40. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)

Nintendo gamers might have missed out on the big GTAs, but we did get this bespoke little entry which tuned out better than anyone dared dream. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars truly is one the best titles to ever grace the Nintendo DS. Despite the fact that it took on an old-style graphical approach, Rockstar Leeds brought along almost every aspect of the home console games and compressed it in a way that made sense on Nintendo's handheld. It sees a return of the traditional top-down gameplay of the first two GTAs but blends elements from the later games to create a unique and thrilling game that still stands up today.

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39. Pokémon Conquest (DS)

Pokémon Conquest is a game that no one asked for, but many will enjoy — fans of either series will be drawn in by the familiar and be taught to love what’s new. It does just about everything right, though there are shortcomings: more Pokémon being included would have helped, as would a deeper story – Pokémon Black and White showed that the monster-catching series is capable of telling a story with some heft to it. These are little more than nicks in the armour, though. Pokémon Conquest absolutely stands with Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Puzzle League as one of the best spin-offs the franchise has seen.

38. Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (DS)

A sequel to graphic adventure game Hotel Dusk: Room 215, the pace of Last Window: The Secret of Cape West is a lot slower than similar games on the DS, and one that requires time and patience to get through. It's text-heavy, but its pencil-drawn character art over colour backgrounds still look good in the UHD era. For those who are happy to read, it makes notable improvements over its predecessor resulting in a rewarding experience that will keep you occupied for many hours.

37. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)

From its demon collecting and killer combat to its sci-fi South Pole setting, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is a fantastically engrossing adventure. This MegaTen title also received an updated 3DS 'Redux' edition which is the one we'd play given the choice, but the original template was mighty fine to begin with, so if you've only got access to the DS version of Atlus' dungeon crawler, you're still in for a treat.

36. Plants vs. Zombies (DS)

"Get ready to soil your plants!"

How can that little bit of wordplay not bring a smile to your face? The DS version of PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies did a decent job of bringing the mobile/tablet tower defence hit to Nintendo gamers back in 2011. Dropping pollen-poppin' plants into lanes to defend against an onslaught of the undead, it did exactly what it said on the tin and did it very well.

35. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 was an impressive and innovative title for the DS. It's scratchy pencil-line aesthetic looked great on the console and really fit the visual novel's mysterious tone, as well as the form of the system itself. Holding the DS like an open book, it showed other developers and players alike the potential of the system beyond the traditional approach gamers might expect, and made the console even less intimidating for a new audience who would go on to discover other games through touch controls. That hand-sketched art style also went down a treat with A-Ha fans, exposing a hitherto unknown overlap of the video game enthusiast and Norwegian synth-pop demographics.

34. Mega Man Zero Collection (DS)

Collecting together all four of the Game Boy Advance games in one convenient package, Inti Creates added an Easy mode and a couple of extra bits and pieces while assembling the Mega Man Zero Collection, but for the most the games were left to sell themselves in this compilation. Fortunately, the Zero series — which arguably follows the same trajectory of quality as the vanilla Mega Man games (good, brilliant, practically-as-brilliant, not-quite-as-brilliant) — was a short and sweet sideline to the Rockman brand and at a time when franchise fans had little else to look forward to from Capcom, this was one hell of a lifeline.

33. Radiant Historia (DS)

Radiant Historia received an updated 3DS port in 2018 gaining the subtitle Perfect Chronology (which we absolutely loved), but in all honesty it didn't feel drastically different to the DS original. Developed by Atlus and Headlock, it's a top-shelf JRPG, with an engaging time-travel hook, brilliantly fun, puzzle-like combat, and a genuinely likeable cast of characters. While it’s far from the first adventure to draw on parallel timelines, it smartly integrates its world-hopping gameplay and narrative, and the result is a unique, beautifully-paced experience that’s a joy to play whether here or on 3DS.

32. Professor Layton and the Last Specter (DS)

Professor Layton and the Last Specter is another yet top-quality game in a truly brilliant series. Known as The Spectre's Call in Europe, this was the fourth entry in the series and a prequel to the previous trilogy of games. Combining a thrilling narrative with its trademark puzzles, it challenges your mind in a way very few games seriously attempt to do, and the feeling you get when you solve a particularly difficult puzzle is less one of relief than it is a desire to leap ahead in the game and find the next one. Any list of the finest DS games is bound to be lousy with Layton, and with very good reason. Jolly good show, Hershel.

31. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is the last we saw of Intelligent Systems' 'Wars' series on any system and is one of the best games available on the DS. The system lends itself well to strategy titles, and although some may find the change in style from the previous game unnerving, additions like online play made the change worth bearing. In all honesty the more sombre tone made the message of the game - that war can destroy lives - a little easier to digest than it would have been sporting the colourful style of previous entries. It’s a difficult game, but the gratification you get when a battle is finally won after hours of relentless toil is priceless.