Nintendo's DSi went on sale in the States over two years ago now. The system, which was the third revision of the DS hardware to be made available in America, stuck pretty close to its predecessors in overall design - two screens, touch-based control, a microphone, a clamshell construction - while making some tweaks and additions too, like bumping up the size of the screens and including a couple of small digital cameras. Perhaps the biggest new addition, though, wasn't a visible change in the system itself. It was in the software. It was the DSi Shop.
Taking inspiration from the WiiWare service on the company's home console, Nintendo launched the DSiWare downloadable games service on the same day as the DSi system shipped to stores. The new format, which allows you to download digital-only exclusive games from a virtual storefront on the handheld, positioned Nintendo's portable in more direct competition and comparison against some other options for getting games on the go - and competition is always good for the consumer.
While DSiWare as a whole has certainly flown under the radar through these past two years, those players paying attention have had access to some truly great game designs. And, if you're just tuning in yourself, we're here to help elevate the notoriety of those efforts with this list of the best of the best. We've gone back over our thoughts and opinions on every DSiWare download released through the past 24 months, and we've compiled this list of our Top 15 picks for the service. These are the games that are guaranteed hits - well worth your time and money, and certain not to disappoint.
What's more, Nintendo's upcoming 3DS eShop is set to go live very soon - maybe even by the end of this month. When it does, these games will go on sale on that system as well, and you'll also be able to transfer any you've already purchased on your older DSi to your newer 3DS.
So let's dive in, see what DSiWare's had to offer in its first two years, and hope for an even greater selection of original downloadable titles as the next era dawns.
Publisher: Tetris Online Inc. | Developer: Tetris Online Inc.
Release Date: November 22, 2010 | Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Kicking off our countdown is DSiWare's resident Tetris game. Nintendo handhelds have gone hand-in-hand with the addictive puzzle action of Tetris since the game served as the pack-in title for the very first Game Boy, and it's just understood that you should have some way to spin, shift and build lines of falling blocks on every Big N portable that comes along.
Tetris Party Live offers up that classic line-clearing gameplay in a variety of ways, from the traditional Marathon mode to a variety of multiplayer options - including support for online play over Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection. It's quite a lot of value for a five-dollar investment, and we're happy to promote it as the beginning of our Top 15.
(Online play - goodness. We've come a long way since those bulky old Game Boy link cables.)
Publisher: Nintendo | Developer: NST
Release Date: June 8, 2009 | Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Much of DSiWare's early first-party lineup from Nintendo consisted of the "Express" series, a branding that was given to a wide array of digital re-releases that had been carved out of old cartridge games. Brain Age Express, Master of Illusion Express, Clubhouse Games Express - the "Express" name got old pretty quickly, and we were already getting disillusioned with DSiWare as a whole just a few months in. Then, Nintendo announced Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! - and the concern continued. Would this just be another rehash, this time from the 2006 DS release Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2?
Well, no. That wasn't the case. While this new sequel in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series does look and play similarly to the game that came before it, it is indeed its own design - with its own set of unique, new puzzle challenges where Nintendo's main mascot must guide a legion of little Mini-Mario wind-up toys through obstacle-filled stages and safely into an exit door. The concept was inventive when it was first used in March of the Minis, and fits perfectly within the smaller scope of DSiWare here - picking up and playing a level or two at a time, without having to swap in a cartridge, feels great.
Minis March Again! also manages to trump its predecessor in its depth of customization, as its included level editor supports saves of over 15 times more user-created stages than MvDK2 did. So while the first few months of first-party DSiWare had us feeling a little wary, Mario and Donkey Kong helped settle our fears enough to earn a spot on our countdown.
Publisher: WayForward Technologies | Developer: WayForward Technologies
Release Date: June 1, 2009 | Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
One of the first, fresh, exclusive game designs to hit DSiWare and not be a port of an old product or a carved-out chunk of a previous cartridge release, Mighty Flip Champs! burst onto the scene early in the new download service's existence and quickly established itself as one of the first must-have games in the DSi Shop. You might say it caused us all to flip out.
Controlling the young magic-wielding, wand-carrying wizardess Alta, Mighty Flip Champs! challenged you to solve puzzles in a completely new and unique way -- by "flipping" through dimensions. Your character appeared up on the top screen, and could walk and climb ladders to move around the space there - but, all the while, a reflection of her position was also being projected down on the touch screen. Then, at any time, you could "flip" Alta into that next page - totally transforming the environment around here. Sound crazy? It was, and still is - because this one's a challenging enough puzzler that even Day 1 purchasers probably still have a few of its levels left unsolved.
Mighty Flip Champs! also marked the DSiWare development debut of WayForward Technologies, a studio that has since gone on to deliver another of the best DSiWare releases -- Shantae: Risky's Revenge - and is set to debut a third major hit soon, with Mighty Milky Way. No doubt its release will force us to have to update this countdown again sometime in the future.
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