Nintendo DSiWare's little pets: Electroplankton

The Nintendo DSi's downloadable game store has been, for the most part, a landscape of lesser games and strange add-ons, devoid of some of the more memorable Nintendo franchises and virtual console-style re-releases some might be looking for.

We were excited that Electroplankton, one of the more obscure yet cult-popular titles on the DS, has seen a re-release on the DSi in America. Designed by artist Toshio Iwai, Electroplankton are best described as musical pets, each one a unique musical toy with different controls.

The original cartridge featured 10 Electroplankton, each with unique quirks to explore. We own a copy and still love to pop it in from time to time. While it costs $29.99 on Amazon, each of the DSiWare downloads that the title's now broken into sell for $2 each. Five of the original 10 are currently available.

For a quick two bucks, these are very entertaining toys that thrive perfectly on the DSi's built-in memory and feel like they make more sense in this form than as a cartridge. They haven't changed since the original release, but this is a great way to pick one up for a try. Electroplankton isn't the first DS game to be broken into bits--Brain Age Express and Clubhouse Games have gotten similar treatments--and we look forward to Game & Watch hopefully being the next to pop up.