Honestly, if you grew up in the mid-2000s, there was no escaping the hype of the Xiaolin Showdown cartoon. It was basically the perfect mix of martial arts, mystical artifacts called Shen Gong Wu, and that weirdly addictive "Showdown" hook. So, when Konami dropped the xiaolin showdown ds game back in late 2006, every fan with a Nintendo DS in their pocket was ready to master the elements.
But looking back now? It’s a fascinating, messy capsule of a very specific era of handheld gaming.
What Was the Xiaolin Showdown DS Game Actually Like?
Unlike the home console versions on PS2 or Xbox, which were more akin to Power Stone or a clunkier Super Smash Bros., the DS version took a slightly different path. Developed by Razorback Developments, it ended up being an isometric beat-’em-up. You’ve got Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, and Clay, and you’re basically wading through levels filled with Jack Spicer’s monotonous robot army.
The core loop is simple. You walk into a room, the screen locks, and you punch things until they explode. Then you move to the next room.
One thing that really stands out—and not necessarily in a good way—is the movement speed. Characters in the xiaolin showdown ds game move like they’re trying to walk through a swimming pool filled with honey. It’s sluggish. You’ll find yourself spamming the jump button just to move faster because hopping like a rabbit is actually more efficient than walking. It’s a weird quirk that most people remember vividly if they spent more than an hour with the cartridge.
The Shen Gong Wu and the Combat
The game does try to stay faithful to the source material. You aren't just punching; you’re collecting Shen Gong Wu to boost your stats or give you new moves. We're talking about the classics:
- The Mantis Flip Coin for agility.
- The Golden Tiger Claw for teleporting (sorta).
- The Third-Arm Sash for extra reach.
The combo system is actually semi-deep for a licensed kids' game. You unlock new strings via a "combo tree" using tokens you find in the levels. In theory, this is cool. In practice, the isometric camera and the sketchy hit detection mean you’ll usually just mash the basic punch button anyway. Why bother with a 5-hit elemental combo when the enemy might just slide out of your hit box because the perspective is slightly wonky?
Why Critics Were Kinda Harsh (But Fans Didn't Care)
If you look at the old reviews from 2007, the scores are all over the place. GameSpot gave it a 6.4, which is surprisingly decent compared to the console versions that got absolutely slaughtered. IGN was a bit more brutal, landing around a 5.0.
The main gripe? It’s repetitive.
Jack Spicer’s robots are the main villains, and they don’t exactly have a high IQ. You’ll see them walk into traps or just stand there while you pummel them. However, for a kid who just wanted to hear Omi yell "Water!" or play as Kimiko, that didn't matter as much. The cel-shaded graphics actually held up pretty well on the DS’s small screen. They captured the look of the show better than most people expected for the hardware.
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The Mystery of the Mini-Games
The "Showdown" aspect of the show—where characters bet a Shen Gong Wu on a random challenge—is handled through mini-games. This is where the xiaolin showdown ds game gets weird. You’ve got:
- Fire Bowling: Exactly what it sounds like.
- Wind Hockey: A version of air hockey that uses both screens.
- Boulder Basho: A Breakout clone.
- Water Warriors: A bumper-ball style game.
The Air Hockey one is notorious because the game doesn't account for the physical gap between the two DS screens. The puck just... disappears for a split second when it travels from the top to the bottom. It's jarring. But honestly? The mini-games were often more polished than the actual combat levels.
Is It Worth Playing Today?
Let's be real. If you don't have nostalgia for the show, the xiaolin showdown ds game is going to feel like a very dated brawler. The "condescending" tone that critics like Ryan Davis mentioned—where the game stops to explain every single objective in painful detail—can get annoying fast.
But for collectors or people who want a hit of 2006 nostalgia? It’s a cheap pick-up. It’s a reminder of a time when every cartoon got a dedicated handheld game that tried its best to cram a 20-minute episode into a tiny grey cartridge.
The lack of a co-op mode is the real tragedy here. Beat-’em-ups are always better with a friend, and while the console versions allowed for 4-player chaos, the DS version is a lonely trek through the temple.
Actionable Insights for Players
If you’re dusting off your DS or 3DS to give this a spin, keep these things in mind to make it less frustrating:
- Jump everywhere. Seriously. Walking is too slow. Jumping is your primary mode of transportation.
- Save your Chi. The elemental attacks are powerful but get interrupted easily. Wait until you have a group of enemies bunched up before letting loose.
- Check the dojos. You can switch characters at certain points. If you find the combat too slow with Clay, switch to Raimundo for better speed.
- Don't skip the tokens. The combo tree is the only thing that keeps the combat from becoming a total snore-fest by level 10.
Ultimately, the xiaolin showdown ds game isn't a hidden masterpiece, but it isn't the disaster people make it out to be either. It’s just a solid, slightly flawed B-tier game that captured a moment in time when we all really wanted a piece of the Shen Gong Wu for ourselves.