Summary
TheNintendo DSis one of the wildest experiments Nintendo has ever undertaken. That’s saying something for a company that made a VR headset way before they became huge in the 2010s. Two screens for a portable sounded wild, but the touch-based controls made the DS an instant hit.
It made playing certain genres better, liketurn-based JRPGs. Now, for the strategy enthusiasts,Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift,Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, andPokemon Conquestare all great turn-based tactical JRPGs. While good, they don’t fall in line with traditional turn-based JRPGs which operate on a smaller scale and not on giant maps. Let’s get to the standouts.
8Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
The Final Part Of The Trilogy
It took a while for this third game to come out following the two GBAGolden Sungames. The unique thing about those games was that players could transfer progress between them, and thanks to the GBA slot in the DS, players could get a bonus forGolden Sun: Dark Dawntoo.
This series has always been about legacy, and this is especially true for this third game, given that the heroes from the first two games are now older and have kids of their own, who are the new protagonists. The gameplay is the same as in previousGolden Sungames, split between solving puzzles in dungeons and fightingfrantic turn-based battles.
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journeyis a spinoff from the main series, although it falls in line with the typical gameplay style. Players command a group of researchers in Antarctica who stumble upon a demonic realm, which is a unique setting for a JRPG, or a game in general.
Crawling through dungeons is done in first-person, as are the turn-based battles. Players can recruit demons to aid in them combat, and all demons have elemental strengths and weaknesses. It’s a good DS JRPG which was only made better by the enhanced 3DS port.
There were two greatFinal Fantasyremakeson the DS. Of the two,Final Fantasy 3was the bigger deal because it was the first time it was released in North America, in 2006, after its 1990 debut on the NES in Japan. As important as that release was, the better game is stillFinal Fantasy 4.
Final Fantasy 4was a classic on the SNES, ranking up there as one of the best in the series for a lot of fans. It pushed the narrative and gameplay forward for the series, and the DS remake added a lot of modern features like voice acting.
Radiant Historiais one of the most unique and original games on the DS. It stars a young soldier, Stocke, who loses a battle so horribly that he gets his allies killed. He’s given a second chance via a magic book torewind time, which plays heavily into the gameplay.
Players can go back to historical events to affect the future, and there is a timeline menu that helps keep track of their progress. The combat is incredibly hard for a turn-based game, forcing players to stay on their toes and spend their actions wisely. This is another example that got an enhanced 3DS port, just likeShin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey.
Pokemon BlackandPokemon Whitewere a big step up graphically fromPokemon DiamondandPokemon Pearl. The character sprites were advanced in their animations and size. The starter Pokemon — Snivy, Tepig, or Oshawott — became instant favorites among fans, even rivaling the originalthree Pokemon startersfrom the First Generation games. Plus the story was compelling for a game aimed at kids.
N, the leader of Team Plasma, made for a sympathetic villain in a world filled with wild characters. The classic aspect of battling and catching Pokemon was as solid as ever.Pokemonhas always been a standout example of turn-based JRPGs, andBlack and Whiteon the DS were prime examples of this.
Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skieswent through a lot of changes during its development. It was almost an action RPG, but the one thing that did remain throughout was the multiplayer aspect. Unlike otherDragon Questentriesthough, players could customize their character.
Besides following the story, players could also team up for four-player co-op adventures, and the turn-based battles still played out the same. It seems like it was the perfect testing ground for multiplayer, as the next game,Dragon Quest 10: Rise of the Five Tribes, was an MMO that still hasn’t been brought over to North America.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Storyis the third game in theMario & LuigiRPG series, and the narrative is split between Bowser and the two plumber heroes.
Bowser is on a rampage to control the Mushroom Kingdom, but when another invading army comes to town, he has to defend it instead. Mario and Luigi help Bowser by increasing his power from within. Yes, the two brothers are literally stuck inside Bowser’s body, making for some great comedy moments and even better active gameplay. Like a couple of others on this list, this game did get an enhanced 3DS port.
Chrono Trigger, by all measures, is celebrated as a hallmark of the JRPG genre, and is one of the finer games on the SNES. After a bungled port to the PS1, the DS version fixed a lot of problems.
The load times were better than the PS1 version, and there were some enhancements for theNew Game+ route. It’s one of those games that almost demands multiple playthroughs, as the time-traveling aspects provide a lot of alternative endings. The graphics weren’t changed much, but they didn’t need to be, as the pixel art for most SNES games still holds up well. Right now, the DS version is still the best way to experienceChrono Trigger.
