Nintendo DS Games - ranked by preference

Release Date: October 8, 2009 (JP)
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Genre: RPG

I'm a sucker for pretty much anything that comes from the Megaten universe. Strange Journey is near the top of the list of my favorites from the series. Strange Journey successfully plays like Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II on the Super Famicom, but with some modern-day gameplay elements and design added it to help the classic gameplay "live in the now." The game also supports a password system, allowing you to share your powerful demonic allies with anyone willing to type the password in. Strange Journey is a game that helps fans of the earlier games in the series feel nostalgic while still feeling like they're playing something new. If you've never experienced that feeling, it's nice.

Release Date: November 14, 2005 (NA)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Racing - Kart

I love me some Mario Kart DS. I tend to avoid online gaming just because I don't like folks who cheat...And there are a TON online. Yet, I still played a ton of this game online. Yeah, people would leave the race if they were going to lose because they didn't want their record soiled with a loss, but for the most part, I enjoyed racing folks on there. But anyway, Mario Kart DS had an assortment of tracks from other Mario Kart games making it almost like a best-of Mario Kart game. Since it was portable, it was like a dream come true to play some of these tracks while on the go. In my opinion, this is one of the best Mario Kart games that Nintendo has put out.

Release Date: September 15, 2005 (NA)
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Genre: Adventure

I was mildly interested in playing this game when it first came out...And then when I finally gave it a try, I absolutely fell in love with it. Between the puzzle-like cases that involve you trying to defend your client from being framed for crimes that they didn't commit and the sense of humor tossed in here and there for good measure, I just could not put this game down once I started to play. If I say that this is the best adventure game available on the Nintendo DS, or maybe even on handhelds in general, I don't think that too many folks have a good argument for throwing an "OBJECTION!" my way for making that comment...Phoenix Wright is that good.

Release Date: January 15, 2009 (JP)
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Genre: Strategy - Turn-Based

Devil Survivor is a strategic take on the Shin Megami Tensei formula. Rather than fight random battles, however, in Devil Survivor you move around turn-based strategy style, similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. Like most recent games in the Megaten franchise, Devil Survivor has an option to fuse demons together to create more powerful allies to aid you in battle. It's a refreshing change to the often run-of-the-mill strategy RPGs that tend to pop up these days. There's a reason Atlus ported it over to the 3DS - it's that good.

Release Date: March 10, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Q Entertainment
Genre: Puzzle

Meteos was, and still is, a great, unique puzzle game. Basically, you use your stylus to slide blocks up or down to match three or more of the same color. Doing so causes blocks to blast upwards, sometimes off of the screen, and sometimes just up a little bit and they'll slowly float back down. It's easy to learn, fun to play, and is easily not just one of the best puzzle games on the DS, but on any handheld or console.

Release Date: September 18, 2010 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
Genre: RPG

Pokemon White and Black are basically the same game, but with minor changes. That said, I prefer White over Black for two reasons. One, Black seems to get most of the attention, and I like to root for the underdog. Two, I like the legendary Pokemon in White more than the one in Black. Scientific reasons, I know. Anyway, these games are more of the same for Pokemon fans with enough little tweaks and touches to make it still feel like a worthwhile purchase for folks who thought they already had their fill of catching 'em all.

Release Date: September 18, 2010 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
Genre: RPG

As I stated in the above comments, I like White better for pretty dumb reasons (but they're still reasons, dang it!) but Black is essentially the same game...And the title makes it sound cooler. Anyway, like I mentioned above, Pokemon fans will love the Black and White games and both are worth playing if you'd like to catch 'em all. Yeah, some of the new Pokemon are lame...But after beating the game, you get access to all of your old favorites again, so at least that's a plus.

Release Date: January 18, 2007 (JP)
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Genre: RPG

When I play an RPG where maps are created by walking around every inch of the area, I often find myself trying to complete each map just for fun. In Etrian Odyssey, not only is that encouraged, but you're also actually drawing the map as you explore with your stylus. The game is absolutely gorgeous to wander around and explore in, which makes map making quite a joy to experience. When it comes time to fight, it's classic, turn-based combat and your party members are all customizable from their names to their classes. It's a nice mix of classic RPG action mixed with beautiful new visuals and a touch screen gimmick that actually enhances the game rather than holding it back.

Release Date: August 25, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Genre: Action

Dawn of Sorrow continues along the path that its Game Boy Advance predecessors had walked along, pretty much copying the successful Symphony of the Night formula. The only noteworthy difference here is the use of the stylus and touch screen, which turns boss fights into chores. At the end of a boss fight, you have to draw a specific symbol to seal away the enemy. If you screw up or don't draw it fast enough...Or if the system just doesn't register what you drew, the boss regains health and you're stuck continuing on with the battle. The boss difficulties have been dumbed down to accommodate for this, but it's still rather frustrating. It's still a very solid game, but the irritation of fumbling around for your stylus when a boss is near death is enough for me to knock it down a few spots on this list.

Release Date: April 21, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Pet

People who say that this game is boring, well then it's obviously not meant to be for you. Nintendogs is not a game that you'll sit and play for hours at a time, but it's not meant to be that way. This is a game that you pop in for ten or fifteen minutes a day to care care of your dog(s), take them for walks, put them in competitions, etc. As a lad that missed his real dog back at his parent's house, this was a decent way for me to experience some of the joys of having a dog around. It's obviously no replacement for the real thing, but as a dog owner and animal lover, I really grew to love Nintendogs and found my time with it to be very relaxing.

Release Date: June 16, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: ITL
Genre: Action

I don't have the patience to be a surgeon...Nor the steady hand, as my childhood of failed attempts of beating the board game Operation has told me...But Trauma Center has still managed to convince me that it would be a job that I'd enjoy. Not so much because I wanna stab folks with it being legal (let's face it, that's what surgeons do) but because this game is so dang fun that it made me think that stitching folks up in real life may be fun as well....Okay, maybe not, but it's still a very fun game and a great way to make use of the touch screen and stylus without it feel like an unnecessary feature tacked on so it can claim to have touch-screen support.

Release Date: December 1, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: TOSE
Genre: Action

I adore the slime in the Dragon Quest games. How can you not? Look at him on the cover there all smiley with that little gob of goo popping out of the top of his head like uncombed hair...Adorable. Anyway, Rocket Slime gives the slime his spotlight. You play as a slime (Rocket) and enter giant tanks and fortresses to save your slime townspeople and rid the area of those pesky platypus-lookin' goofballs that ruined everything. It's not the longest game in the world and it's more about action than the RPG stuff you'd expect from a Dragon Quest game, but if you give it a try, I think it's very likely that you'll be hooked just like I was.

Release Date: May 19, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Education

What's your Brain Age? Playing an emulator to get the screenshots for this game, I got 80 years old. I blame it on both that a mouse was used instead of a stylus and that my writing style made the game think that my incomplete 4 was actually a 7, giving me wrong answers. Checking back at my physical copy, my real Brain Age is 21, so that's not too shabby. Anyway, Brain Age actually makes learning kind of fun by turning it into a timed game where you can play in an attempt to beat your records and the like. None of the activities take long (unless you're bad at sudoku) so they're perfect for on-the-go gaming...And this game is a perfect counter-argument whenever someone tells you that video games will rot your brain.

Release Date: June 23, 2007 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Adventure

Phantom Hourglass, like most Legend of Zelda games, is very, very good once you start to get into it. My issue with it was (and still kind of is) the touch screen controls. They're not done poorly, mind you, but they're just not as accurate or natural as normal controls. I often found myself running into walls in the beginning or losing health because my attempt at swinging the sword registered as something else and an enemy took advantage of that. Once you get the hang of it, the controls aren't THAT bad, but regular ol' controls would have been so much nicer. That said, this is still the kind of Zelda game that we all know and love - just one with a different control scheme that will likely take some time for you to get used to.

Release Date: March 16, 2007 (EU)
Publisher: D3 Publisher
Developer: 1st Playable Productions
Genre: Puzzle

In my opinion, Puzzle Quest almost seemed to start its own genre of game with this match-three puzzle game mixed with an RPG hybrid. Since then, we've had a few more puzzle RPGs put out by the folks that made this game, and indie titles like 10,000,000 and Dungeon Hearts that do their own take on mixing RPGs and puzzle games. But, as far as I know, this was the first, and many can argue that it may still be the best. Puzzle Quest is a fantastic game that flew under the radars of a lot of folks, but most of the people that discovered it fell in love with it. It's not without its flaws, but it was still very well done and a very unique title for its time. If you like RPGs or puzzle games (or both, like me) then you definitely need to give this game a try.

Release Date: November 23, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Life

When I first played Animal Crossing: Wild World, I was kind of afraid. I loved the original Animal Crossing, but I was unsure if that was because of the game itself or all of the classic NES games that I enjoyed discovering and playing. I didn't have anything to worry about, with NES games or without 'em, Animal Crossing is still very fun and its style of gameplay seems to be right at home on a handheld. Wild World may lack the ability to play Donkey Kong Jr. Math whenever you feel like it, but its own gameplay can more than make up for it. Fishing, catching bugs, digging up fossils, and interacting with the townfolk are all fun activities that Wild World had now let us all do while on the go.

Release Date: November 13, 2007 (NA)
Publisher: Konami
Developer: WayForward
Genre: Shooter - Third-Person

I'll admit it - I was skeptical upon hearing that Contra was going to get a sequel on the DS. I have seen many franchises get "revived" only to see the new game be a total stinker. Thankfully, that was not the case with Contra 4. Truthfully, it's not as good as a game as some previous titles in the franchise, but considering much of the franchise is fantastic, that's not knocking it that bad. Contra 4 is a very good game with some great nostalgia value for those of us who spend much of our childhoods run-and-gunning through previous games in the series. It's not perfect, and not quite as good as some other Contra games, but it's still magnificent and well worth playing if you're into third-person shooters or just action games in general.

Release Date: November 20, 2004 (NA)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Platformer

Super Mario 64 is still considered to be one of the best games ever made, so a portable version of that game sounds like a dream come true. In a lot of ways it is, but unfortunately, the lack of two analog sticks kind of results in a little bit of getting used to how everything is controlled, and even when you're used to it, the controls aren't nearly as tight as the N64 original. To make up for that a bit, Mario is no longer the only playable character, as you can play as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario, and each character brings a new experience to the game, making it a worthwhile game to play even for the folks that beat Super Mario 64 countless times. Super Mario 64 DS proved that nearly 10 years after Super Mario 64 arrived on store shelves, the game could still hold its own against any other 3D platformer...And honestly, it still can to this day.

Release Date: March 24, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Hal Laboratories
Genre: Action

Kirby Canvas Curse is another early Nintendo DS game that feels like it was specifically made to show off touch-screen gaming possibilities. In this case, it's done very well, with the game being exclusively controlled via the touch screen. It was one of the first games to show how well done a touch screen game could be, as it took advantage of the unique capabilities of the DS to deliver an experience that you couldn't have previously had on any other gaming system.

Release Date: November 16, 2004 (NA)
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Genre: Action

Feel the Magic: XY/XX is kind of like Sega's answer to Incredible Crisis on the Playstation One or even Nintendo's Wario Ware series. It's basically a bunch of mini games that show off several of the new (well, back in 2004 it was new) features of touch-screen gaming. As you progress through the mini games, you watch a story unfold about love and the like...a nice, bizarre story. Supposedly Feel the Magic went under the radars of a lot of people when it came out, which is a shame, 'cause it's solid. It probably won't blow anyone away, but with its unique art design and quirky personality, I'm sure it'll win over a large majority of people that give it a try.

Release Date: May 16, 2007 (NA)
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Developer: Secret Stash Games
Genre: Shooter - First-Person - Rail

Touch the Dead is a fun (and difficult) rail shooter where you shoot up zombies while frantically re-loading in hopes that you can survive long enough to continue shooting down the undead around you before they undead you...I don't know if undead works as a verb. Oh well, it does for this comment. It's my comment and I'll do as I please, dang it. Anyway, Touch the Dead is surprisingly good, but also has a pretty high difficulty to it, so it may frustrate some players...I'm not particularly good at it myself, but I still enjoy the high difficulty attached to it - if I ever beat it I'll feel like I accomplished something nerdy that I can brag about.

Release Date: November 30, 2004 (NA)
Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
Genre: Action

Ever since I first played a Mr. Driller game back in 2000, I've been addicted to the adorable, football-shape-headed, drilling machine's games. That said, Drill Spirits is largely more of the same of previous Mr. Driller games, but with multiple characters to play as, each with their own unique abilities. The new characters are nice, but don't bring a ton to the table. If you're a big Mr. Driller fan like I am, that won't matter. You'll love this game. If you're looking for something more, however, then Drill Spirits may leave you a little disappointed.

Release Date: December 28, 2006 (JP)
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: TOSE
Genre: RPG

Dragon Quest Monsters is kind of like the Dragon Quest swing on Pokemon. Your goal is to battle monsters on various islands, try to obtain the most powerful ones you come across to join your party of creatures, rinse and repeat until the end of the game. It's not bad by any means, but the game lacks the addictive quality of the Pokemon games. The art style is nice and the music, like with all Dragon Quest games, is fantastic, but just about everything else is just okay. It's good enough where RPG fans will likely find some enjoyment here, but everyone else probably won't be too impressed...Especially if they come in expecting Pokemon.

Release Date: March 23, 2006 (JP)
Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Taito
Genre: Action

When I first played Cooking Mama, it was a nice little surprise. Making food via an assortment of mini games proved to be a good concept for a good game. While Cooking Mama isn't incredibly deep, it's the perfect kind of game for when you're on the go and just want to spent five minutes of your time while waiting at a bus stop or something similar. If you haven't played it yet, give it a try, it may surprise you like it did me.

Release Date: December 7, 2004 (NA)
Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
Genre: Racing

Ridge Racer DS is essentially Ridge Racer 64 in portable form, which isn't necessarily bad, but considering that PSP owners got one of the better Ridge Racer games ever made just a few months later when Sony's handheld launched, it does kind of feel like a disappointment. It's a decent racing game that does everything well and if you're a fan of the genre, you'll enjoy the time you put into this game, but the Ridge Racer series had already reached its peak a few years prior with R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, so playing a portable Ridge Racer 64 does feel like a little bit of a step backwards.

Release Date: December 18, 2008 (JP)
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Genre: RPG

I've seen Suikoden Tierkreis compared to Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest as they're both dumbed-down versions of their respective series seemingly with the idea of introducing new gamers to how RPGs work. Suikoden Tierkreis at its best, is a decent RPG with nice, bright graphics and some interesting characters...But at its worst, it's pretty bad. There are so many flaws and annoying game element choices that I'm left scratching my head why Konami would feel like this would be something that people would love. I ultimately enjoyed much of my time with this game, but there are just so many flaws, that I had a hard time justifying a score any higher than what I gave it. I really hope that this is not that last Suikoden game ever made. If the franchise must go away, I'd rather see it leave with a bang rather than this whimper.

Release Date: December 2, 2004 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Mitchell
Genre: Puzzle

Polarium isn't a bad puzzle game by any means, and it makes good use of the stylus and touch-screen capabilities that Nintendo's DS was trying to establish at the time, but it tends to get overshadowed by better puzzle games that later came along like Meteos and Tetris DS. Basically, in Polarium, you use your stylus to draw lines along colored blocks in a two-color grid. When you finish the line, those blocks switch to whatever the other color is...If they were white, they turn black. Those blocks then match with the blocks that you didn't transform and voila! You've got yourself Polarium. It's a solid puzzle game and well worth playing if you're a fan of puzzle games, but if you can only afford to play one or two puzzle games on your DS in your life, you might wanna skip over this one.

Release Date: October 26, 2007 (NA)
Publisher: Gamecock Media Group
Developer: Renegade Kid
Genre: Adventure - Survival Horror

Dementium: The Ward is a decent survival horror-style, first-person game that fans of both genres will likely appreciate. I really like what tried to be done here...But I found the control scheme to be very awkward. Even after clearing several chapters, I still wasn't fully comfortable with the controls. That said, for the hardware that the game is running on, I think they might have made the best control choice that they could have made. Folks who stick around long enough to adapt to the controls will find a nice little tidbit of terror-themed gameplay to enjoy...But I suspect that many will give up on the game before discovering its good qualities.

Release Date: April 7, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Indies Zero
Genre: Music

Electroplankton is hard to score. On one hand, I really like the concept here and creating music with the plankton is pretty fun...The giant downside, of course, is the lack of any ability to save. It kind of boggles my mind that a save feature was never implemented into this game so that you could share your musical creations with others...Instead it's fun while it lasts, but once you realize that none of the work that you're putting into constructing a song is going to last beyond when you turn the system off, it kind of derails your creativity and makes it hard to feel motivated to keep coming back. If it had a save feature, my score would go way up...But it's such an essential and obvious feature to have that I couldn't help but feel like I had to dock the score pretty heavily. If you like unique music games, definitely check this game out...Just don't create a musical masterpiece and expect to have it forever.

Release Date: November 9, 2007 (EU)
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Amaze Entertainment
Genre: Fighting - Wrestling

I'll admit, I like the concept of what Amaze Entertainment went for when they created this game - it almost reminds me of Micro League Wrestling except with a need to complete quick little actions with the stylus upon choosing an action. For those that don't know what that means, basically each match is turn-based. You've got three options for each turn with actions that increase in difficulty to perform the bigger that the move is. Unfortunately, it will probably disappoint most people. It's not enough action to satisfy wrestling fans that want a traditional wrestling game, but it's also a little too much action to get fans of turn-based gameplay fully on board...The end result is an okay concept that is passable and it technically works...But it's not going to be the first portable wrestling game option of most folks.

Release Date: March 23, 2006 (JP)
Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Taito
Genre: Puzzle

I like the concept of Monster Bomber - shoot balls atfalling "blocks" in the form of enemies Bust-A-Move style, but instead of pressing a button to shoot, you flick the stylus in the direction that you're aiming for. Unfortunately, while the end result is passable, it's not nearly as fun as it feels like it should be. In fact as frantic as the game can get, it still manages to be boring at the same time, which is quite an accomplishment. It's a game that may appeal to some, but I feel that most folks will feel like it was a monster bomb.

Release Date: April 16, 2007 (NA)
Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Dragon's Den Unlimited
Genre: Puzzle

I like Toon-Doku. I really do...But it's so flawed that I can't really recommend it to anyone unless they enjoy sudoku but are tired of using numbers for their logic and would rather use pictures. I, personally, really like that concept. Unfortunately, Toon Doku is made in such a way that sometimes (often times, actually) the pictures blend in with the background or pictures are similar to one another and you might get them confused...It leads to a mess at times, to be honest. The music is also pretty bad...But memorable, I suppose. Once I played this again to write up this little comment, I immediately remembered the music from when I played this 6 or 7 years ago. Anyway, the more you play, the more used to its flaws you'll get and you may, like me, actually end up enjoying the game as a whole, flaws and all...I don't see most folks lasting that long, though.

Release Date: October 26, 2006 (NA)
Publisher: Majesco
Developer: BudCat
Genre: Fighting - Wrestling

Despite me classifying Nacho Libre as a wrestling game, it does have some other mini games and aspects to it aside from the in-ring action. However, the bread and butter of the game, so to speak, takes place in the squared circle...and that's the best part of the game...unfortunately, the best part of the game is sub-par which should give you an idea how the rest of the game is. To it's credit, it's still playable and may be moderately enjoyable if you're a fan of wrestling and/or the film...But most folks will probably think that you're mucho loco if you admit to liking this.

Release Date: August 22, 2006 (NA)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Exient Entertainment
Genre: Sports - Football

I'm really not a big football fan, honestly. I wish hockey was a more universally-loved sport so we could get some good, handheld hockey games here 'Stateside. But alas, football is king out here and thus we get mediocre Madden after mediocre Madden shoved down our throats. Madden NFL 07 on the DS is another mediocre Madden...Just barely passable. I don't really have a ton to say about it...It's a football game that lacks much excitement with very blocky graphics and poor touch screen controls implemented into the already so-so gameplay. I find the console version of the Madden games to be just average, but they're still better than poor handheld versions like this one.

Release Date: October 24, 2006 (NA)
Publisher: D3 Publisher
Developer: Art
Genre: Platformer

Flushed Away isn't the worst platformer I've ever played...But that fart I released yesterday wasn't the worst-smelling fart I ever smelled, either. What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter if it's not the worst - it still stinks. Flushed Away had boring level design, controls that aren't very tight, and some good ideas thrown in, but with some bad execution of those ideas. I think young children that are fans of the film might enjoy it and be able to look past the negative aspects of the game...But I couldn't. I kind of want to grab every copy of the game and flush them down the hopper...Just to give the title of the game some truth.

Release Date: July 31, 2008 (JP)
Publisher: Graffiti Entertainment
Developer: Success
Genre: Fighting

Windy X Windam...I believe that must be the brand name of a vacuum cleaner in Japan because this game sucks. Clever, eh? No?...Well, let's continue. Windy X Windham is a fighting game that plays so horribly, that upon winning several rounds without the slightest bit of difficulty, I refused to look at the screen as I played...And I still won. This is the first game that I've played that I literally did not look down at the screen from beginning to end of arcade mode, except to look at the outcome of matches when I heard a round end, and I still beat the game simply by blindly mashing buttons...And this is with controls that aren't very responsive, mind you. That said, Windy X Windam does have some mildly redeeming qualities (like the use of both screens during the fight) that prevent me from giving it an even lower score, but with an AI this poor, you'll be bored within minutes when you realize that you aren't getting a whole lot of resistance from the computer and that even a blind man (or woman, this game doesn't discriminate) would be doing just as good as you are...It kind of takes most of the fun away, know what I mean?

Release Date: November 24, 2006 (EU)
Publisher: DSI Games
Developer: Full Fat
Genre: Sports - Basketball

Holy turds is this game bad. It looks like NBA Jam. It stars the Harlem Globetrotters, who are known for fancy schmancy moves on the court. One would imagine that this would be an enjoyable, over-the-top version of NBA Jam with tons of fancy dunks and moves...Nope. Well, it is over-the-top, I guess. Over-the-top bad. Hey, you dribbled the ball past the computer...Oh, they stole it seemingly without even reaching for the ball. They dribbled it past you while you pressed the button to steal and watched the animation of the steal attempt...no dice. The dunks are also basic and lame. It seems like there are plenty of features, but the game is so poor to play that I honestly didn't look into all of them. I really, really wanted this to be good...or passable....or even just playable. Instead, I'm disappointed. They should really re-name this "Harlem Globetrots" 'cause they really diarrheaed this game out. Yes, that is a made-up word. Still works.

Release Date: December 1, 2005 (NA)
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Developer: Black Lantern Studios
Genre: Sports - Bowling

Gutter ball. Oh, I have more space to write, don't I? I suppose I should go into more detail about what I don't like then, shouldn't I? Not too much detail, though...I don't have that much room. Elf Bowling may be the worst bowling game that I've ever played. Elf Bowling 2 isn't even bowling, which shows the genius of the developers to label it as such. If they don't even know what bowling is, how can you expect them to get the game right? Little attempts at humor are horrible and always fall flat, the gameplay is boring and far too easy, and it looks like a simple port of the Game Boy Advance edition without any graphical improvements and lame touch-screen support added. It's so bad. Do you want to make your children cry at Christmas? Get them this game. They'll never forgive you.

Release Date: December 8, 2004 (NA)
Publisher: THQ
Developer: WayForward
Genre: Other

What would you make available around the launch of the Nintendo DS if you were in charge of a video game publisher? I'd try to put out a great, unique title that takes shows off the functionality of the system...But THQ had other plans when they published Ping Pals. Ping Pals sounds like an okay idea - take advantage of the handheld's ability to connect to other systems wirelessly to create a chatroom to talk in. The problem is that the Nintendo DS already had that function built into the system...And it's better than the one found here. It would be one thing if Ping Pals did a complete upgrade to the functionality of chatting on your DS, but they offered a product that was inferior to the software that is already pre-loaded onto your DS. It's definitely one of the most disappointing titles on the handheld.