# The 45 Best Handheld Games of the 2000s

> Pocket consoles had their best decade in the 2000s: cartridge classics, stylus experiments and PSP games with console-sized ambitions. Blockbusters sit beside cult favourites that only a few friends seemed to own.

*By YPB Team · Published October 31, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-45-best-handheld-games-of-the-2000s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Pokémon Gold and Silver** — score 1000/1000
   Game Boy Color sequels that added day-night cycles, breeding and a whole second region to explore.
2. **Mario Kart DS** — score 909/1000
   DS racer that introduced online play to Mario Kart and added a mission mode.
3. **Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars** — score 731/1000
   Top-down DS Grand Theft Auto praised for its drug-trading economy and touch-screen mini-games.
4. **Professor Layton and the Curious Village** — score 694/1000
   Puzzle adventure in which a gentleman archaeologist solves a village mystery one brain teaser at a time.
5. **Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky** — score 598/1000
   Roguelike spin-off whose emotional story made it a fan favourite on the DS.
6. **Patapon** — score 598/1000
   PSP rhythm-strategy game in which you command a tribe of eyeball warriors with drum beats.
7. **Pokémon Diamond and Pearl** — score 598/1000
   Nintendo DS entries set in Sinnoh that brought online trading and battles to the series.
8. **Brain Age** — score 598/1000
   Dr. Kawashima's daily brain-training puzzles that brought the DS to a new, older audience.
9. **Super Mario 64 DS** — score 555/1000
   DS launch remake of Super Mario 64 adding Yoshi, Luigi and Wario as playable characters.
10. **Tekken: Dark Resurrection** — score 508/1000
   PSP version of Tekken 5 often called the best fighting game on a handheld of its time.
11. **Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII** — score 508/1000
   PSP action RPG telling Zack Fair's story in the years before Final Fantasy VII.
12. **Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow** — score 508/1000
   DS sequel to Aria of Sorrow that kept Soma Cruz's soul system and added touch-screen seals.
13. **Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story** — score 508/1000
   DS RPG that alternates between Bowser and the Mario brothers travelling inside his body.
14. **Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga** — score 508/1000
   Comedic Game Boy Advance RPG in which the brothers fight side by side with timed button presses.
15. **Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow** — score 508/1000
   Game Boy Advance Castlevania whose soul-collecting system made it a high point of the series.
16. **LocoRoco** — score 508/1000
   Colourful PSP platformer in which you tilt the world to roll singing blobs.
17. **Metroid: Zero Mission** — score 454/1000
   Game Boy Advance remake of the original Metroid with new areas and a stealth finale.
18. **The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass** — score 454/1000
   DS sequel to The Wind Waker controlled entirely with the stylus.
19. **Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions** — score 454/1000
   PSP remake of the tactics classic with a new translation and animated cutscenes.
20. **Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories** — score 454/1000
   PSP prequel set in 1984 Vice City with an empire-building mode.
21. **Monster Hunter Freedom Unite** — score 394/1000
   PSP hunting game that became a cooperative phenomenon in Japan.
22. **Nintendogs** — score 394/1000
   DS pet simulator in which you train and pet puppies with the stylus and microphone.
23. **The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons** — score 394/1000
   Game Boy Color adventure built around changing the seasons, paired with Oracle of Ages.
24. **Lumines** — score 394/1000
   Tetsuya Mizuguchi's PSP launch puzzler that synced falling blocks to electronic music.
25. **Metroid Fusion** — score 324/1000
   Tense Game Boy Advance Metroid in which Samus is hunted by a parasite that copies her.
26. **Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire** — score 324/1000
   The Game Boy Advance debut of Pokémon, introducing the Hoenn region and double battles.
27. **Animal Crossing: Wild World** — score 324/1000
   DS life sim that let players visit each other's villages over Wi-Fi.
28. **Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories** — score 324/1000
   Rockstar's first PSP Grand Theft Auto, a 3D return to Liberty City.
29. **Dragon Quest IX** — score 324/1000
   DS entry with four-player local co-op that became one of Japan's best-selling games.
30. **Elite Beat Agents** — score 324/1000
   Rhythm game in which a team of agents cheers people through crises by tapping to the beat.
31. **Golden Sun** — score 324/1000
   Camelot's Game Boy Advance RPG known for Psynergy puzzles and lavish battle effects.
32. **The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap** — score 245/1000
   Capcom-developed Game Boy Advance Zelda in which Link shrinks to explore a hidden miniature world.
33. **Daxter** — score 245/1000
   PSP platformer starring Jak's ottsel sidekick working as a bug exterminator.
34. **Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops** — score 245/1000
   PSP Metal Gear in which Big Boss recruits enemy soldiers to build his own unit.
35. **Fire Emblem** — score 245/1000
   The first Fire Emblem released in the West, a Game Boy Advance tactics game with permanent death.
36. **Final Fantasy Tactics Advance** — score 245/1000
   Square's Game Boy Advance tactics RPG about children pulled into the world of Ivalice.
37. **WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!** — score 245/1000
   Game Boy Advance collection of hundreds of frantic microgames lasting a few seconds each.
38. **Kirby: Canvas Curse** — score 245/1000
   DS platformer in which you draw rainbow paths to guide a rolling Kirby.
39. **New Super Mario Bros.** — score 245/1000
   2006 DS platformer that brought 2D Mario back and sold over 30 million copies.
40. **God of War: Chains of Olympus** — score 245/1000
   Ready at Dawn's PSP prequel that squeezed the console series' spectacle into a handheld.
41. **Advance Wars** — score 245/1000
   Turn-based strategy game that made Intelligent Systems' war series a worldwide Game Boy Advance hit.
42. **Mario Kart: Super Circuit** — score 245/1000
   Game Boy Advance Mario Kart that included every Super Mario Kart track as a bonus.
43. **The World Ends with You** — score 151/1000
   Square Enix's stylish Shibuya-set action RPG that used both DS screens at once.
44. **Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver** — score 151/1000
   Lavish DS remakes of Gold and Silver, complete with a Pokémon that follows you around.
45. **Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney** — score 151/1000
   Courtroom adventure in which a rookie defence lawyer shouts 'Objection!' to expose lying witnesses.

Tags: 2000s, games, nintendo, playstation, handheld