I'll second (third? many'd?) the Phoenix Wright games and its spin-offs, they are all very good adventure games

If you like tactical wargames, the Fire Emblem series is also pretty awesome. Don't know if there is one for DS proper (most of them are for either GBA, which can be played on older DS, or on 3DS)

I would argue that the term "remake" doesn't work here, as it is no longer the same type of game. It's more like I would call a retelling, much like the relationship between the original Castlevania and Castlevania IV.

Solatorobo: Red the Hunter. It's a sort-of sequel to Tail Concerto.

All of the DS Dragon Quest mainline games are good - Dragon Quest IV, V, VI, and IX. They don't really lead into one another, so you can pick up anywhere.

Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 1 and 2 are sort of Pokemonish, if you could equip Pikachu with a battleaxe.

Magical Starsign was a lot of fun, though the way-over-the-top cutesy factor turns a lot of people off it.
(One of the towns is called Honey Mint White Caramel Fudgeflake with Melty Butter and Syrup and Whipped Cream on Top. And they get shirty if you abbreviate it to Honey Mint.)

Advance Wars DS is a great strategy game. Disgaea DS is also good, but it's very much 'if you like grindy games'.

True. I just use the word loosely to draw a connection between this one and the predecessor.

If I remember correctly the devs call it reimagining

There were two DS entries, but Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is the only one that was localized in English. It's a remake of the very first Fire Emblem so the story is kind of bland, but the animation is really interesting. Definitely one of the lesser FE games, though. Mostly because they added in all kinds of features that dumb down the difficulty.

That's a 3DS game, you do own just a DS right?

Ah, crap. Just a DS.

SMT: Strange Journey, and SMT: Devil Survivor 1 and 2 are the ones on DS.

If you haven't played the Professor Layton games yet you should definitely do so! They are some of the best games ever (not just for DS)! From the puzzles, to the story, art and music, they are truly amazing titles. You will also get a lot of playtime out of them (I think I got around 20 hours out of each just completing the main story!), and they have a lot of replayability. I could go on for ever, but seriously, you should just play them for yourself. :)

Yeah. I can assure you that the N64 first Custom Robo was awesome even beign the whole game in japanese without translation.

Similar games: medabots, LBX (3ds)

Who doesn't want to customize robos I would say. Custom the sh!t outta those robos.

Do you have a website you use to buy games on New Zealand? If you give us the link we can look at what's available to you.

Of course you can still give preference to physical stores, but at least we'd know of one place where you can get the game, and if there's one you can probably find in others too.

Is your DS capable of playing GBA games, by any chance? (The original and Lite are, the DSi and DSi XL are not.)

Oh wow! I forgot about my GBA slot. Thankyou!

I think Mightyape, bought this other games shop, they have quite a good selection usually. I don't have an address to send them to at the moment. I usually would like to buy them in stores.

Added Game Boy Advance recommendations as well please people.