The Nintendo ds lite has become nearing its 20th anniversary, as wild as that may seem. If you’re someone who grew up with this console, your childhood now classifies as retro nostalgia. While that likely enables you to feel ‘of the certain age’, additionally, it includes a wonderful side effect: nostalgia is in, and they are retro game returns.
During the February 2023 Nintendo Direct showcase, the company confirmed as much, when it announced the returns of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, and Professor Layton. These two franchises were hits of the mid-2000s, and then maintain a cult following because of their innovative puzzle mechanics, and a deep sense of longing for the simplicity and creativity of the DS era.
Those who played and loved Nintendo ds lite games are now fully-fledged adults, with their own expendable income, along with a desire for the franchises of history. With that in mind, Nintendo would do well to dive deep into its back catalogue, and explore the best franchises of the DS as it heads into the future. Plenty of fantastic franchises launched on this console – some memorable, some forgotten, but all worthy of love.
Should Nintendo intend on bringing back much more DS classics, here’s what we’d want to see return on Nintendo Switch.
- Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop
- Contact
- Professor Layton’s London Life
- Pokemon Conquest & Ranger
- Mario & Luigi
- Elite Beat Agents
- MySims
- Super Princess Peach
Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop
The Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop series is severely underrated. It’s cute, it’s got fun gameplay, upbeat charm, and a neat progression system. In each of these games, you play a Tamagotchi who decides to spread out a company.
There are multiple business opportunities to experience through, and you find yourself opening a takoyaki shop, a florist, a dental professional, a spa, and many other shops, each of which enables you to be a part of a nutritious mini-game – food cooking, massaging, treating patients, cake decorating, and arranging flowers. While each activity is simple, they’re a terrific way to relax and keep your mind off the world.
The Tamagotchi Connection certainly needs a return – particularly for those who work in Western regions who missed out on later Japan-only releases on Nintendo 3DS. We're able to all use more cosy games – and also the Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop series perfectly fills the brief.
Contact
Contact is a Nintendo ds lite classic that has flown to date individually distinct, there are only blurry screenshots from it available on the web now, and it takes several search phrases to come to light its Wikipedia entry. But Contact should not be forgotten.
This Grasshopper Manufacture game (No More Heroes, killer7) is indeed a gem, and deserves to be considered among the best RPGs of the DS era.
You play as a young lad named Terry, who endures a mysterious planet full of a kooky cast. The real twist here's that the game constantly breaks the fourth wall, as the guide – the Professor – is comfortable with your status as the person ‘controlling’ Terry, and spends the game issuing commands and making jokes while you gain defeat enemies and collect new items.
Pair that tongue-in-cheek humour with fun combat and a hearty levelling system, and you’ve got a neat, engaging adventure worth coming back on Nintendo Switch. A sequel continues to be mentioned in the past, but hasn't materialised.
Professor Layton’s London Life
Yes, the Professor Layton franchise has already been coming to Nintendo Switch soon, via a sequel titled: Professor Layton and the ” new world ” of Steam. But when Level-5 wish to take this grand reveal one step further, they should use this game as a way to re-introduce the cosy life simulator spin-off, Professor Layton’s London Life.
This game was originally released being an add-on to The Last Specter – in Australia and The united states, specifically. Should you be one of the lucky few with accessibility game, you’ll know why it’s so beloved.
In this mini adventure, you play as a tiny townsperson inside a dollhouse form of London. You can decorate your room, undertake errands for townsfolk, and spend time on activities – with every action happening on an adorable pixel map. The appetite for cosy games has only grown since this release, and there’s no doubt a sequel could be well appreciated by modern audiences.
Pokemon Conquest & Ranger
The Pokemon Company and Nintendo went absolutely ham with Pokemon games for Nintendo ds lite, with countless spin-offs, mini-games, digital exclusive games, along with other fun to be found on the console. Even though many games were released in this more experimental era, there's a handful that stand out – namely, Pokemon Conquest and Pokemon Ranger.
Let’s begin with Pokemon Conquest. This spin-off was created by Tecmo Koei, and was actually a wild crossover with Nobunaga’s Ambition, a sequence that utilised turn-based strategy gameplay. This was adapted into a tense Pokemon tale occur feudal Japan, where players deployed their Pokemon in grid-based combat against a variety of warlords. Conquest was extremely innovative – and it’s a real shame that it’s now largely forgotten.
Pokemon Ranger, a spin-off produced by HAL Laboratory, was another neat spin on the Pokemon formula. It pinched the fundamental narrative-exploration loop from the main Pokemon games, but allowed players to become Pokemon Ranger, rather than a Trainer. Instead of catching Pokemon, players were tasked with helping them, with new mechanics and combat styles revealing the world of Pokemon in a brand new light. This series has endless possibility to return.
Mario & Luigi
The Mario & Luigi series technically began life on the Game Boy Advance, however it launched its greatest entries on the Nintendo DS – Partners in Time and Bowser’s Inside Story. These games, and their many sequels, are really the delights. They translate the action and story from the main Mario games into a neat RPG format, with turn-based combat and puzzle mechanics dominating the narrative.
Their potential return on Nintendo Switch feels like a no-brainer, but like all things in life, it is more complicated than it first appears. The developer of the series, AlphaDream, declared bankruptcy in 2023 – and there happen to be no new Mario & Luigi games created since.
That said, Nintendo continues to be technically the rights holder for the franchise, and could engage a third party to explore more of this beloved Mario interpretation. Although it won’t quite be the same without AlphaDream, you will find certainly other developers who could capture the brilliant sense of fun and adventure that the Mario & Luigi series is renowned for. As a homage towards the past, along with a advance into the future, a brand new sequel on Nintendo Switch could be incredible.
Elite Beat Agents
Rhythm games are back fashionable – so what’s holding back the return of Elite Beat Agents? This iNiS-developed game would be a critical hit on Nintendo DS, and a spin-off of their Japan-only series, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!. It created a cult following thanks to its toe-tapping beats, intuitive touch-screen gameplay, and absurd premise. Although it could be overly zany sometimes – it revolves around several agents who save the world with the power of dance – that only adds to its many charms.
Whether you’re making use of your dancing capacity to help a baseball fan, save a marriage, or defeat a towering golem in an theme park, Elite Beat Agents keeps you firmly in your toes. There are so few rhythm games that culminate inside a battle against an alien invasion – and that we must cherish those we already have.
While a sequel was briefly mentioned after launch in 2006, and later in 2023, it appears the low sales from the original game may prevent this from ever happening. For now, Elite Beat Agents remains a vital and cult hit – but not the mainstream blockbuster it could’ve been. Should it ever release on Nintendo Switch, there’s hope it might finally obtain the justice it deserves.
MySims
Realistically, The Sims 4 will never reach Nintendo Switch. The sport is now way too massive, and would need a lot of cuts to suit the hand-held console. That said, there's a solution.
The Sims has an enormous history on handheld platforms, with a number of spin-offs and sequels produced for Nintendo ds lite. Beyond the weird and quirky narrative games, the DS seemed to be briefly the place to find the wholesome MySims series, which took many cues from Animal Crossing.
Given the immense interest in cosy life simulators in the modern era, a return for MySims would be perfectly welcome. This series enables you to own and decorate your own home, wander an idyllic village, be a part of cute activities like lei-making, and provides you plenty of mini-quests to explore.
It’s simple, cute, and very fun – and there’s without doubt that a sequel on Nintendo Switch will be a lovely treat for veteran players and newbies alike. The franchise might have concluded in 2010 – but it still has lots of gas left within the tank.
Super Princess Peach
Super Princess Peach was a bold, fun make an effort to twist the primary premise of Mario and place the titular princess in a leading role at least. Although it may have stumbled in execution – the choice to have Peach’s powers based on her ‘feminine emotions’ was slightly egregious – it’s still a good, responsive platformer with innovative mechanics. Plus, it’s totally gorgeous, and rocks a neat pixel art style.
Since the sport launched, Princess Peach has had an unexpected back seat within the Mario franchise, often defaulting to the damsel in distress, in a way that’s grown tiresome. While there’s nothing wrong with saving the princess, Super Princess Peach proved nearly about ten years ago that she can have a worthy starring role.
A sequel to this game would probably be different, because of the backlash around her emotions-based powers, however it could present a new opportunity to see her taking charge of her own destiny once again. Until a potential sequel eventuates, at least we’ll always have Gunbrella to carry on Peach’s legacy.
What Nintendo ds lite games do you want to see return on Nintendo Switch? Inform us about it on Twitter: @GamesHubDotCom.
