what are the Hidden gems of the DS

[jfrost]

This should be moved to the Nintendo board.

[Erik_Twice]

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! and it American sequel Elite Beat agents are must plays. I have yet to meet a single person who didn't love the game after playing it 5 minutes.

[GigaPepsiMan]

Lock's Quest
Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits
Nanostray 1&2

I'd consider these to be hidden gems.

[k.vlaros]

Thanks for bumping this.

I propose N+ as a hidden gem on the DS.

[greg]

I really enjoy the Izuna games for the DS. Extremely retro, turn-based dungeon crawler with intentionally retro-styled graphics.

[noiseredux]

Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie Barbeque: It's a topdown shooter with heart that really works out the pattern recognition skills and twitch reflexes when on the harder difficulties. The art direction is gruesome, but a enjoyable. It's really a thrill to see how the next level will pervert a fairy tale.

this is on my list of DS games to actually buy finally.

[Reverend]

I don't think Jump Ultimate Stars can be considered "hidden" but it's certainly one of the best fighters on the system.

[MrPopo]

Since no one has mentioned either, here are my entries into the Hidden Gems:

Etrian Odyssey series - First person dungeon crawlers that remind you of a time when RPGs were hard. 5 party slots, 8-11 classes, and skill trees that you can only get through halfway on your budget means lots of customization and strategy for your party makeup. It also has you draw your map on the bottom screen, which avoids the common pitfall of 1st person RPGs (having to touch every square to map it) and also provides you an easy way to make notes on how exactly you're going to get bumfucked by the mobs. And who can forget the FOE song?



Infinite Space - An RPG set in space, and unlike Star Ocean there's no "we'll land on underdeveloped planets" cop-out. You command a fleet of 1-5 ships in battle against your enemies. Most of the game is spent flying between planets, accepting missions and blowing the hell out of enemy fleets. There is a large number of ships of various descriptions, from small destroyers to large battleships and carriers. The ships are further customized by the modules and weapons you put into them; do you focus on having a high crew compliment and buffs to your combat abilities or do you devote resources to your cargo holds to generate more money for that new flagship you wanted. You also will pick up a large number of crewmembers; while many of them fade to the background after initially joining they all have abilities that help your fleet fight more effectively. The combat is somewhat simple (three kinds of attacks in a triangle of effectiveness) but battles are quick and boss fights require you to stay on your toes and take every advantage you can get.

[greg]

I'm glad you mentioned Infinite Space. When I first heard about it, I was pretty excited. I think I read maybe one or two reviews of the game, and neither were really that favorable of the game. I really cannot take most game reviews on gaming websites seriously since they really don't favor niche Japanese titles one bit. I'm interested in getting this game.

[BakaTanuki]

I second Etrian Odyssey.

Big Bang Mini is a really unusual shmup that successfully pulls of touch screen control. Fantastic music and stylized, surrealist visuals add a really nice touch. A very non-traditional shmup that works.