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Discontent

Member
May 25, 2018
4,232
I miss having games that worked as companion pieces or even standalone entries. These games complemented home console games and expanded the franchises; they were sometimes even better than the console entries. Pretty much every major handheld console had these types of games but I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be a Neo Geo Pocket thread lol. I also miss having a companion console with its own unique library like what the GBA was to the GameCube, the DS to the Wii and PSP to PS2 and to some extent the PS3 etc. The Switch has plenty of good games and maybe even some that otherwise would have been on a traditional Nintendo handheld but if I'm playing the Switch I'm gonna be playing the biggest games (most likely docked) cause there's too many of em lol.

Metal Gear Solid
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Loved this game to death. The campaign was strong but I think the game really shined in its VR missions; there were well over a hundred of them.

Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
Ninja_Gaiden_Dragon_Sword.jpg


Who would've thought a 3D entry in a franchise that was as prestigious as Ninja Gaiden would work so well on a DS with its stylus? But this game is legit amazing.

I'm not really looking for ports like Persona 3 Portable. What I'm talking about are games in the same vein as Links Awakening, the God of War games on the PSP or even Super Mario 3D Land but that you feel aren't talked about much.
 

citrusred

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,961
220px-Summon_Night_-_Swordcraft_Story_Coverart.png
220px-Summon_Night_-_Swordcraft_Story_2_Coverart.png
340


While I never played any of the SRPG mainline entires the Summon Night: Swordcraft story games were great fun with neat stories and combat that was like a tales game with one party member. Unfortunately we never got the third game in the series.
 

blonded

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,128
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days was a great DS Kingdom Hearts game that I feel is always overlooked
 

Ombala

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,239
There's a FF12 version on DS I think?
Played it years ago had no idea it existed
 

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
The Megaman games on GB were largely reworked remixes of the NES games, but Megaman V is a wholly original game with it's own theme of stardroids based on the planets in the solar system, and it's great. One of the best 8-bit games in the series.


Same goes for the GB version of Bionic Commando with it's anime sci-fi art instead.


I'd recommend both to anyone with a 3DS, grab them on the VC.

There are some great portable licensed games too:
Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars on 3DS that is essentially an Xcom-style turn-based tactics game.
Spider-man: Web of Shadows on DS, that is a Metroidvania rather than a 3D action game.
Thor on DS, that is a 2D brawler with some cool pixel art and massive bosses.
Aliens: Infestation on DS, that is like a cross between Contra and Metroid (leaning heavily towards the former).
Endwar on DS/PSP is a hex-based Advance Wars-style game and completely different to the main release.
 
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Magog

Banned
Jan 9, 2021
561
I tried the Metal Gear mobile games but they didn't really live up their potential. Current handhelds are so much more capable they can deliver much better experiences. I don't miss the days of bespoke mobile experiences with cut back controls and gameplay.
 

Hexa

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,728
Not sure if they count, but the gb/gbc/gba Harry Potter games were much better than the console versions.
 

kurahador

Member
Oct 28, 2017
17,502
Ubisoft did this alot back then. Though the best one they did was Ghost Recon Shadow Wars for 3DS --- it's a turn based strategy.

My personal favorite though is Acid 2, this one is a card game:
MGA2_box.jpg
 

KaiPow

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,116
Resident Evil Gaiden, if only because it accurately simulates how hard it is to aim a gun while on a boat.
 

9-Volt

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,866
I quite liked my time with Assassin's Creed Altaïr Chornicles. Sure, it's a non open world, very lite version of the real deal but it had a brand new story and a setting and the platforming and combat were not bad at all. Gameloft did a really good job with this one:

assassins-creed-altairs-chronicles-20080130042943701_1202350896.jpg
 

Kazooie

Member
Jul 17, 2019
5,008
I think naming nintendo games here is pretty boring because their handheld games are pretty consistently amazing. Sonic had a bunch of really good portable games (Pocket Adventure, the Advance games, the Rush games, Colours, Generations, Lost World and the Boom games; notably, the Boom games are pretty good, as opposed to the console game). Rayman (GBC), Rayman 2 (GBC), Rayman 3 (GBA) and Rayman Raving Rabbids (GBA) were also pretty great. The first two GBA Crash Bandicoots were imo better than the PS1 games and Crash of the Titans on DS was at least better than the console game of that name (and an actual platformer). Toy Story 3 for PSP is better than the main game from my perspective (later ported to PS2 though), Resident Evil Revelations is my favourite Resident Evil. Monkey Ball Banana Splitz on PS Vita is the best Monkey Ball since 2. Banjo Gruntys Revenge is probably the only good fixed perspective approximative 3D platformer ever made (often called isometric, but technically not isometric).
 

Alias03

Member
Oct 27, 2017
146
Without putting a ton of thought into it some of the first games that come to mind were LittleBigPlanet Vita, Killzone Mercenaries (Vita), Killzone Liberation (PSP), Daxter (PSP)
 

Tortillo VI

Member
May 27, 2018
1,950
Ace Combat X and X-2 on PSP are some of the best games on the console for me. Killer soundtracks like if they were a mainline game and not huge technical sacrifices over the PS2 titles (30fps and less units on screen but that's it).
 

Tokyo_Funk

Banned
Dec 10, 2018
10,053
Resistance Liberation - PSP was actually a really decent shooter and worthy of the franchise. Except the gimmick of needing the PS3 Resistance 2 game to link the PS3 controller to it. That was kinda dodgy.

GG Shinobi 2 - Game Gear : One of the best games in the series and a solid portable game. Not enough people got around to this one, very rarely hear people talk about it outside of hardcore SEGA fanpages/YT channels

Ninja Gaiden : Dragon Sword - DS. OP already mentioned, but yeah this is a really good "Ninja Gaiden Lite". Has lots of the moves/gameplay of the XBox game tightened to fit on the DS.
 

shadowman16

Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,801
Capcom's got a nice few here and there:
Bionic Commando got a GBC game that takes the basic premise of the NES game and then made a GBC exclusive spinoff. If you like classic BC gameplay, its worth tracking down.

Ultimate Ghosts n Goblins was a long time coming sequel to the GnG series that'd be mainly dormant for many a year. But its a fairly well known game comparatively speaking - so what about Ultimate GnG Kai that was released in Asia? Its the same basic game as Ultimate GnG but it its main mode tweaks the game design so that you are back to having fixed check points, and only two hits worth of damage before you die - the upshot is that there are less enemies in levels, and enemy spawning is drastically reduced to compensate. The shitty ring fetch quest for the best ending is axed, in their place is a slightly harder second run through of the game (with the witch boss fight placed between the first and second runs). So basically - it refines and improves upon the original Ultimate GnG giving me a much more fun and balanced game. And as a bonus, the original version of the game is available in Kai as well, if you'd rather play that version.

Sticking with GnG, did you know it got a Wonderswan version/sequel? Its a pretty decent game as well, all things considered. I've not finished it yet, but if you want more GnG, its well worth tracking down.

And sticking with the Wonderswan - Mega Man got two of them - Rockman and Forte (which despite its name, IS NOT a port of the Super Famicom game but rather an all new sequel) and Rockman.exe

RM&F is pretty garbage though. Its got all new bosses and levels (fear the mighty Compass Man!) and honestly, its hard to say anything positive about it. It looks bad, sounds bad, plays bad.

Rockman.exe though is way better. Its not an RPG but a platformer like Network Transmission on the Gamecube. It sorta takes inspiration from the first two EXE games - each main level of the game will have a point where the path diverges - one path goes up, the other down. Depending which path you take, takes you to a completely different area and is themed around a specific navi. At the end of each path you get a unique boss fight against a net navi. Clear the game by beating Life Virus and you can then replay the game and if you take alternate routes on each level (basically - make sure you beat each unique navi) you'll get a real final boss after the Life Virus - Gospel. And then if you can clear the hardest survival/boss rush mode you can fight Forte. Only thing that lets it down a bit is the controls and sound. But well worth a look.

Stepping away from Capcom, and over to my other favourite series - Yakuza, I'd be silly to not mention that the PSP got two brilliant Yakuza spinoffs that remain exclusive to the system to this day:

Kurohyou 1&2 are games that follow the delinquent Tatsuya as he gets caught up in a war between the Tojo Clan, shady government conspiracies, and even an east vs west fight between Kanto and Kansai fighters.
Content wise, its Yakuza - Kamurocho is in both games, Sotenbori returns for the sequel, tons of mini games that you have come to expect from the series as well as new gambling games, part time jobs (dream no more of being a bouncer for Club Shine or working at Smile Burger!), combat wise its done by the same team that handled Def Jam Vendetta/Fight For New York (and it translates to Yakuza incredibly well), excellent soundtracks, and interesting plots that use a cool animated comic book style as opposed to full blown FMV cutscenes.
Its really impressive just how much is crammed onto the system - especially the sequel. And fights run in 60FPS! If you want Yakuza on the go, these are the best choices available!

Same goes for the GB version of Bionic Commando with it's anime sci-fi art instead.

Its a really overlooked gem, in my opinion - I was expecting it to basically be a GB port of the NES game but to my surprise it was its own thing - clearly taking the NES game as inspiration but not outright copying it level for level. I still remember how badly the last level kicked my ass - that bit where your grappling from rocket booster to rocket booster, with a bottomless pit under you... took me many a try to clear!
 

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,474
Mega Man V on the game boy:

vb1MfLJ.jpg


Totally unique, not a NES port, and better than most of the NES games.

Lufia : The Legend Returns on the game boy color:

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Had a cool unique battle system

Dragon Warrior Monsters on the game boy color:

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It's the best non-pokemon monster trainer game ever made, and is better than many pokemon games too.

Donkey Kong 94 on the gameboy:

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Better than almost any other game with DK in the title (I prob like DKC2/3 more, that's about it).

Blaster Master on the game boy color:

bN1lcge.jpg


Good followup to the NES version.
 
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Discontent

Discontent

Member
May 25, 2018
4,232
I think naming nintendo games here is pretty boring because their handheld games are pretty consistently amazing. Sonic had a bunch of really good portable games (Pocket Adventure, the Advance games, the Rush games, Colours, Generations, Lost World and the Boom games; notably, the Boom games are pretty good, as opposed to the console game). Rayman (GBC), Rayman 2 (GBC), Rayman 3 (GBA) and Rayman Raving Rabbids (GBA) were also pretty great. The first two GBA Crash Bandicoots were imo better than the PS1 games and Crash of the Titans on DS was at least better than the console game of that name (and an actual platformer). Toy Story 3 for PSP is better than the main game from my perspective (later ported to PS2 though), Resident Evil Revelations is my favourite Resident Evil. Monkey Ball Banana Splitz on PS Vita is the best Monkey Ball since 2. Banjo Gruntys Revenge is probably the only good fixed perspective approximative 3D platformer ever made (often called isometric, but technically not isometric).

I was playing the PS2 version of Crash of the Titans recently with the little one and initially I quite enjoyed it cause it's actually got very accessible co op features but after a while it just gets insanely repetitive. Waves and waves of enemies with little emphasis on platforming or even the quite serviceable skating mechanic. I'll have to check out the DS version though, thanks!
 

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,337
All the reasons outlined here are one of the reasons that the Game Gear is largely less interesting to me than the Gameboy, in terms of being a standalone console.

So many of it's titles were simply straight ports of Master System games whereas the Gameboy was getting original titles like Super Mario Land, Metroid II, Link's Awakening. There was still a lot of crossover with the NES (thing's like Jurassic Park or, to an extent, Tetris even) but it really felt like it's own thing, whereas the Game Gear overly felt like a portable Master System to me. Which was exciting in it's own way but, in retrospect, a lot less interesting.
 

shoptroll

Member
May 29, 2018
3,680
Mario Land 2.

That is all.

This is what I was thinking when I saw the thread title.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days was a great DS Kingdom Hearts game that I feel is always overlooked

It gets a little repetitive due to the design targeting commuter culture, but yeah it's a solid entry and O still wish someone would lift the ability growth system wholesale and reuse it. Playing inventory Tetris with your abilities is a really fun puzzle.

Oh, and Link's Awakening is still the best Zelda game.

Preach. Seriously though, as much as OoT cribs from LttP, there's a lot of Awakening that was carried forward as well.
 

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,337
I think naming nintendo games here is pretty boring because their handheld games are pretty consistently amazing. Sonic had a bunch of really good portable games (Pocket Adventure, the Advance games, the Rush games, Colours, Generations, Lost World and the Boom games; notably, the Boom games are pretty good, as opposed to the console game). Rayman (GBC), Rayman 2 (GBC), Rayman 3 (GBA) and Rayman Raving Rabbids (GBA) were also pretty great. The first two GBA Crash Bandicoots were imo better than the PS1 games and Crash of the Titans on DS was at least better than the console game of that name (and an actual platformer). Toy Story 3 for PSP is better than the main game from my perspective (later ported to PS2 though), Resident Evil Revelations is my favourite Resident Evil. Monkey Ball Banana Splitz on PS Vita is the best Monkey Ball since 2. Banjo Gruntys Revenge is probably the only good fixed perspective approximative 3D platformer ever made (often called isometric, but technically not isometric).

Sonic Colours is actually a great, more modern, example here and one I was looking at recently! I played the Wii game at launch but somehow totally sidestepped the fact that there was a DS version, obviously a unique version of the game by a different developer, not a port.

s-l300.jpg
 

KeRaSh

I left my heart on Atropos
Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,238
Phantasy Star Portable 1 and 2.
Damn, I want more old school PSO games...
 

LiquidSolid

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,731
Off the top of my head:

Killzone Liberation - Fantastic top-down shooter. It's not particularly long but it's was really replayable, I spent hours finishing everything I could in the game. Worst part about it was that the final chapter of the game was a free download originally but it wasn't possible to download to the Vita.

Metal Gear Acid 2 - The first Acid was ok but the second was great. Nuts story too.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - I ended up playing the PS3 remaster but I had an absolute blast with it. Playing through a Metal Gear game with co-op while building up your base and developing crazy new weapons was a ton of fun. The fulton rocket launcher and net were the kind of stupid fun stuff that made it a blast and then taking those and demolishing earlier levels I'd struggled on was incredibly satisfying.
 
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Discontent

Discontent

Member
May 25, 2018
4,232
Sonic Colours is actually a great, more modern, example here and one I was looking at recently! I played the Wii game at launch but somehow totally sidestepped the fact that there was a DS version, obviously a unique version of the game by a different developer, not a port.

s-l300.jpg

The DS version was indeed great!
 

Ramathevoice

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,926
Paris, France
Bada boom!

Love it, too bad we'll never see something whacky like it again lol
It's so good! Have you played the fanmade DX version? It's the same game but colorized and with some sprite changes to make it look like a GBC rerelease. It's rad.


I quite liked my time with Assassin's Creed Altaïr Chornicles. Sure, it's a non open world, very lite version of the real deal but it had a brand new story and a setting and the platforming and combat were not bad at all. Gameloft did a really good job with this one:

assassins-creed-altairs-chronicles-20080130042943701_1202350896.jpg

I miss the time when Gameloft made portable games. Their DS Asphalt ports were fun!
 

KlytusImBored

Member
Oct 30, 2017
110
New Jersey
I absolutely loved the Castlevania Adventure games in the OG Game Boy. I'm loving replaying them on the Castlevania collection on Switch. Not the best games in the franchise but I still have a big place in my heart for them.

Also not a huge franchise but Skate or Die was awesome on Game Boy
 

zoodoo

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,722
Montreal
I absolutely loved the Castlevania Adventure games in the OG Game Boy. I'm loving replaying them on the Castlevania collection on Switch. Not the best games in the franchise but I still have a big place in my heart for them.
Did you know that all the gb castlevania games have a patch that increases the speed of the character movement. It's a subtle change that makes them so much more enjoyable. The original character speed was a bit too slow for me.