The BIG DS Voting Thread, Coming to You Weekly: Thanks For Voting!

Mario Kart DS - 27 points



You say: Vidofnir: The best Mario Kart. A great balance between characters and items bolstered with good controls. No naff motion mistakes here.

nintenDUCK: I vaguely recalling not saying anything about this game in racing week and instead just plunged it in first and forgotten about it. I somewhat regret that but not to worry I can lavish it with my praise now instead. And gosh there is a lot to lavish. A superbly made installment into the franchise that I thoroughly enjoyed at the time and still boasts replay value despite being shoved aside by MK7. Stunning game.

Buskalily: Probably my most played game on the DS for a long while. What a game- played like a treat, online multiplayer and some fantastic tracks. At my tender young age, this blew me away.

I say: Not my favourite Mazza Kart by some way, but a forum favourite evidently. I didn't touch the online of this which was an apparent highligh; all I heard of the online was the ire of folk complaining about snaking.

The World Ends With You - 35 points (1st places - 2)



You say: Balladeer: I've done some thinking since the RPG vote, and popped this up over Infinite Space. Both were clever RPGs that tried to do something new, but what TWEWY tried to do was just more fun. I did find it all bit too confusing, biting off more than it/I could chew, and I still don't care for the postgame; but tailoring the pin deck, slashing at enemies using the touch screen, and Sho Minamimoto win out over pissing off Andy and Jay.

Stu_the_Great: Simply one of the best RPGs of all-time. Stands a good chance of being loved by gamers who aren't usually keen on standard RPGs, too.

I say: This was my first place game. It'd be challenging for my first place on a favourite games of all time list too. For a while, this was the only thing I played. For about two months straight, I'd race home and turn on the DS and battle the Noise in search of a rare pin, or try to beat bosses on Ultimate difficulty. It was nigh-on an obsession. The World Ends With You definitely has its flaws - the story can be a tad angsty at times, the soundtrack won't be to everyone's tastes and nor will the art - but to me it's the best RPG I've ever played. Nothing comes close in terms of originality and freshness; it throws new concepts at you and each one is a delight to incorporate into your playstyle. The biggest crime Square-Enix ever committed was being absolute demons and teasing a sequel which ended up being an iOS port. I can't gush about this enough - if you've not played, track it down, you won't be disappointed.

Pokemon Black/White - 38 points (1st places - 1)



You say: Balladeer: Samurai otter, I choose you! Crush N's furry white dragon with suspicious protrusion! That'll teach him for hitting on me atop the ferris wheel.

Vidofnir: Gamefreak showed bravery introducing a new host of pokemon with no old faces throughout the story,a strong plot and great online capability brought this game to a new height for the series.

Buskalily: The games that showed how much Diamond and Pearl were slacking. Hell, why couldn't Ruby and Sapphire have been like this? Look at Golden Sun! They didn't do anything new, of course, but was that what anyone asked for? The last hurrah for "2D" Pokemon before X and Y.

I say: The second Pokemon game of our top 10! This reinvigorated a passion for Pokemon I lost because of Gen IV. A brilliant finale, strong plot (for Pokemon, at least) and great new critters. A good entry point for newcomers to the series as well, I reckon.

Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - 44 points (1st places - 2)



You say: Balladeer: There's part of me that feels disgusted to see a port taking my number one slot, over new IPs such as Ghost Trick, Meteos and even that one RPG Jay keeps blabbering on about, the name of which momentarily escapes me. But the amount of time that I spent on the "throwaway minigames collection" that is the Pokéthlon alone shows that this is no mere port. And it's no mere port of two of the best RPGs out there, with elements from Crystal thrown in too. In short:

HGSS used Attract!

Balladeer fell in love!

(Whitney's Miltank used Stomp!)

(Balladeer used Curse!)

(Jay: GIFs added by yours truly)

nintenDUCK: So we're back to training monsters, last one on my list, I promise (bwahaha). So yeah I may have overlooked this in the RPG vote but don't get me wrong, I think this game is wonderful, too. So I thought I'd throw it at this list and see where it stuck and I'm quite pleased with where it has landed. This is a gem of a game and has many of the charms of its GameBoy predecessor, Johto/Kanto are both excellent regions as well (though not as good as Sinnoh). Waking pokemon both in-game and via the pokewalker is a great idea too and I struggle to think why they didn't implement it in Gen 5. Not much more to say about this game that it can't say for itself to be honest. Just go play it.

Phillips: The best Pokemon games ever. ‘Collecting ‘em all’ is still the business, and with the series’ biggest world map, online play and the omission of bin bag/ice cream Pokemon, they’re the definitive two as well.

I say: This was the first big surprise for me - I fully expected this to walk the vote. In fact, until the last few days of voting this was snugly sat in first place. To be honest, I'm quite glad it was dethroned for reasons mentioned by Balla. As much as this is a stellar game, and I agree with Phillips in that they're the definitive two, I think having what is essentially a port as our favourite DS game would be a little disheartening. Still, a well deserved podium placing for HG/SS.

Chinatown Wars. Who didn't love that game?