Best 200 point dsiware games 2012

Art Style: Aquia. Counting down the best of the DSi Shop's first two years. By Lucas M. Thomas Updated: 6 Jan pm. Nintendo's DSi went on sale in the States over two years ago now. The system, which was the third revision of the DS hardware to be made available in America, stuck pretty close to its predecessors in overall design - two screens, touch-based control, a microphone, a clamshell construction - while making some tweaks and additions too, like bumping up the size of the screens and including a couple of small digital cameras.

Perhaps the biggest new addition, though, wasn't a visible change in the system itself. It was in the software.

It was the DSi Shop. Taking inspiration from the WiiWare service on the company's home console, Nintendo launched the DSiWare downloadable games service on the same day as the DSi system shipped to stores. The new format, which allows you to download digital-only exclusive games from a virtual storefront on the handheld, positioned Nintendo's portable in more direct competition and comparison against some other options for getting games on the go - and competition is always good for the consumer.

While DSiWare as a whole has certainly flown under the radar through these past two years, those players paying attention have had access to some truly great game designs. And, if you're just tuning in yourself, we're here to help elevate the notoriety of those efforts with this list of the best of the best.

We've gone back over our thoughts and opinions on every DSiWare download released through the past 24 months, and we've compiled this list of our Top 15 picks for the service. These are the games that are guaranteed hits - well worth your time and money, and certain not to disappoint. YES NO. Was this article informative? You can check out more about this, along with some performances at the official site HERE.

Like other games, not all DSiWare has the same name in each region. Check some of these links for the heads up. Nintendo Life - NL's list of all games that includes alternate names and some reviews. Current Generation. Last Generation. Other Gens. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? Nintendo DSiWare. Edit source History Talk 2. Categories Add category. Cancel Save. Universal Conquest Wiki. A touching tale of a Kappa who seeks to enter the human world.

First, it must brave 16 stages trials, all of which are pretty tough. It's up to you to guide the critter with trails drawn by your stylus. There's all sorts of enemies who seek to impede its progress. Luckily, you can dig up "mini-kappas", helpful sprites who fulfill various roles, like bridge-making, foe-fighting, snack-finding, and so on.

The paintings and journal entries you obtain really make the game, which is already amusing enough. There's also a few mini-games. A Breakout RPG. Still with me? You explore a grid map. But they can also have enemies firing at you, too, so stay sharp and smack 'em with your ball s. Beating tiles marked with items nets you extra gear to keep and equip, often replicating powerups. There's a lot of stages and fun to be had here, and its only Points. Not bad at all! Yeah, I recommended it.

Plays like a "raising" game Princess Maker, Sims, etc. The story isn't too shabby either. The only negatives are the lack of songs and you can't take any action back auto-saving takes place after every one. Other than that, it's worth a shot if you're man enough. The spiritual sequel, Miami Nights, sucks. Ignore it. Lead animals to barns? Each animal moves in unison, so you have to make them in the proper formation, using stage elements, to clear the stage.

This game does not fuck around, as it's much harder than it lets on. It's like the Duke Nukem of girly animu animal puzzle games makes much more sense in context. Fuck year. Touch based puzzler involving falling rows, squares, and columns of different colors and using respective pictobits to clear them out.

This eventually forms pictures on the top screen, thus beating the stage. You can also use coins you get in-game to buy the songs to jam out to or buy "dark" stages, which are damn tough extra puzzles to take on. Highly recommended for old-schoolers, puzzle buffs, and retro fans alike. Sliding puzzles that involve matching colors. Think along the lines of a Rubik's cube, but with more variety in final solutions.

Guide Aura-Aura, a lost little star, back to the sky by slingshot-ing him upwards off of asteroids. Surprisingly good, and gets tough quickly. However, its great arcade fun and has two different modes of play. One of the best point games. Arguably a beginner's RTS. The cute graphics and easy control are rather inviting to a somewhat hard-to-approach genre. Doesn't do anything really new, nor is it as hard as some of the PC classics, but if you're a beginner or just want to take it easy from the harder norms, this will serve you pretty well.

The small point price tag doesn't hurt either. Has an abundance of sequels which improve or alter mechanics. All of which are pretty good. This game takes aspects from several successful platformers and utilizes them quite well.

A neat optional feature lets you snap pics using the DSi camera at booths in stages and get power-ups based on the prominent color of the pic. It's a bit on the short and easy side, which makes it great for beginners to platforming and a nice nostalgic breeze through for veteran retro-buffs. For those not in the know, this game was created a lone artist, and is famous for it's inspired gameplay and incredible setting. Perfect PC port with some small dual screen extras for points.

Also on WiiWare. An arguably better remake is available for the 3DS, so only get this if you're a cheapo or own only a DSi. Controls akin to Megaman X, only you control two versions of yourself on two screens simultaneously. Plenty of puzzles that require one screen doing something that effects the other; be it enemies or obstacles to deal with.

Very cool and points less than the WiiWare version, which is just larger and has some minor 3DCG. Control Rusty, a Rocketman-esque hero guided by Nikola Tesla, as you attempt to save Earth from an extra-terrestrial threat. Has classic arcade style platforming and the dual-setting jetpack controls very nicely. Large stages are filled with weapons, power-ups, and enemies to use them on.

If you're looking for something to spend your spare points on, consider this port of an NES port of an arcade game that never existed. There's also a Steam port that has 2 extra endings. Dirk the Daring is back and ready to take on Dragon's Lair once more! This revolves around picking actions to do and responding to various elements in game. This has punishing difficulty, but also hilarious death sequences. The resolution quality took a slight hit in the port, but it's still as close as can be.

If you like this, check out Dragon's Lair II and Space Ace, similar classics by the same team, but be warned, they're much tougher. All 3 are collected on one Wii disc in Dragon's Lair Trilogy, so there's also that route if you prefer. Jim is back Again! A port of the iPhone remix, which also has a newer Easy Mode Don't be a worm, now. A game concentrating entirely on stealth. You aren't a fighter, so running away is your only option.

However, you can find power-ups for to buff yourself such as speed-up or mess with enemies such as slow-motion. Also has a multiplayer mode where one player hunts down the others playing. Pretty good for points. You remember the square game from Maboshi Arcade on Wiiware? Well, don't worry. This is basically that, improved and expanded.

Now you have powerups and a score counter to make up for the lack of people fucking with you like in Maboshi or vice versa. For points, it's a good deal, and still worth it even if you bought Maboshi on the Wii. Has two different modes, the latter being more arcade-styled for short-burst play and the former has longer levels.

You press one button to ascend and release it to fall. The strategy comes in dodging the obstacles that come in your way.

This may sound super boring, but it's NOT! Especially because Gaia's Moon features some fantastic level design. Different enemies with different movement patterns make it feel like a shoot em' up without any bullets.

It also has some really nice graphics and music. You can play one-player or 2 on the same DSi! For points, you can't go wrong with this game. Made by the Pop Island team. Guard your base from enemy attack by placing artillery units around the map. Getting money comes from your successful enemy kills, so place carefully.

Curious, but it works, and encourages fast thinking. For points, it's not too shabby to start off with either! Features 50 short burst mini-stages to be completed in 10 seconds or less. Sounds easy, but after the 5th or so, they start to be get tougher and trickier, meaning you have to make some good guesses to land gaps and avoid hazards. The two main modes are beating a stage in 10 seconds or trying to marathon through all 50 as fast as possible through an ever-ticking timer.

Can you conquer both as fast and flawless as possible? If you're ready, slap down points and get running! You play as a little gold-munching sub, collecting treasures for your ship in a number of stages.

A number of obstacles and enemies stand in your way, but thankfully you have missiles and torpedoes to deal with most of them. Not all aspects can be beaten with brute force though, since some foes are invincible and some obstacles require a bit of thinking, due to some red herrings no, not the fish later on thanks to limited key to door ratios and other such puzzles.

It's only 2 bucks either way. This takes Tower Defense and mixes it up a bit. You must fend off invaders from destroying your "Base Cannon". Sounds standard? Here's the twist, you control your units' fire with the strokes of your stylus. You must wisely use cannons to aim and take out foes as they have limited ammo, unlike the infinite "base". However, when you select one unit type, you control them all, which makes defending easier.

Beware though, as your units are cannot be moved or replaced once the stage starts! You use what you've got! It's only 20 stages, but there's pretty good fun to have for points. Aww shit, yo. There's meteors about to crash into earth!

Thankfully, you, the brave space-hero, have plenty of bombs to destroy them before they impact. Run around along the rock's cracks and plant bombs to blast apart pieces from it. That said, if chunks blasted off exceed a certain weight, they can't burn up in the atmosphere and damage the earth anyway! Also, you're being timed. Also, you can be killed by alien lifeforms before you blow up the meteor. Oddly enough, this game's as fun as it is rage-inducing, especially on higher difficulties.

And don't even get me started on that Endless Mode! Originally being a full DS game, this is a fresh twist on "ye olde first person dungeonan". Each and every dungeon you traverse forms a picture, and as such is arranged in a certain way. The action's all first person and all real-time. Slash monsters with the stylus and block with the D-Pad or the shield icon.

That said, monsters mix up their tactics to keep you alert. Starts off easy, but gets way more fun soon after thanks to puzzles, hazards, and obstacles that require some thinking on your part. There's also cryptic messages which give tips, tell stories, and even give clues and hints that aren't totally obvious. It's only 5 bucks, so you're getting a lot of bang for each of them.

Undead Storm is a little game about shooting zombies. You pick one of 4 characters, pick one of 3 stages, pick one of 3 difficulties, and shoot all the dudes. There are lots of weapon types and many different kinds of enemies with a boss at the end of each stage.

You've even got Achievements called "Records" in this game! Did I mention that it features some awesomely-bad lowpoly graphics and a fantastic Engrish translation? The game is decent when played by yourself, but way more fun when played with a bro or 3. The biggest turn-off though are the controls. You walk around with the D-Pad, but you turn using the "R" and "L" buttons. It feels awkward at first, but you get used to it. Ivy is a little kiwi you sets off to find her missing mother.

Unfortunately, as a young hatchling, she needs you to guide and protect her. Very easy and simple, and the learning curve and difficulty level somehow makes the game fun for kids and adults alike. Very sweet, and beautiful. Note: Don't worry about missing out on story, for this has the entire 50 level story mode on it! Sadly, it doesn't have the 50 bonus levels and multiplayer of the full releases. Considering it's only points, that's still a pretty good deal. Buy this game to help save IRL Kiwi birds!

A port of the "Might and Magic II mobile phone game" spinoff. Not too shabby for a "lite" Action RPG. Has a few exploits to find that make the game ridiculously easy; but, it also has a few legitimately difficult segments as well. A bit stiff on the control, but it has pretty good action and it is a game nowadays that isn't afraid to kick your ass.

Consider it if you have spare points. Remember Chilia from Animal Puzzle Adventure? She's back and she's pissed. Nothing like zombies to ruin your day, right? Well, she and a town of survivors have chose to fight back. This top-down shooter has you protecting the town from the undead, along with leveling up and recruiting allies to fight by your side. You can also customize your stats from leveling up, giving you control of your specialties.

The game is pretty good, but kinda short. Despite being a bit cliche, it's definitely different, to say the least. There's certainly nothing else quite like it on DSiWare right now. Give it a try if you've got 5 bucks burning in your pocket. The fun comes from the challenging level design and enemy placement past the 10th level. The best part is that most levels are NOT static, often challenging you further.

The freshest factor is the combo system. The damage is multiplied, so with enough strategy and skill, even a boss can be taken out in one hit. MUCH easier said than done. It's sweet and easy at first, then gets wall-punchingly hard; but fair, since you can only blame yourself for jumping into that fucking fire. Then the lightning bolts come. Then the floor is lava. Then the goddamn grim reaper pops up, just like that fucking whale.

God help you if you play as the Girl. Is this worth 2 bucks? You'll wish you had paid 20 after you play it. Just don't give it to your little sister unless you really want to piss her off. Made by the company who made Shantae and LIT. This is about flipping between different screens in order to reach an exit. You can't jump, which might appeal to fans of Solomon's Key and Fire n' Ice. It's hard to grasp without visuals, so here's a video.

WayForward's third and presumably final DSiWare game. This spiritual sequel to MFC pits French-speaking, green alien cutie Luna on an unknown mission throughout the Cosmos. To accomplish this feat, however, she needs the help of her trusty scepter, which allows her to "pulse" and create planets, and use their gravitational pull to reach the Goal Portal at the end of each level. Amusingly less serious, and more sarcastic, cartoony, and humourous than ever.

Considering how much this used to go for, points is hardly nothing. Except on 3DS, which doesn't have this on their shop for some reason.

A curious puzzle platformer where you switch between controlling a girl, Alice, and a rabbit, Raby. The stages revolve around using the abilities of each character and helping Alice exit the stage. Raby is magic, so he can be left behind, and sometimes puzzles even have you killing him with a cute magical "pop!

The stages start easy but get quite tough at the third set of levels. Do you not have it already after reading this sentence? Updates include a touchscreen map, time challenge bonuses, and a checkpoint surprise Smile!

Updated port of the GBA version with far better music and better res for more onscreen. Sequel to the criminally under-appreciated GBC game. A platformer where you play a sexy belly-dancing Genie Girl opposing her rival, a sexy pirate lady. Not mandatory, but Mighty Flip Champs and Mighty Milky Way above both give you multiple gem bonuses, which is good for speedrun assistance.

You can pay any or no price for the soundtrack, officially at Virt's official site. For all not in the know, it's a little like picross. The puzzle lies in shooting blocks up from the bottom row and to getting them to form the picture. This requires L or R shoulder buttons to spin the puzzle in 90 degree increments to get to the spots you can't reach. Starts off easy, but can get tough quickly. Not as hard as Guru Logic Champ, but some puzzles are real head-scratchers.

Over stages for points is a sugar sweet deal. Badass Manly Ducks. A Castlevania rip-off that's unexpectedly good! Find hidden power-ups for your HP and MP behind clever tricks and traps and upgrade your weapons a fire sword and an ice spear, which both cast magic with the lives of your enemies. Has some neat gameplay twists, such as a small few of well-done!