The Golden Era of Drayano
Generation 4 and 5 are peak pixel art. But making ROM hacks for the Nintendo DS is hard. We don't have decompilations like GBA yet. That means almost every great NDS hack comes from one legendary wizard: Drayano (and a few brave souls following in his footsteps).
If you have a powerful phone or a decent PC, here are the absolute best DS experiences available.
1. Pokemon Renegade Platinum
Base: Platinum | Difficulty: challenging but fair
The definitive way to play Sinnoh. It fixes the slow HP bars, adds the Fairy type, makes all Pokemon available, and revamps every boss battle. It's not "Kaizo" hard; it's "Nintendo if they respected your intelligence" hard.
Lyra's Take: "The Amity Square event alone makes this worth playing. Also, giving Infernape 'Contrary'? Chef's kiss."
2. Pokemon Blaze Black 2 & Volt White 2 Redux
Base: Black 2 / White 2 | Difficulty: High
AphexCubed and Drayano teamed up to modernize the greatest Pokemon games ever made. The "Redux" version adds the Fairy type, new events, and difficulty modes (Easy, Challenge, and Black Tower). It is the most feature-rich DS hack in existence.
3. Pokemon Sacred Gold & Storm Silver
Base: HeartGold / SoulSilver | Difficulty: Medium
Johto is beautiful but flawed (that level curve... ugh). This fixes everything. You get the National Dex before the Elite Four, gym leaders use full teams of 6, and the pacing is perfect. Note: A "V2" is in the works (Aurora Crystal), but the current version is still a masterpiece.
4. Pokemon Moon Black 2
Base: Black 2 | Features: Mega Evolution, Gen 7 Pokemon
A rare non-Drayano win! This hack injects Alolan forms, Mega Evolution, and actual Gen 7 Pokemon into Unova. Seeing a Mimikyu sprite in the Gen 5 engine feels illegal, but it works so well.
5. Pokemon Following Renegade Platinum
Base: Platinum | Features: Following Pokemon!
Wait, didn't I just mention Renegade Platinum? Yes, but this is a specific patch that ADDS FOLLOWING POKEMON to it. It combines the best mechanics of HGSS with the best region (Sinnoh). A dream come true.
FAQ
"Why are there fewer DS hacks than GBA?"
DS hacking is technically much harder. We are editing binary files whereas GBA has "decompilations" (source code access). But 2025 might be the year DS decomp finally takes off!
"Do these work on Drastic?"
Yes! Every game on this list runs perfectly on DraStic (Android) and Delta (iOS).
