Nintendo DS platformer pondering.

[Xeogred]

I must be the only guy with good memories of Metroid Prime 2. I always forget about the dark world health draining gimmick. I think I just remember it being like... a few shadows at times and then you quickly got it removed or something. Loved how it was much harder than the first game. Great stuff.

[Exhuminator]

Great stuff.

You should go back and play it again. So you can remember how not fun it is to search for not only the Dark Temple Keys, but also the Sky Temple Keys. Because that's fun to do. Twice.

[Sarge]

I thought it added a nice sense of tension, but really, it was forgiving enough that I never had too much trouble with the health drain (in either game, actually). I thought it was something I would hate about both games going in, but it ended up being not that much a penalty.

As for Kirby, Mass Attack kinda falls under the oddball part of the Kirby rubric. My history with those games is quite a bit spottier than it is with the traditional platformers. I like them, but for some reason I haven't finished a lot of them. Kirby's Pinball Land, Kirby Block Ball, Kirby Tilt 'N' Tumble, Mass Attack... I really should get back to them. But I absolutely love the normal, "core" Kirby gameplay, so even if they're retreading a bit, I still enjoy them.

[alienjesus]

I have N+ for Nintendo DS. This is the platformer genre boiled down to its purest core elements. If you love platformer mechanics, you will love N+ (or at least I think you should);

Hello, my name is Graham and I like platformers but do not like N+

N+ is one of those 'threading the needle' type platformers like Super Meat Boy that do absolutely nothing for me. I just get irritating - just like I would if I was threading an actual needle.


Anyhow, here's a list of platformers I've played on DS and my thoughts (btw, loving all the DS talk right now, it's my all-time favourite console, and the system I own the most games for):


Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - This is actually the only one of the handheld metroidvanias I've played, but damn it's great. Still my favourite Castlevania game so far - better than Symphony of the night

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure - This is an underappreciated gem. Beautifully animated, funny and challenging, I had a blast with this one

Kirby Mass Attack - Probably the weakest of the Kirby games on DS in my opinion, but it's still good. The touch screen mechanics were a bit clunky in practice unfortunately.

Kirby: Mouse Attack - This is called Kirby Squeak Squad in the US, but we got this super generic name that makes it sound the same as Mass Attack. This is the most basic Kirby game on the system, and it's quite easy even by Kirby standards, but when I played it I just loved it and played the whole thing in one sitting.

Maestro: Jump in Music - This one is quite debateable really, it's more of a rhythm game, but it's so unknown I wanted to talk about it. It's a rhythm title which also plays like an auto-scrolling platformer - the notes you must hit affect your character running, anmd you tap enemies, jump and fall through platforms and manipulater the course in many other ways to keep you character running through the music. Pretty cool.

New Super Mario Bros. - Yeah, everyone knows about this now. It feels a little tired after 4 entries (5 including Luigi U) in the series, but at the time I loved this one a lot. It's more Mario fun.

Sonic Rush - I actually don't own this one, but I borrowed it from a friend back in the day. It's a pretty fun, fast paced title with good music. It has some of the problems the Sonic Advance games did too (so many bottomless pits) but I generally think it's better than those titles. Definitely worth playing, just ignore the crap story.

Super Mario 64 DS - Yeah, we all know how this turned out. I really loved playing all the included mini-games when this game launched - the novelty of the touchscreen was still a big deal back then. It's a shame that the actual main game suffered from digital controls though. If it had come out on 3DS, it'd likely be the definitive version of Mario 64, but those d-pad compromises were probably just too damning to this version in the end.

Super Princess Peach - This is an underappreciated classic - inventive gameplay, beautiful graphics, and just a really fun to play through experience. It is pretty damn easy though, similarly to Kirby Mouse Attack. If you don't mind not being very challenged though, it's a blast for a quiet afternoon.

Yoshi's Island DS - Artoon suck. This game isn't bad per se, but it doesn't have the great level design that made the original so special.


I was actually surprised to see that of my 90 or so DS games, so few of them were platformers. It's pretty cool actually - when I was looking through my list I realised that I had quite a lot of games which were not so easily cast into the typical genres.

I saw Bangai-O and Kirby Canvas Curse get listed as platformers a few times in this thread. Canvas Curse is debateable, but I wouldn't count it as a platformer personally, but Bangai-O Spirits is in absolutely no way a platformer. It's more like a shmup - you can fly at will, you shoot enemies, there's absolutely no jumping and no hazards related to the platformer genre such as bottomless pits or areas to pass via jumping.

[Exhuminator]

I thought it was something I would hate about both games going in, but it ended up being not that much a penalty.

That's kind of my point. It's not a big penalty, it's just a mild irritation that serves no purpose other than to be mildly irritating. At least in Metroid Prime 2 this didn't last too long, but Scurge: Hive does it through the entire game. Which means you get to enjoy that feeling of mild irritation the entire time you play it. For me, well, that was irritating.

(btw, loving all the DS talk right now, it's my all-time favourite console, and the system I own the most games for)

It's my all time favorite portable for sure. Depending on the success of this thread, I might make another DS thread about oddball games.

Still my favourite Castlevania game so far - better than Symphony of the night[/i]

I waffle between feeling Ecclesia is better than Symphony, but ultimately I have to hand it to Symphony, for being such a seachange harbinger for the series. However Symphony has one big downfall... it's piss easy. Thankfully Ecclesia is not.

Super Princess Peach - This is an underappreciated classic - inventive gameplay, beautiful graphics, and just a really fun to play through experience.

I can agree with that to an extent, and as easy as it is, that doesn't bother too much. My problem with the game, is I was told you have to find all of the secret Toads to be able to actually beat the game. Because I don't enjoy searching for hidden collectables in platformers, this turned me off and I stopped playing it about halfway through. Is this not true? Do you not have to find all the Toads to beat this game?

I saw Bangai-O and Kirby Canvas Curse get listed as platformers a few times in this thread. Canvas Curse is debateable, but I wouldn't count it as a platformer personally

Well you do have to navigate platforms, and you can make Kirby jump when you draw ramps for him, and you can fall to your death in pits, so for me it's close enough to call.

but Bangai-O Spirits is in absolutely no way a platformer. It's more like a shmup - you can fly at will, you shoot enemies, there's absolutely no jumping and no hazards related to the platformer genre such as bottomless pits or areas to pass via jumping.

Alright I was wrong about that one then, I'll remove it from the list and add Maestro.

--

I'm kind of surprised how few have played through Wario's DS platformer. Is it really that bad?

[alienjesus]

Super Princess Peach - This is an underappreciated classic - inventive gameplay, beautiful graphics, and just a really fun to play through experience.

I can agree with that to an extent, and as easy as it is, that doesn't bother too much. My problem with the game, is I was told you have to find all of the secret Toads to be able to actually beat the game. Because I don't enjoy searching for hidden collectables in platformers, this turned me off and I stopped playing it about halfway through. Is this not true? Do you not have to find all the Toads to beat this game?


I'm kind of surprised how few have played through Wario's DS platformer. Is it really that bad?

I've not heard great things about the Wario game. I have a buddy who adores the Wario Land series, and even he couldn't muster up much enthusiasm for it.


As for Super Princess Peach - I don't remember 100%, but yes I think you do need to rescue all the toads.

However, for what it's worth, I will say that doing so is actually really easy, and I think I found most on the course of my normal first playthrough anyway.

This isn't a Rayman 1 nightmare situation, that's for sure, it maybe added an hour or two to my total playtime, tops.

[Exhuminator]

However, for what it's worth, I will say that doing so is actually really easy, and I think I found most on the course of my normal first playthrough anyway.

I'll probably give it one more try then. After all, I don't want to keep a lady from her Vibe Scepter.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I have beaten:

Batman: The Brave & The Bold - Very short, very fun game developed by Wayforward that plays like a sequel to The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES). It is almost completely different from its Wii counterpart.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - This is a fun metroidvania game. It is better than its GBA predecessor.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - This is the best metroidvania game on the DS. It borrows a lot from Castlevania II, and it is excellent.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - This is also a fun metroidvania game, and it has a great setting. Ultimately, however, it isn't as good as Dawn of Sorrow or Order of Ecclesia.

Contra 4 - Also developed by WayForward, Contra 4 is, IMO, the best Contra game. It is so, so good.

Giana Sisters DS - This is the best SMB knock off, and it contains the original Great Giana Sisters, in its entirety as a hidden level.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure - This is an awesome puzzle/platformer created by people who would go on to found The Tomorrow Corporation. I loved it.

Ivy the Kiwi? - This is a unique puzzle platformer created by Yuji Naka. It is fun, and I appreciate its art direction and originality. It didn't blow me away, however.

Metal Slug 7 - This is a really great Metal Slug game. So great, in fact, that I couldn't beat it on the hardest difficulty setting. It is punishing, and I love it. (It is not as punishing, however, as Commando: Steel Disaster. That is far and away the hardest "Metal Slug" game on the DS, and there is a reason I couldn't list it here...)

Monster Tale - This is essentially baby's first metroidvania game. I thought it was very solid, and it has a cool monster development mechanic. The best part is not fleshed out enough, however, and the game needed to be twice as hard and twice as lone.

N+ - This is a basic die-and-retry platformer. It is good, but not great, and I honestly didn't think it was that hard either.

New Super Mario Bros. - Although it is a bit bland today, it was a breath of fresh air when it was released. It also remains one of the DS's very best platformers.

The Legend of Kage 2 - NINJAS!!!!!!!!!! This game is so much better than the original (which isn't saying much, honestly), and it plays like a cross between Shadow of the Ninja (NES) and Low G Man (NES). I really liked it.

I own most of the other games on the list, and the ones I am itching to beat are:

Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night
Boing! Docomodake DS
Commando: Steel Disaster
G.G Series Collection+*
Impossible Mission
Kirby: Mass Attack
Mega Man ZX
Mega Man ZX Advent
Sonic Rush
Super Princess Peach
The Legendary Starfy
Wario: Master of Disguise
Yoshi's Island DS

[Stark]

I'm on the edge of my seat J, what's supposed to be under that spoiler text field?!??!?!

[prfsnl_gmr]

I'm on the edge of my seat J, what's supposed to be under that spoiler text field?!??!?!

I filled it in! Give me some time people!

....

Also, I have beaten the original versions of Kirby Superstar, Rayman 2, and Super Mario 64, but I have not beaten their DS remakes.