Fossil Fighters DS
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Release Date: Aug 10, 2009
Metascore
70 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 17
  3. Negative: 1 out of 17
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  1. Worth Playing
    92
    The bottom line is that Fossil Fighters takes the formula established by games like Spectrobes and Pokemon and improves on it in nearly every way.
  2. Thunderbolt
    80
    Let’s be clear – Fossil Fighters isn’t for the self-proclaimed “hardcore gamer.” No, it’s for kids – no doubt about it. That being said, it’s a quality title that, though somewhat shallow and straightforward, is a great fit for budding gamers.
  3. Nintendo Power
    80
    A great introduction to RPGs for newcomers. [Oct 2009, p.89]
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  4. AtomicGamer
    80
    Not only does it do a stellar job of walking new players through what for them could be some overly complex mechanics, it pulls them through the game with an interesting storyline and a satisfying reward system.
  5. GameSpot
    75
    Fossil Fighters' robust roster of collectible dinosaurs and its fast-paced, lightly tactical battles make it an appealing adventure.
  6. Play Magazine
    75
    Borrowing some of the better elements from other games in the genre, Fossil Fighters manages to make it all fit together like T-Rex skeleton on display at the museum. Only with the game, you're encouraged to play with the exhibits.
  7. Gameplanet
    75
    It may be all a bit familiar for seasoned Pokémon gamers, but there's enough content in Fossil Fighters to keep even a cynic entertained.
  8. The A.V. Club
    75
    Fossil Fighters is at its most frustrating when it does try to be novel.
  9. GameShark
    75
    If all of your games need to be sprung from the fountain of creativity then you might want to look elsewhere, but if you're into some casual creature combat, you may be pleastantly surprised with what you unearth.
  10. Cheat Code Central
    72
    Some of this game's elements can get tedious, but all in all it is fairly enjoyable and should provide many hours of strategy, RPG, and archeological-based goodness.
  11. GameDaily
    70
    Those gripes aside, Fossil Fighters doesn't have what it takes to beat Pokemon, but it's still a cool game for kids who love thunder lizards.
  12. Nintendo Life
    70
    The game's mechanics are simple enough for gamers of all ages to enjoy, but there's also enough depth and replay value to keep those looking for a slightly more varied gameplay experience coming back for more.
  13. NintendoWorldReport
    70
    he best thing about the game is that it doesn't try to be Pokemon.
  14. RPGamer
    70
    Fossil Fighters does not have top-notch graphics and sound or a big name to call its own. Its quality lies in entertaining battles and having many addictive things to do. Its prominent use of dinosaurs is also a plus.
  15. Nintendo Gamer
    62
    Pokemon. With dinosaurs. Not the most imaginative idea and there's not a lot to it, but Fossil Fighters will scratch that pet-battling itch. [Nov 2009, p.71]
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  16. IGN
    59
    The only excuse for Fossil Fighters sophomoric presentation could be that it’s targeted at the younger DS gamer.
  17. Game Revolution
    42
    As far as beginner games go, this is about as elementary as it can be.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. iloveFFC
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. This is the game that started a possible favorite franchise among players across the globe! There is a fatal flaw in this gift though... NO ONLINE COMPATABLITY! Luckly this problem was fixed in its better sequal, Fossil Fighters Champions, my new favorite game. The game starts out with a young boy (sorry ladies, no female protagonist is chooseable) who wants to be the best fossil fighter in the world, and has many rivals, wacky protagonists, aliens, and bad guys. Along the way to fame, he meets Dr. Diggins, Rosie, Mr. Richmond, the bad guys called the BB Trio(team rocket through a bizzare looking glass), and many others who assist or try to stop the player from stopping their ultimate goals. There is a protagonist/antagonist named Saurhead, who is the champion and wears about 30 green dinosaur masks to hide his identity, he is the main antagonist for a little while until the BB Bandits intervene and try to take you and your friends out of existence, but as always they fail and you end up fighting their boss, BB Boss Bullwort, who is the police captain on Vivosaur Island. You beat him and he goes to jail but not for long. He escapes and gains a legendary vivosaur named Frigisaurus. He completely annihilates your team and you are forced to find his arch-rival, Ignosaurus, so that you can save the world. Meanwhile, aliens called Dinaurians try to prevent you from advancing and try to steal the tacky idols from you so that they can reverse life on earth back to the Cambrian period. You beat Frigisaurus and Ignosaurus dissapears into thin air, and the BB boss goes back to prison for the rest of the game. Then the Dinaurians get a bigger role. The girl Dinaurian named Duna eventually joins you and trys to stop the master plan of their king, Dynal. Then Duna's collegue Raptin is hired to steal the tacky idols and ends up sending Dr.Diggins back to the Jurassic period and turns Rosie into a prehistoric rodent. They then board the Dinauian mothership and plan to activate the machine by using the tacky idols, which are actually super computers. But your hero stops Raptin from stealing the idolcomputers and he runs back to the mothership to inform king Dynal. Your hero then brings the fight to them and defeats king Dynal. Dynal finally realizes that humans are not flawed organisms and decides to shut the machine down, but Raptin was still dead-set on destroying life on Earth, and pushes the button! Raptin unwillingly summons the planet-eating monster Guhnash, who ate their planet millions of years ago. The Dinaurians reveal that some of their population survived and started traveling the cosmos, looking for another planet to set up shop, and eventually found Earth during the Cambrian period about 530 million years ago and planted "seeds" that would eventually evolve into their species. Unknown to the Dinaurians, the seeds and organisms that came from their planet were wiped out during the Ordavician mass-extinction about 444 million years ago. The coordinates to Earth are sent to Guhnash and he starts to travel to Earth. While the humans and Dinaurians plot on how to prevent the arrival of Guhnash, Dr.Diggins steps in and states that he found information in the crashed scout ship that came to earth before the first arrival of the Dinaurians. He says that Guhnash's power comes from his 3 brains, Guhvorn, Guhlith, and Guhweep, and if the hero defeats the 3 brains in a fossil battle, then Guhnash will explode. The teleporter machine is modified to teleport two people into Guhnash's mouth, where the brains reside. The hero can choose either Rosie or Duna to accompany him to the fight, not that they do anything to help you. After the brains are destroyed, Guhnash explodes but the radiation given off disables the mini teleporter they brought, so the hero and whoever came with him use a stone sleep device that the Dinaurians use to freeze themselfs in a stone sleep so that when they fall to Earth, they wont be harmed and they will be revived by Dr.Diggins. When you are revived, you learn that rosie has been revived, but she lost all her memories in the process. When you go to her room, you preform the hip-shaking dance with the island's native people, the digadig tribe. It somehow restores her memory and things go back to normal. In Duna's case, the stone sleep device malfunctioned when Guhnash expolded and she is stuck in a permenent stone sleep. You meet Dyanl and the stone statue of Duna in the Park area. Dynal states that they will leave Duna and search for a way to revive her in the cosmos, and also find a new home. You do the hip-shaking dance in front of Duna and she is revived and the Dinaurians are allowed to stay on Earth and things go back to normal. Better than the wikipedia plot summary if u ask me. The graphics could be better, but the sequal fixes everything, but it's still nice to have both!… Full Review »
  2. giancarlog
    7
    Its a good game. combat system for me is always a chore and the game always feels like a fetch quest. but its surprisingly addictive and collecting fossils and excavating shit is a good way to pass the time. havent finished the game im like on the 4th dig site. but kind of got bored and distracted but its nice overall. if they could've made the battle system more fun, game a bit harder, better story, more bright and less blocky graphics and more of a variety of music it wouldve been better. On the whole ill give it a 6.5 out of 10. i will return to ti maybe in a week a month maybe a year.… Full Review »
  3. BrendanM.
    9
    I am hopelessly addicted to this game. DO NOT write it off as a Pokemon wannabe! The gameplay is not "lightly tactical" it's quite deep for the hard-core gamers but has a quick learning curve for casual players. The storyline is fun and imaginative, with plenty of crazy, yet loveable, characters. The sound is fitting of the environment and the graphics are very good for a DS game (sorry pokemon Pearl, I love you but you failed to bring a 3-D battle sequence to the table, something that Fossil Fighters does quite well) All in all, my only complaint is that there was no Wi-Fi capabilities (I have to wait for my friend to buy it so we can verse) Great buy, great game. Fresh, original, funky. Bravo Nintendo.… Full Review »
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