Sup guys. As I've mentioned before I have never owned a handheld up until I got my 3DS about 6 weeks ago. I'm loving it. Maybe too much. I have already purchased all of the games for it that caught my attenton and have beaten most of them. Now it looks like there is going to be a bit of downtime between high quality game releases for the 3DS so I figured I would go back and play some DS games since I have never played any of them before. That's where you guys come in. Recommend me some of your favourite DS titles and maybe if you have time tell me why you like the game so much.

Feel free to name games from any genre. I love a good game regardless of genre =) Although I guess I should mention that I've grown really fond of platformers and RPGs as of late. Oh, and I have already ordered Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Disgaea for the DS so no need to list those!

Thanks in advance for any contributions to this thread!

The World Ends With You
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Okamiden
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

And just because it has a special place in my heart...
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Aliens infestation is a pretty cool game. Its similar to alien 3 on the SNES.

For the love of god. Do not buy Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. I consider myself a heavy JRPG fan and this game should have really been named: Golden Sun: Dark Yawn.

Radiant Historia is pretty good.

Elite Beat Agents is suprisingly fun.
Pokemon Heart Gold (or Soul Silver if you swing that way) is an even better remake of a great game.
The Age of Empires game is a pretty decent turn based strategy.
The two Zelda games are pretty fun - not the best handheld Zeldas ever though
Mario Kart is great as always - though you might as well get the 3DS version instead
NSMB is pretty much exactly what you expect out of a 2D mario - it's good fun

Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Chrono Trigger
Dragon Quest 9
Elite Beat Agents
Final Fantasy 3 & 4
Henry Hatsworth
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
New Super Mario Bros
Pokemon Black/White

I've only mentioned games that I've played and consider to be a step above the norm.

I love the DS.
Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
Professor Layton
Shantae: Risky's Revenge
The World Ends With You

What seperates Bowser's Inside Story from NSMB or the MArio 64 remake on DS in terms of fun factor or overall quality? I probably can't afford to buy all 3....

Also, can anyone tell me how the Mario 64 remake controls? I remember it played amazingly well with the N64 analog stick, but if I'm correct here, the DS version was controlled using the d-pad? Since I'd be playing it on 3DS is there any way to use the analog stick for it instead of the d-pad?

It's an RPG with heavy platforming elements. Something that, according to your first post, seems to suit your current tastes. And the Mario 64 remake doesn't control as well as the 64 version in my opinion, but having the 3DS analog stick made it feel more comfortable.

Thanks a bunch. An RPG with heavy platforming elements sounds like it would be fantastic. 

Bowser's Inside Story is a Reconstruction of the JRPG. Basically, the plot is funny instead of angsty, the world can be explored, the combat is both turn based and action packed, and the entire thing has the classic Nintendo charm. Plus, you get to play as Bowser. In a starring role.

Bowser as a playable character in an action-RPG is beautiful.

Oh, and don't bother with SM64DS. The controls sucked.