It’s a special day. Today, November 21, 2024, marks the 20th anniversary of the Nintendo DS‘ launch in North America.
It’s hard for me to believe it’s been that long, because Nintendo’s dual-screen handheld device defined my childhood more than any other device. While I started my gaming journey on the original Xbox and Game Boy Advance, the Nintendo DS is what truly made me fall in love with video games. It was an innovative piece of technology that drew my attention in ways none of my other childhood toys could. These were formative gaming experiences that I’ll always remember.
Now almost old enough to vote, the Nintendo DS can be considered a retro gaming handheld. It deserves the same level of reverence that’s usually given to formative systems like the NES or Sega Genesis. With that in mind, let’s look back at what made this system so special to me and millions of others.
When it comes to gaming technology, Nintendo always finds ways to be ahead of the curve — at least in terms of creativity. The Nintendo DS is one of the greatest examples of that strength, as it popularized the idea of a touchscreen (and touchscreen gaming) years before modern smartphones became commonplace. As a child, opening the system up and using its stylus gave the DS a tactile feel that no other system could offer.
I remember spending countless hours in PictoChat with my brother and other friends who had DS systems. I also appreciated its Game Boy Advance compatibility, which meant I didn’t have to leave that gaming library of mine behind. Looking at all of the gaming platforms I owned before I started writing about the industry professionally, the Nintendo DS is certainly the one I played the most.
The appeal of the DS can also be seen in its longevity. With all the updates and variations this console received, I owned around four different DS systems when all was said and done. It’s a branding Nintendo built on further with the 3DS, another handheld I adore and own multiple versions of. As video game technology gets increasingly homogenized, the DS is a reminder of a creativity-driven era where a gaming device could offer a radically different look and playing experience than any other platform.
It’s the games that make or break a system, though, and the DS is full of classics. Two series defined my time with the Nintendo DS: Super Mario Bros. and Pokémon. I got my first taste of both on Game Boy Advance, but I genuinely became a fan of both on DS. Super Mario 64 DS, a launch title I remember getting around the same time as the system itself, is the definitive version of Nintendo’s seminal 3D platformer.
Even if it lacks full analog control, it’s a technical marvel that Nintendo got this it running better on a DS just eight years after the original’s release. And while the New Super Mario Bros. series gets a lot of flak nowadays, the first game to bear that name is a truly creative platformer full of memorable levels that mesmerized my younger self. I got so good at New Super Mario Bros. that I remember playing through a level without dying when my eyes were dilated at an eye doctor appointment (I also think its multiplayer mode is highly underrated).
I’ve played no video game series more than Pokémon, though, and the games I’ve played the most were all on Nintendo DS. I remember going to Target with my dad to buy Pokémon Platinum, getting the last copy on the shelf, walking out of the store, and hearing other kids bummed out that they couldn’t pick a copy up. That memory stuck with me, and I’ve spent hundreds of hours in the Sinnoh region since then. To this day, most of my favorite Pokémon can be found in Platinum.
In 2011, Pokémon Black and White brought me back to the series. The DS-era Pokémon titles struck a perfect balance of gameplay depth, memorable monster designs, and strong technical performance. While I believe that the Pokémon games that came after, like X and Y or Sword and Shield, are underrated, there’s no denying that the franchise peaked on DS. I’m happy to have been at the epicenter of that.
Looking at my gaming tastes today, I see how they were all fundamentally shaped by the DS. I will always be interested in picking up a new Mario platformer or Pokémon RPG on day one because of how those series ingrained themselves in me on this Nintendo handheld. I appreciate gaming technology that tries to be innovative or stand out from the competition in distinct ways, likely because I appreciated how the DS did that.
And it’s an experience that will always be locked closely to my childhood. It’s hard to recreate that experience on a different platform. The technology exists to emulate DS games, but so many of them utilize the touchscreen in distinct enough ways that they just don’t feel quite right to play on any other platform. The Nintendo DS is a system you really had to be there for to understand its heyday.
Twenty years after its original release, Nintendo has completely left the DS brand behind after shutting down online play on the 3DS. Enough time has passed for us to truly look back and understand the impact the Nintendo DS had not just on the video game industry, but on us individually. As the idea of the DS makes the jump from contemporary to retro, I’m grateful that I can still boot up my DS systems and play Super Mario 64 DS or Pokémon Platinum anytime I want and remember why I adore video games in the first place.
