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The Nintendo DS games that need a Switch revival
Given that the Switch has a lovely touch screen, here are the games we want to see make use of it.
Before the Nintendo Switch was released, there were a fair few questions about what it would be able to do. Was backwards compatibility a thing? What resolution could it manage? What games are coming? And, of course, does it have a touch screen?
Now it’s out, it’s shipped 2.74m units worldwide to date, and we know the answers to all of those questions. With the ability to play games entirely away from a TV, and the fact it’s got a bright and inviting touch screen, we were thinking: wouldn’t it be lovely to see some of those classic touch-focused DS games brought back to life on the Switch? We’ve had a look through our extensive library – these are the essential classics that need to come back.
Elite Beat Agents
Way back in 2006, one of the best music games ever made was released on the DS. Elite Beat Agents was the name, and with an incredible sound-track, quirky gameplay and an all-touch control scheme, we were hooked by the simple, yet addictive rhythm game. Its gameplay and big touch-screen buttons make it ripe for a Switch revival, and there’s even room for the Japan-only originals, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, and its sequel, to join EBA in a three-in-one bundle for your console-handheld-hybrid. We’d even settle for Rhythm Heaven Megamix from the 3DS to make the jump to Switch, all to settle our rhythmn itch,
WarioWare: Touched!
For some reason, it feels as though the WarioWare series has never found a large audience of fans. Perhaps it’s because the games are based around the villain to Mario’s hero (but come on, he’s hardly Bowser!), but this is a series of games that's just an incredible amount of fun. 1-2-Switch was certainly a similar kind of game, but missed out on all the mirth that comes from involving Wario. The Switch could host an incredible WarioWare game, thanks to the HD Rumble, the off-screen play, the motion of the Joy-Cons: it has everything. With some clever thinking and execution, a Switch WarioWare could be the best game on the system! We’d settle for Touched! to make some sort of Virtual Console debut, too.
Picross
Thanks to Puyo Puyo Tetris, we’ve been reminded that the Switch is possibly the ultimate handheld console system. Forget adventuring your way through Zelda, playing Tetris (or Puyo Puyo, but let’s be honest, we’re all playing Tetris) puzzlers on your handheld has always been a mainstay of gaming-on-the-go, but for something that can be played with just a finger, then Picross could be perfect. Revealing pictures via a swipe of your finger, Picross’s puzzles would be great for on-the-go play, and the fact that it appears Nintendo might finally have a more robust online system in place means we could continue to share created puzzles with friends long into the console’s life. Not all Switch titles have to be breathtaking Breath of the Wild-style adventures, and more puzzlers would be brilliant.
Brain Age
It’s been some time since we last saw Dr Kawashima’s name on a video game box, but like Picross, this is a puzzler that could fit beautifully on the Switch and make use of the touch screen. Similar to WarioWare, the Joy-Cons could make for some excellent brain teasers, too, meaning this isn’t just a touch-screen title. Unfortunately (or not, depending on where you sit on the idea) there’s a 3DS/2DS Brain Training game out in July, so the likelihood of a Switch port, or a new game on the console, seems unlikely at present. You never know with Nintendo, though!
Professor Layton
It’s time for the Prof to make a comeback
© Nintendo
Given that we’re getting a mini revival of adventure games at the moment (Thimbleweed Park, Full Throttle Remastered) it’d be great to see the point-and-click genre appear on Switch. Unlike the Xbox One and PS4, the Switch enables one-to-one control thanks to its touch screen, meaning pixel hunting isn’t as much of a pain as it is with a controller. That said, if you prefer to play on the big screen, there could easily be the option to have an on-screen 'mouse' that you control with the Joy-Cons, too. The DS and 3DS were home to Professor Layton’s incredible adventures, and they’re surely due a next-gen refresh – we’d love to take more of the professor’s brain teasers on the go with us.
Phoenix Wright
We know Capcom’s Phoenix Wright is a rather similar game to Professor Layton in terms of how it controls, but we also feel that as our favourite screamer of “Objection!” and almost convoluted (but not quite) plots, Phoenix Wright is long past due his big-screen debut. With six main games, and multiple spin-offs, surely Capcom and Nintendo could get it together and put out a Switch game? Given how regularly Capcom are putting together HD collections, and has ported PW titles to the Wii in the past, maybe a whole new generation of potential fans could be introduced to the series with a remastered collection on Switch! Even still, the Switch looks like the perfect console for Phoenix Wright to head to next: taking court cases on the go, and docking them at home on the big screen sounds like brilliance to us.
Ghost Trick
A whole new generation could discover Ghost Trick
© Capcom
If there’s a DS game more overdue a comeback than Capcom’s Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, we haven’t heard of it. Apart from the fact it has a pomeranian dog called Missile in it, Ghost Trick is simply an engaging point-and-click adventure game that we will never understand the lack of success for. A lovely art style, intriguing story and brilliant characters weren’t enough, and Ghost Trick remained a one-and-done game. That said, Capcom have shown that they’re willing to try and bring it back, releasing an iOS port back in the day, but we’re keen to see this thrive on Switch. Imagine how good this game could look on your shiny new Nintendo console
The World Ends With You
Given that Jupiter and Square Enix’s The World Ends With You is the 11th highest rated DS game of all time, even beating out Pokémon Black and White, we think this is a game that, while a cult hit, is ripe for a Switch comeback. Despite it being a little obtuse and complicated to start with, this is a lovely-yet-weird game which made use of both screens, the microphone, and tapped into that Japanese youth culture that, even today, is massively popular. This game, a port or even a Switch sequel, could be a massive “wow” moment if announced during a Nintendo Direct at E3, or something, which means it probably won’t happen. Still, we can dream.
Nintendogs (and cats)
While Nintendo aren’t quite pushing the Switch as a console for kids the way they perhaps did with DS and 3DS, you can’t deny that its dog-simulator (and cat-simulator), Nintendogs was a load of fun. Rubbing your screen to clean your dog, or throwing a ball to entertain it; we miss this silly version of Nintendo a little bit. With the Switch giving us HD graphics on the go, Nintendogs looks like it’d have the perfect home on Nintendo’s new console, and the extra controls afforded with the Joy-Con could give it an edge over the DS and 3DS versions. Just the idea of high-def Shiba Inus on our screens is giving us glee; and we reckon Nintendo surely has this in the bag. But seriously, where’s our Switch version of Nintendogs?
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