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The World Ends with You (2007)
7.6/10on IGDB
Released
Neku fights on the lower screen while his partner fights at the same time up top. You work the stylus for one character and the buttons for the other. The split gives the two characters a distinct rhythm in the same fight, although getting comfortable with the whole screenful of action takes practice.
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Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (2009)
8.7/10on IGDB
Released
Defeat a foe on the upper screen and it becomes a piece in the puzzle below. Clear matches in that puzzle to send health and energy back to the platforming game. The fun is deciding when to stop swinging and do a little housekeeping downstairs.
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Advance Wars: Dual Strike (2005)
8.6/10on IGDB
Released
In DS Battles, the second screen can hold another battlefield. You may have to watch both fronts or move troops from one screen to the other. It’s worth picking for that shift in scale, when a decision that makes sense on one map has to leave you enough resources for the other.
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Contra 4 (2007)
8.0/10on IGDB
Released
Enemies can come at you from above because the stages extend across both screens. A grappling hook lets you get up there and fight from a different height. It’s a hectic use of the extra space, especially if you’re used to keeping your eyes fixed on the ground in Contra.
More about Contra 45
Sonic Rush (2005)
7.6/10on IGDB
Released
A bungee jump can send Sonic dropping from the top screen to the bottom. Both displays make up the same play area, giving the side-scrolling stages room to send you through tall drops and corkscrews. Try this for a quick feel for what a taller handheld level can do.
More about Sonic Rush6
Metroid Prime Pinball (2005)
6.0/10on IGDB
Released
A pinball table extends across both displays, with Samus rolling through ramps and bumpers as the Morph Ball. You can see where the shot went and follow it back toward the flippers. Choose it for the simplest idea here: give the ball a whole table to travel through.
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Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (2007)
8.5/10on IGDB
Released
Turn the DS sideways and it opens like a book. The characters face each other across the two screens when they talk, giving you time to watch a reaction before deciding whether to press someone further. It’s a good change of pace if you want the hardware to make a conversation feel closer.
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Etrian Odyssey (2007)
7.0/10on IGDB
Released
You can draw walls and mark hazards on the lower screen as you work through the maze above. The map you make can even remind you of a note when you pass that spot again. Pick the DS original if you like the idea of keeping your own records as a party skill.
More about Etrian Odyssey9
Big Bang Mini (2009)
8.3/10on IGDB
Released
Most enemies are above your ship. Flick a firework at them and a miss can send more hazards your way below. Watching where a shot goes and making room to dodge are part of the same decision, which makes a short round surprisingly busy.
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Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009)
8.9/10on IGDB
Released
Bowser’s on the upper screen, with Mario and Luigi inside his body on the lower one. When he drinks water, the brothers’ surroundings fill up. The two displays give you the setup and the punch line of the same puzzle.
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Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005)
8.0/10on IGDB
Released
When the adult brothers and their baby selves split up, the babies can move around on the upper screen while the adults stay below. The puzzle is working out how each pair can help from its own part of the room. Try it to see how the series used the second screen before Bowser’s Inside Story.
More about Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time12
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2009)
8.3/10on IGDB
Released
The original DS version puts characters and dialogue on one screen and prose narration on the other. Keep an eye on both as you read between escape rooms. The reason to choose this edition is that the split becomes part of how the mystery tells its story.
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