The 7 best Disney games on the Nintendo 3DS/DS

Well, we’ve got a little over a year left before two Nintendo consoles are for all intents and purposes dead. One of them was an extremely popular and successful platform that got off to a rocky start, one is the 2nd least popular console Nintendo has ever made. Today we’ll be focusing on the more beloved and popular console, the Nintendo 3DS (though a blog entry for Wii U will be coming in the near future as well).

The Nintendo 3DS didn’t really live up to its tech hype of being some revolutionary 3D gaming console on the go that also played AR games (remember Face Raiders? Super fun for about 10 minutes), but it managed to be home to some fantastic games once everyone wasn’t focused on the gimmickry (even though there were some games that made great use of 3D on it) and its backwards compatibility with 2DS games means it started with one hell of a library for newcomers and a good excuse to upgrade for everyone else.

Being a portable console that a lot of the younger set enjoyed there were also licensed games. Lots of licensed games. Lots of terrible trash licensed games. But there were also some really good ones, and some of them were based on Disney-owned properties! So today we look at seven Disney games from the DS/3DS library that are actually really good. These aren’t necessarily exclusives or the best versions of said games but they are all still very worthy of playing or owning on the console if you have it.

#7. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga starts the list off and is it the “worst” version of this classic game that’s available on like every other platform in existence? Quite possibly, but it’s the complete experience nonetheless. You don’t sacrifice much in getting to play this tremendous game on the go, there are a few features exclusive to this version you can only do with a touch screen interface, and this is still the peak of Lego games IMHO so you really can’t go wrong with any version.

#6. Disney Magical World 2

No longer a 3DS exclusive, but that isn’t the real reason Disney Magical World 2 lands the number six spot. It’s actually a really competent game with tons of activities and I could see kids being entertained for hours upon hours doing everything and meeting the characters and exploring the different worlds. That being said, at the end of the day it’s definitely a Disney-style take on an Animal Crossing type game where you just kinda hangout and do activities at your leisure and there’s an end goal but it’s so low priority there might as well not be. But at the end of the day you have a great version of Animal Crossing on the same platform and Disney Magical World 2 just isn’t on the same level. But at the same time a suprisingly competent game so it still makes the list.

#5. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

A great concept kinda ruined by bad execution, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is the first game in the series where Riku really gets a chance to shine as a protagonist and looks great on the 3DS and plays really well. The big downfall is the gimmick where you only have very limited amounts of time as either Riku or Sora and the game just switches you when the timer runs out regardless of what you are doing. If it was something you could do at will or strictly tied into the story it woud have worked way better. Still, bad execution of a gimmick aside, very worth checking out for Kingdom Hearts fans, which now you can do on other platforms as well.

#4. Kim Possible: Global Gemini

Kim Possible has an insane record for a series of almost all portable games based on a cartoon for kids. Not every single one is an absolute banger but some are and all are at least good with the exception of Kimmunicator which was an obvious rush job. Kim Possible: Global Gemini is actually arguably the weakest entry of the good ones but still a really solid platformer with variety and just fun to play as nearly the entire franchise is.

#3. Aliens: Infestation

The Alien franchise in terms of video games has been a very mixed bag. You have some really great games, some pretty ok ones and some straight up embarassing ones. There’s also a couple no one really talks about because no one ever played them but they are still really good and Aliens: Infestation is absolutely one of those games.

Releasing on the DS without much fanfare but developed by those licensed-game geniuses Wayforward it’s now recognized as an underrated gem and unfortunately that does mean it fetches a kinda high price o Ebay if you want to experience it but honestly if you are a big fan of the franchise Aliens Infestation might just be worth it for you.

#2. Thor: God of Thunder

Licensed games aren’t nearly as ubiquitous as they once were and almost none are directly tied to a certain movie or franchise, more of a loose adaptation. Why? you can pretty much look to the era around first few years of the MCU as the reason. While the movies were red hot, there were numerous games based on the first phase of Marvel movies and they were nearly all hot garbage and it showed both in critical reviews and sales. But one of the very few highlights was Wayforward once again coming in and making a banger of a licensed game no one noticed until years after the fact because it was a licensed game on a portable console. But Thor: God of Thunder is an excellent game and easily one of the best games based on a movie period much less in the last 20 years. It should be noted that this is specifically the DS version the 3DS version was developed by Red Fly studios and while not terrible, still an inferior effort.

#1. Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

Who the hell is this Roxas dude and why am I playing him for several hours at the start of Kingdom Hearts II? The answer lies one of the better entries in the Kingdom Hearts series and one that absolutely got the short shrift when the HD collections came out, being turned into an abysmal cut scene movie when the game plays great, has a touching emotional story and tons of Disney fan service including seeing worlds in a way you didn’t other entries. Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days is atrue gem locked on an almost dead console when it really doesn’t have to be, hopefully someday it’ll get another release on at least one other platform because it really deserves it.

That’s the list so that’s all for today, I definitely plan on doing a similar list for Wii/Wii U Disney games in the near future so look out of that but may have another entry or two in-betwee. Either way, see ya real soon!