hasn't everyone?

 

[kaworuscott]

Hotel Dusk

 

[PrismRed]

Had the OG fat DS as birthday present and it came with NFS Underground 2.
It's nowhere as good as the PS2 version but hey at least I got a DS.

 

[hitsugi]

My dad bought Madden NFL 08 when he came home with a NDS one day. He randomly bought it out of the blue, and I didn't really ask for it since I didn't know what it was. That said I guess Mario kart DS was the reason I kept playing it, not like I had anything else to do as a little kid lol.

 

[MegaHiro91]

While it wasn't the game that got me into buying a DS... because the DS was one of those systems my teenage self just wanted because it was new and exciting, Another Code was one of the first games I got for it. I believe THE first game I got was Super Mario 64 because I never had the chance to own it on N64.

Actually the DS was the first Nintendo system where I was starting to become aware of new releases. I mean the internet was barely a thing back then, and even then our family computer was a potato, so the only gaming news I really got was often word of mouth in school until I got my first laptop at 15.

So while the GB Colour, GBA, and GBA SP were systems I only learned of because I saw others play them, the DS was the first system I remember anticipating.

 

[ThatOneLum]

For me it was Super Mario 64 DS because the N64 was semi-rare in my area growing up, and I missed out on the game the first time around.

I know a lot of people rag on it as an imperfect way of experiencing the game but I had a blast with it and loved all the extra content they added to the package.

 

[DanVzare]

For me it was Nintendogs.
...
What can I say, I really like Huskies.

 

[Leiioo]

Haha, this is probably a weird reason to pick up a DS, but I'm a huge fan of the Gunpey games, and came across a sealed copy of Gunpey DS. I bought that and then got myself a DS on the cheap so I could enjoy the experience of opening a brand new copy of a Gunpey game I hadn't played yet If you're into music-themed action puzzlers, I definitely recommend it!