Summary
Square Enix absolutely killed it on the DS. The system was full of RPGs, both turn-based and action, with many of the best coming from Square Enix. A lot of them were never released overseas unfortunately such as two remakes in theSaGaseries or an interesting RTS game calledBlood of Bahamut.
Then there were the oddball games likeMario Hoops 3-on-3which was a basketball game starring Mario and pals. SomeFinal Fantasyicons appeared in it as well like Moogles. These are all worth noting in Square Enix’s history but none of them crack the top eight. Let’s instead look at the DS games from Square Enix that everyone should play if they haven’t already.
Front Missionwasa DS port of the original game that was released only in Japan for the SNES. It’s not a remake as not a lot of the graphics were redone, but it does look good on a DS screen. The DS was seemingly built to support great tactical RPGs and RPGs in general for players who like to multitask things. Being able to customize mechs is one of the better aspects of the gameplay although the intense strategy maps are engaging too. It was a relief to get this over a decade later and now there is a full-on remake for modern consoles too.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fateswas the first sequel to the GameCube game that started it all. It’s arguably on a better platform too because the multiplayer for this did not require a lot of hoops to jump through. On GameCube, all four players needed aGame Boy Advance and a link cableto play whereas the DS’ internal features made multiplayer a synch. The gameplay was more of the same wherein players could wander around dungeons and fight enemies with action combat. The Miasma breaking bucket was not a problem anymore which made gameplay flow better.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Riftwas another greatFinal Fantasygame for the DS. It, like the twoprevious Ivalice games, was not a straight sequel. The story followed a new cast of characters although the art style was definitely closer to the GBA game rather than the PS1 original which was darker.
One of the more problematic features that irked some players in that GBA game was the Judges and their strict rules.Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rifthad that same addictive tactical gameplay without the need for strict rules which made some enjoy it more.
5Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Metacritic Score: 83
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slimeis one of the wilder spinoffs in this series. It’s the second in a trilogy with the other two remaining exclusive to the Japan region. Players controlled the iconic Slime monster and traversed dungeons to help rebuild his town. The movement was mostly controlled using the stylus to make the Slime hero stretch and bounce into enemies. It’s a lighthearted adventure with some clever writing from the puns to the actual story and it is a shameDragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slimewas the only one that crossed over.
Final Fantasy 4was one of twoFinal Fantasyremakes on the DS. The other wasFinal Fantasy 3which was also a first for the West. While that’s another fine remake,Final Fantasy 4stands above it as a classic. The remake redid the graphics, making everything look like a low-polygonal PS1 game. It added voices for iconiccharacters like Ceciland also helped balance some of the difficulty. It’s still one of the more challenging entries though.
Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skieswas a big first for the series on two fronts. It was the first mainline game in the franchise to launch exclusively on a portable system. It was also the first game to feature true co-op.
Up to four players could connect their DS systems together to run around or fight turn-based battles. The online connectivity predated the 3DS’ SpotPass system, which worked virtually the same. Probably the most addictive thing about the game though was the class system, which was referred to as Vocations.
The World Ends With Youwas an experimental game and on that front, it’s probably Square Enix’s best original work on the DS. Players controlled the hero, Neku, on the bottom screen using the stylus. On the top screen, they controlled his partner, which changed from mission to mission, using the D-Pad. It was hard to master at first but thankfully there were options to lessen the strain of the top screen. The music was also a standout as the soundtrack was composed mostly of original Japanese pop and hip-hop.
Chrono Triggeron the DS was a redemption for Square Enix. While fans enjoyed the PS1 port as part of theFinal Fantasy Chroniclescollection on PS1, which included new anime cutscenes, they didn’t like the load times. The loads were fixed on DS, mirroring the lightning-fast speeds from the SNES original. Chrono Trigger was a miracle project in the 90s and it was even more miraculous that Square Enix listened to fans and re-released it in its best form. Unfortunately, this was the last modern port of it to consoles or portables but that does not lessen the game proper in any way.
