Oct 27, 2017
1,367
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 was one of the best experiences I've ever had with a game. I was so absorbed by the story and the interactivity of it.

Although 2D Marios are well and truly back now, New Super Mario Bros coming to DS was huge. Absolutely loved playing a brand new Mario sidescroller for the first time in years.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was a cool game. The controls are divisive but I thought they were a clever way to utilise and showcase the touch screen. It being a part of the Wind Wakes series made it very endearing too.

Pokemon Red/Blue blew me away. I'd never experienced a game like it. Felt truly epic in scale like nothing I'd ever seen in a handheld game. Plus it introduced me to Pokemon and established the core mechanics of the series.

Smash Bros coming to 3DS still astounds me and I thought it was a get enjoyable version. Adored the comic art style.

Gunman Clive, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Mario Kart 7, Professor Layton and the Curious Village and SteamWorld Dig to name a few more.
 

Heri

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,427
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

And the rest of my top 5

Pokémon Silver

Fantasy Life

Donkey Kong 94

Wario Land 3
 
Oct 28, 2017
1,091
I really really love Metal Gear Solid on Gameboy Color. That's one of the first handheld games I played that didn't feel like a pick up and play 'handheld' experience- it just felt like an awesome game. I was pretty young when I played it too, and actually completed it, which was unusual for me at the time.
Yup this (also known as Ghost Babel) or Pokemon Gold.
 

KendoClub

Member
Oct 27, 2017
143
Jump Ultimate stars (With a group of friends, this game becomes an endless amount of fun) or the Battle Network series.
 

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,708
Even though I'm mostly an RPG player, my favorite portable-originating game of all-time is probably Ghost Trick. If you enjoy Ace Attorney and haven't played it, I highly recommend it.
 

Evil Lucario

Member
Feb 16, 2019
448
BARELY ANYONE MENTIONS ARIA OF SORROW OR THE DS CASTLEVANIAS??? Shame.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is by far the best Castlevania game ever made. Period. Better than Aria of Sorrow, better than Symphony of the Night, better than Rondo of Blood, better than Super Castlevania IV. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night might dethrone that, but that conclusion will come after years of playing, not now.

Xenoblade 2 might be higher but the Switch is a bit of a gray area considering it's a hybrid.

So I'll go with Order of Ecclesia instead since that's still stuck on the DS.
 

Violence Jack

Drive-in Mutant
Member
Oct 25, 2017
42,524
Does P4G count? If so, then that.

If not, then Super Mario Land 2 or The World Ends With You.
 

cowbanana

Member
Feb 2, 2018
14,184
a Socialist Utopia
I can't think of anything that beats Persona 4 Golden. That game is just amazing on all levels from story and characters to gameplay and the amount of great content. The game is just pure charm and atmosphere woven into a perfect blanket extending from the Vita.
 

Deleted member 27921

User-requested account closure
Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,735
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon.
it was the first GBA game I bought and the first "Iga-vania" style Castlevania game I ever played and it was insane to me that this was on a portable system. So yeah, there are better Castlevania games, even on this very system, but this one hit me in the right place and at the right time. The game still rules.
v4eWpxS.jpg
 

captainmal01

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,341
Harry potter: chamber of secrets, Azkaban and the quidditch game were all enjoyable.

But I think I'd have to go for either Pokémon sapphire or leaf green
 

Deleted member 864

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,544
There's a lot, but A Link Between Worlds is definitely up there, as well as Fire Emblem Awakening, Pokémon Platinum, Kirby: Planet Robobot, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

For something that wasn't on a Nintendo handheld, probably Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. That game was a major reason for me getting a PSP.
 

Rendering...

Member
Oct 30, 2017
19,089
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for PSP was so damn good. Zack was such a likable protagonist, the combat was super fun, the plot added cool background to the world of FFVII for the most part, and that soundtrack is one of the all time greatest. I get big time nostalgia whenever I hear music from that game.

Runner up is 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors for the Nintendo DS. (It's since been ported to other platforms.) The trippy story and wild twists are seriously memorable. 9 people trapped in a ship, forced to play a deadly game, and nobody is as they appear. Awesome premise, and pretty damn good execution. I really liked the writing.

I wish more had come of the frozen Egyptian priestess sideplot. Tantalizing as hell. Alice in the follow-up game Virtue's Last Reward was such a cop out, god damn.
 
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oneils

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,157
Ottawa Canada
This will sound like a port beg, but there are many games on handhelds that I have played for a few hours but dropped. I'd love to play them a big tv. I've been meaning to check the wii u virtual console store to see if they are there. The ones that I always liked are: Harvest Moon on gba, Pokemon Black on DS, and Dragon Quest IX on DS.

Now I'm playing Pokemon Let's go and that has been a lot of fun. The six inch screen on the switch really helps with this.
 

Deleted member 7883

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,387
Hard to boil it down. Here's my fav(s) from each handheld I played.

Game boy/Color: Pokémon Crystal (Honorable Mention: Warioland 3)

GBA: Warioware Twisted (HM: Castlevania Aria of Sorrow, Metroid Fusion)

DS: The World Ends With You

PSP: Dissidia 012 Duodecim (HMs: Echochrome, Half-Minute Hero, What Did I Do to Deserve This My Lord?.... damn the PSP had some fantastic games.)

3DS: Pocket Horse Jockey (HM: Sm4sh. I doubt I'll ever go back to play it tho.)

Vita: Spelunky HD (HM: Persona 4 Golden, Shiren the Wanderer: Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate)



Actually... now that I typed it out I guess my fav is probably TWEWY.
 

Shoichi

Member
Jan 10, 2018
10,632
for a focused handheld system. Megaman Battle Network. I made sure to get every chip in that game. I loved that series as well as the anime going on at the time. Probably because I was playing Megaman Legends 2 at the time lol. Haven't really cared much for Megaman otherwise
 

logash

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,861
Persona 4 Golden.

Edit, nice choice Violence Jack
I can't think of anything that beats Persona 4 Golden. That game is just amazing on all levels from story and characters to gameplay and the amount of great content. The game is just pure charm and atmosphere woven into a perfect blanket extending from the Vita.
So much this. I hope we haven't seen the last of portable Persona cause nothing beats having all this in your pocket.
 

Japanmanx3

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
6,005
Atlanta, GA
EVERY. SINGLE. ACE. ATTORNEY. GAME.

Pokemon Gold
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Pokemon Platinum
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Mario Kart DS

Special shout-out to Megaman Battle Network 3 Blue Version.
 

azfaru

Banned
Dec 1, 2017
2,275
Advance Wars Dual Strike. Oh god it was my favourite thing ever. And I wasn't even that good at it.
 
Dec 3, 2017
1,181
São Paulo, Brazil
I think in hindsight it's probably Dissidia 012 Duodecim on the PSP, and the first Dissidia as well. I've easily put close to 600 hours between the two.

A real feast for fans of the series, I play it to this day every once in a while.
 

Neifirst

Member
Oct 27, 2017
399
I still remember importing a Navy Blue DS Lite from Japan and alternating between playing:

Ouendan
Kirby Canvas Curse
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Trauma Center Under the Knife

The most fun I had with a new system in such a long time at that point!
 

acheron_xl

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,484
MSN, WI
Despite the fact that I had a furious love affair with my PSP, if I'm honest with myself, it's probably Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
 

Deleted member 33571

User requested account closure
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Nov 17, 2017
907
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (one of the best games ever), although there's a huge amount of stuff in such a broad category so I don't say that with very much conviction.