Upcoming DS games for March 2008

Winter is gone and March is here. Sure, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is near and will be awesome, but the DS isn’t going to prettily sit on its laurels this month; a few big hits are set to release within weeks, alongside a whole bunch of interesting titles. Action, adventure, strategy and role-playing; the Nintendo DS has something for everyone this month. Check out the most impressive DS titles coming this March:

Mysterious Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer – March 4: Shiren the Wanderer is very similar to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, a dungeon-crawler with randomly-generated levels, many items and enemies to collect and battle, and big punishments for defeat. This one, however, is a remake of an old SNES game, and things are a bit more simple and easy-going than in the Pokémon spin-off.

Eco Creatures: Save the Forest – March 4: A very artsy RTS with a twist, Eco Creatures has you in control of different ecosystem creatures doing their best to protect their natural habitats. You can command various classes, each with many units ready to do your bidding, and a robust map editor lets you design your own areas and share them with friends, both locally and over the net.

Ninja Reflex – March 4 The DS has trained your brain well enough; now it’s time to train those reflexes! This title is all about Ninjas and their impressive agility. Various events are exposed as mini-games, such as catching flies with chopsticks or defending from multiple sword attacks. Everything is handled with the stylus, and a ‘hot seat’ multiplayer option is also available. The Wii version of this title seems like the winner, but we can’t be sure until we try them both.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates – March 11: A robust action RPG with solid button controls, combo attacks, various classes, and a deep magic-casting system, split into a Solo Mode and a multicard Multiplayer Mode that seems like a ton of fun, as long as you can track down some friends with the game (yep, no online play).

Insecticide – March 11: A great blend of old-school adventure titles (LucasArts’ greatness, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle) and action sections similar to Beyond Good & Evil. As insects evolve and practically take over the world, a new civilization rises, and a young police detective is set to discover the truth behind some mysterious cases. Sounds like a winner!

Sega Superstars Tennis – March 18 Sonic, Ai-Ai, Ulala and Amigo bring it on to the tennis court on a frantic mascot match for the DS. Since Mario Tennis DS isn’t around, Sega’s characters take the court, and although stylus controls aren’t present, a well-developed, button-based tennis game for the DS could be great. Ah, if only this game had online play…

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword – March 20: Responsive stylus input, intense Ninja action, and great-looking characters and backgrounds make Ninja Gaiden DS a sure hit for the system. Good combat with multiple attacks and enemies, combined with well-designed levels and impressive boss battles make fora great title for the Spring.