Nintendo DS Walkthrough

This walkthrough covers the Nintendo DS version of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is a different game from the console release: more quest-driven, more map-focused, and much more dependent on side work paying off later.

The DS habit that saves the most time

Talk to creatures early, buy useful gear when you see it, and clean up animal quests before the Great Thaw whenever possible. The DS version rewards steady map management more than brute force.

Before you push the story too far

  • Finish creature quests early when you can. Older guide notes repeatedly warn that some of the Horse, Badger, and Fox work becomes much worse after the map changes.
  • Buy banners from Squirrel Stores. They are cheap and save a surprising amount of route friction later.
  • Use the map after every story beat. This version often unlocks the next answer quietly rather than with a giant dramatic prompt.

Early visits to Narnia

Objective focus: Learn the map language, follow Tumnus cleanly, and let the first errands teach you how the quest structure works.

  • Use the lower-screen map constantly so you stop wandering blind early.
  • Treat the first conversations as setup for the broader quest web, not throwaway chatter.
  • Start building the habit of talking to creatures even when the main objective seems obvious.

Bonus tip

The sooner you treat the map like a checklist, the sooner the DS game stops feeling vague.

First full-party stretch

Objective focus: Use the reunited group to build levels, collect quests, and stop rushing every plot marker.

  • Once all four children are available, rotate them on purpose instead of leaning on one favorite.
  • Pick up side quests as you travel. Many of the most useful upgrades come from quest flow, not straight enemy grinding.
  • If a dungeon is suddenly rough, do not assume you are missing a hidden button. You may simply need more cleanup and shopping first.

Watch for this

The DS version punishes pure plot rushing much more than the console game does.

Midgame dungeons and Red Dwarf's Peak

Objective focus: Treat dungeons as gear checks and solve the ice-statue route correctly.

  • Use the Dungeon of Injustice and Dungeon of Cowardice as reality checks for whether your equipment and party growth are keeping pace.
  • At Red Dwarf’s Peak, smash the White Witch ice statues, reveal the bramble vines, and climb upward instead of searching the wider map for a missing exit.
  • Check stores and blessings before you brute-force a dungeon you already know is going badly.

Bonus tip

If a dungeon run feels too expensive in healing and willpower, the game is usually telling you to step back and prepare.

Great Thaw prep and late game

Objective focus: Handle side-quest cleanup before the world-state shift and use the late game to cash in that preparation.

  • Do as much creature-quest cleanup as possible before the Great Thaw changes the world.
  • Use the midgame to improve equipment, buy blessings, and revisit earlier quest hooks that were awkward the first time.
  • In the final push through the late dungeons and the Witch’s Castle route, trust your map memory and build strength more than flashy combat.

Watch for this

The most painful DS misses are usually quest-related, not boss-related.

Reference links