In the age of flashy three-dimensional graphics, older gamers and potential gamers have been alienated by the increasingly complex modes of display and gameplay in modern video games. Hardcore gamers as well often long for the gameplay over graphics formula embodied in retro gaming.

On most of the modern hardware offerings (Xbox, Gamecube, PS2, PSP) and into the next generation (Xbox 360, PS3, and Nintendo Revolution) 2D gaming has all but died. The days of games like Super Mario Bros, Castlevania, and Metal Gear seem to be long gone as the 2D style of gameplay has nearly been abandoned entirely. Yet, there is hope for nostaligic gamers and newcomers alike in Nintendo's latest handheld offering, the Nintendo DS.

There are a whole host of 2D games available and in development for the Nintendo DS. A few exemplary games being Kirby:Canvas Curse, Castlevania:Dawn of Sorrow, Advance Wars:Dual Strike, and Meteos. Not only did all of these games receive excellent scores from most publications and websites, each of them brings something new to 2D gaming.

In Advance Wars, the second screen of the DS is used to display vital statistics for a turn based strategy game and it also functions as an extension of the field of battle. Sometimes, the innovation lies in a complete change in how a 2D platformer is played. In Kirby: Canvas Curse, one uses the touch screen to draw paths and surfaces that propel the main character through the levels rather than simply running and jumping. The amount of innovation being brought to 2D gaming thanks to the Nintendo DS platform is astounding as games with sometimes ludicrous premises are being created.

Examples of such radical modes of play are Trauma Center(a surgery game) and Phoenix Wright:Ace Attorney(A Lawyer game). Some people might say that 2D gaming could be viable on the PSP as well, and while it is possible it is entirely improbable. It is unlikely because of the Sony mindset that harkens back to the Playstation days where developers who wanted to create 2D experiences were most often forced to take on 3D projects in order to showcase the power of the Playstation.

The same principle applies in the case of the PSP -- 2D games just don't fit with the PSP's image as a cool, hip, iPod-like gadget that plays host to 3D experiences that might differentiate it from other handhelds. The 2D gaming genre has been reinvigorated because of the Nintendo DS and my opinion is that if you yearn for the days of old when gaming was a simple experience where you could pick up a game, play it for a few mintues and not have to invest the gross amounts of time required by many of today's games or you would just like to experience the different kinds of gameplay offered in two dimensions then I would wholeheartedly recommend that you pick up a Nintendo DS.