Recommendations for DS Action/Platformers

MundaneSoul

I've found that most of my portable playing time of late has consisted of short bursts where I don't have a whole lot of time to spend digging into, say, the dialogue and minutiae of the typical RPG. Therefore I'm looking to pick up a few good action-y games and/or platformers to toy around with when I've only got a little time to spare. I've got the Castlevania games but don't really know where to go from there. Adventure-ish elements are always a plus as long as they don't become too involved.

Advise away, PAers!

ninja edit: Oh, also, I've played Rocket Slime to completion.

LewieP

N+ stat.

Edit: Oh, Contra 4 is rad too.

UncleSporky

Metal Slug 7.

It just came out and we don't have a thread on it! But it's awesome.

MundaneSoul

UncleSporky wrote: »

Metal Slug 7.

It just came out and we don't have a thread on it! But it's awesome.

Ooo, I loves me some Metal Slug. Good on you.

Brainiac 8

Contra 4....it is hard as week old meatloaf though.

Darian

Kirby's Canvas Curse and New Super Mario Bros. are a couple of older games that would be good. Also, Elite Beat Agents is great in short bursts (slightly longer than one song). Though that one can be hard to put back down after you fail and want to try just one more time to get it right...

LewieP

Anything with Kirby on the box is great, I would promote Superstar more than the others though.

Brainiac 8

Professer Layton and the Curious Villiage
Hotel Dusk Room 215

Both of these are fantastic!

Also:

New Super Mario Bros.
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Chrono Trigger DS
Pokemon Ranger 1 & 2

solsovly

The new Spiderman game is supposed to be a good fill of metroidvania with good combat.

solsovly

Brainiac 8 wrote: »

Professer Layton and the Curious Villiage
Hotel Dusk Room 215

Both of these are fantastic!

Also:

New Super Mario Bros.
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Chrono Trigger DS
Pokemon Ranger 1 & 2

Professor Layton is excellent. I found Hotel Dusk boring. Half of those recommendations are not action/platformers and can't really be played in short bursts.

MinionOfCthulhu

Would Rocket Slime count as an action game? I guess you could play it in short bursts. It's damn good either way though.

Brainiac 8

No, Rocket Slime is a really fun RPG lite though.

freakish light

solsovly wrote: »

The new Spiderman game is supposed to be a good fill of metroidvania with good combat.

This. I was surprised it took you guys this long to come up with this recommendation. I mean, one of the main devs posted in this forum to tell us how cool it was and he was right.

The only caveat is that it's a bit short (4-5 hours) but the swinging and combat are so, so good. It's fluid and fast in all the right ways.

At least look up that thread about Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and watch some gameplay videos. You've got to see it in motion.

DeathPrawn

To echo what has already been said, N+, Contra 4, and Metal Slug 7 are 3 simply awesome old-school balls-to-the-wall hard platformers. I haven't actually played Metal Slug 7, but everything I've read about it says it's classic Metal Slug, which is never a bad thing.

Others to consider:
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (have not played it myself, but it is supposed to be EXCELLENT)
New Super Mario Bros.
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Kirby Canvas Curse
Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure (Adventure is better)
Megaman Advent ZX and ZX Advent (have light RPG/story elements)
Yoshi's Island DS (as long as you don't compare it to the original)

LewieP

I always forget, did the Megaman, or indeed Megaman X compilation ever come out either on the GBA or the DS. I would be all over either of them.

Woodroez

if you're willing to go the gba route, you might be able to find some solid games there. the cg- movie based TMNT...might be not horribly rare? We had a thread for it's release, if you want to search for it.

freakish light

DeathPrawn wrote: »

To echo what has already been said, N+, Contra 4, and Metal Slug 7 are 3 simply awesome old-school balls-to-the-wall hard platformers. I haven't actually played Metal Slug 7, but everything I've read about it says it's classic Metal Slug, which is never a bad thing.

Others to consider:
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (have not played it myself, but it is supposed to be EXCELLENT)
New Super Mario Bros.
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Kirby Canvas Curse
Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure (Adventure is better)
Megaman Advent ZX and ZX Advent (have light RPG/story elements)
Yoshi's Island DS (as long as you don't compare it to the original)

I love platformers and I found Yoshi's Island DS severely lacking. It's really finnicky, artificially difficult, and the controls are way off. I traded it on Goozex and never looked back.

Course, I don't remember so I can't give specific points, but I really didn't enjoy that game.

ed: Never played the original, either, so that's not it.

solsovly

Woodroez wrote: »

if you're willing to go the gba route, you might be able to find some solid games there. the cg- movie based TMNT...might be not horribly rare? We had a thread for it's release, if you want to search for it.

GBA has a ton of excellent platformers. Spyro (from the same dev as Spiderman WoS) is excellent... and I don't like the Spyro IP. If you can find it, Ninja Five-O is one of the best action platformers made for any system. Bionic Command + Shinobi go.

Lunker

solsovly wrote: »

Woodroez wrote: »

if you're willing to go the gba route, you might be able to find some solid games there. the cg- movie based TMNT...might be not horribly rare? We had a thread for it's release, if you want to search for it.

GBA has a ton of excellent platformers. Spyro (from the same dev as Spiderman WoS) is excellent... and I don't like the Spyro IP. If you can find it, Ninja Five-O is one of the best action platformers made for any system. Bionic Command + Shinobi go.

If we're talking GBA platformers: You don't want Drill Dozer, you need Drill Dozer. And when you need something, it's a responsibility.

Brainiac 8

Drill Dozer is a great game, and is the only project that GameFreak has been allowed to do that didn't have to do with Pokemon.

MundaneSoul

I couldn't get into the DS Mega Man games. I wanted a classic MM presentation - pick a dude, play his level - and it wasn't like that at all. I mean, it was alright, but...eh...

Glad you all mentioned the new Spider-man, I'd never have caught that one.

B:L

Scurge: Hive is a good game that can be found for really cheap.

It's like isometric-view metroid.

MundaneSoul

B:L wrote: »

Scurge: Hive is a good game that can be found for really cheap.

It's like isometric-view metroid.

Wow, that looks really cool, actually. Anything else obscure out there that I might have overlooked?

solsovly

MundaneSoul wrote: »

B:L wrote: »

Scurge: Hive is a good game that can be found for really cheap.

It's like isometric-view metroid.

Wow, that looks really cool, actually. Anything else obscure out there that I might have overlooked?

I didn't really enjoy Scourge that much, but you may want to look into Lunar Knights: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Knights. It's similar to Boktai for the GBA. I never finished it but enjoyed what I did play.

slash000

New Super Mario Bros --

One of the best Mario games since the NES days, it's a game that stays true to classic 2D marios but incorporates a lot of modern platforming gameplay elements. Take on many varied and fun worlds and bosses using the different platforming maneuvers that Mario has gained throughout the years.

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword -

this is Team Ninja's first game for the Nintendo DS. This is a brilliant and beautiful action game on the system that takes advantage of every aspect of the system. The game is held sideways like a book, which is very comfortable. The gameplay is action-oriented, and as Ryu Hayabusa, you perform all sorts of sword-based ninja attacks and combos, combined with stylistic special moves, acrobatic jumping maneuvers, and throwing shiruken. On top of that, you can progressively unlock new maneuvers to add to the combat, as well as a whole lot of varied and fun Ninja Magic spells, most of which you control the effects and direction of with the stylus. The controls are fantastic and work well with the stylus. The graphics and music are beautiful and run smoothly.

Contra 4 -

a true testament to classic 16-bit Contra gameplay, this game takes inspiration from every excellent 2D Contra game preceding it, and combines it all into one single awesome action game. It's tough as nails but extremely fair. Plus it includes tons of challenges that unlocks tons of bonus content - it also allows you to unlock the original Contra for the NES, and the sequel Super Contra for the NES, too. So it's 3 good games in one, with tons of content and excellent action shooter gameplay.

Metal Slug 7 -

newest portable iteration of the classic series, this game stays true to its arcade roots, doing all the right things with challenge, weapons, character options, and level designs. Great control, graphics/audio, and presentation. Good tough arcadey pick up and play style action game. Recommended for Metal Slug / 2D action/platformer/shooter fans. Caveat: the game lacks a multiplayer mode, and it's also coming out for XBLA at some point (with multiplayer).

N+ -

As a nimble ninja, players must navigate endless rooms hazards and enemies to collect gold before the time limit. It handily awakens gamers’ long dormant 2D platforming skills and, over a gradual difficulty curve, pushes them to the ultimate test. Solid controls, hundreds of new levels. After finishing the hundreds of included levels, you can build your own to challenge yourself and others; or play others' levels for tons of additional content.

Kirby Canvas Curse --

Awesome Nintendo platformer in which you guide Kirby with the stylus by drawing pathways on which he travels. Innovative and addicting, great use of the touchscreen feature and very intuitive to control. With the stylus, protect Kirby from level hazards, draw paths, stun enemies, destroy barriers, detonate bombs and much more. Kirby CC has replay value, it uses the touch and dual-screens brilliantly, it constantly plays with its own elegant control scheme, and, as the icing on the cake, is impeccably presented throughout. Polished and charming platformer that departs from the traditional standards of the genre for something fresh and fun.

Spiderman :

Web of Shadows - although somewhat short (~4 hours), this is a great 2D action game, which combines a surprisingly deep 2D fighting combat system reminiscent of fighting games, within a game structure encouraging exploration and upgrade system (that is, if you choose to learn and take advantage of these aspects). To top it off, it has a very Ninja Five-0 or Bionic Commando-like Swinging mechanic; a sophisticated swing mechanic allowing you to fling yourself through the levels easily and intuitively with the controls. Great spiderman game, recommended for action fans and spiderman fans alike.

Kirby Super Star Ultra -

an expanded remake of the SNES original, Kirby Super Star Ultra is a compilation of a variety of adventures each with their own twist on Kirby gameplay mechanics. Tons of fun small-dose adventures, with plenty more to unlock. Lots of style and variety, and the ability to play multiplayer. New games/modes added over the original.

There are also a lot of pick up and play action games that are not platformers, so I could throw some of those out too if you'd like.

LewieP

slash000 wrote: »

There are also a lot of pick up and play action games that are not platformers, so I could throw some of those out too if you'd like.

Geometry Wars Galaxies comes to mind.

slash000

LewieP wrote: »

slash000 wrote: »

There are also a lot of pick up and play action games that are not platformers, so I could throw some of those out too if you'd like.

Geometry Wars Galaxies comes to mind.

A lot of stuff comes to mind...

Trauma Center: Under the Knife (and Sequel #2) --

this is a game in which you play as a rookie doctor who ultimately becomes amazing at surgery and must help cure a new virus created by a bioterrorist group. You use the stylus as a scalpel and other such medical tools. The game starts out easy, but gets tough quick. Each surgery requires figuring out a cool little trick of sorts in order to perfform well. Listening to your Nurse helps a lot. It's a fun game, but the difficulty can turn some people off.

Geometry Wars Galaxies -

The of the best space-shoot'em-up on the DS, this game takes the already extremely good and popular gameplay of Geometry Wars Retro Evolved and expands it exponentially by providing 60 unique levels, new enemies, and a system of 'Droids' that help you out that you can level up and teach new helper behaviours. This game also includes a 2 player cooperative or versus mode, and it also allows for online leaderboards. To top off this incredible package, you can also unlock the original GeoMetry Wars Retro Evolved in its entirety.

Worms Open Warfare 2 -

arguably the best iteration of "Worms" warfare, action-strategy gameplay. It's straightforward "retro" 2D artillery-heavy action and it can be extremely hard to put down once you get started. Open Warfare 2 doesn't break new gameplay ground for the series, but builds upon and refines the series' trademark gameplay and adds another layer of weapons, modes, and customization - including Laboratory Mode, in which you build your own levels, teams & personalities, and weapon schemes. The game also supports online multiplayer over the Nintendo Wifi and 4 player multi through multiple cart, single cart, and single DS. This is a great pick up and play game and is pretty ideal for a portable game.

Bangai-O Spirits - B

angai-O Spirits provides gamers with addictive shooter gameplay, punishing supermoves and a sensory overload of fireworks onscreen, with strategic and tactical elements and TREASURE’s quirky design style. The game also offers co-op, competitive multiplayer for 1-4 players via local wireless, a powerful level editor tool which allows players to edit in-game levels or create new ones from scratch, and the ability to transfer data among DS systems through sound data. Deep, customizable, strategic shoot'em'up blending puzzle solving and satisfying action.

Space Invaders Extreme:

A vast overhaul to the classic game, Space Invaders Extreme can almost be described as a combination of Lumines and Space Invaders gameplay; the "Pac-Man CE" of Space Invaders. Invaders Extreme takes it all to the next level by injecting a certain energy to it all: a steady rhythm pulses a background beat while trippy motion backgrounds set a dynamic stage. The revamped gameplay adds new layers of depth, including multi-enemy combo hits and chains, and weapons with different effects, and others. Multiplayer modes as well.

Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits -

this is a game that includes arcade perfect ports of tons of classic Konami games. These arcade games are all very well done and have tons of options, and they're all very well geared towards handheld pick-up-and-play gameplay. The game has 15 games, but the best of them are Contra, Gradius, Rush'n'Attack, Time Pilot, Twinbee, Track & Field, and Yie Ar Kung Fu. Tons of options to tweak each game's appearance and controls.

Bleach DS: Blade of Fate (and sequel, Dark Souls) -

this is a 2D fighting game that is designed in the style of Guilty Gear, except that it supports between 2 and 4 players against each other. The game is very combo-centric yet uses a very unique control scheme; to top it off, the touchscreen allows for easy special move execution. The game has arcade and story modes as well as challenge modes, so there's tons to do. Lots of characters with plenty of variety of styles. Can also be played online. The sequel, Dark Souls, has much of the same features, but a lot more content and better balancing.

And I dunno there are the roguelikes and the tower defense games and the racing games. But it doesn't seem like those much fit the bill of the OP other than being (potentially) pick up and play.





also I would have recommended the DS Mega Man games but the OP has already played them.

There's also the Sonic 2D games like Rush and Rush Adventure, but those are only good if you appreciate them for what they are (fast paced platforming with lots of obstacles and bottomless pits)

Lindsay Lohan

Good lord do I love Space Invaders Extreme. I highly recommend it as well. I couldn't really seem to get into Bangai-O - I think my age was showing as it had so much going on at once I couldn't really follow it and get into it.

slash000

Lindsey Lohan wrote: »

Good lord do I love Space Invaders Extreme. I highly recommend it as well. I couldn't really seem to get into Bangai-O - I think my age was showing as it had so much going on at once I couldn't really follow it and get into it.

Bangai-o, it's a weird recommendation because it's hard to explain exactly what it is. The best way I can explain it is that it's a puzzle game and a shmup. A fan of shmups might be disappointed expecting a pure shmup, as there's a lot more thinking and strategizing involved and each level requires a unique strategy (for the most part). There's a big puzzle aspect to it. You can't just take your favorite 2 weapons and dive in head first. You have to play the level first and see what's "there" - what's "there" is the puzzle. You die, you think, "OK, the level/enemies are laid out like this. Therefore.. I think a good way to counter that would be to take this, but for that part I need that." Then go back into the level and try again with a new strategy and see if you can get further. The most satisfying feeling is when you come back with just the right tools that you just totally annihilate the place and come out victorious. So it's really rewarding if you can "figure out" the puzzles. The plus side of the game is that it's nonlinear - you can pick levels in any order. So if you get "stuck on a puzzle," you can skip it and come back later when youv'e got another idea of how to tackle it. Plus, there's a whole section of levels which are entirely puzzle, without much enemies if any. So it really is a puzzle game first, with shmup action inserted as kind part of the puzzle itself. That's not to say that you won't be dodging bullets and shooting guns and sending missiles everywhere; the game has tons of it and it's glorious. Some levels you can in fact just pick your best weapons/shields and play through enemies 'til they're all dead, then hit the reactors for a victory. That's tons of fun as well; but it's usually not the best way to beat the level.

I dunno. It's so unique and crazy, and involves strategy and solving the 'puzzle' aspect as well as flying/blasting/dodging, skin of your teeth victories.. If that can all click for a person, it's a really addicting game, and great for pick up and play, since some levels are short, and there are so freakin' many of them.


But it can also be confusing too if it doesn't click so I can see how someon might not get into it, and that's why it's difficult to recommend just as a general rec.



Space Invaders, love it too :^:

MundaneSoul

Space Invaders looks pretty fun, and I just found Meteos for cheap as well, though I haven't had a chance to play it yet. For the most part I'm going to try to stick more to the action/platformer side of things for the time being, because Castlevania is really scratching my porta-gaming itch.

Xagarath

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is pretty decent, and always seemed to be on the platformer side of things to me.
Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is an ARPG,and surprisingly good in single-player.

Jam Warrior

Kirby Canvas Curse is one of the best things ever made for the DS.

MundaneSoul

Xagarath wrote: »

Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is an ARPG,and surprisingly good in single-player.

Ooo, an ARPG I'd overlooked, thank you!

Brainiac 8

Lindsey Lohan wrote: »

Good lord do I love Space Invaders Extreme. I highly recommend it as well. I couldn't really seem to get into Bangai-O - I think my age was showing as it had so much going on at once I couldn't really follow it and get into it.

I almost bought it, but then I found out they are releasing it on XBLA, so I decided to wait until then, and spent money on another DS game instead.

I just wish they would give me a release date for the XBL version. :x

MundaneSoul

Xagarath wrote: »

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is pretty decent, and always seemed to be on the platformer side of things to me.
Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is an ARPG,and surprisingly good in single-player.

I'm seeing a lot of people saying either solo or multi is the way to go with this game. Which should I start out with if I end up getting it?

Xagarath

MundaneSoul wrote: »

Xagarath wrote: »

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is pretty decent, and always seemed to be on the platformer side of things to me.
Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is an ARPG,and surprisingly good in single-player.

I'm seeing a lot of people saying either solo or multi is the way to go with this game. Which should I start out with if I end up getting it?

Depends if you prefer a plot and an AI party, or a straight dungeoncrawl.
Multi's actually playable single- it just comes across as a diablo type.

MundaneSoul

Xagarath wrote: »

MundaneSoul wrote: »

Xagarath wrote: »

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is pretty decent, and always seemed to be on the platformer side of things to me.
Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is an ARPG,and surprisingly good in single-player.

I'm seeing a lot of people saying either solo or multi is the way to go with this game. Which should I start out with if I end up getting it?

Depends if you prefer a plot and an AI party, or a straight dungeoncrawl.
Multi's actually playable single- it just comes across as a diablo type.

Gotcha. Thanks for the info! Both actually sound pretty fun, so I'll probably end up playing it both ways.