The Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS are perfect examples of how Nintendo’s innovations can come back to bite them. For a company with such a strong legacy, most of their first-party DS and 3DS games have never been re-released. This left the Nintendo Switch in the awkward position of having a worse library of legacy content than the infamous Wii U. After nearly eight years of circulation, the Switch only covers certain games up through the Game Boy Advance. In comparison, the Wii U started adding DS games to its Virtual Console in June 2014, less than two years after the console was first released.
For a while, the lack of DS games on Switch wasn’t much of a problem since the 3DS was backward compatible and had new games coming out up until its eShop closed. While classic DS games were still expensive, they at least had easily accessible hardware to legally play them on. But now that the 3DS is as good as retired, there’s a big hole in Nintendo’s currently available library of games. With the DS’ and 3DS’ use of two screens and a touchscreen, it’s not that easy to just port the games over to a new console and call it a day. But now that it seems the Nintendo Switch 2’s Joy-Cons might be able to be used as mice, a DS and 3DS Virtual Console might become a reality again.
The Wii U Had One of the Best Ways to Play Retro Nintendo Games
The Otherwise Forgettable Console’s One Win
The Wii U was a lot of things, not all of them good. But if it did anything right, it was serving as an all-in-one retro Nintendo machine. Games exclusive to the Wii U were few and far between, but those who bothered buying one were given access to some of the best pre-Wii U games Nintendo had to offer. Like the Wii, the Wii U sold downloads of titles on old consoles like the NES through the Nintendo 64, but it didn’t stop there.
The Wii U sold some of Nintendo’s 2000s retro catalog, like Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and even Wii games. Handheld Virtual Console games felt right at home on the Wii U thanks to the GamePad. While players were free to play their games with blown-up pixels on the big TV screen, they could also just play them right on the GamePad itself to replicate that handheld experience — and to avoid magnifying the games’ original graphics to the point of making them look ugly.
But the GamePad also felt tailor-made to replicate the DS experience. There was a stylus, there was a touchscreen, and it was a second screen to the TV. It was like the DS but as a home console. However, when the Nintendo Switch came around, there was no longer a second screen. The choice to ditch the GamePad was probably a good bet economically, as it was admittedly a clunky controller that either didn’t feel necessary for a lot of the Wii U library or overcomplicated the games that did use it.
Related
10 Best Games Turning 25 In 2025
From Final Fantasy IX to The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, these 2000 games are about to celebrate their 25th birthday.
But for the games that hit that sweet spot, the Wii U GamePad was a fresh idea that built well on the Wii’s motion controls; the GamePad is what kept so many DS games accessible before the eShop shut down. The Switch had no second screen and no stylus; all it shared with the DS and 3DS was a touchscreen in handheld mode.
As a result, the Nintendo Switch largely ignored the DS and 3DS, and any ports from those consoles to that one were remade to account for the lack of a second screen. DS games got harder and harder to find, and once the 3DS eShop shut down, 3DS games started increasing in price too. Now, games from the dual-screen handheld eras are some of the most in-demand in Nintendo’s library.
Could the Nintendo Switch 2 Play DS Games?
The Joy-Con as a Stylus
The Nintendo Switch 2 will hopefully make up for what the first Switch lacked. The focus on the Joy-Cons in the announcement trailer seemed like a subtle acknowledgment of Joy-Con drift and a promise that the joysticks will actually work this time. The 24 racers in the next Mario Kart would be a nightmare on Switch Wi-Fi, so maybe the Internet on the Switch 2 will be better. And hopefully, the legacy content library will be worth something this time.
If the Switch 2 lets people play DS or 3DS games via Nintendo Switch Online or even as separate purchases, a la the Virtual Console, it’d be a big step up from the first Switch. The main way this could work would be the new Joy-Con function implied in the Switch 2’s reveal trailer: mouse capability.
It’s not quite a stylus, but a mouse would be the next best thing to try and replicate the DS stylus. This way, the player could use the mouse for pinpoint accuracy in one hand, while using the other Joy-Con for the game’s non-touchscreen controls. It won’t be as seamless as using the stylus — anyone who’s gone from drawing with a pen to drawing with a mouse can vouch for that.
Related
This 8-Year Nintendo Trend May Quietly Be the Switch 2’s Biggest Selling Point
The Nintendo Switch 2 was the industry’s worst-kept secret, but with official confirmation, fans are now looking toward its game slate.
But short of an actual stylus and touchscreen peripheral for the Switch 2, it’s the closest option. That leaves one last hurdle for DS and 3DS ports: the second screen. The Wii U having two screens made it easy to replicate the DS feel, but with only one screen, the Switch 2 would have to be creative.
Maybe the Switch 2 could actually cast to the TV in handheld mode, letting the TV show the DS’ top screen while the actual Switch 2 shows the touchscreen. There’s also the less elegant option of just sticking both DS screens onto the TV. Just have the top screen take up one-half of the TV/Switch 2 screen, and the touchscreen take up the other half.
As messy as it may sound, the Wii U actually had this option when playing DS games as well. There’s also the potential of a second screen peripheral for handheld mode, but that would likely require more money than Nintendo is willing to spend just in case players want to go back and play one game from the DS days.
DS and 3DS Remakes Often Lose Something in the Transition — If They’re Remade at All
Lost in the Porting Process
Due to how hard it is to port a DS or 3DS game, not a lot of them have ever been re-released on another console in some way. A port from DS/3DS to another console often results in an outright remake of the original, and some of the best mechanics of the original version end up being lost in the transition. The World Ends With You is a prime example.
While the DS original had the player control Neku via the stylus on the touchscreen and his partner on the top screen with the D-pad, later ports restricted the partner to basically being a summon. This really affects the gameplay because part of the original’s appeal was how hectic it was to control two different characters on two different screens at the same time. It’s better to have a changed-up port than to leave a DS game completely unported or un-remade, though.
In contrast, most of the DS Pokémon games aren’t available without paying a fortune. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the exceptions, but they also happen to be remakes of the worst Pokémon games on the DS. Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 all run for upwards of $100 USD on secondhand websites because of just how in demand they are, making it so that the world’s highest-grossing franchise ironically has a supply issue when it comes to its mainline titles.
Related
20 Strongest Pokémon from Generation Seven
Pokémon Sun and Moon introduced the Alola region along with 80+ brand new Pokémon species, with the strongest among them including Kommo-o and Lunala.
At least The World Ends With You on the Switch exists at all. And what about the less mainstream DS and 3DS titles? While the choice of retro games on Nintendo Switch Online isn’t always great, there are some genuinely deep cuts in there that most players wouldn’t have heard about otherwise.
Re-releasing retro games gives them a new lease on life, allowing even the greatest financial failures a second chance. Porting is cheaper than remaking, and adding Nintendo DS and 3DS games to the Switch 2’s version of Nintendo Switch Online would be a win for both game preservation and people who just want to discover new things to play.
Related
This Overlooked Pokémon Game Quietly Reimagined a Series Staple
The main Pokémon games have never given their player characters much to say, but Pokémon Masters EX is the closest we’ll get to canon personalities.
The Nintendo DS and 3DS are too important to Nintendo’s history to just leave their games as increasingly expensive collector’s items. Only the GameCube and Virtual Boy received more disrespect than them when it comes to legacy content, and at least the GameCube has the excuse of being a commercial failure and the Virtual Boy was just plain bad.
If the Joy-Cons on the Switch 2 can also be used like computer mice, though, then there’s potential for a DS and 3DS library on the Switch after all. It may be too early to call the 3DS a “retro” Nintendo console, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be treated that way to get its games on the Switch 2.
All it needs is a straightforward port with both screens, the Joy-Con mouse to replace the stylus, and the ability to let players buy its games separately from NSO. Meanwhile, the DS turned 20 back in Nov. 2024, so its age speaks for itself. It’s high time that new generations of gamers and veterans alike get to play some of the best handheld games Nintendo has to offer.
