The Nintendo DS is just as lucrative and successful as its home console counterpart for a reason. It's relatively inexpensive, and has an enormous library of great portable games from every genre you can imagine. We've listed a few of our recommendations below.
Hardware
When it comes to purchasing a Nintendo DS, you have few choices to make. The DSi is the newer and more expensive model, however, the extra $40 gets you a pair of cameras that are built into the device. It's also capable of downloading games from the DSiWare service -- however, there haven't really been any hugely successful hits on that platform thus far.
The DS Lite is the older version of the handheld, which lacks the DSi's cameras and downloading capabilities. However, it has an extra port which allows you to play Game Boy Advance games and is $40 cheaper than the newest system.
For the cheapest Nintendo DS purchasing option imaginable, we suggest going with a refurbished DS Phat ... err, the original model of the Nintendo DS. It's still got the GBA port, though the screens lack the remarkable brightness of the systems which followed.
Games
This one's a bit harder to find than other games on this list, but Dual Strike offers a surprisingly deep turn-based strategy gaming experience. Look it up, if the person you're buying for has a particularly strategic mind.
Just like the console versions that came before it, Wild World lets you inhabit and decorate your own town, creating clothes, planting trees and making friends as you do so.
Dracula's not going to slay himself, you know. That's your job in this lengthy, engrossing action game which hearkens back to the equally wonderful PS1 classic, Symphony of the Night.
If you owned a Super Nintendo and had a proclivity for purchasing good games, you've probably already played Chrono Trigger. If you haven't, it's worth checking out -- many regard it as the best RPG of all time.
Despite some love-it-or-hate-it controls, Link's first outing on the Nintendo DS remains one of the highest-rated games on the system. For additional Zelda-ing, check out the recently released Spirit Tracks ($34.99) [compare prices] as well!
One of the highest-rated and best-selling games on the platform, Mario Kart DS perfectly recreates the racing action of the home console games, adding in a super entertaining wireless multiplayer mode.
Easily Mario's best outing on the handheld, New Super Mario Bros. has familiar platform-jumping gameplay with some sharp visuals and brain-meltingly catchy music.
Nintendo jumped a very cute shark when it released the Nintendogs franchise on the DS. There's plenty of specially bred game versions to choose from, including Lab & Friends, Dachshund & Friends and the slightly less popular Cerberus & Friends.
This is us being completely serious -- Pokemon Platinum is awesome. With tons of hours of gameplay, online multiplayer modes and almost 500 of the little critters to collect, it's a sound investment to make.
If you want your loved one to spend their holiday season exercising their brain meat, pick up Professor Layton. It's chock-full of super satisfying puzzles and an intriguing storyline to boot.
We'll be honest -- this is a pretty weird game, even by Square Enix's standards. It's also one of our favorite action-RPGs on the DS, and one of the most original games we've played in a long, long time.
Accessories
Nintendo DS games are small and incredibly loseable. We suggest picking up something like this if you want a good travel solution for your DS library.
The recipient of this gift is going to be writing on the DS' screen quite frequently, so it might be a good investment to grab one of these thin sheets of plastic to prevent any irreversible scratches.
