What is the ideal way to play DS games on ‘Switch 2’?
This week sees the Nintendo DS turn 20 years old. Naturally, such an anniversary makes us think The passage of time cannot be stopped Dual screens are fun again, and many of us have been dusting off our old clamshells for a quick look at some of our favorites.
However, as deprived gamers like us are, always eager to pay £50 for a quick bout of nostalgia, the week’s reruns have reminded us just how many classic titles still exist. stuck on the handheld devices of days gone by. Original Professor Layton triad, Heavenly rhythm, Virtual hourglass And Spiritual songa carrying boat Mario & Luigi Role-playing games, the list of DS-locked titles continues. Hell, even Nintendog stuck on the DS, and it’s a famous puppy!
Of course, the reason why so many of these beloved classics are still on the old Developer System is because of that pesky form factor. It’s not surprising that so many DS games are designed for the DS. That means two screens, precise touch controls, a microphone, and a number of other features that range from useful to downright essential for playing. And if you haven’t noticed yet, our loyal Switch can’t offer all of them.
That doesn’t mean developers haven’t tried. The Switch has had some excellent DS ports to great success, but this is still a relatively small number of important titles compared to, say, Wii U Library (this causes easier transfer issues since the GamePad is actually used infrequently, but you get what we mean).
DS ports overcome the central dual-screen dilemma in a variety of ways. Ghost tricks: Ghost detective squeezes the action into one console and replaces the touch controls for more precise analog stick input. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX moved the top screen map down to the in-game menu and your team status in the top corner. Castlevania Dominus Collection comes with a bunch of different display options so you can zoom in/out the screen to your liking. Special Rune Factory 3 did… nothing, really.
Look, the Switch has made a good impression with the DS games it’s attracted… but surely ‘Switch 2’ can do it better.
A few weeks ago, we saw one Short YouTube from @BigShirtGames where he’s running a DS game on Switch in’Tate mode‘ — remember that portrait function the Switch used all… twice [Shmup fans gonna be gunning for you, Jimbo – Ed.] — with Joy-Con attached through one Flip the handle.
Admittedly, it requires a hacked Switch running the emulator and supports accessories well, but we can’t help but salivate over seeing the two screens reimagined on a single capable OLED. touch screen. Um, pixels.
Since seeing it in action, it feels like a no-brainer feature for ‘Switch 2’. Give us the ability to slap our magnetic Joy-Con onto the X-axis, attach a microphone somewhere, attach some DS games to the console-specific NSO library, and you’ve got attention of two-screen generations — and possibly a wave of hot sales — there isn’t even a trace of the new 3D Mario.
While we’re talking, what if there was a way to connect your old Switch display to a fancy new one and completely replicate the classic dual-screen approach in the process? What if that is What’s the real purpose of the mysterious USB-C port on top of that port? said to be ‘Switch 2’ design we saw a few months ago? Nintendo wants to put more Switches in every household, and we’re trying to think of a surer way to ensure that there’s more to the screen than the promise of a new way to play Kid Icarus: Rebellion. Just us? Maybe, but imagine it!
