What's a long good DS game?

[Zeke]

Unfortunately, the DS games I've enjoyed the most don't make good introductions to their respective series. Metroid Prime Hunters would be a terrible first Metroid game. Mega Man Battle Network 5 DS is, naturally, fifth in its series. Mega Man ZX would be a good choice -- you wouldn't get as much out of it as we Mega Man diehards do, but it's first in its own series at least. You should also consider Children of Mana, a highly underrated game.

As for GBA games, see my Castlevania comments below; another excellent buy is Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls. I second IJD's nomination of Metroid Zero Mission (Fusion is great too, but ZM is a better first Metroid game). And the Mega Man Battle Network and Mega Man Zero series are definitely worth getting into, it's just better to play them in order, so grab the earlier games if you can find them.

Originally Posted by ijdgaf

But I get the impression you can't go wrong with Castlevania.

Very true -- except the one Derek's considering. Dawn of Sorrow is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow for GBA, and if you play it first, you spoil a huge plot twist for yourself. It's a great game, but it shouldn't be played before Aria.

My advice for someone who wants to get into Castlevania... well, okay. My advice for someone who wants to get into Castlevania without emulation would be to track down the Castlevania Double Pack for GBA. There were three GBA Castlevania games, all awesome: Circle of the Moon (one of the very first GBA games, and the one that suffered most from the lack of a backlight), Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow. The latter two quickly grew hard to find, so Konami rereleased them last year as a Double Pack. If you can find it, it's the best value you'll ever get for one GBA cart. Circle is an amazing game too, and a good intro to the series (it was mine).

You might also consider the latest entry, Portrait of Ruin. It's a brilliant game. Not ideal as an introduction, but it worked okay for Tarn-Vedra, who got it on my advice. It's incredibly customizable, with the best-executed two-character system I've ever seen, and five extra playable characters to unlock. And Charlotte's adorable.