Before phones overtook gaming on the go, the Nintendo DS ruled portable play. Its quirky dual screens and touch controls made for innovations that blew our middle school minds. But the DS arguably made its biggest impact as a party game paradise. Thanks to wi-fi downloads and local connections, playing wirelessly with friends was a breeze. And the system‘s diverse library made it easy to bounce between quick-burst minigame collections to lengthy board game adaptations perfect for livening up sleepovers and kickbacks alike.
In this guide, we‘ll revisit the 10 definitive Nintendo DS party classics guaranteed to keep gatherings exciting even in 2023. I‘ve been crashing parties with my DS since getting one for my 12th birthday, so consider these must-have recommendations for reigniting multiplayer magic!
So What Exactly is a Party Game Anyway?
Simply put – video games purpose built for groups instead of solo gamers; designed to shine most when enjoyed out loud among friends and family. They emphasize pick-up-and-play simplicity since rules need to be quickly conveyed to newcomers. Rounds are snappy allowing for frequent player rotation. And competition takes a backseat to laughter – wacky concepts and hijinks are more important than skill progression systems.
The Nintendo DS‘s groundbreaking hardware made it THE ultimate party machine thanks to features like:
- Dual screens for asymmetric party perspectives
- Intuitive touch controls quickly grasped by anyone
- Local wi-fi linking up groups instantly
And with over 154 million systems sold, nearly everyone had their own DS making multiplayer accessibility universal in the late 2000s!
Let‘s see which genius party experiences still have what it takes to steal the show at your next get-together!
10. New Super Mario Bros (Publisher: Nintendo, 2006)
We have to kick things off with Mario‘s side-scrolling multiplayer mayhem unleashed through NSMB on DS! Up to 4 players guide their mini Marios through levels fraught with enemies and obstacles. Teamwork cruising through levels quickly gets replaced by sabotage tactics like tossing each other into piranha plants once you near the flagpole finish. Surprise attacks mixing cooperation and betrayal kept competition lively!
I still have vivid memories of my sister and I "working together" by throwing fireballs only to bounce each other into pits at the last second to snag first place. Much betrayal, very wow!
The on-the-fly multiplayer also made NSMB an awesome quick fix at parties once everyone‘s sick of the latest Just Dance round. Pass a single cartridge locally and get a 4-player race going immediately – no extra downloads needed! Approachable platfomer fun with massively multiplayer appeal.
9. Mario Kart DS (Publisher: Nintendo, 2005)
Mario Kart defines Nintendo multiplayer madness – making Mario Kart DS a must-have title for local wireless battles! Customizable Grand Prix circuits, balloon-popping arenas, mission modes – MKDS perfected exciting single player quests with tournaments screaming for competition against friends munching snacks just feet away.
Fear the player whose banana peels and red shells lead the pack early…for they show no mercy once in sight of the finish line!
Nintendo packed even more mayhem into Mario Kart DS through local multiplayer support for a whopping 8 players – the perfect number for escalating tensions at big bashes! Customizing karts added personal flair too while the responsive drifting ensured skill still reigned. Console-quality karting made ultra-portable.
8. Jenga World Tour (Publisher: Atari, 2007)
Jenga seems almost too slow paced for parties upon first glance. But translate tense block stacking into a wobbly tower on the DS touchscreen and it becomes an addicting party staple! Your stylus becomes the instrument of tower construction…or absolute demolition!
World Tour wisely keeps Jenga‘s core "touch blocks gently then pray they don‘t fall" loop intact while introducing hilarious hazards like oblivious pool party swimmers knocking pieces loose. The added stress of affecting other player‘s turns through careful block extraction or reckless sabotage creates laughs and curses in equal measure!
It became a party favorite thanks to tense roundsakable in just minutes – perfect for quick play sessions between other activities. Newcomers grok controls instantly too while veterans puzzle out how to extract precarious pieces. Highly recommended for fans of physical party games like Twister!
7. Crash Boom Bang (Publisher: Sierra, 2006)
The chaos Twin Sanity brought to consoles came crashing onto DS with Crash Boom Bang – a digital board game packing 40 quirky minigames perfect for parties prizing both personality and quick bursts of competition!
Playing as Crash Bandicoot icons like Polar, Coco or other Tazmanian tormenters, you race around the board collecting fruit and coins to win. But just like Mario Party, the real fun is the zany minigame detours challenging reflexes, precision and even MP appropriate gross-out humor!
As a huge Crash fan, I loved the fan service bringing signature weird weapons and animals into quirky quick-hitters ideal for parties. The "Motion Panel Communicator" also let me troll fellow competitors through silly scribbled messages – perfect distraction during tense competitions!
6. Faceez (Publisher: Faceez Inc, 2009)
Cameras transformed DS models like the DSi into virtual photo booths perfect for multiplayer mayhem via Faceez‘s real-time image manipulation tools. Snapping pics then instantly mutating faces made for side-splitting simian shenanigans!
The Playground mode already brings avid giggles as you distort appearance with giant ears, teeny mouths and other tweakables. But the Laugh Battles STEAL SHOWS at parties when players privately mangle pics before passing systems to showcase their handiwrapped handywork!
Every new portrait doodle elicited roars during my slumber parties once the wiggly nose or flame hair revealed themselves. And trying to one-up each other through increasingly absurd animations left cheeks sore from smiling!
5. LOL: Never Party Alone (Publisher: Skip Ltd, 2007)
If you‘ve ever played Telephone, imagine a remix swapping phrases for feverish scribbling contests centered on wacky images. That‘s LOL – essentially digital Pictionary on a tight timer for eliciting Maximum laughs through questionable art skills!
Players get mere seconds to visually depict a caption or phrase corresponding to a random prompt image. Your efforts fuel escalating guesses and guffaws galore as collective comprehension of just what your artistic atrocities attempted depicting slowly dawns on the group! It then repeats with another player‘s even crappier drawings!
I‘ve laughed ‘til it hurt over my friend‘s 5-year-old sister drawing then attempting to decipher wonky renditions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles riding unicorns. The shared struggle through collective visual confusion creates incredible group bonding!
4. Hasbro Family Game Night (Publisher: EA, 2008)
My most vivid DS party memories come from wirelessly linking multiple systems to enjoy digital adaptations of popular Hasbro board games in Family Game Night. It offered both traditional offline modes AND amped-up "remix" variants scaling intensity for larger gatherings!
Sorry! got reimagined through block-pushing puzzles while Yahtzee‘s got dual-screen enhancements highlighting key scoring combos. Even Battleship received explosive tweaks when depth charges sank flotillas instantly! The quick bursts, familiar foundations yet fresh unpredictability made Family Game Night THE ultimate party games collection!
It became my favorite way of starting off birthday parties and sleepovers – connecting wirelessly for raucous round robins then passing DS systems around between events. Perfect for setting the mood whether among besties or distant cousins suffering forced bonding!
3. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Publisher: Ubisoft, 2008)
Rayman‘s original DS debut unleashed over 200 quick-hit minigames onto handhelds showcasing Nintendo‘s unique talents. While fun solo, the multiplayer madhouse sequel Raving Rabbids 2 turned parties into full-scale riots!
The Rabbids wraith would have melted weaker systems – up to 8 players passed DS systems around locally to milk mayhem from timing-based farm animal imitation contests, rapid-fire soda chugging through button mashing and even just sitting silently while bees attack! So much zany novelty packed into infectious bite-sized bursts!
Presentation elevated RR2‘s party pedigree as well thanks to delightfully absurd visuals and audio perfectly complementing the anarchic action. That instant accessibility combined with remarkable depth if wanted made this THE modern minigame compilation classic for unforgettable gatherings!
2. Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll (Publisher: Sega, 2006)
Super Monkey Ball always demanded equal parts precision tilting and split-second reactive twitches – making stylus swiping and gyro controls of Touch & Roll on DS ideal incarnations for Manic marathon party sessions!
The core gameplay loop of guiding monkeys trapped inside balls to the goal by rolling along winding paths remained fully intact. But Touch and Roll built out single-player depth with tiered goals and scores for the highest skill ceiling fans could want.
Of course multiplayer shined brightest as friends attempted to out-maneuver each other through dash panel-packed courses filled with narrow paths and devious obstacles. Swapping between the stylus Roll mechanic and mid-air gyro Ball steering kept advanced techniques ever-evolving as well in the quest for perfect runs!
1. Mario Party DS (Publisher: Nintendo, 2007)
Over 74 skill-testing minigames across 5 creative boards with interactive themes, Mario Party DS reigns supreme as the definitive DS party experience – an instant recommendation for game night excitement!
Quick-hitting minigame gauntlets test split-second reflexes while longer competitive soirees on boards like the fantasy-themed Neon Heights betrayal looms at every dice roll or bonus square thanks to backstabbing lane-switching gambits!
Solo and team challenges add tons of replay options for customizing festivities around any gathering‘s mood too! Combined with Mario‘s infectious cheer as your "party host",adorable visuals and catchy audio, Mario Party DS is easily the most flexible and enjoyable digital shindig organizer period when it‘s time to get friends and family amped!
Ultimate Party Game Honorable Mentions
While we‘ve covered the 10 tentpole portable party titles, the DS library hides even more offbeat multiplayer magic worth spotlighting too including Warioware DIY (make your own microgames!), Flash Focus (fast-paced visual memory matches), and even Cooking Mama (whip up digital grub as a team)!
The system‘s creativity and approachability enabled tons of variety ensuring fresh concepts popped up years after launch. There‘s almost TOO many overlooked party gems which is why the DS remains my go-to icebreaker all these years later!
Let‘s Keep This Party Going!
The dual screen revolution clearly sparked a creative party gameINFERNO enabling timeless social gameplay innovation that hold up over a decade later! While modern phones prioritize sleekness over tactile controls and disparate platforms hinder crossplay capabilities, I still break out my DS anytime it‘s time to liven the mood thanks to its diverse party staples ready for instant fun!
| Game | Players | Key Multiplayer Modes | Control Scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Super Mario Bros | 1-4 | Co-Op & Vs Platforming | Platforming + Sabotage |
| Mario Kart DS | 1-8 | Balloon Battle Shine Runners | Kart Racing |
| Jenga World Tour | 1-6 | Pass & Play | Touchscreen |
| Crash Boom Bang | 1-4 | 40 Minigames | Varied |
And thanks to system durability that puts newer hybrids to SHAME, plus robust backwards compatibility and emulation options, the portable party hopefully never ends!
Do you have fond memories linking up wirelessly for DS download play sessions? Or staying up way too late sabotaging sibling developing towers? Let me know which DS party favorites I missed! I‘d love to hear your top picks for keeping weekends social and spirited well into 2023 and beyond!
