Getting a DS lite! Help me pick out games!

[mauve]

Instead of doing something SMART with my tax refund, I'm blowing it on video games! I'm such a responsible adult. I've already decided on spending some on L4D2 or Mass Effect for my PC, and with the remainder I'm thinking of getting a DSlite. Problem is, I haven't owned a handheld system since I had a GameBoy Advance as a teenager, so I haven't been paying attention to what's come out. Recommend me some games!!

Here's what people have recommended to me before:
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney
Elite Beat Agents
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
The World Ends With You
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage
Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings
Pokemon Something-or-other (I've never actually played a Pokemon game before, so..... *shrug* )

You guys' thoughts? Am I missing anything? Are any of these as awesome as they're said to be? Am I crazy for buying a DS lite right now?

[Ecks]

Instead of doing something SMART with my tax refund, I'm blowing it on video games! I'm such a responsible adult. I've already decided on spending some on L4D2 or Mass Effect for my PC, and with the remainder I'm thinking of getting a DSlite. Problem is, I haven't owned a handheld system since I had a GameBoy Advance as a teenager, so I haven't been paying attention to what's come out. Recommend me some games!!

Here's what people have recommended to me before:
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney
Elite Beat Agents
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
The World Ends With You
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage
Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings
Pokemon Something-or-other (I've never actually played a Pokemon game before, so..... *shrug* )

You guys' thoughts? Am I missing anything? Are any of these as awesome as they're said to be? Am I crazy for buying a DS lite right now?

Nope. DSi is a tad overrated, and loses the GBA functionality of its predecessors, and gains PSP capabilities (plus a camera).

Now, I highly recommend Elite Beat Agents, either of the Mario and Luigi games (the other you don't have listed is Partners In Time), either of the Zeldas (again, the other you don't have listed is Spirit Tracks), Final Fantasy III and IV, and any of the DS Pokemon games from the main series (Platinum for the maximum Sinnoh region experience, and for Johto, I dunno, pick which box art Legendary looks coolest to you; Pokemon is incredibly fun AND EXTREMELY ADDICTING despite the fact that it seems to be marketed toward children).

Now, for games your list doesn't cover...

If you like Kingdom Hearts, 358/2 Days is a no-brainer. Mario Kart DS is also an important, don't miss title. Super Mario 64DS was a welcome update to the original, though awkward to play without the analogue stick; New Super Mario Bros. is what gave Nintendo the idea to rehash it for Wii, so don't miss that one either.

On the GBA side... Get Metroid Zero Mission, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past AND The Minish Cap, Super Mario Bros. 3, and just to round things out, if you picked up a DS Pokemon game, you'll want at least one of the GBA Pokemon games so you can put your GBA mons in your DS version once you find the Pal Park.

[Kim]

I was going to say "If you like Kingdom Hearts, don't get Numbery Days" but whatevs.

Trauma Center is to performing operations what Phoenix Wright is to being a lawyer, but less funny. Great game though.

If you like point and clicks, check out Trace Memory. Isn't perfect, but it's pretty good.

I've heard wonderful things about Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor so that's probably worth a look-see.

If you like Elite Beat Agents, import Ouendan 2 from Japan. It's EBA but with Japanese music and also it is harder.

Contra 4 is fun.

New Super Mario Bros DS is pretty fun, albeit very easy.

Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest V do it do it do it

[Ecks]

Lots of recommendations EckScizor didn't make, some things about Numbery Days he didn't agree with.

I'm okay with this.

[Donomni]

Kirby Super Star Ultra, because it's like 10+ games(granted, they are at most half the size Kirby's Adventure, but meh).

Besides, you can play as Metaknight(eventually).

Oh yeah, because you didn't mention it, FFTactics A2. More or less every quest is playable, unlike the last one.

[Ryong]

I'd suggest against Spirit Tracks. It's not very good.

If you're okay with Devil Survivor - it has a few issues, with a lot of things you can miss and a lot of paths to take - I'd rather recommend the Luminous Arc games, which are more traditional SRPG games.

Final Fantasy III is great, but the difficulty is a bit ramped up from the original.

If you like Harvest Moon, don't get the DS one. No, get Rune Factory.

If you're okay with insane difficulty and absurd micromanagement, get Lost Magic. It is a good game in many aspects, but only if you can get past how incredibly hard it is.

Seconding FFTA2, it's REALLY good.

On the GBA side, get both Summon Night: Swordcraft Story games. They're great.

[Great Cartoonist]

You should watch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltQGmz0s5X4) these (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe_qKAvtx_w) videos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAAIzI5pIRE) to get a feel of what the Pokémon series is like, although normal gameplay is nowhere near that. (WARNING: Will spoil the entire games.)
Also, check out this site (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page) for general information about everything Pokémon, and this site (http://www.smogon.com/) for how to win in Pokémon.

The Castlevania games for the DS are very well made, and very fun to play. If you like playing a sword-wielding blue mage and don't mind the "Magic Seal" crap that they force upon you, play Dawn of (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx02RGUkfjk) Sorrow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nloH--IdYUc); if you prefer some more classic Belmont whip action, play Portrait of (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaKWlCRx9HE) Ruin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NinTJajy-lk); if you want to play a genuinely hard game (and also as a woman), play Order of Ecclesia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBEUmPGw6D4).

And if you've ever played FFTA for the GBA, you'll feel right at home with FFTA-2, although some battle mechanics have changed.

Also, Contra 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri2W_L1wFMg) WILL make a MAN out of you.

[Kim]

Oh yeah. Order of Ecclesia is pure awesome if you're into Metroidvania stuff.

[Azisien]

Pokemon Something-or-other (I've never actually played a Pokemon game before, so..... *shrug* )

Then prepare to have your brain sucked out through your fingernails, with awesomeness!

And grinding.

I would recommend any of the My Language Coaches. They're cheap now, and have some practical use to boot.

[PCD]

If you're looking at Elite Beat Agents (and I'm damn glad you are, because it is basically my favorite game ever), then Rhythm Heaven should go alongside it on the list. A similarly fun rhythm game, composed entirely of silly but difficult minigames and plenty of replay value. It gives a challenge even if you've mastered other rhythm games, and has a great sense of humor alongside the music and games.

Ouendan is a great game, but considering it requires import it can be really expensive. Make sure you love EBA first, and if and when you confirm that, go for it. It's totally worth it.

Got gonna lie, I hated Phantom Hourglass. That damn temple. I gave up on the fourth time I had to go back to it.

Bowser's Inside Story was great, mostly because of the characters. The dialogue is really witty, and that's what totally makes the game. Not to mention the villain is my favorite ever.

The World Ends With You is fun, though the battle system can be confusing. I know a lot of people who have gotten put off by what a whiny bitch the main character is at the start, but if you keep strong he gets much less annoying.

Get the Ace Attorney series. All of them. Mostly the Phoenix ones.

Professor Layton is a good brainbuster. The replay value isn't huge, but it's a ton of fun anyway. It gives you a good mental workout, and even if the plot is an excuse for throwing a bunch of puzzles at you, it's cool enough not to care. Not to mention it has some beautifully animated cutscenes.

Note, if you get Elite Beat Agents or World Ends With You, make sure to buy a screen protector. They are murder on the touchscreen.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

What no Megaman ZX or Megaman ZX Advent suggestions? What the hell?

Yeah get those, along with the new Sonic collection for the DS which has Sonic 1, 2, 3 and Sonic & Knuckles (the 4 best sonic games ever made period). And maybe Sonic Rush/Rush Adventure if your willing to give them a go. Also Advance Wars days of ruin and Advance Wars Duel Strike are a must have for the DS.

Starfox Assault is another great game along with Custom Robo Battle Arena and Metriod Prime Hunters. Also Try out Lunar Knights (Not to be confused with the Lunar franchise. Lunar Knights is only called this in English speaking countries, It's really Boktai DS). It's a very good game and definitely worth a look and no it doesn't do the solar penal thing like the previous 3 boktai games did meaning you don't have to get skin cancer playing it

Also NanoStray and NanoStray 2 are another worth while buy though I'd rent them first and only if you like shooter games.

[greed]

Partners In Time

Worth noting that Partners in Time is vastly inferior to Bowser's Inside Story.

Trauma Centre is HARD. Like throw your DS at a wall hard. But in a mostly fair way so it's not too bad. But if you don't like games that get downright sadistic it might be better to give it a pass.

As PCD said the entire Ace Attorney series is great and it for the most part just gets better and better. 2 and 3 have the best stories but by 5 the gameplay is really polished. 1 shows it's age a bit but the series is very plot (and injoke) heavy so you pretty much need to buy all of them to get the most enjoyment, and especially 1 as most of the later games are built heavily on the events of 1, especially 2 and 3. 4(Apollo Justice), not so much that one you could probably play that one cold.

The Castlevanias are probably my favourite things on the DS other than TWEWY. All of them are good and pretty different from each other. Sorrow is easiest but has a lot of variability in how you play. Portrait feels more like SotN and still is pretty easy on normal but gets better on Hard. Ecclesia is pretty much as hard as the original non-Metroidvania Casltevanias.

Yoshi's Island DS is Nintendo's other platformer for the DS(as opposed to the more well known New Super Mario Brothers). It's got a steep difficulty curve that goes from, "can do it blindfolded" in the first few levels, to The Lost Levels in the last world to I Wanna Be the Guy in the secret levels.

Also on older DS games I always liked Kirby's Canvas Curse(one of the first games to really use the stylus right, and very pick up and play, great for commuting or waiting around) and Contact(probably the first really good RPG for the system, hard to find now though). Both of these I've seen going for $10-15 at this point so they can be real bargains.

If you're getting a Pokemon game get Platinum or one of the new HeartGold/SoulSilver ones. Platinum is sort of the special expanded version of Diamond and Pearl so there ain't much point getting those.

Also be careful with screen protectors some of them are duds and can screw up your screen.

[The Wandering God]

DS games I recommend:

Elite Beat Agents
Phoenix Wright games
Trauma Center: Under the Knife (Previous poster reminded me the X missions are way too fucking hard and can go die in a fire.)
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (skip Galactrix)
Dragon Quest Heros: Rocket Slime
Chrono Trigger
Lock's Quest
Tetris DS

And if you ever want someone to group with on L4D2, I'd gladly tag along.

[Kim]

Contact(probably the first really good RPG for the system, hard to find now though).

Contact has a great intro, some great moments spread throughout, and one of the best video game endings I've ever seen. Problems? Very, very grindy, and can be incredibly boring at times. Worth checking out, especially if you can find it for cheap, but I can see someone not liking it, especially if they haven't reached the ending. Good music, though.

[Grimpond]

If your a fan of puzzle games, I definitely recommend either of the Professor Layton games.

[EVILNess]

Get Advance Wars Dual Strike. Probably the best (overall) entry into the series.
Dragon Quest IV and V are great.
Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ is a great rail shooter.
Bangai-O Spirits, Resident Evil Deadly Silence, and Sonic Rush are also great games to pick up.