The Best Strategy Games For The DS

Accessibility and interaction were mainstays of the Nintendo DS‘ design philosophy. Although the humble handheld amassed a vast library of casual and licensed games, it was also a haven for unique and engaging experiences. Whatever your preferred genre, the DS could cater to you, from horror games to RPGs.

Strategy games are often left by the wayside when talking about the Nintendo DS, especially due to the genre’s niche status. If you possess a tactical mindset, though, we’ve got the goods. The console’s high battery life and ease of portability only made it all the more suitable. Here are the best strategy games for your trusty dual-screen companion.

10

Advance Wars: Dual Strike

The one-two combo of Advance Wars on the GBA made it a beloved strategy series and a viable alternative to Fire Emblem, culminating in a WayForward-led remake. The sequel to the iconic GBA duology, however, is a bit more mature.

The anime aesthetic has been de-emphasized but not discarded, though the game has its occasional moments of silliness with sudden villainous turns. The game is much easier than its predecessors, making it more accessible for casual audiences. You can even get two turns at a time.

9

Disgaea DS

Disgaea has become one of the best-loved tactical RPGs thanks to its witty humour, charming aesthetic and mind-boggling amounts of grinding. The release of Disgaea 1 Complete on mobile phones and PC has rendered Disgaea DS all but irrelevant, but let’s take a look at this game on its own terms.

This game was originally developed for the PS2 and brings all its mechanics to the DS intact. That in itself is a small miracle, though these days it does little to make up for the downgraded graphics and lack of voice acting. It’s still a valid way to play the game, and even gives you an option to speed up animations. You’ll need that for all the grinding.

8

Front Mission

In 2007, Square Enix finally indulged Western audiences with an official localization of the first Front Mission title. For the most part, Front Mission is a straight port of the SNES original, with little in the way of graphical or quality-of-life updates.

Although Front Mission is dated, it’s still a delight. The game’s emphasis on map strategy and long, arduous battles mean it’s not for casual audiences. If you have patience, however, you’ll appreciate the portability of this version: battles can easily run up to 2 hours, meaning the sleep mode and long battery life of the DS really come in handy.

7

Plants Vs. Zombies

PopCap’s last stand before being gobbled up by EA was one of the most charming tower defence titles ever made. Plants Vs. Zombies came out on a smorgasbord of systems, and handheld audiences were not left wanting.

Due to the DS’s hardware limitations, the graphics and audio were understandably worse than the PC and console versions. Everything else was brought to Nintendo’s system almost fully intact, with some new minigames. If you’re unable to play this game on a home console and really, really dislike phones, give the DS version a spin.

The Nintendo DS version of Plants Vs. Zombies includes a PvP mode not seen in the PC version. To unlock it, complete Level 2-1.

6

Fire Emblem: New Mystery Of The Emblem

Fire Emblem is a successful series with no signs of slowing down, and many hardcore fans point to Awakening as the turning point that brought in a more casual audience. However, they might want to look backwards: while it never gained an official English-language release, New Mystery of the Emblem is responsible for many of the mechanics fully realized in Awakening.

New Mystery has character creation, relationship building and a Casual difficulty setting which removes permadeath. If you do insist on doing things the hard way though, the Classic mode is still there.

A fan-made English translation patch for New Mystery of the Emblem exists, but due to Nintendo’s litigious nature we’ll leave it to you to figure out how to obtain it.

5

Age Of Empires: Mythologies

Perhaps the real-time strategy series with the most mainstream appeal, Age of Empires opted to go turn-based on the DS. The game offers three different civilizations with various gods to power them up. Despite the switch to turn-based, the core gameplay loop of balancing resources and advancing research remains the same.

The best thing about Mythologies is its strong multiplayer component. You can play with a friend on a single DS taking turns, enjoy local or online multiplayer, or use the Download Play feature if your friend doesn’t own a copy of the game.

The online servers for this game have been shut down. However, you can find fan-made solutions that involve changing your DNS settings to play online.

4

Pokemon Conquest

One of the last DS games to generate any hype after the 3DS was already out, Pokemon Conquest aimed to be a fusion of the beloved monster-collecting franchise and the strategy JRPG series Nobunaga’s Ambition. If you ever wanted to battle it out with your opponents on a square grid rather than an arena, your dreams were now realized.

Pokemon Conquest is a unique title and a breath of fresh air for fans tired of exploring the mainline games. Its historical setting is unique, and the character designs modeled after samurai and shogun are gorgeous. Like most Pokemon titles it tends to be on the easy side for the main campaign, so to unlock its true depths you need to play the side content.

3

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

Tactics Advance 2 is one of the Final Fantasy games which is actually final, because Square Enix have never revisited this subseries since. Originally planned for the GBA, it kept the Advance subtitle after moving to the DS to emphasize its sequel status. Despite that, it’s an entirely new game.

The gameplay mechanics of the original Advance title have been polished, with the addition of new jobs and races. The game is simple to get through on Normal difficulty, making it a good entry point for DS-wielding newcomers.

2

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 1 And 2

When you ask for a fusion between Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei, most people would point you to Tokyo Mirage Sessions. For a true tactical experience, however, you should turn to the Devil Survivor games on DS. Both games have deep gameplay mechanics and a contemporary setting that appeals to RPG players tired of medieval fantasy.

The first one is quite balanced in its difficulty, while the second dips into the notorious Atlus hardness during some battles. The games were popular enough to get enhanced 3DS ports, and the second one received an anime adaptation. Also, you use a fictionalized version of the DS to summon demons in the game, which alone is cute enough to justify these games.

1

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

A long-awaited remake of the first Fire Emblem title, Shadow Dragon is much more accessible, enjoyable and memorable than its notoriously difficult precursor. It also was the first time Marth’s story was localized for Western fans, so he was no longer just ‘that guy from Smash Bros.’

With its gorgeous art style, quality-of-life updates and mature JRPG storyline, Shadow Dragon is the best way to experience the first entry in the series. It’s also the best strategy game on the DS: others may have been outdone by ports or become dated with age, but not this one.