I would suggest getting Etrian Odyssey 2.  Even though it is insanely difficult, it is an awesome duengon crawler RPG with good 3D + anime (which is actually pretty good artwork!) graphics, and the writing is hilarious at times.  If you get it, be prepared to die often, or get frustrated; the game is great if you stick it through, though.
I would also suggest getting Advance War​ays of Ruin.  The game is also pretty long with a ton of replay value.

The DS isn't that bad. I'm not much of a portable fan but I quite like my DS. I don't even have a flash cart! I'm playing through Pokemon at the moment (bit slow) and I've got 3-4 other games I want to pick up. I have a fair trip home from work each day though, which is the main time I use it.

Etrian Oddyssey has always looked interesting. It doesn't help that the first is only just coming out in Australia though.

Buy an R4 and just download ROMs.

Wait, it's pronounced CEC IL?

I thought it was CE CIL. Fuuuck.

it should be pronounced this way because when you have a vowel followed by a consonant followed by a vowel the first vowel is pronounced long form.  If it was pronounced <seh-ssil> then the name would be spelled "Ceccil" but that doesn't look right at all.

THANKS FOR FUCKERING US ALL UP SQUARE

nintendo are selling out

yeah this was exactly my point. traditionally, nintendo has been a company which appealed to the hardcore gamer. sadly those days are past and now we must look to the likes of microsoft and sony for our hardcore gaming "fix", if you will. i didn't want to say as much in my post, because to be explicit about a specific allegiance to one console or company is to encourage another bout of bitter partisan argument which i hoped to avoid, but i cannot deny that nintendo are selling out. that was my point. you nailed it.

If you're gonna get an R4 or a flash cart of any kind really, get a CycloDS. They don't cost much more, but they're really quite snazzy.

Here's a comparison chart for you (or anyone who's interesed) between different types of flash carts for DS!

Get an R4... It's really worth it.

A native savestate for any game with Cyclo? Man... that would ruin it for me. I am always far too tempted to use it.

The only DS games I have played for extended periods of time are Pokemon diamond and New Super Mario bros. Everything else is shit.

Wait, it's pronounced CEC IL?

I thought it was CE CIL. Fuuuck.

It's an actual real name. So, I already knew this.


Anyway, there's a nice variety of DS games. I've got both PSP and DS. While PSP keeps me content with MP3s and internet access (the Gamingw Meet in London would have been a disaster if I hadn't brought my PSP). However, the DS keeps me happy with Brain Age. So far, I've bought all the wrong games for that stylus system. However, it's a good gameboy advance upgrade. Perfect for those highschool students.

unrelated, but where would be a good site to purchase an r4 (or something similar like christo posted)

I use Gamer Section myself, but that's because I'm Canadian...

do you know if they charge extra for shipping to the states the price is better than i've seen on some sites and im just kinda worried about making sure i don't end up with like a counterfeit one or something like that

Pretty sure it's a flat-rate for ground shipping but I couldn't say for sure.  You could email them and ask, I suppose.

yeah i'll try something like that when i get home from work today
actually found one cheaper here at http://nxpgame.com/r4ds-r4-ds.html i'm not sure of the legitimacy of it i'll try doing some forum searches at other places, but yeah.
i'm not planning on getting one for a while btw, I'm just doing some research now so i know where to get from later anyway