My Favorite Nintendo DS Puzzle Games

When you look at the history of videogames you quickly realize that one company sticks out as having led the industry through innovation. Nintendo resqued the home gaming console industry with the NES. Then they basically formed the portable gaming industry with the Gameboy. Now, they continue to innovate with the Nintendo DS and the WII.

The Nintendo DS has done a lot to save 2D gaming from obsolescence (which would truly be a shame). The DS has also brought gaming to a larger audience, introducing people who fall outside the typical demographic to the art form.

Another thing the Nintendo DS has done is revived puzzle games. When you think about it, it is really the perfect platform for puzzle games. The DS is well suited to grab and go games that you can play in quick burst or marathon sessions alike. With its dual screens and touch screen it is very well adapted to games where a joystick alone would be awkward.

So, what are some of my favorite DS puzzle games? I'm glad you asked:

5. The Humans

I picked this title up fairly recently. This is a very fun co-operative platform puzzler. You control a group of primitive humans, trying to perform various quests in order to get through each of 80 levels. In order to complete the quests, you need to make various characters perform various tasks. For example, to climb up to high ledges you will need to 'stack' your humans by having them stand on eachothers shoulders, until finally one can climb up to the ledge. You will also find tools from primitive times to aid you in your quest, like the wheel, the spear, and fire. I just love games of this type. I wrote a blog entry about co-op puzzle games a few entries back. It's a great concept that makes for a very fun game.

4. Big Brain Academy

Big Brain Academy would of course be classified as a 'brain' game (it's in the title after all). In my opinion it's the most fun of the bunch, with a lot better gameplay than brain age or brain age 2. In Big Brain Academy you take various tests in order to measure the size of your brain. You are tested in five categories: compute, identify, think, memorize, and analyze. There is a good variety to the tests. This is what I would call an action puzzler, as all of the tests are timed, so quick thinking is a must. Action puzzlers are not my favorite kind of puzzle games, but this one makes for a fun burst of gaming.

3. Exit

Exit is another platform puzzle game, with some co-op action as well. I first played Exit on the PSP and had an absolute blast. So, when a DS version came out with different levels, it was a must-buy. In Exit your character must rescue people from each level, leading them to the exit. In order to get there you will first need to make contact with the people you are sent to rescue, and then sometimes you must send them on errands. For example, you might need to send a small child through a small gap (through which only they can fit) in order to push a button to turn on the sprinklers and put out a fire. The elements of this platform puzzler make it a great game, where analysis is the key. The Nintendo DS version isn't quite as fun as on the PSP, but it is definitely worth a try.

2. Crosswords DS, New York Times Crosswords, USA Today Crosswords

For the number two entry on the list I've included the three DS crossword puzzle games I own. The DS is absolutely perfect for crossword puzzles. With the touchscreen for answer entry and the dual screens for showing the clues and puzzle at the same time, it just works out perfectly. I have found that the NYT Crosswords are quite difficult (just like in the paper itself) and I pretty much always need some hints to solve them. Crosswords DS, on the other hand, is a bit on the easy side. I haven't done many of the USA today crosswords, but I think it is somewhere in the middle ground.

1. Professor Layton 1, 2

The Professor Layton series of games (Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage, and Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box) is the perfect use of the DS. These games are a group of puzzles connected by an adventure game type story. You meet various characters on your travels and they give you puzzles to solve. There is a great variety to the puzzles. All the classics are here: sliding block puzzles, tangrams, currency puzzles, mazes, logic puzzles of all kinds, and riddles. If you can think of a type of brain-teaser, it's probably here. I've played the first game of the series all the way through (solving 120 puzzles) and played all the bonus downloadable puzzles (I think there were 20 of those). The only downfall of these games is the lack of replayability, which is why I'm taking professor layton 2 a bit slower, savoring each puzzle.

So, if you are a puzzle freak like me, the Nintendo DS is a good thing. Happy puzzling.

- Ed Williams