I enjoyed FF Explorers but mostly because it turned out I was really in the mood for mindless exploration/grinding, so if that is not your thing, you won't like it. (Also, it is action-y compared to most FF games - all FF games really - so take that as wlel.)
Yep, that's pretty much the tl;dr of Professor Layton. I love them all, though the series gets some pretty solid quality-of-life improvements over time.
OKAY SO REGULAR DS GAMES HERE WE GO *consults backloggery*
Avalon Code - Action RPG, fairly cute, but I got bored about a third of the way through. conceptually I like it, in execution I was kind of eh, but I know some people who DEEPLY ADORE it so I'm listing it anyway.
If you like exploratory dungeon crawling, you may be into the Etrian Odyssey games. Many of them have demos. Give the demo a try (this will also tell you if you have any interest in Persona Q: Shadows of the Labyrinth since it's basically an EO game with a P3/P4 skin on.)
FF Tactics Advance 2: I LOVED IT. If you like FF tactics, this is a delight. It is much better than the GBA one (many excellent quality-of-life improvements; also, badass dragon girls who fly over your opponents and do 4x backstab damage. Yes please.)
Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light: ....I am torn. This is a really cute game. It can also be frustrating. Trying to do 100% completion is. Well. It killed a lot of my joy. main quest was fun though.
If you feel the jonesing for a new version of FF4 or Chrono Trigger, I can wholeheartedly recommend the FF4 port (though the PC/Steam version has, again, some quality-of-life that you may appreciate in lieu of the DS version.) I heard good things about the CT port, though mine languishes unopened.
Glory of Heracles: fun, dorky, ridiculous, too many puns, SHARKS WITH HEAD-MOUNTED LASERS, occasional JRPG gender essentialist bullshit. I enjoyed it despite, YMMV.
Phoenix Wright series: I got frustrated with them after a while, to be totally honest. Conceptually I adore them. In practice, the adventure/exploration stuff got frustratingly finicky. Characters A+++. Execution: YMMV.
Picross 3D: if you like Picross get it. It owned my brain for weeks straight. I was delighted. It was also my intro to Picross and then like four iOS games happened oops.
Puzzle Quest series: First one is the best. Galactrix was OK. PQ 2, I made it through and that's all I have to say.
Radiant Historia: GET IT. PLAY IT. SO FUCKING GOOD. HANDS DOWN ONE OF MY FAVORITE DS GAMES. Time-traveling shenanigans and beautiful feelings.
SMT: Strange Journey was great. Devil Survivor is frustrating in that you really have to play it at least twice to get even a half-decent ending without tearing your hair out (I opted to the easy route to get NG+ and...haven't done it yet.) If you go this route, get the Overclocked 3DS version. Ditto its successor; get Record Breaker.
and lastly, New Super Mario Bros. on regular DS: delightfully nostalgic, I liked it a lot.
I have many more games in my pile on recommendation (Fire Emblem of various sorts, Suikoden of various sorts, and on and on and on) but I've probably given you quite a list already. Sorry, I have many games and many opinions. XD
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Yep, that's pretty much the tl;dr of Professor Layton. I love them all, though the series gets some pretty solid quality-of-life improvements over time.
OKAY SO REGULAR DS GAMES HERE WE GO *consults backloggery*
Avalon Code - Action RPG, fairly cute, but I got bored about a third of the way through. conceptually I like it, in execution I was kind of eh, but I know some people who DEEPLY ADORE it so I'm listing it anyway.
If you like exploratory dungeon crawling, you may be into the Etrian Odyssey games. Many of them have demos. Give the demo a try (this will also tell you if you have any interest in Persona Q: Shadows of the Labyrinth since it's basically an EO game with a P3/P4 skin on.)
FF Tactics Advance 2: I LOVED IT. If you like FF tactics, this is a delight. It is much better than the GBA one (many excellent quality-of-life improvements; also, badass dragon girls who fly over your opponents and do 4x backstab damage. Yes please.)
Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light: ....I am torn. This is a really cute game. It can also be frustrating. Trying to do 100% completion is. Well. It killed a lot of my joy. main quest was fun though.
If you feel the jonesing for a new version of FF4 or Chrono Trigger, I can wholeheartedly recommend the FF4 port (though the PC/Steam version has, again, some quality-of-life that you may appreciate in lieu of the DS version.) I heard good things about the CT port, though mine languishes unopened.
Glory of Heracles: fun, dorky, ridiculous, too many puns, SHARKS WITH HEAD-MOUNTED LASERS, occasional JRPG gender essentialist bullshit. I enjoyed it despite, YMMV.
Phoenix Wright series: I got frustrated with them after a while, to be totally honest. Conceptually I adore them. In practice, the adventure/exploration stuff got frustratingly finicky. Characters A+++. Execution: YMMV.
Picross 3D: if you like Picross get it. It owned my brain for weeks straight. I was delighted. It was also my intro to Picross and then like four iOS games happened oops.
Puzzle Quest series: First one is the best. Galactrix was OK. PQ 2, I made it through and that's all I have to say.
Radiant Historia: GET IT. PLAY IT. SO FUCKING GOOD. HANDS DOWN ONE OF MY FAVORITE DS GAMES. Time-traveling shenanigans and beautiful feelings.
SMT: Strange Journey was great. Devil Survivor is frustrating in that you really have to play it at least twice to get even a half-decent ending without tearing your hair out (I opted to the easy route to get NG+ and...haven't done it yet.) If you go this route, get the Overclocked 3DS version. Ditto its successor; get Record Breaker.
and lastly, New Super Mario Bros. on regular DS: delightfully nostalgic, I liked it a lot.
I have many more games in my pile on recommendation (Fire Emblem of various sorts, Suikoden of various sorts, and on and on and on) but I've probably given you quite a list already. Sorry, I have many games and many opinions. XD