Digimon World - Dawn is one of those DS RPGs that really nails the monster-raising grind. You start off picking your rookie Digimon—I went with Coronamon because fire types never let me down—and then it’s straight into the Digital World, where everything wants to fight you. The battles are turn-based but with this weird grid system that makes positioning matter more than you’d think.

What I love is how much control you have over your Digimon’s evolution paths. Mess around with stats, feed them the right items, and suddenly your little blob turns into a dragon-samurai hybrid. The story’s pretty standard "save the digital world" stuff, but the sheer number of Digimon to collect (over 400!) means you’ll be glued to your DS trying to evolve them all. Just don’t get too attached—some digivolutions require resetting them back to level 1, which hurts every time.

It’s got that classic Digimon charm, but with enough strategy to keep you from just button-mashing through fights. Perfect for long bus rides or pretending you’re not an adult.