DS Game Rankings

In honor of my upcoming visit to Zack's place, I wanted to rank the DS games that I own. I have finally gotten to the point where I have at least played all of them. So far, I have most of the games for the DS that I wanted. Of the games that are already out, I still would consider Kirby Canvas Curse, Bomberman, Pac Pix, Phoenix Wright, Sonic Rush, and Electroplankton. Also, coming out soon, I want Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, The Rub Rabbits!, Super Princess Peach, Metroid Prime: Hunters, and maybe even Tetris DS.

Here are the rankings, in reverse order:

24. Pictochat -- Not much fun with only one DS. This is included on the DS. I would probably enjoy this more with someone else to use it, but I really don't think I would consider it much higher.
23. Mr. Driller Drill Spirits -- Very disappointing, probably the only real disappointment on this list. Too fast to be a good puzzle game, not really effective as an action game. I know that there are a lot of fans, but I really cannot understand why. His father would be very disappointed.
22. Metroid Prime: Hunters First Hunt -- This came with my DS when I bought it on the first day. Pretty entertaining for a demo, but that is all it is, and it gets old quickly.
21. Ridge Racer DS -- A mediocre racing game, very few tracks, relies too much on drifting. Not exactly terrible, but not really great either.
20. Spider-Man 2 -- A dull action game with pretty good graphics. I enjoyed this on a weekend that I was sick in bed, but it does not have much staying power.
19. Polarium -- As I have said before, this is a mediocre puzzler. This has a terrible challenge mode, the puzzle section is the only worthwhile part, and after a while, it just feels like a Rubik's Cube.
18. Tiger Woods PGA Tour -- Good graphics, a decent golf game, but I think that the swing mechanic is faulty. I think the best swing I ever did was 85% power.
17. Nintendogs: Lab and Friends -- I have a cute Shiba Inu named Elway, but I haven't really felt much of an urge to play it since I unwrapped it a week or so ago, but it has potential. I feel a bit pressured on this one, so maybe it is just too stressful right now. The games from this point on in the list are all very worthy, so it was hard to rank them.
16. Puyo Pop Fever -- A fun competitive puzzle game, a lot of fun. I like the simulated competition that the game offers. I just don't feel as compelled to play this as some other games on my list.
15. WarioWare Touched! -- Normally, I am one of the biggest fans of WarioWare; I would give each of the other games in the series a perfect score. The problem with this one is poor control response; not all of your slashes are detected, which can be really annoying when trying to slice watermelons, etc. That really drops the rating for me.
14. Metroid Prime Pinball -- I am really happy that this came with a rumble pack, which alone was worth it, and I do enjoy pinball and Metroid, but... It is really difficult to unlock additional maps in this game; I still haven't been able to, and I have tried it a lot. Plus, the gap between the flippers is too large, which from someone who has played a lot of pinball is fairly damning. In fact, sometime I should rank my favoirite pinball games.
13. Zoo Keeper -- Cute graphics, addictive gameplay. I have played this for several hours in a row, and while I am still not very good, it is very enjoyable.
12. Feel the Magic XY/XX -- Some may feel that I have ranked this one too low, and if I were rating purely on style, this would probably be the winner, but that is not the case. I don't like the games that require the use of the microphone, and I also feel that several of the games are too difficult. I cannot complete the unicycle across the shark infested water because I cannot control my hands that well. That is one thing that I can compensate for with a control pad, but not with a stylus. But it is a great looking game, and some of the levels are really fun.
11. Burnout Legends -- A much better racing game than Ridge Racer, the downfall of this game is the crash mode, which is the highlight of the console versions. The physics in crash mode are really bad, hard to describe until you see it in person. The racing makes up for this, but it is unfortunate that the best element of the console games does not translate in this version.
10. Super Mario 64 DS -- My favorite of the launch games, good graphics, fun game. I still play several of the mini games. I have over 80 stars from what I remember, but I never bothered going further. The mini games really extend the life of this game.
9. Trauma Center: Under the Knife -- Excellent variety, probably the best use of the stylus for any game. The story is pretty entertaining too. For me, the problem with this game is the challenge factor. I like games to be easy, and this is anything but easy. I still did manage some very tough surgeries.
8. Animal Crossing: Wild World -- This game suffers from the lack of the NES games like the original. The message boards suggested that they should have included some first generation Gameboy games, like Solar Striker and Super Mario Land. That would have made it a much better game. For me, this is too much of the same game that I played for months before going cold turkey.
7. Meteos -- A classic puzzle game, even more fun to play than it seems like it would be. Entertaining music and visuals.
6. Tony Hawk's American Sk8Land -- I have not enjoyed a Tony Hawk game this much since I used to tear up the mall on the PS1. A very good game, fun and funny. The story is pretty bad, but the graphics are excellent. I am looking forward to playing this online.
5. Mario & Luigi Partners in Time -- I have played this game to completion, about 30 hours of game, which is a huge compliment from me, as I rarely finish games. I think that the gameplay is even better than the first one, although the GBA release was funnier and I enjoyed the bean collecting rewards much better.
4. Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow -- As is well documented, I am a major Castlevania fan, and this one does not disappoint. Great monsters, and I love the soul draining powers. I still think that the character Alucard in Symphony of the Night was better and had a great set of powers, but this game is a fantastic sequel.
3. Bust-a-Move DS -- The best puzzle game on the DS, and not surprisingly the best puzzle game of all time per my puzzle rankings. When I first put it in, I was actually a bit disappointed, as it did not immediately live up to my expectations. I was beginning to believe that Zack was right about Dr. Mario, but then something happened. I started playing it for hours. Whenever I get a free minute I reach for this game. Recently I have been playing the vs. mode a lot, and it makes for some fun competition.
2. Advance Wars Dual Strike -- This is my third game in the series and it is another quantum leap. Advance Wars 2 made the original unplayable with the introduction of the Neotank. In this version, there are tons of new COs, a few more weapons, and the best feature, the new feature where you can play with 2 COs in the same battle. This game was meant for the DS.
1. MarioKart DS -- This is based less on my history with the game, I have been playing it a lot since I got it, but probably not as much as some others, but on its lasting appeal. My driving skills have deteriorated over time, but it is still a lot of fun in 50 cc. (And 50 cc is much harder than it was on the SNES.) I really like playing the classic tracks, and almost all of the new tracks are great. I like the haunted house, the pinball table, and especially rainbow road. It gives me the same joy that playing the original rainbow road did. I am really looking forward to playing this online.

Let me know your thoughts on my list...