DS Games that are Best Played on Wii U (Recommendations)

[86houdini]

I've been looking for an excuse to not sell my Wii U and so I have been playing a lot of DS games on the Wii U lately, and I've noticed that while it can play most DS games, not all games are great to play on the Wii U. I've started making a list of games that have really stood out as great choices to play on the Wii U. The type of games that would have gotten attention and praise if they were released on the eshop. I feel like I've opened up a whole new world. The Nintendo DS on the Wii U feels like a game console from an alternative universe, it feels like what I imagine the Nintendo Playstation might have been. Some games don't play well not because of emulation issues but because they are designed too much for the DS's form factor. Games like the Dragon Quest games, Dragonball Origins, Choboco Tales, these games all use the touch screen for the main action, or they assume you can see both screens at once, which doesn't translate well to the Wii U. But the games that do translate well? They translate extremely well, and I've listed some below.

Use this thread to post games you think should have been in the virtual console line up, or games that you think are best played on the Wii U.

Criteria:
Must not use the gamepad screen as the main screen.
Must not split the game between two screens.
Must look good on the TV
The gamepad must be used in a way that makes playing the game on the Wii U compelling.
The game itself must be compelling enough that a Wii U release would have been well recieved.

Chrono Trigger

Everything aside from Dialogue and the main game is on the gamepad screen, meaning you can enjoy the great pixel art without any of the HUD elements getting in the way. This makes for a more immersive experience. The DS version has all of the additional features the modern release has, making this one of the best ways to play this game. Playing JRPGs with the gamepad like this is incredibly satisfying.

Dragonball Z: Attack of the Saiyans

Monolith Soft developed DBZ JRPG with TONS of soul. Give they later developed the Xenoblade games and got bought by Nintendo outright, this gem is perfect choice for the Wii U VC. The pixel art looks crisp on an HDTV, with the battle UI, map and other information on the gamepad screen. The animations are extremely well done, on par with games like Metal Slug in my opinion. All of these things make the Wii U the best place to play this.

Metal Slug 7

Metal Slug 7 is the only Metal Slug game not released on console or arcade, locked to the Nintendo DS. While the gamepad screen isn't used for much beyond a simple map, Metal Slug 7 is best played on Wii U because it's high paced, twitch reaction game play and gorgeous pixel art are much better enjoyed on a TV. This is one of my favorite DS games already, but on the Wii U it's even better

Flower, Sun, and Rain: Murder and Mystery in Paradise
Suda 51 game originally released on PS2, no english translation exists for that version. Was rereleased on the DS in 2009 in english. The game has highly stylized low poly graphics and extremely stylish menus and these help the game look good on the TV. Main action is on the TV, menus and text on the gamepad screen. If this game was released on the Virtual Console I think it would have gotten a lot of attention.

The Legendary Starfy

This game looks absolutely stunning on an HD TV, the low fidelty 3D of the DS mixes extremely well with pixel art. Reminds me of games like Tomba on PSone. Gamepad is used for everything that isn't the main action, which is exactly how it should be. Honestly one of the most beautiful games you can play on the Wii U.​

 

[AngryCinnabon]

Starfy, now that's a classic!


still have PTSD from the final boss' final attack though.

 

[Osakasan]

The Castlevania trilogy

The reasons are pretty obvious: Beautiful pixel art and semi-complex 3D background elements. They need some fiddling though, mainly switching the screens' positions and patching out the touch elements from Dawn of Sorrow, but they're basically perfect for this.

Pokémon DPP/HGSS

They suffer from some graphical glitches, but aside of that they can't be better than they are: Main adventure and battles on TV, menus on the DRC. Gorgeous games in their graphical simplicity, they're worth a shot

The Ace Attorney Trilogy

I have these already injected in my Wii U, in fact. The whole visual novel happens on the upper screen, while menus are handled by the lower one. Menus can be touch or button controlled, that's up to you, and you can switch seamlessly.

 

[Ettino]

I have 4k tv and all the DS games look like ass on it. I normally just turn the gamepad sideway when I play the DS game, so it kinda mimicking the actual DS. Most of the games I've played support the stylus anyway, so no biggie.

 

[grandosegood]

The Castlevania trilogy

The reasons are pretty obvious: Beautiful pixel art and semi-complex 3D background elements. They need some fiddling though, mainly switching the screens' positions and patching out the touch elements from Dawn of Sorrow, but they're basically perfect for this.

Pokémon DPP/HGSS

They suffer from some graphical glitches, but aside of that they can't be better than they are: Main adventure and battles on TV, menus on the DRC. Gorgeous games in their graphical simplicity, they're worth a shot

The Ace Attorney Trilogy

I have these already injected in my Wii U, in fact. The whole visual novel happens on the upper screen, while menus are handled by the lower one. Menus can be touch or button controlled, that's up to you, and you can switch seamlessly.

hi there, can you please share what base you used for ace attorney trilogy

 

[KelSolaar]

This thread needs to be updated!

 

[HelpfulHooty]

What base are you using on your injects?

That DBZ game looks pretty interesting, but just seeing a picture of Crono Trigger gave me an itch to play it through once again.

 

[KelSolaar]

I want to add that Broken Sword Directors Cut on the DS works really fine on Wii U. Since it's a point and click adventure the stylus works perfectly for the Wii U gamepad while the top screen is on the TV. This is a really good port of the game. The only thing it lacks are the dialogue, which I suppose would be too heavy on the DS cartridge.