April 7, 2010 -
Nintendo's DSi went on sale in the States one year ago this week. 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 one year ago. 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 for most of this past year, 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 in this new list of the best of the best. We've gone back over our thoughts and opinions on every DSiWare download released through the past 12 months, and we've compiled this list of our Top 10 picks for the service. These are the games that are guaranteed hits -- well worth your time and money, and certain not to disappoint. So let's dive in, see what DSiWare's had to offer in its first year, and hope for an even more robust lineup through Year 2.
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 the first spot on our countdown.
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