The Five Best Multiplayer DS Homebrew Games

One of the best aspects about the Nintendo DS is its great library of multiplayer games. Unfortunately, this is something homebrew developers have struggled with, or if they haven’t, it’s sure been hard finding the good stuff. That’s where I come in, ’cause I’ve got nothing better to do. While you won’t see many games that allow you to play DS to DS, there are still a few gems out there which play great using only one system. (Note: running homebrew involves using a flashcart like the Acekard, DSTT, or M3.)

5. DS Chess / ChessNET
I don’t really like having to pass the DS back and forth. Chess, however, is always nice to have readily available. The cool thing about these games is how they’ll save your match when you turn the system off. In the case of ChessNET, you can store several matches. Still, I favor DS Chess, even though it forces you to use the touch screen, because it at least keeps track of your moves and tells you where the other player went.

4. Tag DS
The way this game requires you to play—sitting face to face so you can look at your own screen—is a little strange, but the game itself is fun in short bursts. The person who is “it” chases the other player around a small arena, trying to dash into them before the timer runs out. It’s a little too simple and easy, but when you’re able to outsmart your opponent just by running in circles, it can be pretty funny.

3. Ioceropong
There are about 20 different versions of Pong available on the homebrew scene, but all of them are buggy beyond playable and/or don’t have a two-player mode. Ioceropong isn’t perfect, either, though it comes close. The additional soccer mode that sees each player controlling two paddles (one on offense and one on defense) is a great twist to an old formula and, despite the flaws, makes this one worth having on your card.

2. Tetattds
Okay, so it doesn’t beat owning an official copy of Nintendo’s Planet Puzzle League. Nonetheless, Tetattds still works surprisingly well as a single-player game or as an eight-player local Wifi romp. Yeah, that’s right. Local Wifi! You don’t see many homebrew games that can pull that off. The connection isn’t always stable, but the fact that it works at all leaves me with little to complain about.

1. Marshmallow Duel
This one doesn’t support Wifi, but it’s still among my favorite homebrew games on the system. It’s a straightforward platform/action deathmatch where you race to grab the best power-ups as they randomly appear. It only takes one hit to kill the other player, but rounds start so quickly, you’ll hardly notice the pause. The power-ups are also kooky and diverse enough to keep things fair. Two people on one DS can be a bit cramped, but this game is perfect fun.

Honorable mentions
Despite a somewhat irritating setup, Hoover Maneuver is a decent remake of a Warioware minigame. Tic-Tac-Toe isn’t exactly must-have material, either, but carrying a portable copy around sure cuts down on paper, and Gekinzuku’s version is easily the best on the DS. Also, while I could never get Explosive Gas to run using a DSTT card, it seems like a very competent Bomberman clone.

3 October 2009 | Video Games | Comments | Home
tags: lists

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