Game Boy Advance Vs. Nintendo DS - which classic handheld was your favorite?

[Salnax]

I'm going to take the time to break this down.

• Hardware (DS) - Overall, I'd say the DS hardware was much more interesting, while still providing classic style controls comparable to the SNES. The GBA loses points for its lackluster first iteration and a surprising lack of X and Y buttons, though the GBA SP is admittedly great.
• Action-Advenrture (GBA) - The GBA is home to a couple of the best Zeltroid-style Castlevanias, two great Metroid titles, Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap, Mega Man Zero, etc. The DS had its own great Action-Adventure titles, but to a lesser extent.
• Adventure (DS) - Games like Ace Attorney, Professor Layton, and 999 were natural fits to the DS, thanks in large part to its touchscreen.
• Casual (DS) - Obviously the DS wins this category.
• Platformers (Tie) - Both platforms had a number of strong contendors, largely from similar series. I'd say that the GBA had the edge if we count retro ports/remakes equally to new titles, the DS wins otherwise.
• Pokemon (DS) - Yes, I feel that on Nintendo handhelds this should be its own category. And although I replay Emerald more than the DS games, the DS was arguably the best Pokemon platform ever, with twice as many core entries, the best remakes in series history, and more/better spinoffs like the Ranger, Conquest, and Mystery Dungeon games.
• Puzzle (DS) - Both had less big puzzle games than I remembered, and largely have similar series being represented. I picked the DS because a combination of Tetris DS and touchscreen controls.
• Retro Ports/Remakes (GBA) - The GBA had 100+ games from platforms like the NES and SNES, not to mention a fair number of compilations. In contrast, the DS had a lot less of these, possibly in part due to the lack of analog controls making N64 ports/remakes inadvisable.
• RPG's (DS) - Both platforms are home to some of the greatest RPG lineups of all time, and in some ways the GBA outshines its DS counterparts, but I have to narrowly give the edge to the DS. The sheer number of games new and old on the DS was remarkable.

Overall: The DS