Why Im convinced the Nintendo DS is the best video game console everGameCentralPublished November 24, 2024 1:00am Nintendo DS weirdly successful (Nintendo)A reader argues that the low-tech Nintendo DS is the best console ever made, with a line-up of exclusive games unlike any other.I very much enjoyed the recent feature on the 10 weirdest Nintendo DS games and was proud to realise that I own most of them. They were categorised as the best and the weirdest and I feel that sums up the DS very well. It had a mountain of great games but almost all of them were odd or peculiar in some way, and not something you could imagine existing on any other format not even a fellow handheld like the PSP.A lot of this had to do with the DSs peculiar design, with two screens, only the bottom one of which was a touchscreen, and even that you had to use with a stylus if you wanted any kind of accuracy. Combine that with the low-tech graphics, that could barely do 3D, and it was not a machine that could coast by on flashy visuals and shallow gameplay.Games on the DS had to be good and interesting and unique to make any impression and the best ones absolutely were. In fact, there were so many great games I genuinely think its the best console ever made. Even more so than the Switch, which shares many of the same qualities. That shouldnt be a controversial opinion, considering it is the second best-selling console ever, behind the PlayStation 2, but for some reason it is.The DS isnt a flashy console, it cant do ray-tracing or run anything at 60fps and all the models were varying degrees of ugly (not that the PlayStation 5 can say any better) but in terms of the range and variety of weird, innovative, and completely unique games goes theres simply nothing like it. And thats largely without any indie games either. These were all odd little games made by mainstream publishers and developers that were like nothing else theyd make on any other format.So, you had Nintendo-published games like Freshly-Picked Tingles Rosy Rupeeland and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan sitting alongside Soul Bubbles, while even EA got weird with Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure and Rockstar Games made a whole exclusive GTA game for the format.There were regular Nintendo games as well, including two Zelda games, New Super Mario Bros., Animal Crossing, Mario Kart DS, and new Mario & Luigi games. Plus, multiple Pokmon games including Pokmon Conquest, which was a crossover with serious strategy game Nobunagas Ambition!From third parties you had all the Konami Castlevania games, Dragon Quest 9, Ace Attorney, Professor Layton, Bangai-O Spirits, Meteos, Ghost Trick, Etrian Odyssey, Pac-Pix, Might & Magic: Clash Of Heroes, Scribblenauts, and so much more.Although I understand it was inevitable, its such a shame that dedicated handheld consoles had to die. They required their own specific games and in many cases those styles of game arent being made today anymore. Naturally, the Switch is the closest relation but its games never have the same constraints and almost always have a higher budget than on the DS.I do think its the constraints that make the magic too. With all these companies you can just imagine them looking at the DS and realising they cant just develop a typical game for it; they cant just port over something that already exists. And so, theyve all asked the question, well okay: what can we make for it?Theyve been forced by the nature of the device to come up with something new and different and something that doesnt rely on its graphics to see the experience. Of course, they wouldnt have bothered if the DS hadnt been so successful, but because it was they were compelled to make an effort and the end result is something very special.The problem now is that not only is there nothing else like the DS but its very hard to emulate the console. The games look terrible on a big TV and you cant emulate the touchscreen normally with a controller. Maybe you could turn the Switch vertically and play them like that but Im not surprised Nintendo hasnt gone for that because you still cant use it on the TV.More TrendingYou can remaster 3DS games, as has already happened a few times, but DS games are just too low-tech. So theyre stuck forever on the console that spawned them and while its a shame that means theyre not easy for others to experience I kind of like the fact that the DS is so unique its impossible for other formats to even get close to emulating it.By reader Roadie Still Nintendos most successful console (Photo by YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP via Getty Images)The readers features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you wont need to send an email.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy