Zoo Tycoon on DS is basically what happens when you cram a full zoo sim into a tiny cartridge—and somehow it works. You start with a blank plot of land and a handful of basic animals, but within minutes you're obsessing over fence angles and whether your lions have enough shade. The touch controls make placing paths and enclosures weirdly satisfying, though I’ll admit I spent way too long just tapping on penguins to watch them waddle.

What surprised me was how much depth they packed in—you’ve got breeding programs, visitor happiness to manage, even little emergencies like sick animals or escaped lemurs (always the lemurs). The graphics are charmingly chunky, and there’s something weirdly addictive about hearing the DS’s tinny speaker blast elephant noises while you’re on the bus. It’s not perfect—some menus feel cramped—but if you ever dreamed of running a zoo as a kid, this’ll suck you in for hours.