Important Importables: the Must Import DS game

When it comes to the Nintendo DS, developers seem to go nuts and explode with ideas, resulting in an almost ridiculous amount of games. If you combine the Japanese, North American and European games released so far, you end up with hundreds of unique titles.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that they are all good as gold.

There is a lot of mediocre material to wade through to find the shining stars of the DS family. That being said, there are a few DS games which are honestly the best of the best. Sadly, some are imports which will likely never come stateside. The funny thing is, what may be the absolute best game for the system is trapped overseas. This is why everyone must import it.

Now before I leap into the love-fest for the best import, I want to also make sure to bring to your attention two other games that would be worthy additions to any player’s library.

Honorable Mention – Densetsu no Stafi 4

Densetsu no Stafi 4 is an anomaly, at least in my eyes. The series, which stars a cute, yellow star named Stafi who goes around aiding undersea friends, is from the creators of Kirby. It features beautiful graphics, an energetic soundtrack, solid gameplay and whimsical adventures. Yet it has never been localized for a release outside of Japan. All the entries in the series (which began on the GBA with Densetsu no Stafi) are four star games, so it is puzzling that is trapped in Japan.

The first DS entry in the series is similar to the others, with minor additions. Once again Stafi has fallen from the sky into the sea, and is now helping aquatic denizens with problems. At the same time he is trying to stop the villainous Ogura’s plans. This time his little sister Stapi is a playable character and various animals and undersea creatures assist Stafi.

If you pick up Densetsu no Stafi 4, you’ll just be getting a quality game. There is some Japanese in it, but it doesn’t impair gameplay for those who don’t speak the language. Usually it is accompanied by images, so you can tell what the message is anyways. A bonus is that this game is on sale at Play-Asia for $14.90, cheaper than a regular NA DS game.

Runner Up – Daigasso! Band Brothers

Daigasso! Band Brothers wasn’t supposed to be exclusive to Japan. When the DS was first released, Nintendo had a page on their official site heralding the coming of Jam with the Band, a localized version of the game. Sadly, it fell through, and the best music game/simulator for the DS was trapped in Japan forever.

Daigasso! Band Brothers is a music game where each of the DS’s face buttons are used to play songs. The 38 songs range from Japanese rock/pop, world songs, anime theme songs, classics and video game medleys. (My personal favorites are the “Famicom Medley” and Ai Otsuka’s “Sakuran’bo.”) Each song has between six and eight different instrument parts to master.

Daigasso! also has other amazing features. It has a music editor which lets you create (on virtual sheet music) and save up to eight songs in the game. These songs can then be played in the main mode or shared with friends. It also features single cart multiplayer, where up to eight people can play a song together with just one cartridge.

It is also the first DS game to use Japan’s DS download service and the only DS game to ever merit an expansion pack. The six download service songs were all Nintendo game tunes that could be gotten from kiosks and saved to the game. The Daigasso! Band Brothers Request Selection expansion pack featured songs which people voted for on the official site. The 31 chosen songs were then placed onto a GBA cartridge. If you insert that cartridge before play, those songs will show up in your music library in game.

When it comes to importing, Daigasso! isn’t too difficult to manage. If players who don’t speak Japanese want to use the music editor though, they’ll have to consult a guide from Gamefaqs to figure out how things work. Otherwise, it is very simple to play once you learn what menus lead where. The game itself can be found online for $49, and the expansion pack will cost about $40.

Must Import DS Game - Jump Ultimate Stars

There is no doubt about it, Jump Ultimate Stars is the best import DS game. In fact, it could arguably be considered the best DS game period. This massive Japanese fighting game, featuring 300 characters from 40 different Japanese mangas, could be likened to a portable Smash Brothers.

Even if you just look at a few of the series from which characters and stages appear, it blows you away. Characters from Bleach, D.Gray-man, Death Note, Dragonball Z, Gintama, Naruto (technically, Naruto Shippuden), One Piece, The Prince of Tennis and Yu-Gi-Oh all appear. After you unlock a character, you can use colored gems obtained from the story mode to upgrade them into more powerful forms. Each character starts as just a one square assist character, but if you keep evolving them they can turn into support or fighter characters.

The commitment to style in this game blows you away. It is based on Japanese mangas, so everything feels like it is taken straight from a comic book. The multi-level stages feature page numbers and panels. The touch screen features a koma battle system, where the various character panels represent fighters, support characters and assist characters.

Plus, it is impossible to become bored with this title. Most of the 300 characters, stages and music are unlocked through the story mode, which features tons of options for each battle. If you clear a stage while meeting certain objectives, more stuff becomes available. There are also arena and tournament modes and a robust multiplayer experience. The game not only supports single card multiplayer and local wireless, but also worldwide battles over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Sadly, this game will never be released outside of Japan due to licensing issues. In Japan all of the 40 series that appear in this game are all under the Shonen Jump label. In other parts of the world, the series are licensed by different companies, rather than just one. So sadly this shining gem will have to remain in Japan.

Language in Jump Ultimate Stars can be a bit of a barrier, but many fans have put up guides on Gamefaqs to help players overcome that burden. After a few play-throughs, it all becomes second nature. The only time language really factors in after that is when playing story mode, as a guide will have to be consulted to determine what criteria should be met when beating a stage. The game can be found online for around $49, but occasionally sites will have a sale reducing the price by $10 or so.

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