12. Ninjatown
Platform: Nintendo DS
Ninjatown is one of those lesser known gems, partly due to the fact that it was only released for DS, but it stands out amongst every other tower defense game due to how downright adorable it is. I mean, just look at it! With cutesy art (courtesy of Shawnimals) like that, who cares about the gameplay?
I kid. Gameplay is everything. Ninjatown, unsurprisingly, takes place in a town full of ninjas, which is being attacked by a bunch of evil demons or something. It’s not entirely specific, but it doesn’t have to be – all you need to know is that they’re bad, and you need to throw ninjas at them. The game itself, which released on the Nintendo DS in 2008, takes advantage of the handheld’s at-the-time innovations, incorporating both touch and microphone input into gameplay.