Having used a DS Phat for the last 10 years, I figured it was time to update. So now I'm here with a nicely matured handheld with a not insubstantial library of games to pick from. The problem being that I've no idea where to start. Nintendo games are pretty much a given. Already got my eye on the Zelda games and some of the Mario titles. It's the smaller games and the eShop titles that I'm a bit overwhelmed by.

Haha. Sorry about this. I know these "what should I get?!" threads are probably pretty lame, but its just that I'm at a loss here.

The benifit of living in the UK is that I could get the smaller model with the SNES coloured buttons. The downside is that due to the weird region locking idea, we have to suffer the massive delay on getting some games localised, if they even come out at all.

For what it's worth, this is what I got already: Tomodachi Life came bundled with the system, Ace Attorney 5 as the DS games are a favourite of mine, and a cheap copy of Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars as turn based strategy works best on handhelds.

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Also, while I'm here asking dumb questions: How scratch-proof is the screen? It's probably a smart idea to invest in screen protectors anyway, right?

I don't go crazy heavy with the stylus (I'm amazed that my old DS doesn't look like it's been brushed down with steel wool after all these years), but I swear the 3DS screen feels pretty soft.

Thanks in advance!

Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a must have. It's fantastic.

And I would also pick up Box Boy from the eshop.

Sorry, don't know about the screen on the New 3ds but my older XL is holding up fine at the moment.

This is definitely a good shout. I'm having a good time with Puzzle and Dragons at the moment as well, although whether its worth 25 quid is debatable.

Also the eshop has a decent amount of demos, Bravely Defualt and Fire Emblem are worth the download to check out.

Sayonara Umihara Kawase is one of my favourites. If you know what you're getting into, maybe give that a looksee. That said, it's download only in the UK and pretty expensive I think so???

Also Kid Icarus rules

Zelda - A Link Between Worlds

Super Mario 3D Land

Fire Emblem - Awakening

You must own these. Trust me.

Can't go wrong with the "Mo" series; Push/Crash/Stretchmo are all great.

Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing and Pokemon X/Y are all good gets too.

I really loved both Paper Mario Sticker Star (in spite of its lack of strong story/characters and awful boss battles) and Mario & Luigi Dream Team, but the internet seems to hate those games so your mileage may vary.

Kirby Triple Deluxe is a great Kirby game.

I'd consider Kid Icarus a must-play, I kind of hated the way it controls, and found it super uncomfortable, but that story, MAN, it GOES PLACES. It's incredible.

This isn't a suggestion as such but there is actually a 3DS/WIIU Humble Bundle going on right now, so perhaps there is something in there that would spark your want.

Kid Icarus doesn't always get the respect it deserves. What a fun game.

Fire Emblem Awakening is my favorite game on the system, it's a really great game.

As for little eShop stuff you may overlook, I found Attack of the Friday Monsters to be really charming, that might be a good pickup if it looks like it might appeal to you. Warning though, it's very light on gameplay, you're really just playing through the story.

Dual Destinies isn't a great phoenix wright game. I thought Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton was much better. Get that. Also, they recently discounted the 'HD' trilogy and I bought that from the eshop.

If you like Picross, there's 5 (maybe 6?) "Picross e" games on the eShop.

As for screen protectors, I haven't had any problems with scratches on mine without a protector. I've never really been one to push down particularly hard with the stylus, so your milage may vary.

*edit: Actually, thinking back, a screen protector might not be a bad idea. When I first got my XL, I remember feeling like the stylus was digging in a bit, so I took a wooden chopstick, sanded the end until it was completely rounded over and smooth, and have been using that.

Also, I've heard a LOT of good things about that Xenoblade game.

Both Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora's Mask 3D. I'm playing through Majora's Mask 3D right now, first experience with the game, it's fantastic, visually it nails the look of the concept art and it seems like a lot of minor tweaks to the mechanics seem to make the game a way more enjoyable experience. I'm playing it on a new 3DS and having the c-stick for camera control works really well.

Fire Emblem Awakening is a serious must have. Not sure how much you're into the tactical RPG genre but I never played one/didn't think they looked all that interesting but I gave Fire Emblem a shot and it was incredibly worth it. It's got a huge cast of great characters and it's absolutely gorgeous. I put like 60 hours into this game.

A Link Between Worlds is amazing too, I'm undecided if it or Fire Emblem is the best original game for the 3DS. The whole wall merging mechanic is goddamn genius when it comes to the dungeons. Almost every dungeon is like one big puzzle to figure out much more so than previous Zelda games.

The new puzzle and dragons game is good. Check out the quick look if you are interested

Only recently picked up the New Nintendo 3DS XL myself and have to admit I've been spending the vast majority of my time with Puzzles and Dragons Z: Super Mario Edition and that's only the Mario edition part. Haven't even started the P&D's game mode.

I've also picked up Monster Hunter 4, Tomodachi Life (cause why the hell not) and Fire Emblem: Awakening as a friend of mine loved that game to death and it reminds me of the Advance Wars games which I adored on DS. The 3DS in general as some real great games, there's a lot I want to get around to playing to. I recommend the Mo games to, Pushmo, Crashmo and Stretchmo. Great little puzzle games with a lot of content that also looks pretty good in 3D.

I'd suggest making A Link Between Worlds, Fire Emblem Awakening, and Shin Megami Tensei IV priorities. Super Mario 3D World, Etrian Odyssey IV, and Mario Kart 7 are also pretty good games.

That's a bit of a bummer to hear. That game was one of the deciding factors for getting the system. Well, I've never been much into the Layton games but I'll certainly take a look at the crossover.

Anyway! Thanks for the suggestions so far! Had £5 credit left over from buying Phoenix Wright, so I got BoxBoy.

Fire Emblem and A Link to the Past are definitely ones I'm looking to check out in the immediate future. So, essentially, if Nintendo is directly involved in some way, it's most likely a damn good game? Haha. Well, that was a shocking revelation!

What I'm wondering is if there's anything outside of Nintendo that's worthwhile on the system?

The Phoenix Wright games were probably my favourite games from the DS era, have they done a decent job with the HD upgrade for the 3DS because I'd be tempted to check them out again.

If you haven't already played them on the PC, Cave Story (the version in the eShop, NOT Cave Story 3D) VVVVVV, Steamworld Dig, and Shovel Knight are all spectacular.

Edit: Cave Story and VVVVVV are on sale right now for $5 and $4! Crazy! At that price I'll buy them again!

@subwayd: The iPad version of Dual Destinies is actually the best version, whereas the iPad version of the 'HD' trilogy is the worst. Weird. It's an OK continuation but it completely forgets about the previous game and they anime it up about a thousand fold. I've still finished it, like, 10 times so it can't be that bad. Also, you could have bought the DLC case with that left over money.

As for Phoenix vs Layton, I don't care for layton either. I kind of sped through the layton parts to get to the trials but it's great as a visual novel like the phoenix wright games, and the trials are a lot more interesting and fun than dual destinies.

It is a flaming pile of trash on iPad but the 3DS version is pretty decent. They messed up a couple of the sprites but overall it looks OK. They could have done so much more if they were going to redraw everything like this. At least it is mostly faithful to the original look. You can look at some screenshots on the eshop to see how it looks on the screen.

Wait, what?

The thoughts "Nintendo Handheld" and "DLC" never even existed in the same part of my brain. I've got a lot to learn, it seems.

Fire Emblem

Devil Survivor: Overclocked

Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker

So not being into traditional Nintendo games like Zelda and Mario, fire emblem SMT games and maybe some phoenix wright games are cool? If I were to get one?