@Mickeymac and @Gamesake:

I probably should have specified a bit more! I was raised on RPGs so I like old school RPGs just as much as new. I alreayd have the final Fantasies, Mystery Dungeon, Chrono Trigger, and Disgaea but it's good to know what sort of things you like as well! I will definitely look into all of your suggestions though, thank you!

@Mickeymac again: What sort of game is Digimon World: Dusk? The only Digimon World game I have enjoyed is 2, because it combined the monster collection RPG gameplay with Roguelike gameplay, so it remains one of my favourite RPGs to this day. I find I never enjoy any other Digimon games though, despite loving the anime.

Digimon World 2 was your fave? Interesting. My bro likes that, too, though I found navigating the dungeons too difficult. Anyways, Dawn/Dusk (there's two versions) is more like Dragon Quest in its combat, except with a bit of strategy thrown in, while the overworld is more like that of Digimon World 3 - you have towns you go around, and maze-like dungeons you explore that don't really have much in them besides treasure chests. The biggest problem is that the story is told through a series of quests you get from a counter, but you're probably used to that if you liked Digimon World 2. There's also a farm you can put the digimon you're not using into, which you can customize and upgrade. To put it simply, it's less polished than, say, Digimon World 3, but ultimately I had more fun with it than almost any other Digimon game.

Unfortunately the Digimon Dawn and Dusk games fetch a very high price these days!

And Mickeymac, I noticed you left off Devil Survivor 2. Have you not played it yet, or do you just not like it?

I haven't played Devil Survivor 2 yet. I don't even have it yet. It's on my list, though. I just don't have any more money at the moment.

Fair enough. I know how you feel about the money situation! Personally I've only got about 5 more games I definitely want to get for the DS, and after that I may pick a few others up if I have the money down the track. Of course, that's assuming that there aren't any unannounced games for it that I'll really want!

I'm down to 4 must-buy DS games now. Unfortunately, most are kind of expensive.

Which ones?

I'm looking to get Kirby Superstar Ultra, Tales of Hearts (the most expensive one on this list), Chibi Robo: Park Patrol and Peggle: Dual Shot (I thought there was one more, but maybe not). I might look into getting the new Pokemon games when they come out, depending on what they're like.

There's a few 'maybes' for me, such as Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, Draglade, the Rub Rabbits, 42 All Time Classics etc. but with a collection of over 150 games I'm sure I can do without

Pokemon Platinum (Most expensive if I get it new, I don't want to get a used cartridge).
Dragon Quest VI (I don't even like DQ, but I have to finish my collection now that this and 7 are all I'm missing)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclasia (I'm so behind on these games, but I want to grab it before it becomes hard to find)
Devil Survivor 2 (It's an Atlus game. Better grab it before it's hard to find)

There are a bunch of lesser games that I'll likely get some time down the road, but I have 60 DS games already, I think I'll be just fine without those games.

Sorry to interrupt, but i've finally gotten the hang on Front Mission on the DS. And I gotta say it's got it's learning curve, but it gets fun once you get used to it. I recommend it to any one that likes Advanced Wars of Fire Emblem, and of course, giant customizable fighting robots.

@Mickeymac I don't know if this is for every store, but I saw copies of Dragon Quest 6 on Best Buy for $15 brand new. Hope it helps.

I'm planing to pick up one of the Castlevnia games. Which one of them is good to start with if you have never played a Castlevania game before?

The GBA ones.

But for DS I'd suggest Portrait of Ruin since Order of Ecclesia is apparently really difficult and Dawn of Sorrow is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow on the GBA.

Yeah, I was gonna say Portrait of Ruin for the same reason. But if you can, grab the GBA games at some point. They're great.

I'm not sure if I sucked or if Circle of the Moon is just a needlessly difficult, grind-y game. Because I never liked that game. The other 2 are great at least. Harmony of Dissonance is probably the easiest of the three GBA games...I think.

Circle of the Moon wasn't that hard for me, but it definitely was difficult, which is why I liked it more than 90% of Metroidvanias.

You have 150 DS games? Wow that's an accomplishment, have you actually played every single one though? Well that's hardly likely, but I own like 34 and it's not like I've completed every single one, but most of them I've either completed or played enough of/ need coming back to, to be completed.
But anyway you mentioned Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, That is a great game, pick it up I know I have, I got it pretty cheap too, at only $25 NZD (that's fairly cheap for a DS game, almost bargain bin) I've already spent nearly 60+ hours already battling and synthesizing my party of monsters to nearly becoming +5 (meaning I can level grind past Lvl 50).
Is Draglade any good guys? saw it in an EB games bargain bin for under $20, I looked at a review for it on IGN, but it was fairly low (as IGN usually rates). It's a fairly obscure DS game here, especially since it was an import I think.

@kkslider5552000 and @Mickeymac I'll probably go with Order of Ecclesia, since i like a good challange plus i just find it more appealing. I'm planing to pick up the GBA games as well, it's just that the DS games are cheaper and easier to come by.

It's a bit overkill, really, but there you go. No, I haven't played them all - in fact, there's only a handful I've played any great amount so far, but I have finished several. However, I figure I'll have my DS and games around forever, so I'll get around to them in years to come (I've mentioned in other threads that I think my games purchasing will slow down, if not effectively stop, in the next few years for a number of reasons, so my backlog won't increase any great amount). I'm just trying to get the games I want before they're prohibitively expensive, which happens a lot now the collector's market has grown in the last decade or so.

I only recently finished my PhD thesis as well, and didn't have a lot of time to play games while I was finishing that up. Now I'm done I've got my nights back again, and so will be able to find time to play games again and hopefully start finishing off my collection. I'm currently in the middle of Custom Robo Arena, and recently 100% finished Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, so I'm on my way!

By the way, I'd recommend both games to anybody wondering about them. M&M:CoH was excellent, I powered through that in a couple of weeks or maybe less. CRA has an amazingly lame story, and really cheaply done 'RPG' mode, but the guts of the game - the robot battling - is great and allows a lot of room for customisation and strategy.

Thanks for the DQM:J2 recommendation. I can't remember what it was in particular, but something that was mentioned in several reviews ended up making me think I might not love it. If I spot it cheap I'll pick it up though!

What games would you recommend to an arcade/puzzle game fan.
I don't really like games with a big story or games that take you on 50 hour adventures.
I just like the sort of games you can just jump straight into, like pick up 'n' play style.
I think electroplankton actually looks pretty cool, but i'm not sure if i would enjoy it. I like music, but i'm not sure if is it the sort of game that would keep me amused in the back of a car on a long road trip, for example.

Meteos. Definitely, definitely Meteos.

@MrArcade: I'm a big fan of puzzle games and I know a couple of games you could try.

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, really good game with puzzle elements. One of my favorite DS games and I think it's my most played DS game on my 3DS. It also includes local multiplayer (also single-card mode). I played this a lot with my brother before, at least one match per day for one month and then we haven't played as much but it's still great fun. It's a shame you can only use two different characters in single-card mode.

Professor Layton series. Lots of puzzles, great animations and good story. Should keep you busy for some time.

Ace Attorney series. Clearing murder cases using your head to solve all the puzzles along the way and convince judge that your client is innocent. Heavily text-based game.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. Just picked this up a while ago and it was really great game although a bit short. Really good story, memorable characters, good gameplay and awesome character animations. I don't know if I should call it a puzzle game but it the genre doesn't really matter. It's just so good.

Geometry Wars: Galaxies is a good arcade game. I picked it up for 3€ and I'm really happy I bought it.