The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Toot-toooooot.

Few people seem to like the best incarnation of Link that The Legend of Zelda series has ever seen, but I'm one of them. Wind Waker still looks fantastic to this day, and its Phantom Hourglass sequel on the Nintendo DS brings us more of his adventures on the go.

But what if you get seasick, or simply don't like boats? The best Link has you covered in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, swapping the waves for the rails as you get behind a steam engine and criss-cross the land instead of the sea - and who doesn't like trains? Trains are great.

I'm looking forward to this one. Put your mask on and climb aboard.

Scribblenauts

Write Anything, Solve Everything.

Source // Nintendo

They always say the pen is mightier than the sword, don't they? How can we best put that to the test? Pen vs Sword fight? Probably not that. What about the Nintendo DS game, Scribblenauts?

Maxwell's a clever chap with an out-of-the-box imagination - or he could have, depending on who is playing - and armed with a notebook that can summon anything into existence to help solve his problems, just like that.

That's quite a powerful pen to wield. I suppose it could even create a sword out of thin air, too. Can a sword do that?

Rhythm Heaven

How many times will I mistype Rhythym?

I'm not terribly in sync if this 1001 list is any indication. There have been many different must-play rhythm games for me to practice with, some I like, some I hate, and pretty much none that I'm skilled enough to get anywhere with.

And so Rhythm Heaven sounds like it's going to be a challenge, but as its 1001 write up mentions, it's done by the same folks as the later WarioWare titles, and the accompanying screenshot looks like it's welcoming enough for fools like me, so I am feeling quite positive about it.

How long will that positivity last? At least it looks more interesting than Guitar Hero.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

"Do I look like I need logic? Listen, I NEED to breathe fire!"

The Mario & Luigi line of handheld RPGs have surprised me, and they have annoyed me. I'm surprised by their control scheme and the mechanics of controlling both brothers at the same time, but I'm annoyed at how even an hour into a game - on a handheld console, remember - I'm still sitting through tutorials as the story crawls into view.

Superstar Saga on the Game Boy Advance kicked things off, Partners in Time gave us four characters to juggle, and now Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story takes us on an adventure to a part of the Mushroom Kingdom we really didn't need to see, did we?

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

Good show!

The Nintendo DS has two screens, so players could play two games at once, right? Something going on up top and something else going on down below. I mean, kids these days are smart enough for that, aren't they?

I'm fairly sure such a line of thought wasn't what spurred the development of Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, but that's sort of what's going on, with the thankfully added benefit of pausing between both games, a platformer up top and a puzzler down below.

Henry Hatsworth is on the hunt for a dapper gold suit, but the adventure to get it will be unlike anything you've played before. Tea time's over, gentlemen. Onwards!

TrackMania DS

Hold forwa- wait, again?

What did I just say, TrackMania? I said, "I'd much prefer to watch this one than touch it again." Why do you and the 1001 list insist I play TrackMania DS as well, a condensed (for obvious reasons) version of the TrackMania we're familiar with?

Well, at least we know what we're heading into.

Age of Empires: Mythologies

What's next? Age of Mythology: Empire?

When it came time for me to play Age of Mythology, an Age of Empires game where the stories and legends of the ancient world form the basis of inspiration for the units and gameplay, rather than the actual history of the period, I would ultimately conclude that the game was alright. Worth a play, but it was largely interchangeable with any other Age of Empires I had played before it.

But now there's another one, this time Age of Empires: Mythologies, on the Nintendo DS. Is this an Age of Empires game or an Age of Mythologies title? Is this a merging of the two? How would that even work? And on a handheld? You must be mad.

Well, I'm mad enough to take on a 1001 games list just to see if I could, and now that the Internet is finally stable enough to write something about these games, it's time to find out what on Earth is going on here.

Bangai-O Spirits

The name still means nothing.

The 1001 list deems Bangai-O Spirits "a game that defies description", a shooter merged with a puzzler with levels inspired by other video games. Wikipedia just goes with "action" because you do things, I guess.

The name rang a bell, but I think I was confusing it with something like Boktai for the Game boy Advance. Playing the original Bangai-O for this 1001 list a few years back clearly didn't leave me with a lasting impression...

What, then, does this handheld sequel that diverges quite a bit from the first game have to offer us? Some kind of chocolate firework? I think the 1001 list needs to go and lie down for a little bit.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

The best version of Link is back.

Did someone ask for a direct sequel to The Wind Waker on the Nintendo DS? Because that's we've got in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, an action-adventure that will take you back to the seas and have you swiping and slashing and 'hiyah!'-ing your way around the world you wish Nintendo used more often.

I don't quite know where my love of The Wind Waker comes from - I still haven't made any progress out of that prison, but sure intend to. Now I learn (yeah, I'm not on top of the Zelda series, who knew?) of a sequel that I can hopefully enjoy just as much? Where do I sign up? Get me a ship!

Retro Game Challenge

Taking a step back to see how far we've come.

While I wasn't there at the dawn of home consoles, I'm old enough to remember a time where multiplayer gaming always took place in the same room, game magazines were always worth a read, and a game was played over and over and over because it was the only one you had available.

I'm glad those days are over, in some respects, but there's much to be said and remembered about those good old days, and Nintendo DS title Retro Game Challenge is here to show you what it was like. Scrambling over the carpet to get a new game from the shelf, your friend encouraging you to do better from the sidelines...

This was how it was, and how the Demon Arino will have it be until you complete his challenges.

Planet Puzzle League

Got your head screwed on straight, and your DS the right way up?

Has the Nintendo DS got enough puzzle games? No, according to Planet Puzzle League, a simple swipey match three block puzzler with competitive online multiplayer.

There's no real need for a big introduction here, really.

Picross DS

It's a what now?

The 1001 entry for this next title points out that the very pencil and paper nature of the Nintendo DS's stylus and touch screen meant that classic puzzles from the analogue world could have a very feasible digital adaptation. Think Sudoku and Slitherlink, and then, it says, essentially, forget about them and think of Picross DS instead.

I have only ever come across this form of puzzle through watching YouTube solves of this kind of puzzle merged with Sudoku, which strikes me as fiendishly difficult and easily above my capabilities. But Picross DS isn't that diabolical. It's just drawing little pictures, as directed by a puzzle.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215

"I'll be gone in a day or twooooooooooo"

Well, now. Would you look at that? That's different, isn't it? That's Hotel Dusk: Room 215, a Nintendo DS point and click detective mystery about a magic hotel room, starring hand-drawn rotoscoped characters with a hint of anime about them. Well, more than a hint, but not full-on. Well, not much. I'm waffling.

I've never seen nor heard of Hotel Dusk in my life until the time came for me to play it here, and like hotel owner Dunning Smith says, it has certainly caught my interest.

It may look like a music video, but how does it play?

Contra 4

"An experience so classic it's practically coin-operated."

That's not a quote from a reviewer up there. That's how Contra 4 welcomes you into the tough-as-nails side-scrolling shooter that is the first portable Contra for more than a decade. It's back with a bang on the Nintendo DS, kicking pushing to the floor and kicking them while they're down - unless you're good enough to actually make it through, of course...

We'll see about that.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

"Since when did we become friends and how soon can we stop?"

The tactical role-playing game returns once more, as does Final Fantasy Tactics, in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, which I had discovered is a sequel, but not to the Final Fantasy Tactics that I played for this 1001 list years ago.

There, it was a PlayStation title that I found interesting but problematic, though a PlayStation Portable remake did ease some woes. Here, it's a Nintendo DS title that doesn't have a stylus gimmick.

Really?

Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery

Later...

Source // Nintendo

I have never played a game from the Anno series of real-time strategy city-builders, but I do know one thing about them: They're really not suited for the Nintendo DS, right? I mean... you could squash an isometric city-builder into a DS cartridge, but would you really want to? Should you?

The only Anno game the 1001 list wants us to look at is a spin-off for the Nintendo DS, Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery, claimed to be a simpler, more streamlined version, perfect for pockets.

I can't even say that it sounds like a good place to start. Surely we'll be missing out on something. Surely.

Pokémon: Diamond/Pearl

Don't you be thinking you've caught them all just yet...

A year ago now, I played Pokémon Sapphire for the first time and then spent a good few more hours playing it. It was like being a kid again, I said, as my Poké-party grew into a team very much in training, but with high hopes of big things.

That was on the almighty Game Boy Advance, but when Nintendo moved onto the DS, it wouldn't be long before the Pokémon series would as well, and the double release this time around is Pokémon Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version.

If you've played any Pokémon title before, you'll know the deal: Get reminded that the little critters are everything in this world, get told to hunt them down while helping to stop criminals (probably) from doing something evil (probably) involving legendary Pokémon. Probably.

It's not going to be a tough plot to follow, nor a radical departure from an established RPG formula is what I'm saying.

Elite Beat Agents

Agents are... Go?

Music. It's there to soothe, it's there to inspire, it's there to motivate. So, too, are the Elite Beat Agents, governmental Men in Black who will dance your troubles away, their rhythmical moves turning whatever frowns you have upside-down and much more besides.

It's perhaps not the kind of backstory you expected for a rhythm game, but I for one am glad that there is at least something going on here other than my lack of musical talent. Everyone ready?

Trauma Center: Under the Knife

Fetch the machine that goes 'Ping!'

"If you want something pleasantly disgusting to do on a train journey," says the 1001 entry, "then Trauma Center: Under the Knife is societies only acceptable answer, really." Who is asking that question in the first place?

Trauma Center is a series of surgery 'simulations', linked together into a visual novel, which kicks off with the first entry, the Nintendo DS's Under the Knife.

Your stylus is the only tool you'll need, doubling as scalpels and syringes where necessary, but do you have a steady enough hand to cut the correct parts? Who does surgery on a train, anyway?

Nintendogs

Where my dawgs at?

Source // Moby Games

So, who had a Tamagotchi? I think I had a chicken. I don't think I ever saw it as a chicken, though. Why would I want to hatch a digital egg and feed a digital chick so that it turned into a gloriously pixellated chicken that required attention? Actual attention. Every waking moment of the day. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Except people do, and if they had a Nintendo DS, you can bet they got hold of Nintendogs, the 21st-century video game Tamagotchi equivalent.

Prepare to go nuts for puppies.