Episode 144: The Nintendo DS Draft

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Matthew and Samuel compete to pick the 15 best Nintendo DS games – after an extremely long preamble.

Katharine Castle: To clear up this week’s BackPagePod debate, here are my offending DS Phat decals - which I’d argue immeasurably improve the look of the thing. If Nintendo had released a Mario Kart special edition of it, I guarantee it would have (probably) looked something like this. Maybe.

The Categories?

1. Game with ‘Dr’ or ‘Professor’ in the title
2. Entry in the Ubisoft Imagine series
3. Disney Channel or Nickelodeon tie-in
4. Cursed minigame compilation
5. Has Noel Edmonds, Jasper Carrott or Chris Tarrant on the cover
6. ‘The budget of the DS version was definitely under £100,000’ award
7. Confusingly named Kingdom Hearts spin-off
8. Like Ouendan but cursed
9. THQ game
10. Repackaged version of Pictochat they charged 25 quid for
11. Pokémon game that isn’t an RPG
12. The ‘dubious game your dad got with his Argos DS bundle’ award
13. Arthritis-inducing touchscreen controls
14. Darts game with a middle-aged bloke from the pub on the cover
15. Has a title in the vein of ‘Uncle Winklebottom’s 33 Moist Parlour Games’

The Categories

1. Platformer
2. Adventure
3. RPG
4. Puzzle
5. Visual Novel
6. Shooter / Sidescrolling
7. Pokémon game
8. Rhythm Action
9. Tactics or Strategy
10. Touchscreen Controls
11. Port
12. Touch! Generations
13. Free Pick 1
14. Free Pick 2
15. Wild Card

Draft Order

Player	Category	Pick
Matthew	Port	Chrono Trigger
Samuel	RPG	The World Ends with You
Samuel	Touchscreen Controls	Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Matthew	Touch! Generations	Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Samuel	Visual Novel	Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Matthew	Free Pick 1	Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Samuel	Adventure	The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Matthew	Shooter / Sidescrolling	Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Samuel	Tactics or Strategy	Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
Matthew	Puzzle	Professor Layton and the Lost Future
Samuel	Rhythm Action	Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan
Matthew	RPG	Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Samuel	Touch! Generations	Rhythm Paradise
Matthew	Platformer	New Super Mario Bros.
Samuel	Free Pick 1	Mario Kart DS
Matthew	Adventure	The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Samuel	Free Pick 2	Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Matthew	Touchscreen Controls	Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Samuel	Port	Tetris DS
Matthew	Visual Novel	999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Samuel	Platformer	Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Matthew	Wild Card	Infinite Space
Samuel	Puzzle	Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Matthew	Tactics or Strategy	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Samuel	Wild Card	Meteos
Matthew	Pokémon game	Pokémon HeartGold
Samuel	Pokémon game	Pokémon SoulSilver
Matthew	Pokémon SoulSilver	Jam with the Band
Samuel	Shooter / Sidescrolling	Aliens: Infestation
Matthew	Free Pick 2	Picross DS

Picks

Category	Samuel	Matthew
Platformer	Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia	New Super Mario Bros.
Adventure	The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks	The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
RPG	The World Ends with You	Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Puzzle	Professor Layton and the Curious Village	Professor Layton and the Lost Future
Visual Novel	Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney	999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Shooter / Sidescrolling	Aliens: Infestation	Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Pokémon game	Pokémon SoulSilver	Pokémon HeartGold
Pokémon SoulSilver	Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan	Jam with the Band
Tactics or Strategy	Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Touchscreen Controls	Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars	Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Port	Tetris DS	Chrono Trigger
Touch! Generations	Rhythm Paradise	Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Free Pick 1	Mario Kart DS	Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Free Pick 2	Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies	Picross DS
Wild Card	Meteos	Infinite Space

Results

Samuel 38%

Matthew 62%

(329 votes)

Lore

• Languid - 1:28:02