Let me take you on a journey back to 2004. After years of enormous success with the Game Boy lineup of portable devices, Nintendo unveiled its new cutting-edge handheld – the Nintendo DS. This sleek, dual-screened marvel promised to revolutionize gaming on the go with a stylus-enabled touchscreen, an embedded microphone, wireless local connectivity, and improved graphics at a bargain price.
Developers instantly realized the system‘s promising party game potential thanks to the unique features facilitating simple, creative multiplayer experiences. Thus, amongst its 2570 diverse game library brimming with timeless JRPGs, franchise platformers, quirky new IPs and more, the Nintendo DS amassed a staggeringly fun batch of party games perfect for game nights, family events, or anytime friends gathered.
Now over 15 years later, which of those pick up and play party classics still shine? What better way to take a fond trip down memory lane than ranking the absolute best Nintendo DS party titles of all time!
What Makes Nintendo DS Party Games Shine
Before revealing the elite party game list, let‘s overview the aspects that allowed Nintendo DS software (especially party games) to become so revolutionary and successful.
Dual Screens – The dual screen layout enabled additional UI/visual information without cluttering gameplay. This gave party games flexibility for maps, instructions, character details that enhanced the experience.
Touchscreen – Direct touch interactivity made controls and interfaces far more intuitive – perfect for allowing new players to quickly dive in to the party frenzy.
Wireless Multiplayer – Local wifi connectivity for up to 8 systems on many titles fueled competitive/cooperative gameplay without excessive cables or hardware.
Embedded Mic – The internal mic opened creative possibilities for vocal interaction within games, bringing a human spontaneiety to party sessions.
Visual Presentation – While compact, the DS rocked console-quality visuals/audio for its titles that brought characters and worlds to life within parties.
Its powerful hardware combined with these standout features allowed DS party titles to be fresh, accessible, and engaging whenever multiple players got together. Now onto the premiere party picks!
10. New Super Mario Bros – 9.3M copies sold
Kicking off the list we have 2006‘s New Super Mario Bros, the phenomenally selling 2D Mario revival that became the best-selling DS game ever (over 30 million copies!). It brought fantastic side scrolling platforming action alongside introducing Mario vs Luigi multiplayer battles. By using just one cartridge, Download Play supported up to 4 players racing through levels cooperatively or competitively – spurring epic power-up fueled fights to the flagpole finish. Quick, classic gameplay made it perfect for parties while still having an enormous wealth of solo content.
9. Mario Kart DS – 23.6M copies sold
Its no shock to see Mario Kart DS cruising its way onto this list as the second best-selling DS game ever. The first handheld Mario Kart beautifully adapted its marquee racing excitement into bite-sized local multiplayer face-offs. With balloon battle arenas and a vault of unlockable karts/characters, the competitive tension escalates through stratgic items, skillful drifting, and knowing just when to unleash those dreaded blue spiked shells! Download Play returns allowing up to 8 friends to join the checkered flag frenzy in Grand Prix, VS or Battle modes.
| Mario Kart DS | |
|---|---|
| Release Date | November 2005 |
| Critic Score | 91/100 |
| Genre | Racing |
| Multiplayer | 8 Players |
8. Jenga World Tour – "Brings new life to a classic"
Jenga World Tour took the wooden block stacking classic into unprecendented territory by using touchscreen precision to push, poke, prod, and extract pieces with surgical prowess! With neon glow visuals and regional themes adding flair, its the tense multiplayer showdowns that steal the spotlight as each move ratchets up the risk/reward tension to delightful levels. Power-ups like zero gravity controls, silly chickens, and slippery settings will have the tower tumbling down amidst raucous laughter time and time again!
"Jenga World Tour‘s solo Marathon mode provides a quick-fix, but it’s the nerve-racking face-to-face contests that hold the most appeal." – NintendoLife
7. Crash Boom Bang – "Zany mini-game madness"
The Crash Bandicoot series has always leaned into wacky characters/scenarios, but Crash Boom Bang leans all the way in! This board game style experience has the loveable mutated marsupials causing havoc acquiring fruit, triggers chaotic events, and battling through 40 rapid-fire motion controlled mini-games. Supporting standard rules or endless creative sessions, it might not have the polish and depth of Mario Party, but what it lacks in refinement it makes up in silly fun perfect for low-key gatherings with friends. Approach with that easygoing mindset and Crash Boom Bang delivers zany times.
6. Faceez – "Off-the-walls absurdist fun"
One of the most out-there party titles, Faceez empowers you to capture (likely silly) real life photos then warp them into avatars dubbed…Faceez! These big-headed bug-eyed caricatures can then be decorated with all manner of hats, facial hair, acessories and more to create some of the most absurd personalized characters. Further mixing in cute animations, scenes and environments to manipulate keeps the laughs coming at how far you can push the silly factor. It might wear thin after a bit, but friends will get a kick out of seeing themselves transformed into these images brought to strange life. Perfect for breaking the ice at gatherings!
5. LOL: Never Party Alone – 83% Metacritic
Never party alone again thanks to LOL‘s collection of offbeat doodling challenges tailor made for party primed posses. Taking turns as judge or contestant, your mandates might be to concoct wacky inventions, compose rhyming couplets, or sketch unusual scenarios with winners chosen for cleverness/humor. With no artistic skill required thanks to templating options, it enables outlandish ideas to manifest in ways guaranteed to generate serious laughs. Approachable, simple fun that sparks engagement and creativity from everyone.
| Game | LOL: Never Party Alone |
|---|---|
| Genre | Party Game |
| Critic Score | 83/100 |
| Release | October 2008 |
| Players | 2-4 |
4. Hasbro Family Game Night – "Captures essence of classics"
Hasbro board games like Boggle, Yahtzee and more get recreated superbly in Family Game Night, capturing the competitive rush of their real-life counterparts in excellent form. Supporting up to 4 players, Boggle becomes a blistering word scramble, Sorry has you bustin‘ dance moves, Yahtzee requires strategic dice roll combos. With wonderful polish, bonuses to earn, and proper adaptations enhancing what makes each game great rather than revolutionizing them, Family Game Night does board games right on DS. The varied 6 game collection provides something appealing for all tastes/ages during gatherings.
3. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 – "Comedic Genius"
While Rayman still appears, his Raving Rabbid cronies completely steal the show in this minigame masterpiece overflowing with eccentricity and laughs. Ubisoft maxed out the randomness through over 55 sublime rapidfire minigames varying from sports stadium trials, to outer space shooters, to navigating treacherous beaches. Presentation oozes vibrant, humorous charm and complementing the sheer diversity is accessible skill-based gameplay – easy to grasp but with enough depth for advanced gamers to sink their teeth into. Approachable, off-the-wall fun that refused to ever take itself seriously – it was comedic genius!
| Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Party/Minigame |
| Release Date | November 2007 |
| Metascore | 80% |
| Game Modes | Story, Score Attack, Multiplayer |
| Unique Qualities | Extreme humor, accessibility |
2. Super Monkey Ball: Touch and Roll – "Infectiously fun mayhem"
Guiding adorable simians across perilous tilting 3D landscapes already provided infectious fun – but doing so with full stylus control revolutionized the beloved series by making its deceptively tough challenges more intuitive. Of course the madcap party potential shone brightest within the 4 player minigames including racing, bowling, pool, fighting and more, each packed with escalating bedlam! Yet through all the chaos its finely tuned physics and controls could also enable remarkably deep technique too for dedicated players. An ingenious cohesion of accessibility and mastery – such infectious fun is tough to put down!
1. Mario Party DS – "The ultimate handheld party package"
The Mario Party franchise has constantly fueled friendships and rivalries through its world class board game mechanics and extensive outrageous minigames. Thus, Mario Party DS bringing that winning formula exclusively to DS handhelds with over 75 stellar touchscreen minigames was a mouthwatering proposition! Blending 5 unique boards with classic events and balancing luck/skill elements, its gameplay nuance supported both casual relaxed fun and hardcore strategic sessions. Sprinkle in additional single player/minigame modes and Download Play flexibility, and Mario Party DS is Nintendo portable multiplayer bliss – the pinnacle handheld party experience!
| Mario Party DS||
|—————– |:————-:|
| Release | November 2007 |
| Metascore | 76% |
| Best Mode | Standard Party |
| Types of Minigames | 4 player, 1 vs 3, 2 vs 2,single player, boss battles |
Unmatched Portable Party Power!
Its been a joy recounting the cream of the Nintendo DS party game crop that supplied endless entertainment during unforgettable gatherings over the years. The innovative hardware combined brilliantly with software that knocked multiplayer accessibility and creativity out of the park. While countless gaming memories lived on DS cartridges, these social party experiences I‘ll cherish forever. I hope they stirred fond memories within you too – or even motivated you to rally some friends for a retro party night blowout! Thanks for reading and let the fun continue!
