Okay so here’s what went down – woke up last weekend with this crazy itch to play those old DS RPGs, like the proper chunky cartridge ones. That feeling just hit me outta nowhere, ya know? Like needing pizza at 2 AM. But seriously, where do you even start digging for the good stuff these days? Felt totally lost.
My First Dumb Move
Grabbed my laptop, jumped straight into Steam. Typed in “DS RPGs”… and boom, zilch. Nada. Pages of new stuff pretending to be old or fancier remakes. Annoying! My gut said no, this ain’t it. Needed that real pixel vibe, the turn battles that make you think, not just flashy nonsense. Steam wasn’t giving me that dusty cartridge feel.
Switching Tactics (Got Smart!)
Okay, fine. Remembered forums exist. Like, actual places where old-school nerds hang out. Dove into this big retro gaming forum I kinda forgot about. Asked the question: “Yo folks, dying here. Which DS RPGs are the true GOATs?” Hit post and prayed someone would throw me a bone.
Best decision ever. People came crawling outta the digital woodwork! Their answers? Gold. Pure gold. Started scribbling names down like crazy:
- Dragon Quest IV, V, IX (Lot of folks yelling “Dragon Quest! Dragon Quest!”)
- Chrono Trigger (That legendary SNES one ported to DS? Added instantly!)
- Pokémon HeartGold / SoulSilver (Obviously!)
- Final Fantasy III & IV (The DS remakes)
- Radiant Historia (Kept popping up!)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (Sounded dark, my style)
- The World Ends With You (Super stylish, they said)
My desk looked like a mad detective’s case board.
Getting Picky (The Nitty-Gritty)
Faced with this mountain of titles, I needed a plan. Couldn’t play ’em all tonight (wish!). My criteria got simple:
- How does it LOOK? Needed that sweet DS pixel art magic.
- How does it FEEL to fight? Turn-based goodness where tactics matter.
- Any story? A decent yarn to keep me hooked.
Cue hours on YouTube watching shaky cam gameplay videos. Seriously.
- Paused Chrono Trigger DS videos squinting at the sprites – still gorgeous.
- Watched Dragon Quest V playthroughs – charming!
- Saw Radiant Historia’s timeline switching – blew my mind! Super unique.
- Checked out Shin Megami Tensei’s demon recruiting – awesome dark vibe.
- TWEWY’s combat looked bananas stylus stuff – totally different.
- FF IV DS showed off that sweet 3D on the tiny screen.
After way too much caffeine, I narrowed it down. My “Gotta Find These” list:
- Chrono Trigger DS (Legend status)
- Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (That generational story!)
- Radiant Historia (That time-travel hook!)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (Demons in spaaace!)
- Pokémon HeartGold (Pure childhood comfort food)
The Hunt is ON
Finding them? That’s the next level beast. Forget digital stores. Needed the real cartridges! Hit up eBay first. Found Chrono Trigger… priced like gold bricks. Noped right out.
Scoured local buy/sell groups. Jackpot! Found someone selling a bunch of old DS games. Shot them a message: “You got Dragon Quest V or Radiant Historia?!” Waited. Drummed fingers. Finally: “Yeah, got DQV.” YESSSS! Grabbed Dragon Quest V off them. Paid cash at the mall food court like some secret agent swap. Felt awesome.
For Radiant Historia and SMT: Strange Journey? Found a proper game store across town, the dusty kind packed with used cases. Found ’em both buried in the RPG section. Success!
Chrono Trigger? My buddy owed me. Swore he had it. Called in that favour. Boom. Got it.
HeartGold? Birthday coming up. Dropped major hints to the wife. Fingers crossed!
Finally Playing (The Fun Part!)
Dusted off my old DS Lite – amazed it still charged! Popped Dragon Quest V in first.
Instantly transported. That opening music? Goosebumps. Started as the kid hero, traveling with Papa. Battles felt solid and classic, you take turns hitting each other, choosing spells, it just works. Story grabbed me fast – marriage choices?! Didn’t see that coming back in the day. Played till way past midnight. Hooked.
Couldn’t resist loading Radiant Historia too. Started that. Wow. The split timeline thing immediately adds wrinkles. Loved Stocke as the lead, felt proper grown-up. Battling on that grid? So much more brain work than I expected. Clever stuff.
That old DS Lite hummed away. Forgot how long these battery lasted! Pure magic.
The Point of All This
So yeah, digging up these DS RPGs was a bit of a journey! Not just clicking “buy.” Had to ask around, scroll forums, hunt down actual carts, maybe trade favours. But finding them, popping that cartridge in, hearing that startup sound? Priceless.
Playing DQV these past nights brought it all back. Not just the game, but the whole feeling. Sitting in my childhood bedroom playing Pokémon late at night under the covers. That comfort, that challenge. Old games like these? They don’t just play you. They take you back. Felt like finding missing pieces.
Now… gotta go see if the wife found that HeartGold cart!
