Final Fantasy Fables Chocobo Tales

While often overlooked, the Nintendo DS era marked a surprisingly strong period for Square Enix, when the company was still actively expanding its IPs in creative directions rather than relying solely on its flagship titles. Among the more unusual releases on the system, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales stands out as one of the most distinctive JRPG spin-off experiences.

The Chocobo series itself is a long-running Final Fantasy spin-off, placing the series’ iconic yellow bird in the role of the main hero. What began as a modest experiment on the original PlayStation eventually found new life on the DS with Chocobo Tales, reimagined with a more playful and experimental design.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

I’ve been an avid Igavania fan ever since I discovered Aria of Sorrow in my teenage years. That experience led me to play nearly every Castlevania entry in the series directed by Igarashi. It’s hard to overstate how influential Igavania has been on my gaming life as it formed my core foundation for the metroidvania genre as a whole.

Fast forward to 2026, and I finally had the chance to revisit one of the DS Igavania trilogy titles, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, thanks to the Castlevania Dominus Collection. I was glad to complete my run, even though it took me around three months due to real-life circumstances.

Castlevania Dominus Collection

 Konami may be a deadbeat Game publisher but there are still some competent individuals in the company that still make proper use of their once of popular IPs like Castlevania for this instance. It is just a matter of time after Castlevania Advance compilation got released that the Nintendo DS Castlevania compilation making it as well! Dubbed as Castlevania Dominus Collection, This compilation is available out of nowhere as Digital Release for modern consoles including Switch being released on 27th August 2024 for 24.99 USD. 

Seriously 24.99 USD is literally a steal for Three Crown Jewels of Castlevania which are the culmination of Igavania before Koji Igarashi ultimately departs from Konami. I have played all of these DS Castlevania and while I never exactly finished Order of Ecclessia, all of these 3 Castlevania are very fun Metroidvania games. Portrait of Ruins is easily the best one among these three with plenty of secrets available and I did like Dawn of Sorrow even if it had many issues that makes it a weaker title compared to Aria of Sorrow. Given the pleasant memory that I have from these DS Castlevania, I am still hoping for Konami to have some decency to make a physical release for this Castlevania collection.

SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters DS

 Back in 90s during the Golden age of Arcade Games, SNK and Capcom reigns at the top with their fighting game and known for their rivalry in this genre. A decade forward when Console games become more dominant and before each of the company went separate own ways, they left behind a legacy for the fans to remember the good old times. That legacy comes in the crossover SNK vs Capcom games series which are mainly fighting games but a Card Game series also spawned out of the cooperative effort.

 The SNK vs Capcom Card Game i that played was the DS version which is probably the most widely available version of the series for International fans. I played the game more than a decade ago but it was not until now that i managed to settle the score with this game. The game allows you to pit characters from SNK and Capcom games in Card Game format and this format enables the greatest amount of roster from both SNK and Capcom's Library compared to the Fighting game. In terms of the roster SvC Card Clash had most of the cards from SNK and Capcom works in 90s though rather lacking from their 2000s games

Custom Robo Arena

 This is another one of those old backlog game that i managed to deal with. Custom Robo Arena is one of those hidden gem in NDS especially if you like some 3D mecha action. Typical of the game of this genre, the story is never the strong point but it makes up with the gameplay. Custom Robo Arena gameplay is similar to game like Medabots and Danball Senki where you customize your robot toy and duke it out with other robots in one on one fight. In terms of size comparison, The Custom Robos size are somewhere around a Perfect Grade Gundam size so they fit roughly between LBX and Medabots. In this game my favorite Custom Robo variant is Lightning Sky which can transform into plane mode and the one thst I used the most is Tempest which resembles to a transformable Arc Beetle from Medabots. As of now I have finished the game with only Grudge Battles left which I will pick it up again when interested. Custom Robo could easily have a sequel on 3ds but I guess it comes to lack of interest but I hope the series will reappear someday. 

Solatorobo 2nd Run

 Four years gives a good breather for me to do another run for Solatorobo and it is still a very good game and probably one of the best in DS. The game is still repetitive but had very good atmostphere and worldbuilding. Come to think of it the reason why Solatorobo gave me great nostalgic vibe is that settings-wise it shares alot in common with Megaman Legends series and can be considered as its spiritual successor to an extent. The game is still quite easy tho the Boss Rush can be a little bit challenging if i go reckless. By now i am on the early third Playthrough to get Dahak Omega but i will stop at this point until i get nostalgic with the series again. Seriously Cyberconnect can make Ver 1.5 and i will still buy it as long as they make the game have more Open World elements on it. Looking forward someday that i got an opportunity to play the game for third time using Dahak Omega.

Pokemon Ranger Shadow of Almia

 From the beginning of this blog, i tried to steer away from Pokemon  because i had rather complicated relationship with the series. It was a love-hate with this one as i grew up playing Pokemon but got disillusioned how the series decline on 3DS partly on alienating the older fanbase. NDS probably is the best time that the Pokemon series had as it spawned plenty of decent quality Spin-offs. One of them is Pokemon Ranger Series and i happened to finish one of its installment called Shadow of Almia. I have played the first Pokemon Ranger ages ago and Almia is the second of the installment which happened to be in my backlog.

 Pokemon Ranger series is notable for showing pokemon natural behavior other than as fighting tool for Trainers. Shadow of Almia compared to its predecessor had several improvements notably with wide selection of Pokemon companion and somewhat okay storyline if inconsistent. Though i still prefer the first game when it comes to the selection of Pokemon as Sinnoh Pokemon's are just lacking compared to Hoenn. One of my least favorite thing about this game is the annoying amount of backtracking that this game has which i don't think the first game was as bad as Almia. In any case probably have more Pokemon content in the future including Review materials as well.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike

 Advance Wars has been one of my favorite original Nintendo Series made by Intelligent software. I suppose by this time with the Waifu Bait antics that Nintendo shove Intelligent put into Fire Emblem, Advance Wars become my preferred SRPG series over Fire Emblem. I have played all Advance Wars games from the GBA until Days of Ruins and Dual Strike happens to be my last one that i completed the Campaign mode. Out of Advance Wars i think Dual Strike has the best contents in the series so far because it wins by sheer amount of content. The Balance is rather tipped off though in Dual Strike as some of COs Dual Strike are gamebreaking stuff. I still wonder why there are none Advance Wars title for 3DS series even though Intelligent could easily make one. Preoccupation with Fire Emblem has to do with it but it would be a waste if Nintendo skipped one for 3DS.

Solatorobo: Red the Hunter

At first i thought this game is a furry game with robot but turns out more than that and i can see why Xseed decided to bring this game to western shore. Solatorobo is probably one of the DS game that is released near the end of DS lifecycle that got really good production value. I am not into furries, in fact i avoid them like plague and i like Solatorobo because it is genuinely good game. The story is typical JRPG and quite lighthearted. In the game you play as Caninu(Canine + Inu) hunter called Red whose daily hunter life changed when he encountered a Felineko(Feline + Neko) called Elh who made a contract with Red to Seal the great Beast Lares before it plunge the world to calamity. The gameplay is rather simple where Red piloted robot called Dahak and Judo throw people around. Also the storyline is divided into 2 parts where the first part feels like whole tutorial.

What i find really charming from this series is the world setting which is just vibrant and colorful, a good one for a JRPG game. I find the mecha designs are very cool as well but quite underused and somehow the mecha kinda reminds me of Tron Bonne and Bumpy trot. As for music they are very good for a DS games and have some feel of .Hack along with it. My gripe for this game is that all of the good stuff in the games are underused and the game is too easy even the final boss is pushover. If Cyberconnect ever plans a sequel for this game i would say it is quite easy for them to pull it off considering the potential of the series are not fully used yet. I will probably play this game until i get the Dahak Omega which is the picture below and going to get Tail Concerto a try.

Last Window: Secret of Cape West

Revised May 2026

Last Window: The Secret of Cape West is the sequel to Hotel Dusk: Room 215 that I covered earlier in 2013, serving as the second and ultimately final chapter of the Kyle Hyde saga. Unfortunately, it was also the last game developed by Cing before the company eventually shut down. Even so, Last Window remains a wonderful experience true to the series, especially for anyone already invested in Kyle Hyde’s story and seek for a sense of closure.

Much like Hotel Dusk, you once again step into the shoes of Kyle Hyde, an ex-cop turned traveling salesman and odd-job freelancer. Gameplay revolves around exploring environments, interacting with objects, speaking to residents, and uncovering clues that gradually push the story forward. This time, the setting shifts to Kyle’s apartment building, formerly a thriving hotel that still hides its own share of secrets. Just one week before the building is scheduled for demolition, Kyle receives a mysterious letter requesting his help in finding something known as the Scarlet Star, a clue that may finally uncover the truth behind his father’s death.

As always, the noir-inspired storytelling in Last Window is top-notch, and in some ways, I would even say it surpasses Hotel Dusk. Still, I personally have a soft spot for the first game that is hard to replace. As the concluding chapter of the Kyle Hyde saga, Last Window dives deeper into Kyle’s past while revealing connections that tie directly back to the events of Hotel Dusk. Story-wise, it truly feels like the swan song of Cing, as if the developers poured everything they had into creating a proper conclusion for the series, even if it ultimately ends on a somewhat imperfect note. One particularly memorable feature is how the entire storyline can later be read as a novel within the game itself, which gives the experience a uniquely reflective atmosphere.

As wishful as it may sound, part of me still hopes the Kyle Hyde saga could someday receive a proper continuation. The overarching story never truly felt complete, especially with Kyle never fully confronting the larger forces operating behind the scenes. It does not necessarily have to be developed by Cing; I would honestly welcome another studio continuing the series if it could preserve the same tone and spirit. Last Window certainly works as a form of closure, but I still wish Cing had the opportunity to continue their craft back then.

Personally, I would not have bothered rewriting a 13-year-old blog post about a Nintendo DS game if this series did not mean so much to me. The Kyle Hyde saga remains one of the most unique adventure game experiences I have ever played, and even now, very few games have managed to replicate its atmosphere and storytelling style. At this point, I would honestly even settle for a novel adaptation if the series can no longer continue as a video game.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215

Revised May 2026

One of the Nintendo DS games I finally completed back in 2013 after leaving it unfinished for several years was Hotel Dusk: Room 215. Cing may not be a widely known company, but every game I’ve played from their library has been stellar when it comes to storytelling. Set in the early 1970s, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a detective adventure with a strong noir atmosphere, where you play as a burned-out ex-police detective named Kyle Hyde who stumbles into a mysterious yet strangely fateful encounter.

In Hotel Dusk, Kyle Hyde now works as a sort of odd-job freelancer after leaving the police force. His journey leads him to an inn called Hotel Dusk, a place that hides far more secrets than it first appears. Throughout the game, you interact with the hotel’s guests, each of whom seems to have their own connection to the hotel and their own personal stories waiting to be uncovered. Piece by piece, these encounters gradually lead Kyle closer to the person he has been searching for ever since leaving his job as a detective, someone tied to unresolved business from his past.

If you enjoy text-heavy adventure games with a visual novel-style presentation, this is a game you absolutely should not miss. Hotel Dusk has a truly one-of-a-kind presentation, from its rotoscoped character art to the way the Nintendo DS is held like a book during gameplay. The atmosphere and writing give it a style that still feels unique even today and nothing really came close to this series after Cing’s departure.

While the gameplay can occasionally feel a little clunky or frustrating, the story of Hotel Dusk is on an entirely different level, something that remains surprisingly rare even among Japanese games. It’s honestly a shame that Cing went under so early, because they created games with genuinely interesting stories and unique experiences. After finishing Hotel Dusk, I later played Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, which continues and abruptly concludes Kyle Hyde Saga.