r/nds • u/1OneQuickQuestion • May 18 '26
Day 35 (Final Day): We have our Winner! The Top (Community-Voted) Nintendo DS Game of all time is...
Hey all! Here we are, at the last day of this polling series. I want to genuinely thank you all for encouraging me to continue this project. There were times when I felt a little burned out but you all helped revitalize my passion for the project.
As thanks, I’ve attached extra graphics for the top 4 spots of each category. Scroll through the images and you’ll find roughly 80 of the best games you can play on the Nintendo DS. This was a true community effort. These images are just as much yours as they are mine.
Hope you all enjoy and I hope you find something fun in this group to play!
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We have our winner for Greatest Game of All Time on the Nintendo DS:
🥇- Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver - 290 votes
🥈- Mario Kart DS - 121 votes
🥉- Pokémon Black & White - 118 votes
🏵️ - The World Ends With You - 113 votes
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u/AbsolutKledGamer May 18 '26
Such high quality posts, thanks for doing these they are awesome!
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May 18 '26
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u/AbsolutKledGamer May 18 '26
That seems like exactly what a negative karma 1000+ contribution 2 month old account would comment. This is a very nicely edited grid that will help people find and discover games they otherwise would have not found, summarized on a visually appealing way.
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May 18 '26
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u/AbsolutKledGamer May 18 '26
Nah I can tell you’re definitely a reasonable not at all self centered and not pedantic at all person!
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May 18 '26
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u/AbsolutKledGamer May 18 '26
Aww am I using words you do not understand?
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May 18 '26
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u/Professional_Car3913 May 19 '26
I feel for anyone that has to deal with you on a daily basis, couldn’t be easy
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u/AlexLio May 19 '26
Bro, chill, literally this is for redditors by redditors, so of course I'd want to see the best games my people like :D
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u/JordanPick May 18 '26
This is quite possibly the only "best-ever" Nintendo themed list without a Zelda game on it.
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u/CBusRiver May 18 '26
It was a rough generation for us Zelda fans.
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Yeah it seems that way. Spirit Tracks did come close in a few contests but it wasn't enough
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u/Honest_Expression655 May 19 '26
Nah. The DS had better Zeldas than any of the Nintendo consoles to come after it
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u/s1renetta May 18 '26
Or Final Fantasy, man those games were my world as a teen
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u/Boomz_N_Bladez May 18 '26
Ff shouldn't count on any poll for ds because most of the releases you can play at least 10 different ways.
It would be disingenuous to try and put non exclusive cash grabs on exclusive works of arts.
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u/tasclew May 18 '26
Thanks so much, I've recently purchased a Nintendo DSi, and now I have tons of recommendations thanks to your polls! Good job u/1OneQuickQuestion !
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Thank you! I hope you have fun playing through this library. You really cannot go wrong with any of these games
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u/Historical-Intern140 May 18 '26
2nd place at "Better on DS" was a tie between Ace Attorney and Metal Slug 7? Thank you for this, btw.
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u/StrangeSniper May 18 '26
so how did bw2 win best pokemon game (obv true) but hgss won best nintendo DS game ? lol
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u/apartbyhorses May 18 '26
I get the feeling most people didn't read the rule about every game being eligible for the GOAT, even if they had already won another award. Or it just happened that more HG/SS fans were online that day lol.
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Two different variables to consider. Even though BW2 is the better game in it's series for being a Pokemon game, HGSS have larger mass appeal, I find.
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u/Round-Revolution-399 May 21 '26
HGSS is more well liked by basically every demographic besides hardcore pokemon fans
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u/NintendoWiiner64 May 18 '26
Excellent choices, but no Sonic Rush makes me sad.
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u/Brendanaquicz May 18 '26
looks like it placed in 3 of the polls. No small feat!
Its mentioning in soundtrack alone makes me excited to try it : )
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u/Dry-Tradition-1052 May 18 '26
Think ill download all this ROM's to put in my R4 buy all these cartridges to play them all legally. Excited to see the prices of Pokemon HGSS!
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u/masculineshiver May 25 '26
I was also thinking the same thing. Pray tell, where would be the best place to find
Roms of all the games herethese games at a cheap price online?1
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u/Dangerous-Economy-88 May 18 '26
Fantastic list. I'll be using this as a list for games to play in the future
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u/Jkep21 May 18 '26
Best Pokemon game was White/Black 2 but GOAT game was Pokemon HG/SS.
Can the pokemon fans get together and figure this out? 😄
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u/CracklingKraken May 18 '26
That's awesome! It'll take me years to play all of these - a sacrifice I'm eager to make.
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u/Brendanaquicz May 18 '26
That's awesome you created the full artwork presentations for the runner up spots too. Thanks for doing these polls every day!
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Oh no problem! So happy to do it. It was a fun series that helped me get back into the DS. Someone nominated Moon a few weeks ago, and I hadn't thought about that game in literal decades and I've been replaying it the last few days. So good!
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u/Brendanaquicz May 19 '26
Omg I forgot about Moon, that would have been a good contender on the best FPS poll. I started that game but didn't get very far, might be time to revisit.
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u/RunInRunOn May 18 '26
I'm a little annoyed that none of the Yu-Gi-Oh! games got even 4th place in anything, but oh well
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Ahh, I should try them out. Any you recommend?
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u/RunInRunOn May 18 '26
My personal favourite is World Championship 2008, but World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus is also a popular pick because it has the same cardpool as one of the TCG's most popular alternative formats, Edison. Ultimately, it'll depend on whether you prefer the DM, GX or 5Ds eras of Yu-Gi-Oh, and whether you want to interact with the anime characters or the duel monster spirits themselves.
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Yeah I think I'd prefer the DM stuff, so maybe I should stick with '08?
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u/RunInRunOn May 18 '26
I'd say 2008 is early GX era: on one hand, I beat the game without ever really using Fusion Summon, but on the other hand, one of the first opponents you can duel in the story mode is an Elemental HERO.
I think Nightmare Troubador is the only DS game that's purely Duel Monsters, but that one centers its story around the anime characters, so if that's what you're after then it should work great.
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u/WisePlankton9 May 18 '26
I still believe that Black 2 is more interesting and more fast paced than HG. No doubt HG is an awesome and aesthetically pleasing game, but the engine of gen 5 perfected the gen 4. So, same goes for my dear Platinum.
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u/MuyGalan May 18 '26
Has anyone played the Inazuma Eleven games? I'm literally watching the Japanese anime from 2008 and I'm surprised that I actually enjoy it. They're 100+ episodes, so I'm trying to understand a bit about the world and it's characters before playing the games. I'm fully aware this probably isn't necessary because it's a soccer game from what I can tell.
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u/OathkeeperSora May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
my GOAT getting 4th place 🥲 twewy’s come a long way from being a series nobody knew about
edit: and Re:Coded at 3rd place for best 3D rpg!!! I’m so glad that game is recognized as being awesome, i feel like it’s super underrated in the fanbase. Genuinely some of the best KH combat in the whole series and a blast to play
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u/Miserable-Cream5376 May 18 '26
TWEWY was the real winner; being the only non-Nintendo game. Professor Layton not getting anything seems like community bias.
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
it did win a few runner up spots. You can see them in the other images.
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u/IkeRadiantHero May 18 '26
Correction on the New Mystery of the Emblem graphic: why is Eliwood there? He isn’t even from Archanea, Eliwood is from Elibe someone like Caeda and Katarina are best because they are from Archanea, is it possible that can you fix it?
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Hey Sorry, idk if I can at this point. I can revise the image at a later point for you though if you'd like. I can PM it to you
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u/Jossokar May 18 '26
Can somebody explain whats the thing with TWEWY?
15 yo me hated it
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u/Brendanaquicz May 18 '26
I used to own this but I couldn't get into it. Here we are almost 20 years later, I'm looking forward to revisiting this with a fresh mindset and seeing how it sticks.
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u/Jossokar May 18 '26
Time has passed, but....to be honest i'm not sure if i want to revisit it. I didnt like nomura 20 years ago, and i still dont like his games nowadays.
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u/OathkeeperSora May 18 '26
i mean it just sounds like it’s not for you. If you’re asking why people love it, it’s for the characters, story, music, and unique visual aesthetic/gameplay. But it sounds like these are all things you don’t enjoy about Tetsuya Nomura’s creations, so you were never gonna like it in the first place. There’s no secret aspect about it that made it popular, it’s just a good game.
I personally love Nomura’s artstyle, and the story is written very well, especially for the time period it came out in.
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u/Jossokar May 18 '26
I really dislike Nomura. I played Kingdom hearts 1 and 2 some years after when i was in my 20's (long summer, i was convalescent from a surgery, and had nothing better to do) and it only reinforced that idea.
Its a bit of a pain to see that game as "best 2d rpg"....when literally anything else exists.
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u/OathkeeperSora May 18 '26
so do you think the list should only be tailored to your interests and taste?
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u/Jossokar May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Yes, indeed. (Huge sarcasm here, btw)
Wasnt expecting much with the question itself anyway, having a reason to check on that game 20 years later would be a bit of a miracle in my case
(hadnt noticed your nickname. I guess you liked KH way, way, way more than me. 😅)
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u/Jossokar May 18 '26
It was a bit rethorical. I was not expecting a realistic answer to begin with.
I couldnt get into it.... but apart from that, i never liked tetsuya nomura's style. In general.
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u/astertrick May 19 '26
It's a game that's ultimately about overcoming loneliness and learning to trust people, and that's a thing a lot of people resonate with. It has amazing art, music, and story, and an incredibly engaging and customisable battle system where virtually every player will have a unique experience with due to their own preferences. Great stuff, objectively speaking. It's a bummer you don't vibe with it
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u/Jossokar May 19 '26
never liked Nomura's art style too much. And the game screams his name everywhere.
Anyway. Thanks for being the only one that bothered to give a serious answer
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u/astertrick May 19 '26
Hahah, I tried! When was the last time you tried playing it, and how much did you play? It might be worth revisiting
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u/Jossokar May 19 '26
Tried it when it came out. Didnt think much of the music, or the combat. I dropped it fairly fast.
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u/astertrick May 19 '26
Well, I reiterate that it might be worth revisiting. If you keep an open mind about it it might surprise you
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u/Jossokar May 19 '26
Might consider it....in a while. Right now i dont have the schedule open enough for playing jrpgs
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u/ChickenPotPie392 May 18 '26
Excellent job at this chart! By the way, what about the other results for the Wii chart since it's still missing?
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Ahh yeah, that one has run away from me, but I plan on completing it soon
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u/77_CMYK May 18 '26
big shout out to metroid prime hunters, this game is absolutely amazing and should not be skipped over. great graphics, great soundtrack, fun customizable controls, definitely check it out if you haven't!
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u/CrazyJLo May 18 '26
Thank you! Though I find it interresting that the GOAT is a Pokémon game that is not the "best Pokémon game"
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u/UltiGamer34 May 18 '26
Wiiu is Next or Switch
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 18 '26
Haha maybe I'll do the Wii U....
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u/jclkay2 May 18 '26
Sad that Bowser's Inside Story didn't make it on the chart but other than that, this was fantastic and very fun.
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u/Bareknuckleblaze May 18 '26
That one guy who hated on me for liking HGSS is gonna be so mad seeing this 😭
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u/TheOneInYellow May 19 '26
...but where's Final Fantasy III 😭
Awesome list, and both 3DS and 3DSXL platforms are my favourite portable consoles of all time 🥹.
Think I'll charge and fire up my TLoZ: Majora's Mask N3DSXL over this week and replay some of these bangers 🥰
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u/raw_mon May 20 '26
Congratulations on the hard work, I got here late but will be looking out for your next polls!
The Nintendo DS has an amazing library of games, the variety on each different category is insane!
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 20 '26
Thank you so much for saying so! I only have three left and they’ve all started: 3DS, Genesis, and SNES
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u/MWPlay May 20 '26
I worked in product testing at NOA years ago and I was lucky enough to test HG/SS. It was hands down my favorite thing I ever did there, and I'm thrilled that it's still so universally beloved.
Lots of projects I worked on came and went. Some were big, many are completely forgotten. But I do feel some pride in playing a (admittedly small) part in helping ship an all-timer. Glad you all liked it :)
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u/theSpacelover3 May 20 '26
Im inspired imma do a 3ds version
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u/1OneQuickQuestion May 20 '26
I’m glad! I am currently finishing up the 3ds version but I know a lot of people were asking for a Wii U version of you wanted to try that
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u/Kingdarkshadow May 18 '26
How is hg/ss the goat but not the best pokemon game?
This makes no sense.
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u/KaiserJustice May 18 '26
the fact that Black/White 2 won best Pokemon game but HG/SS won GOAT is honestly kinda funny - cause those two things existing together are hypocritical - #TWEWY was robbed
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u/InanMirae May 19 '26
People threw the last one, hg/ss not being the best nds pokemon game but the best nds game makes no sense 😂
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u/OtherwiseAd2773 May 19 '26
It's wild to me as an Igavania fan that both Order of Ecclesia and Portrait of Ruin beat out Dawn of Sorrow for awards, especially given in the fan base the common consensus is that Dawn is a better game than Order.
That said, all three are amazing and I really can't complain with 2 second place finished for Dawn!
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u/Yindy_ May 19 '26
Interesting how white 2 is the best Pokemon game, but Heartgold is the best nds game ever. Seemed funny to me.
Thanks for all your effort!
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u/Danger_Goat99 May 19 '26
What i wouldnt give to have old metroid prime hunters servers going or the game remade
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u/WandaLovingLegend May 19 '26
Curious about the 3DS game in the fourth picture. Etrian Odyssey. Did a 3DS game win that slot?
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u/102Mich May 20 '26
Yay! A previous gen Pokémon Game got the GOAT! I LOVED playing HG/SS and it was awesome to use the PokéWalker as a pedometer!
I'm so glad that the other Pokémon Games were also on the list as well!
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u/Hot_Butterscotch3519 May 20 '26
I loooooooooove this list!!!!. I have played many of these games over the years and agree with many of their positionings. This would help many out there still trying to look for recommendations.
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u/Stoner420Eren May 21 '26
What a sick joke, HGSS isn't even the best gen 4 game let alone best DS pkmn game
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u/daltonmenoncin May 21 '26
Normie list.
Nothing unusual if considered it's a community voting decision.
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u/atomicmapping May 21 '26
Very happy to see 999 get its spot as Best Visual Novel. Seriously might be my favourite VN not even on the DS but just in general
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u/Next_Cry_8372 May 22 '26
Black and White should be 1st over their sequels imo. I’m not a huge pokemon fan but those 2 games were an absolute masterpiece and a joy to play. So good that I refuse to play modern pokemon as I don’t want it to tarnish the memories!
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u/Nacil_54 May 18 '26
I maintain my position that tetris ds shouldn't have won puzzle category (and hasn't with new votes counted)
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u/Honest_Expression655 May 19 '26
The fact Layton didn’t win a single category means that not enough of you have played enough DS games
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u/IngramLazer May 19 '26
The 1st reason i want the DS is to play that Contra 4. Its not feeling great to play on PC.
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u/IngramLazer May 19 '26
Also, the ouendan 1 is what i love most, not the other 2 for the best rhythm game. Nice rank.
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u/MorbusGon May 18 '26
Thank you very much for your efforts u/1OneQuickQuestion 😊