Cubed3 Special | Nintendo DS' Hidden Gems Page 1

Nintendo DS has been going strong since its initial release in Japan and the US at the tail end of 2004, with numerous big name releases that have gone on to sell millions upon millions of copies around the world. However, equally there are plenty of games that have sneaked onto the market with nary a whisper, nor the fanfare deserved. Therefore, with Nintendo's new portable system 3DS now taking centre stage, the Cubed3 team delves back into the archives of the Nintendo DS software catalogue to highlight some of the underperforming, unfairly treated, downright ignored games that have been released on the DS over the past six and a half years.

Adam Riley, Senior Editor

There are so many Nintendo DS games on the market now that it becomes difficult to even pick out some of the most popular titles, let alone those that either did not sell as well as expected, or have been quickly forgotten about despite a rapid burst of sales around the globe. One particular effort definitely strikes a chord, though, especially in the absence of a Western release for Cave and ARIKA’s Ketsui Death Label (Rising Star Games, use your current deal with Cave to sort this out!). The game is none other than Big Bang Mini from small French developer, Arkedo Games. The wealth of colour, creativity of stage creation, intense difficulty level, clever game mechanics, addictive soundtrack, and the superb inclusion of an online mode, make this one of the freshest DS games on the market even today, and one that hopefully gamers decide to pick up eventually, even if just to encourage Arkedo to resurrect its plans for a WiiWare version.

Falling into the same category as Big Bang Mini is Nanostray 2, another in the ‘shmup’ genre. This particular shoot’em-up comes from German outfit Shin’en Multimedia, the brains behind some other brilliant efforts, such as fellow shooter Iridion II on Game Boy Advance, and fantastic WiiWare releases like Jett Rocket and FAST: Racing League. This hardcore shooting experience pushes Nintendo DS to its limits, with high octane space action that will test even the most hardened gamer to the maximum. The developer has always had a knack of using the hardware it works on to its full potential, but with Nanostray 2 it excelled further than ever before, putting it in the same category as the legendary team at Treasure in Japan. Anyone looking for a pure shmup challenge will definitely be in heaven.

On a slightly alternate slant, though, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales should certainly not have been as overlooked as it was. Whilst drawing in sufficient sales in Japan to warrant a (never translated) sequel, the rest of the world did not warm to the fluffy yellow bird’s card battling RPG and mini-game antics quite as much. It proves to be a highly entertaining experience that can be played with the whole family, with addictive objectives thrown in that can be enjoyed with friends and family to compete for high scores, yet also works well as a solo adventure for those wanting to delve deeper into the picture-book world that h.a.n.d. (Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded on DS, plus Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Dungeon on Wii) created for Square Enix. Another classic that unfairly went by the wayside.

Mike Mason, Features/Reviews Editor

I've always thought that Pac-Pix was unappreciated in DS' launch window. Namco took their mascot, threw in some wax crayons and a dab of creativity to come up with a new way to play before other drawing games had had the chance to sharpen their pencils. Pac-Man's ghostly adversaries haunt the touch-screen, but rather than the hungry yellow blob darting around a labyrinth after them, it is up to the player to create both protagonist and his 'maze' to do away with the spooks.

By drawing an approximation of Pac-Man - input recognition is pretty liberal as long as you get the shape of the mouth right, leading to some funny beasts - the ghost-gobbler can be brought to life in crayon form, ever-chomping and ready to eat up the enemy. His direction can be changed by drawing walls, and other items can be scribbled in to help out, such as arrows to shoot down foes residing on the top screen. Pac-Pix used Nintendo DS' new input methods in a novel way from the very off, and the quick, simple arcade-style play is still fun even towards the end of the system's lifespan.

Slide Adventure: MAGKID is not so much a hidden gem as it is one that is buried deep within Earth's crust. One of Nintendo's most experimental titles on the touchy handheld never made it outside of Japan, where it was unfortunate enough to slide away into obscurity almost instantly. Part of that was possibly to do with its pricing - around 1000 yen higher than other DS titles at the time. There's a good reason for that, however; Slide Adventure: MAGKID included a giant peripheral in the box that attached via the Game Boy Advance slot, a slanted stand that stood the console up at an angle. Inside is a built-in rumble function. Underneath is a red LED, which effectively turns your DS into an optical mouse.

The whole point of Slide Adventure: MAGKID is to move the entire system around to control a magnet character, sliding it along a surface to shift the cute on-screen circle. While slipping around this way you must bump into enemies to daze them, forcing them to join a worm-like chain behind you, while solving problems such as recovering a toy robot's missing limbs, dodging into familiar household objects such as pencil cases to be transported to different areas. Slide Adventure: MAGKID is not a mindblowingly brilliant game, but it is a fun one that did not deserve to sink so stupendously.

Shane Jury, General Writer

It wouldn't really be an exaggeration to claim that DS has one of the most diverse and quality-packed gaming libraries in recent memory, and yet there was one key category that its successor has already outdone it in. The fighting genre was rather sparse on Nintendo's dual screen wonder, so it's even more of a surprise that Bleach: Dark Souls didn't stand out more, even more so considering the equally-zany JUMP games couldn't break out of Japan. No mere licensed franchise tie-in, Dark Souls built upon the foundation of the superb four-fighter Blade of Fate and offered more of everything: extra fighters, arenas, a brand new story that tied in with the animé, solid online play and buckets of unlockables to strive for. Even Bleach critics could enjoy this one.

Continuing the Treasure tribute is another of their criminally overlooked gems, and the true sequel to Nintendo 64 / Dreamcast classic Bangai-O, Bangai-O Spirits. An absolutely bonkers sidescroller with bullets flying in every conceivable direction, you pilot a small flying mech-robot tasked with taking down all enemies with an assortment of combinable weapons; baseball bats, bouncing bullets and swords among them. The game offers an immense level of value with over 150 stages to beat, a level editor, and a unique way to share stages: through sound!

Rudy Lavaux, Reviewer

I admit I shamefully ignored most of DS games released in Europe that weren't part of well-established franchises or highly hyped new IPs. It didn't help that there are so many of those on DS that getting a hold of and playing all of them has been very time-consuming... and costly! That being said, on the odd occasion I got my hands on a couple games that, in my eyes, didn't receive the coverage or attention they deserved.

Boulder Dash Rocks is one of them. Once a renowned franchise, it made quite a good comeback on DS and PSP. The basic concept that made the series popular in the mid-1980s is still the same. You need to collect a certain amount of diamonds in a cave to open the exit and go to the next level while digging your way through dirt, pushing boulders, avoiding enemies and traps, or getting stuck while you explore... There's always the possibility to collect more than what's required to score big, but it's at the risk of running out of time or getting killed before you can reach the exit. Items such as rock-pulling magnets and guns to disintegrate boulders and enemies were added to the mix to give the original recipe a new taste. A game truly worthy of selection for any fan of puzzlers.

Soul Bubbles is another very engaging, good looking and criminally overlooked puzzle game, built around an interesting concept that works really well. At its core, you could compare it to the Kuru Kuru Kururin series, in that you need to go from point A to point B, while avoiding obstacles and enemies and collecting stuff. It's neither very long nor challenging, but the bit of collecting to do in each level to complete the game at 100% ensures that you get enough for your money, especially since it can be easily found for fairly low prices. If you're a fan of the concept and genre, make sure you get your hands on this one.

Infinite Space, though it was talked about a bit more than the two previous titles, is also one of those games that didn't perform nearly as good as it should. Our C3 review will tell you all you need to know about it, so I'll refrain from going into too much detail. However, fans of 'space opera', strategy, animé or games with a bit of an Ace Attorney feel to them - or all of these elements combined - would do well not to overlook this chef-d'oeuvre developed by Platinum Games, the brains behind Wii's MadWorld, as well as Bayonetta and Vanquish, both on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

However, in my opinion, the Palme d'Or for the most surprisingly ignored game on Nintendo DS should be awarded to Suikoden Tierkreis. Undoubtedly one of the handheld's best RPGs and one of the best looking - and sounding - games on the system, full stop. What's even better is that, unlike an awful lot of other games in the same genre on the system, it isn't a remake or port of a classic. Finally, the icing on the cake is that the game did get a European release, a feat rare enough to be mentioned. Despite all of these and being part of a well-known franchise, it wasn't even talked about that much, got zero commercial push in the West and didn't perform well at retail in those parts as a result. Like many other games, it drowned in the depth of the vast library of quality games released on the DS. Fans of the RPG genre and DS owners, if you haven't already, get this game while you still can.

Ross Marrs, Podcast Editor

With such an extensive library of games for the Nintendo DS, there’s always bound to have been software that has slipped under my radar. Perhaps a game didn’t sell to well or it didn’t receive enough marketing or maybe it just didn’t get many reviews. That’s not to say some of them could be fantastic though. I am fortunate enough to have played one of the lesser known games on DS, Ninjatown, and it comes highly recommended if you love tower defence games.

Ninjatown is based off a toy line created by Shawn Smith (former editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly) and comes from the Shawnimal’s character called Wee-Ninja. The style of the game features the same cute look as the toy range, which may have put some people off and might have thought it was a simple game designed for young children. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Whilst it isn’t the most challenging tower defence title around, it certainly isn’t a pushover. The premise for game is fairly simple - a volcano erupts in the peaceful place known as Ninjatown, and as a result a whole hive of monsters is unleashed upon the townsfolk. Luckily, the folk in question happen to be ninjas and they aren’t going down with a fight.

The game works from a top-down viewpoint and players have to place ninja huts around areas of the town. This of course involves some strategy and you have a number of ninja huts, housing different types of ninja. There’re your standard ninjas which are fast but weak, ninjas with catapults to hit far away enemies and snowball throwing ninjas, which can freeze enemies on the spot. Furthermore, there are upgrades that can be made to ninja huts to make them stronger and also special moves you can choose from. Whilst all that strategy is going on, any monsters come in range of the huts, they will get attacked by the ninjas. If enemies get past, then you start losing lives - lose too many and you’ll have to restart the stage.

Ninjatown received positive reviews back in 2009, but despite that it never seemed to capture a big audience. The titles is by far one of the most addictive I’ve played on the DS and now that you’ll find it dirt cheap, I’d definitely recommend investing in it.

Aaron Elias, General Writer

First on my list has to be Neves. The concept of Neves is so simple, but it is one of the most addictive games I’ve played and really puts your brain to the test. Based on the popular Japanese tangram puzzles, a basic picture is presented on the top screen, and you have to create that image using the seven shapes handed to you on the touch-screen. The shapes are always the same, but you can move, flip and rotate them to piece them together using the intuitive controls of the stylus. The first lot of designs are relatively easy to complete, but as you begin to complete each one, they get harder and harder, with some becoming almost impossible to emulate. With over 500 puzzles to conquer, and other game modes which include beating the puzzles in set time limits and in only seven moves, as well as a multiplayer option, Neves is one of the best puzzlers you can buy for your Nintendo DS.

Next up is Polarium, a game that tests your speed and reactions, similar to other popular block-based puzzlers like Tetris. The main game has you viewing tiles of black and white squares on the touch screen. Using the stylus, you drag over the squares to flip them and turn them from black to white and vice versa. Complete a row horizontally or vertically in the same colour, and they will vanish, dropping down more mixed up tiles from above. The idea is to clear as many tiles as possible as quickly as you can to rack up big scores. The more rows you clear in one swoop, the more points you get. Naturally, the game speeds up and drops tiles faster the more you go on, with you losing if the tiles reach the pinnacle of the top screen. This mode will really test you but it’s certainly addictive and will have you coming back for more. Additionally, the puzzle mode of the game presents you with fixed sets of tiles which you must clear in only one move. These challenges are definitely another big incentive to replay the game, on top of multiplayer fun for you and a friend.

Finally, in a twist from traditional Kirby platformers, Kirby: Power Paintbrush sees you controlling the pink puffball using only the stylus in a unique world. Kirby is transformed into a ball by a witch, and his home turned into a world of paint, leaving you with an innovative, yet quite wonderful, method to play through this game. You don’t use any buttons to move around; you instead use the stylus to draw lines of paint for Kirby to roll across. An ink meter determines how much you can draw, but replenishes itself as you stop drawing. Tapping Kirby makes him dash, so it is using this combination of painting paths and dashing that gets you through each gorgeously-designed and colourful level. Familiar enemies are ever-present, and are defeated by tapping them to stun them, then dashing into them and stealing their special powers. There are a great number of levels to complete, each with brilliant variation in design, along with bosses to defeat in mini games at the end of each world. Extra challenges involve beating certain levels in a set time and using a certain amount of ink to reward you with unlockables. Kirby: Power Paintbrush delivers some of the finest uses of the stylus on the DS, providing a lot of fun and brilliant platforming.

Although Nintendo 3DS is starting to build up steam now running into the Christmas period, are there any particular Nintendo DS games that either stick out in your mind as being exemplary gaming experiences, or even still find their way into the 3DS' slot from time-to-time?