The Nintendo DS has been on the market for more than five-and-a-half years and has been home to some of gaming's biggest franchises, from Mario to Zelda and everything in between. With the upcoming launch of the Nintendo 3DS, many gamers are under the impression that Nintendo and other companies are soon going to abandon the platform. Little do they know, the Nintendo DS has some excellent titles heading to it in the next few months.

Dragon Quest IX was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in July of 2009 and became the best-selling third-party title on Nintendo's handheld to date, selling in excess of two million copies in its first week. Dragon Quest IX has obviously had a huge impact on Nintendo’s handheld.

Hoping to increase the awareness of the Dragon Quest brand in North America, Nintendo has partnered with Square Enix to publish the title overseas. Subtitled "Sentinels of the Starry Skies" in North America, the game takes players on an adventure with a huge focus on customization, from designing your own character to your party.

Players begin Dragon Quest IX as a young angel-like guardian who has been sent to retrieve a sacred tree's magical fruits, which has the power to grants wishes. Players then embark on their journey with three other characters.

Dragon Quest IX never takes a break to allow players to breathe, especially in between its fast-paced battles. After sending commands to your characters, cinematic action scenes unfold, and just like any other typical role-playing game, players can gain experience for defeating enemies.

Not only is Dragon Quest IX one of the best looking Nintendo DS titles to date, it is also one of the few titles that takes full advantage of the handheld's social experience. Special multiplayer modes allow players to share their adventures with others, and by connecting with other players you can team up and embark on a journey together. By closing your Nintendo DS and putting it into tag mode, your character and data can be wirelessly transmitted to another Nintendo DS.

Another neat social feature of Dragon Quest IX is the ability to connect to an online shop to find new items and download new quests. The store updates daily, and some of the downloadable content will help continue the main storyline of the game.

Dragon Quest IX is unlike anything the Nintendo DS has ever seen. It is unquestionably the biggest third-party game that the handheld has received, and that's saying something as it has already played home to titles such as Resident Evil and Final Fantasy. Gamers can experience Square Enix and Level-5's latest creation when it hits North American shores on July 11. Until then, you can read over Aaron’s impressions to see what he thought of the game.