Ok. So I finally decided to bite the bullet and I'm picking up a (regular) new 3ds today, the Super Mario bundle one.
If I could only get like...3 games to start, what are the best ones?
My favourite 3DS games:
1) The Bravely games,
Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies and
Bravely Second: End Layer (JRPGs). Start with Bravely Default as Second is a direct sequel set in the same world and spoils the story of the first. There's a free demo available as well, and while it showcases the game reasonably well, it's VERY harsh to start with if you're not experienced with JRPGs or a quick learner as it has fairly minimal tutorials and is pretty tough from the start. But the main game is much more gentle and extremely fun. The story is great (for the first 5-6 chapters out of eight), the gameplay is fantastic (for the first 4 chapters and the last 2 chapters out of eight), and there's lots of resources online. I even have a really in depth mechanics guide for Bravely Second!
2)
Fire Emblem Fates and
Fire Emblem: Awakening (JRPGs). Awakening came out first but the two are both unrelated (pretty much). Awakening is a bit more... free and breakable if you want to, but can be really fun for the crazy things you can start doing. Fates is much more restrained and balanced with tighter gameplay and more interesting challenges. Fates is also two different games!
Fates: Birthright is better for series beginners and is slightly easier with the more natural story progression.
Fates: Conquest is more difficult (although both have difficulty options) and has more complex scenarios. If you get one and enjoy it you can download the other for a reduced price as well, plus the hidden third route of the game.
3)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Action/Adventure). I mean I assume you know what Zelda is. This one is a bit more open world and based heavily on A Link to the Past. It's a little on the short side - I 100% completed it with no guide in 20 hours, but it's good fun regardless.
4)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (Puzzle/text adventure). I guess you've heard of the series at least - you play as lawyer Phoenix Wright in wacky court cases, with often interlinking mystery and puzzles going on, trying to prove clients innocent. Trilogy contains all three of the first games for the price of a single game, so if you've never played a game in the series it's a fantastic starting point.
5)
Kid Icarus: Uprising (Action). A bit of a quirky but fun action game, which takes place in two phases - there's an on rails shooter type section, and then a ground based adventure section. Both are great fun, and the game offers a decent story as well, with tons of humour. The controls take a bit of getting used to but work really well, and the game has a few nice features for balancing difficulty, risk/reward and tons of unlockables.
Honorable mentions:
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a 3DS rerelease of the best game ever, but sadly is N3DS only.
Hyrule Warriors Legends is a fun Warriors style combo/beat em up/whatever game based on Zelda, but it runs not too well on O3DS.
Pokemon X/Y and ORAS are... well they're pokemon. I enjoy my pokemon, it's a decent series, but man is it overrated. Still you probably know if you enjoy pokemon or not. I've heard ORAS are really good as far as pokemon goes.
(Edit: Those darn
smilies. I got you this time.)