The DS series was the peak handheld generation for me. I like that the console’s design encouraged creative game mechanics, and it has some of my favourite games of all time. I have a DS Lite, a 3DS and a new 3DS, though I think the original DS line had the better game library compared to the 3DS. The camera and 3D effect were rather gimmicky and didn’t add much value for me.

I think the game that best encapsulates what I love about the DS is The World Ends With You, a JRPG set in modern Tokyo that used both screens at once in its action combat system - to control two different characters. The character on the bottom screen would have you use touch gestures to trigger attacks, while you needed to do button combos to control the character on the top. It was insanely fun!

Other games I liked from the early DS era are Hotel Dusk, a detective game that is played in “vertical mode” so you hold the console like a book - and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, the original Japanese version of Elite Beat Angels, a rhythm game.

I also played all romance/otome games that were available in English for the DS, my favourite was Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side.

The DS figured out touch-based interactions way better than smartphones which are like the main touch-based “handheld” nowadays. That is because you could dedicate the entire touchscreen to gameplay input, since you still had the top screen to show relevant game information. Smartphones on the other hand need to utilize the entire screen both for input and displaying stuff, which just doesn’t work as well imo.

'Tis a shame your image left out the OG

Early in the lifetime of the DS, before the 3ds had even been mentioned, a ton of JRPGs released for the platform seemingly in a bid to become the next earthbound or chrono trigger. Most of them were very mediocre, but to this day Contact (published by atlus) and The World Ends With You (square enix) stand out as stellar titles to me. They represent opposite ends of the jrpg spectrum; contact is a grinding game with a very floaty story, whereas TWEWY has an intricate story and a penalty-free swappable easy difficulty setting to help new players cope with the (initially) awkward combat system. Both of them are stand-out in their own ways, with memorable settings and characters supporting the mechanical depth they offer.

Both of them are games that take advantage of the DS’s unique features, not the microphone but the touchscreen. While Contact is pretty easy on the gimmicks, only requiring you to occasionally peel a sticker or something simple like that, TWEWY’s combat flow has you use buttons to control the top screen while simultaneously doing multiple touch screen gestures, making the game difficult to master on the actual DS and unbelievably hard on an emulator.

TWEWY has since had a remaster and a sequel, but contact is seldom mentioned anywhere when I see the DS talked about. Worth a look!

The only memory I have of my 3DS is being really into a game and playing for so long that I was really really hungry. Then I turned on the 3D slider to get motion sick and not hungry anymore to continue playing the game. Perfect problem solving skills here.

Removed by mod

Completely unique and very difficult to experience with alternative hardware nowadays (compared to the PSP which can be played on nearly everything). The games library is incredibly unique because small budget games still had a big chance to succeed.

I still miss the community gimmicks of the DS/3DS - Miis being shared wirelessly, pictochat, etc etc.

We need more of that

The most memorable games of the DS era to me were Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky and Dragon Quest IX as well as Bravely Default and Fantasy Life for 3DS. Mystery Dungeons story almost brought me to tears at the end of the main story and I just love the gameplay. DQ IX felt like I could play with friends/family because you create your party how you want it from scratch instead of picking up story relevant characters. In addition I really like the flexibility of the class system. This resulted in a bow wielding paladin that can obviously protect them, but also restore the mana of others and regain it for himself with bow skills and a priest that could give party wide elemental buffs from the ranger type class. Bravely Default because of the same class shenanigans as Dragon Quest. Here I remember making a vampire priest because the vampire gets the ability to potentially revive at the the end of a turn and the priest is the one responsible for reviving everyone else, so he should not stay dead. Fantasy Life was just a cozy grinding game.

My first system I could call my own (not sharing with siblings) was the fat Nintendo DS. It will always be my favourite out of nostalgia.

But my primary DS is my New 3DS, does everything want and plays everything.

For me the DS is the Pokemon machine, from the mainline series to the spin offs. Such a good time to be a fan of Pokemon. Even the knockoffs were fun like Fossil fighters.

The DS was also a good rpg power house the first system I beat Chrono Trigger on.

Then there was the slog of platformers, from new Mario bros, to license of game dubious quality, nicktoons unite anyone?

The 3DS was just an overall disappointment in comparison, game selection was limited and 3rd parties just didn’t give it the time of day. Don’t get me wrong love my 2d Zelda and Metroid revivals on it, but outside of Nintendo games, it didn’t offer me anything.

I got a 1st Gen 3DS second hand some time ago. What I like:

• Pokemon, Zelda, and Animal Crossing.
• The 3D effect and dual cameras are neat, though a little gimmicky.

What I don’t like:

• The heavy reliance upon internet connectivity. I can’t change the details of the account on it without losing access to the downloaded games. I can’t even change it anyway, because the online store is closed.
• The control stick sucks. It’s good for a very flat control stick, but it doesn’t feel nice to use.
• Proprietary power connector.
• The viewing angle on the screen is pretty shallow.

I have a Steam Deck, and it’s just better in all respects. I get that it’s comparing a very new device against an old device, but I don’t really see a reason to pull out the 3DS when I could have a better experience on the SD.

My family had about 5 of these between us by the time we started getting into lites and 3d versions. I had the original chunky boy and a 3ds. We took them on holiday and played the brain training multiplayer games. Great fun, my parents even got into them for a bit and they said off video games a long time beforehand.

2DS was a solid brick. It was genius for little kids.

Maybe the best library of all time, my DS collection is massive.

The one thing that’s sad though is how many classics are unlikely to ever see a rerelease. Games that were designed around the hardware just won’t be the same on any other platform.

My first DS was the DS Lite. I bought it when the game “Contact” came out. Played various JRPGs on it, as I’m wont to do with handhelds. IIRC, the DS Lite was backwards compatible with GBA carts, which was great. I loved the look, feel, and size of it. Honestly, DS Lite is probably my favorite Nintendo handheld, with the Switch a close second.

After that, I think the next DS that I had was the 3DS. Which I still have; I even booted it up earlier this year to try to play “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice.” I didn’t end up playing it on the 3DS, since I have that anthology on Steam, but I wanted to see where I was.

Games or series that I played a lot on the DS line were practically all of the mainline Ace Attorney games, and even some of the spin offs like the Professor Layton crossover and AA:Investigations. Fire Emblem was another. I think I played Awakening, Fates, and Echoes. I played at least one Pokemon game, too.

3ds might be my favorite system, I really want a third party emulation machine that can capture that form factor so bad. It was just so easy to pop it open and play whatever I was playing and just close the lid. So many hours lost in the monster hunter, pokemon and picross 3d