Summary
WhichPokemonconsole era was the best? For many, the answer is based on personal exposure and nostalgia, with their first journey to Catch ‘Em All being their favorite. For others, the Game Boy andGBA erasrepresent the franchise’s peak, an understandable argument considering these titles wrote the blueprint defining the concept of aPokemongame, knowledge Game Freak still uses roughly three decades later. However, in terms of both quantity and quality, thePokemon DSgamesare arguably untouchable.
Even ignoring the spin-offs and pairing together the dual releases, the franchise produced five games that are comfortably among the Nintendo DS’s best RPGs. While not reinventing the wheel to the same extent as the 3DS or Switch eras, this console generation perfected the formula cemented byGold and SilverandRuby and Sapphire. ThebestPokemonNintendo DS gamesrepresent the IP at its peak; that said, not everything released for the handheld console was great.
Updated July 07, 2025 by Mark Sammut:The Nintendo DS’s moment in the sun ended a long time ago, but its legacy is written in stone. While far from its only system-sellers, Pokemon’s mainline entries played a huge role in ensuring the handheld console would be remembered for decades.
Every Pokemon Nintendo DS Game (Released In North America)
The Nintendo DS has arguably one of the best lineups ofPokemongames ever, offering quantity, quality, and even variety. Admittedly, not every release was a success story, particularly concerning the spin-offs; however, the franchise at least tried to shake things up by dipping its toes into other genres like strategy and racing. One of those was even quite successful. TheGeneration 4 main gamesare all highly-regarded too.
The following table includes everyPokemonNintendo DS gamereleased in North America. Only two projects (Learn with Pokemon: Typing AdventureandPokemon Card Game: How To Play DS) were not localized, and they have been left out of this discussion since they cannot be analyzed in their natural forms. That said, they are the definition of niche.
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness
Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Pokemon Black and White
Pokemon Black 2 and White 2
Pokemon Dashis one of the more unremarkable releases for the Nintendo DS, at least in concept. It’s essentially aPokemon-themed racing game, with players being able to race against their favorite Generation 3 creatures such as Torchic, Treecko, and Mudkip.
The graphics and sprites for the game are charming; however, it’s weighed down by its repetitive gameplay and the fact that players can only play as Pikachu. The game is also designed around the Nintendo DS’s stylus, with players essentially guiding Pikachu around a track rather than controlling it akin to a kart racer.
Unfortunately,Pokemon Dashis almost impossible to recommend on nearly any level. The gameplay is too simplistic to be interesting beyond a few minutes, and the rest of the package offers very little to make up for its weak core loop.
The counterpart toPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team,which was released exclusively for the Game Boy Advance,Blue Rescue Teamwas released only for the Nintendo DS. The games are practically interchangeable as far as story and playable characters go, with the differences lying in certain creatures players can encounter and recruit in dungeons.
At the time ofRed & Blue Rescue Team’s debuts,Mystery Dungeonwas still a fairly unique entity forPokemonfans, especially Western audiences who might have never heard ofShiren the WandererorChocobo’s Dungeon. As such,Blue Rescue Teambenefited from being the franchise’s first trip into this side world, even if the game was surpassed by its sequels in many ways.
While a decent game by most metrics,Blue Rescue Teamhas arguably aged the worst of all theMystery DungeonDS games; however, it is still charming in its own way.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Darkness&Timehas an enchanting story, unique sprites, lovable characters, and interesting gameplay.Mystery Dungeonis built upon dungeon-crawler gameplay, and the franchise is far more expansive than justPokemon. These spin-offs are among the license’s most famous releases, and they do offer a nice change of pace from the standardPokemonproject.
Despite the pros of the gameplay, these titles are still rather repetitive, particularly during later points in the campaign. If players found themselves under-leveled or stuck, it would take massively repetitive grinding for them to catch up to where they needed to be. Ultimately,Explorers of Darkness & Timedoes not do enough to differentiate itself from otherMystery Dungeongames, resulting in an experience that is hard to recommend when there are simply better options available. That said, fans who enjoy the spin-off series’ other releases are likely to have fun.
The thirdPokemon Rangerinstallment saw the spin-off series stagnate to an extent. That said, the entry introduced a few improvements to the gameplay style, such as adding ridable legendary creatures and a time-traveling mechanism that allowed for multiplayer. However, its story is fairly weak, and thelegendary Pokemondo not add much to the experience.
The feature inShadows of Almiathat allowed players to change their partner Pokemon between a wide variety of obtainable creatures was taken away in this sequel. It was an unnecessary backward step in a subseries that did not have much forward momentum. Compared to previous console generations,Pokemonarguably sat on its laurels a bit too often during the Nintendo DS era, and this was most apparent in the spin-offs that seemed to barely bring anything new to the plate.
The first installment in thePokemon Rangerseries is the most critically successful, at least according to Metacritic. However, it is not necessarily the best overall package in the series. Still, it introduced the concept of playing not as a trainer or another Pokemon, but as a Ranger set on maintaining peace throughout the region and saving wild Pokemon that have been put in harm’s way.
There isn’t much flexibility in the partner Pokemon that players can have; they can only choose between a Plusle and Minun depending on which gender they choose for their protagonist. However, the circle-drawing gameplay style that allowed players to capture the friendship of wild Pokemon was revolutionary for the franchise. This mechanic couldn’t have been done on the Game Boy Advance, as the Nintendo DS was the first console to introduce a touchscreen.
ThePokemon Mystery Dungeonseriesis just generally not well-regarded by critics, with most of the entries getting middling reviews at best. However, they obviously have their fans, and if someone likes one entry, they will probably enjoy most of the others.Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Skyis a classic example of a game that didn’t receive the most love from critics, but has become a favorite for many fans in the community.
The improved version ofExplorers of Darkness & Timebrought enough new ideas to the plate to justify its existence, and newcomers should pick this game above its predecessors. The additions include several new playable creatures, playable special episodes, new items, exclusive dungeons, and minor tweaks to the tear-jerking story. Speaking about the latter, this entry has the best story in the series. While that might not seem like that big of a deal for the franchise, theMystery Dungeongames are more story-driven than the main series, andExplorers of Skyis one of the fewPokemongamesthat is primarily worth playing for its narrative.
Pokemon Trozei!is a puzzle game that is very similar toTetrisandYoshi’s Cookiewhen it comes to gameplay. Blocks with the faces of different Pokemon will fall from the top of the screen, but only the last row can be moved and matched with the ones above it.
It is a relaxing experience, similar toPokemon Pinball.Trozeiis a fine option for players who aren’t that fond of the mainstream series of games or just want something to play in between more time-consuming projects. While perfectly playing, the spin-off is unlikely to appeal to anyone besides die-hardPokemonfans.
Shadows of Almiais the second game in thePokemon Rangerseries. The title made several improvements to its predecessor’s story, which was a bit lacking in this regard. This included setting the protagonist as a teenager studying to be a Pokemon Ranger, which many kids and young adults playing the game could relate to.
Despite the improvements,Shadows of Almiakept the gameplay mostly the same, albeit with the important addition of being able to swap out partner Pokemon. Still, the lack of innovation was disappointing since it seemed like a missed opportunity. While fans of the original release should check this out,Shadows of Almiawon’t impress anyone who did not care for the first game.
Pokemon Conquestwas the first and only attempt by Game Freak’s franchise to try its hand at the strategy genre, with the spin-off introducing a unique storyline as well as a fresh turn-based battle system. Players moved different creatures across the battlefield, encountering enemies as well as harmful field hazards along the way.Pokemon Conquestis an incredibly fleshed-out game, with the main story taking roughly 15 hours to beat. There’s also a plethora of post-game missions for players to beat.
Although not everything about this peculiar diversion hits the mark,Pokemon Conquestwas a very good first effort to push the franchise in a tactical RPG direction similar to something likeDisgaea. Along with being a fun pick for die-hard fans, the game works well as an entry-level option due to its relatively low difficulty and somewhat goofy nature, making it a good pick for youngPokemonfans who are interested in trying a tactics project.
The first mainstreamNintendo DSPokemongameswereDiamond & Pearl.For many players, these entries were their introduction to the franchise, giving them deep sentimental value for all who played them in their childhood. They brought quite a few new things to the plate, such as Wi-Fi support, move classes, expanded evolutions, a jump to 3D, and the Poketch. The core loop remained mostly the same, butDiamond & Pearloffered more than just a fresh coat of paint.
Generation 4 was critically praised for its immersive story, smooth graphics, incredible soundtrack, and memorable characters that players met along their journey through the Sinnoh region. These games have developed a somewhat weird reputation over the years, being well-regarded but not extremely highly rated. As the first mainline DS entries,Diamond & Pearlwere unsurprisingly massive, and they kept thePokemontrain rolling by delivering solid, if unspectacular adventures. By this point, the franchise had become a source of comfort for many people, and these entries helped introduce that aspect to a new generation.
However,Diamond & Pearljust seem slow compared to both earlier and subsequent games. So many things feel like they take a second longer than they should, and the story is structured in a way that makes it feel repetitive.
