Shack Chat: Which DS/3DS games should be remade for Nintendo Switch?

Shack Chat is back once again, our weekly feature each Friday where we’ll ask the Shacknews staff to give their opinion on a particular topic, then open the floor to our dedicated Chatty community to provide a diverse mixture of thoughts on the subject. It’s a great way for us to get to know one another better while inspiring healthy debates with all of you passionate gamers out there.

Question: Which DS/3DS games should be remade for Nintendo Switch?

Brain Age - Asif Khan, Young at heart, old at brain

Brain Age needs to be remade for Nintendo Switch. I have been getting dumber at an alarming rate since I put my Nintendo DS in a drawer. My math skills are getting worse by the day, and I need some constant reminder to do something about my brain as it falls deeper into atrophy. Use it or lose it, and each week that passes without a new Brain Age solidifies my downward spiral of irreparable brain damage. Save me Dr. Kawashima, you’re my only hope.

Elite Beat Agents - Brittany Vincent, Senior Editor

Nintendo had to go to the trouble of making an entirely different squad than those in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan for Elite Beat Agents, so you'd think they'd at least use the Americanized version of the Japanese rhythm gaming classic to its full potential. Unfortunately, we didn't even get a DS sequel to this funky, challenging music game that requires you to tap the circles and slide the paths along to the beat. It'll chew you up and spit you out, even if you're a seasoned player, and that's why it's so ridiculously addictive. There's no reason it couldn't come to the Switch, especially since it works so perfectly as a touch screen game – that's it's modus operandi, after all. Agents!!

Big Brain Academy - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Editor

While Asif covered the merits of the Brain Age series, I have to admit that I was more into Big Brain Academy, which was the sister series, so to speak. While Brain Age focused more on single subject tests, Big Brain Academy was more about mixing different types of puzzles into one session in order to test a user's brain mass. There were logic puzzles like Pathfinder, compute puzzles like Coin-parison, and my personal favorite, the memory puzzles. Sound Bite was a fun challenge, as it basically tasked players with remembering certain sound patterns and repeating them.

I remember peaking with an A- grade and feeling like that was good enough to walk away, but Big Brain Academy is the kind of game that's still worth playing on a daily basis. That's why it's the only original DS game that I bothered to hunt down years after the 3DS' release. It'd be great to have it again on the Nintendo Switch. Or heck, just make a new one. Dr. Lobe deserves to make a comeback.

The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourlgass - Josh Hawkins, Some guy

I was a huge fan of the way that Wind Waker approached the Legend of Zelda formula, so when Phantom Hourglass released on the Nintendo DS, I was ecstatic to dive in. The game is still one of my favorite handheld Zelda games to date and does such a good job of making use of the DS and its various bits and bobs.

The basic Zelda formula is still on display for those who love the classic feel, but Phantom Hourglass also does a really good job of adding some new mechanics to the mix by getting players to make use of the touchscreen with the boomerang, as well as having to use the microphone to simulate blowing on things throughout some of the dungeons that you have to explore. It was such a fun little experience, and I remember playing through it several times on my original Nintendo DS.

Aside from Phantom Hourglass, there are just a ton of great games from the Nintendo DS era that would do so well with the Switch remaster treatment. Not only does it give Nintendo a way to pad the library on the Switch even more, but it also gives us another way to enjoy some of our favorite games on-the-go or even on our TV screens thanks to the way that the Switch easily transforms into a home console.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - Kevin S. Tucker, Cowlbearer

Aside from interest in the technology, one of the main reasons I bought a Nintendo DS back in the day was to play Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. It was a game that clearly called back to Symphony of the Night, still one of my all-time favorites, yet it was designed to be played on-the-go. Nintendo is brilliant with portable gameplay, and Dawn of Sorrow was exactly what I'd been hoping for: A proper Metroidvania-style title I could take anywhere.

That's the same reason I'd like to see it on the Switch now — to enjoy a deep, retro-feeling Metroidvania I can lounge with around the house. Really, that's all I ever want on the Switch, and it does have a bunch of games in that genre already. But without a working DS (mine died all-to-soon after being dropped at the airport), I haven't been able to enjoy the DS Castlevania games in more than a decade. Now’s the perfect time to give the games a fresh coat of paint and a proper modern re-release. I'd take Dawn of Sorrow, sequel Portrait of Ruin, third-timer Order of Ecclesia, or even Symphony of the Night on the Switch. A bundle with each of the DS releases would be especially tasty.

WarioWare: Touched! - Chris Jarrard, Longing to be touched...

I’ve never actually used a Nintendo DS or even seen one in person, so I’m not any real authority here, but I’ve been told that WarioWare: Touched! Is a certified banger. From what I’ve seen of the game from video clips, it appears to be legit.

I’m also down to be touched, so I guess that works, too.

Electroplankton - Blake Morse, Electronic Boogie Boy

I simply adore making bloops and bleeps with electronic machines, which is probably why I play in a chiptune band. And when something comes along that allows me to make music in a fun and unique way I am all over it. Electroplankton was such a fun and approachable way to have casual fun with rhythm and melody. I could only imagine that its interactivity would grow and flourish on the Switch. A whole new generation of creative-types could be introduced to it and the touchscreen interface and colorful UI is much more familiar now that smartphones are commonplace which could make it more accessible than ever. ‘

I already own Korg Gadget for Switch and I’m sure if there was some way to integrate loops from a game like Electroplankton into there I’d be making some of my epically dope beats. Well, at least my mom tells me they are dope.

Nintendogs - Bill Lavoy, Totally not Asif ghostwriting

If you know me, I love two things: pets and hockey. Well and Tim Hortons, but that is besides the point. It is a crime against humanity that Nintendogs has not been re-released on Nintendo Switch. The game was pure joy in your pocket on Nintendo DS and it would shine so much with the Switch’s beautiful touchscreen. Bring Nintendogs back, you cowards.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Sam Chandler, Guides Editor

Ready to feel old? Ocarina of Time was released on Nintendo 3DS eight years ago in 2011. That’s a damn long time ago, despite it feeling just like yesterday. Sure, we have a perfectly fine Zelda game on Nintendo Switch already, but wouldn’t it be great if the best Zelda game of all time could grace Nintendo’s ultimate handheld device?

The benefit of this would be twofold. Not only would it look even better on a larger handheld device, but you could play a graphically enhanced version on your TV screen! No need for an S-video to HDMI adapter, no need to hack your 3DS or other such nonsense.

The Legend of Zelda: Major's Mask and Ocarina of Time 3D - Greg Burke, Lives in the mines

I’m honestly dumbfounded why these two gems have not been ported to the Switch yet. Nintendo, why do you not like money? I understand that it would take a bit of work considering the one screen, but it’d be an instant purchase if they made it available on the Switch. They’re probably saving it as part of there yearly sub access.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies - Donovan Erskine, Intern

Dragon Quest IX is one of my favorite RPG’s of all time. It was also my entry point for the Dragon Quest series. DQ9 has about everything I want from a role-playing game. A deep and intertwining narrative, challenging battles/bosses, a fine-tuned combat system, and a wide variety of character customization.

The only thing about Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies that doesn’t hold up today are it’s DS era graphics. With DQ11 hitting the Nintendo Switch later this year, the pathway has been paved for the gold standard in JRPG’s to be upgraded and remastered for a new generation of gamers.

The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass - David Craddock, Long Reads Editor

Nintendo’s semi-recent announcement of a Link’s Awakening remake on Switch got me thinking about other handheld Zeldas that deserve the old-is-new treatment. To be honest, as big a Zelda fan as I am, the handheld games are a collective gap in my history. I’d played Zelda 1 and II on NES and enjoyed them, but was more interested in platformers and fighting games when A Link to the Past--which I did play--and Link’s Awakening were new. By the time the DS rolled around, I had one, and loved Zelda, but never bought The Phantom Hourglass.

And to be honest, I don’t know why. I loved The Wind Waker on GameCube, and Phantom Hourglass was set up as a direct sequel. Yet it passed me by. I’m familiar with the game’s strengths (touchscreen-based combat, movement, and sailing) and its weaknesses (some dungeon you have to repeat over and over). I think of Wind Waker HD on Wii U, and can’t help but imagine what a treatment of The Phantom Hourglass in that touched-up engine would look like on Switch.

Disagree with our picks? Think we're a bunch of clowns? Let us know in the Chatty below.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.