Top 10 2008 Nintendo DS Games

#10 – Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008

At the 10th spot on the list is Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008, the year’s next Yu-Gi-Oh! game. It has all of the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! cards included in the game’s database, but it doesn’t offer a lot of new features from the previous version, World Championship 2007. In fact, most of the graphics look the same, most of the songs are the same and the only major difference is a story mode which doesn’t really offer much in terms of gameplay. Basically, you just pick an opponent and duel them. Collecting all of the cards is fun, however, and there are tons of strategies that you can come up with to defeat both CPU and multiplayer opponents. If you don’t mind a pure dueling game, then World Championship 2008 is for you. I wonder what will change in World Championship 2009…

#9 – Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals

Disney’s popular Spectrobes sequel makes it to #9 on my top ten list. For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, it’s similar to Pokémon. Players must use the Nintendo DS Stylus to excavate and awaken fossilized creatures known as Spectrobes. You can then customize and evolve them, so that you can use them in battle. The main focus of the game is exploration, but there are lots of wild and staged battles that you’ll face throughout the game. There are over 200 Spectrobes to collect, so it’ll keep you busy for quite some time to come. For those of you looking for a Pokémon alternative, this is it, but it certainly doesn’t have as much finesse as the Pokémon series.

#8 – Custom Robo Arena

It’s Robot Wars on the small screen! That’s right folks. Coming in at #8 on the list is one of Nintendo’s most unique DS games, Custom Robo Arena. Players pick robots, customize them to their liking, and fight against each other. With a multitude of customization options available, no two fights will be the same. Which robot wins the fight is determined by the body parts selected for your robot. By winning battles, you earn valuable experience points and money that can be used for upgrades to your robot, such as newer weapons and body types. If you like pitting two robots against each other in epic battles, Custom Robo Arena is your type of game.

#7 – Mario Party DS

With Mario Party 8 already out on Wii, Nintendo’s taken a bold step forward and made the first Mario Party game for the DS. The game stays true to the home-based console franchise, with a variety of mini-games you can choose from. Mario Party games are always best played with a bunch of friends, but the CPU will also keep you company should you play alone. If you like mini-games, or are a fan of the Mario Party franchise, Mario Party DS is the best game of its kind available for the Nintendo DS.

#6 – Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart Wii scored high ratings on our Top Ten 2008 Wii Games article, so it should come as no surprise that the DS equivalent does the same. Mario Kart DS is essentially the same Mario Kart you’ve always known, except this time on a portable system. There are various racetracks, modes, items, vehicles and characters for you to choose from. As far as Nintendo handheld racing games are concerned, nothing beats Mario Kart DS. Not even Pokémon Dash can compete against this all-time Nintendo classic. It holds the #6 position on our list.

#5 – Kirby Super Star Ultra

Kicking off the top five games is Kirby Super Star Ultra, the latest game in the Kirby franchise. The player controls Kirby, a character who, unlike in most RPGs, has the ability to float in the air. It can also suck up enemies and steal their special powers. Although this game is considered by many people to be a “port” of the Super Nintendo classic Kirby Super Star, Nintendo has made great advances both in terms of gameplay and graphics. The in-game full-motion video sequences are truly amazing, especially for a handheld game. Kirby Super Star Ultra is the third Kirby game for the DS, following Kirby’s Squeak Squad and Kirby’s Canvas Curse. The only downside of note for this game is that the level of difficulty is surprisingly easy, but if you’re into non-hardcore games, this is a great one to pick up.

#4 – Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia

It was in 2006 that the first Pokémon Ranger game came out in North America. It then comes as no surprise that 2 years later, a sequel has been made. The concept of the game is that you’re somewhat resembling of a Park Ranger, protecting the natural wildlife of Pokémon and their habitats. You traverse through the game, helping other Pokémon who are in danger, and facing off against Team Dim Sun, an evil team bent on using Pokémon for their own misdeeds – similar to Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Magma and Team Galactic in the other regular Pokémon games. What separates the Ranger series from the regular Pokémon games like Diamond and Pearl is the fact that there’s no battling, and no capturing of Pokémon. Now this may make the game sound like a failure, especially since the whole idea of Pokémon revolves around capturing and battling. Surprisingly, no, it isn’t a failure, but traditional Pokémon fans may not enjoy this game as much as the other mainstream ones. So how does the game work then? Well, the basic idea is that the player uses an item called the Batonnage Styler to temporarily “mind-control” a Pokémon and use it to complete events in the game. The Pokémon may also be of use in terms of their special ability, which varies depending on which Pokémon you have under your control. Examples of abilities include cutting down trees, crushing boulders, surfing in water and moving obstacles blocking your path. The problem is that after you’ve used a Pokémon’s special ability, it’ll then leave your control, meaning you’ll have to use the Batonnage Styler to find another Pokémon with the same ability, should you need to use it consecutively. All things considered, however, Shadows of Almia is a relatively decent RPG, and you should find plenty of hours of game time in it.

#3 – Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

We’re down to the top three best Nintendo DS games as of 2008, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift holds the #3 position on the list. Following the footsteps of the original Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the Gameboy Advance, this 2008 sequel takes on the same storyline, where the main character gets transported to the land of Ivalice, where he must then make allies, fight enemies, and find out how to return to his own human world. The turn-based battle system has been refined over the previous game and the law system has changed slightly, removing the annoying “jail” concept seen in the original Tactics Advance. There are various characters in the game that you can have in your party, such as Black Mages (with powerful offensive attacks), White Mages (with powerful defensive healing tactics) and Archers. There’s also a wide variety of items and attacks you can equip your characters with, enhancing both their defensive and offensive capabilities. In addition to this, there’s over 100 different missions and side-quests in the game, so you’ll be kept busy for quite some time. The graphics and sound quality are great, and being able to make battle commands on the Touch Screen really takes away from the traditional D-Pad experience common in turn-based RPGs. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 is definitely worthy of its #3 spot on the list.

#2 – The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

A type of game that sometimes surpasses the classic turn-based RPG concept is the real-time action-adventure game. That’s where The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass comes in. The first Zelda game for the Nintendo DS, it made its debut in the fall of 2007, and it solidly holds its ground as the #2 best DS game as of 2008. The player controls a character named Link, who must make his way through perilous dungeons in the hopes of saving Tetra, better known as Princess Zelda. Along the journey, you’ll increase your Hit Points, gain valuable new items, and unlock passages to new places on the map. The whole idea of the game revolves around the Phantom Hourglass, an item that prevents you from constantly losing your Hit Points in the one dungeon you keep revisiting over the course of the game. As you progress further and further into the game, the Hourglass will get more sand in it, increasing the time limit you have in the main dungeon before you start losing your Hit Points with every step you take. The whole game is controlled only by the Touch Screen and sports unique controls, such as using the DS’ microphone to shout at an in-game character, or drawing a design on the Touch Screen to open up a door. There’s even one point in the game where a dungeon puzzle involves you closing your Nintendo DS (putting it in sleep-mode) and opening it up again. There’s lots of humor in the game, the graphics and music are awesome, and the in-game video sequences rival that of all other Nintendo DS games. The dungeon puzzles can sometimes be a bit frustrating, but they’re relatively easy to figure out – most of the time, if you can’t solve a particular puzzle, you’ll probably hit yourself on the head when you realize the answer was right in front of you the whole time. There are only two negative qualities of the game. First, if you save the game in a dungeon, the next time you load your save file, you’ll begin at the beginning of the dungeon (my guess is that this prevents you from simply re-loading your save file right before the final boss fight if you lose the battle). It’s a smart idea, but more of a nuisance than anything else. Second, the game has very little replayability. After beating the main storyline, which took me only a week to do, there was nothing else to do in the game. Other than those two things, Phantom Hourglass is definitely the most unique and innovating game currently on the DS. If you’re a fan of the Zelda series, or you like putting your brain to work solving in-game puzzles, this is the game for you.

#1 – Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum

And we finally come to the #1 choice on our Top Ten 2008 DS Games segment. It should come as no surprise to Nintendo fans that we picked the main stream of Pokémon games to fulfill this position. One of the main reasons for going with Nintendo over Sony or Microsoft is because of games exclusive to their systems – this includes Mario, Zelda, Yoshi and, of course, Pokémon! Alongside Zelda and Final Fantasy, the Pokémon games have always dominated the handheld market for Nintendo. In the latest installment of the series, Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, there are 493 Pokémon to capture and collect, 467 different attacks to use in battles and Pokémon Contests, and a ton of things to do both before and after the main storyline of the game. In my save file, I have over 770 hours of gameplay time, which is overkill in any game, to say the least. Nevertheless, I am even amazed that I spent so much time playing my own Diamond cartridge. Throughout the game, you’ll encounter Team Galactic, a nefarious organization bent on galactic domination, and you’ll face off against their members often. The Touch Screen controls for battles and contests are unique, the graphics are a definite step-up from the previous Gameboy Advance Pokémon games, and when you play the game, it just feels like Nintendo has put a ton of effort and money into its creation. The third game in the series, Pokémon Platinum, has already come out in Japan, and it’s set for an early 2009 release in North America. It features an expanded storyline, new forms of Pokémon and new multiplayer capabilities. It has already sold more than 3 million copies in Japan, and I expect it’ll do the same when it reaches stores in the U.S. and Canada. If you have no other reason to buy a Nintendo DS, buy it because of these three Pokémon games.

Other Great DS Games

In particular, many Nintendo gamers might wonder why I’ve left out a couple of other good games on this Top 10 DS Games List. I’ve tried my best to write a list incorporating what I believe are the best games of the system as of 2008, based upon gameplay, graphics, sound, storyline and replayability. If you believe there’s another good DS game that’s worth being mentioned, feel free to post a comment to my article and let everyone else know.