BEHOLD! I HAS THE 3DS! (Requests)

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Definition of a hidden gem here for ya. Harvest December. You are into persona so you're bound to love it. It's a classic visual novel with a great slice of life plot enriched by godly shenanigans. It also happens to take place in a village out in the boonies of japan. Great characters, lots of humor, plot is about mainly romance and growing up but with some more adult things like looking after kids, though there's plenty of school setting shenanigans too. It's 13 episodes long and in Japan each was released once a month but we get em all in one pack. They average about 3 hours each so they're perfect for an episode a day session...though I did do the last 3 all in one sitting myself cause so goooood.

 

[Kotaro]

Bravely Default is the best Final Fantasy game in years. It's not perfect, but it's amazing. And the sequel's coming out in April.

Etrian Odyssey (a series of hardcore retro dungeon crawlers) has three great 3DS installments: Etrian Odyssey IV, Etrian Odyssey Untold, and Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold. The latter two are remakes of the first two games, originally for the DS. The series is very love-it-or-hate-it (I am in the "love it" camp), so try one of the demos first.

Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates are great strategy RPGs.

Kid Icarus: Uprising is a lot of fun once you get used to the awkward controls.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, though only if you've played the series before and liked it, since the story here falls pretty hard into continuity lockout. Not the best installment, but still a lot of fun.

Kirby Triple Deluxe feels like an expansion pack for Kirby's Return to Dream Land, but seeing how RtDL is the best Kirby game yet (in my opinion), this is not a bad thing.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora's Mask 3D. Exactly what it says on the tin.

Pokemon X/Y and Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. Freaking duh.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Soul Hackers, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 - Record Breaker, and Shin Megami Tensei IV. In order: remake of an old Japan-only Sega Saturn/PlayStation RPG, two enhanced ports of DS strategy RPGs, and an awesome RPG made for the 3DS. Devil Survivor 1 in particular will really appeal to you if you like Pokemon, since it's a deconstruction of the concept (basically it answers the question "What would happen if Pokemon suddenly appeared in the real world?" and needless to say things don't go well).

StarFox 64 3D

Super Mario 3D Land is a ton of fun.

Tales of the Abyss, if you never played it on PS2.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call might be the most content-rich rhythm game ever made, with well over 200 songs included before you even get into the DLC. And the RPG elements, with party-building, leveling, and customization kept me at least coming back to it over and over. I have clocked over a hundred hours into this beast, and I do not regret a cent of the money I spent to get every piece of DLC released for it.

That's... almost every game I have for my 3DS, actually. Not counting eShop games.

 

[Yoshi178]

Xenoblade Chronicles is all anyone needs.

 

[Souplex]

Get Smash. This is a command not a recommendation. Your life is not complete without it.
For non-mandatory but still great games there's Mario 3D land, A Link Between Worlds, Kirby: Triple-Deluxe, and Kid Icarus: Uprising.
My roommate says that if you're an unapologetic Weeb, and want to come out to the world as such you should get Conception 2.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Oh right Senran Kagura are great action games with a ton of plot and the most creative use of the mic I've ever seen.

 

[Musou Tensei]

Xenoblade Chronicles is all anyone needs.

He would need a New 3DS for that though.

 

[Silvanus]

It has a great library, but the one people seem to overlook a lot is A Link Between Worlds. Such a polished, brilliant Zelda game, both as a homage to ALTTP and on its own merit.

 

[Breakdown]

I recently got a 3DS, my plan is to play through all of the available Zelda games starting with the original Legend of Zelda. I have finished Luigi's Mansion 2 though, it's pretty good.

 

[The_Lost_King]

What do you like? If you have a particular genre preference that would make reccomendations easier. Since you haven't really given any specifications I'll just rattle of a list of what I enjoy on my 3DS:

Pokemon X/Y/OR/AS - Version doesn't really matter
Shin Megami Tensei 4 - Hard, atmospheric JRPG with a monster collection mechanic
Bravely Default - Quirkly JRPG in the style of Final Fantasy 5
Devil Survivor / Devil Survivor 2 - Similae to SMT 4 but turn based tactics
Fire Emblem Awakening/Fates - Turn based tactics JRPG
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - Action RPG with huge replay value and a shit ton of content. It's also quite hard.
Xenoblade Chronicles (New 3DS Exclusive) - Huge sprawling JRPG with a strong story and great characters
The World Ends with You - Hard to describe why it's good, but it's good
Tales of the Abyss - One of the better JRPG's with a fairly involved battle system
Code Name: STEAM - Valkyria Chronicles style gameplay with a steampunk setting
Hyrule Warriors Legends - Not out yet, but it's Dynasty Warriors in a Zelda setting

Everything this guy posted is fucking gold. Haven't played bravely default, Tales of the Abyss, or Code Name: Steam, but I can vouch for everything else.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is my 5th Favorite game of all time
Pokemon is always fantastic
Monster Hunter 4 is fantastic because of the new weapons, monsters and removal of water combat
Xenoblade Chronicles is good, but I haven't got very far in
World Ends with you is one of the best JRPGs out there with a fantastic, unique battle system and an amazing sound track

 

[Asita]

Monster Hunter 4 if you want a challange but it's best played with other people.

I can vouch for this in both senses. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was my introduction to the series and while the caravan quests/campaign are alright, the endgame is found in the Guild Hall, which is heavily geared towards co-op. You can certainly PUG your way through it, provided you have enough experience to anticipate the monsters, but there's something to be said about the silly camaraderie when playing with friends.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Etrian Odyssey:
If you enjoy Persona Q at all you MUST play the Etrian Odyssey series (possibly excluding Mystery Dungeon, as it's not a true EO game)

Why? Because Persona Q uses the EO engine and most of the gameplay, and borrows Persona style elements. The actual Etrian Odyssey game has the dungeon crawling, map drawing, running-from-on-field-enemies, Holy-shit-this-is-hard parts of Persona Q, only now you literally build your own party (Unless you play the Story Mode of the Remake games, which I find a bit silly)

The Mystery Dungeon spinoff isn't bad, but it also doesn't quite hit the same notes.

Codename Steam:
If you enjoy tactical games, or enjoy Valkyria Chronicles or XCOM at all (and wish there was no RNG), you NEED this game in your life.

It's a squad-based Tactical game set in a steampunk world, where you use a team of famous literary characters (Tiger Lily, The Lion from Oz, etc) to fight off ice-based Lovecraftian horrors from taking over the world. If you like tactical stuff at all, this gets a massive recommendation from me.

Monster Hunter 4:
This is a given. It's a phenomenal Action RPG where instead of leveling up, you just get better gear made from the monsters you've killed, and depend on your personal skill to make up for the rest. It's fantastic, get it.

Kid Icarus Uprising:
Another given. If you can get a handle on the control scheme (I use just the buttons and control stick, no stylus), it's a fantastic action game with a hilarious script and ridiculous amounts of stuff to unlock and customize

Rune Factory 4:
Want a game that combines farming, socializing with villagers and diving into dungeons? This game is for you. While it's not as tight as Frontier was, it has way more content and no stupid annoying game mechanics to get in the way of your farming-buying-slaughtering fun.

 

[Worgen]

If you want a good strategy rpg with insane combat and all the characters you could hope for. Check out Project X zone, the second one just came out.

 

[Meatrod05]

If you have any interest in story driven games with some interesting puzzles, check out 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (DS) and its sequel Virtue's Last Reward (3DS). Although I can't really say why without massive spoilers, know that they are some of the most interesting stories I've come across in games. Plus, the third part of the trilogy is due to come out sometime this year.

 

[totheendofsin]

The Guild Collection is a good place to start, it includes Liberation Maiden (a star fox style shoot em up with a unique control scheme) Aeroporter (a puzzle game about, no joke, making sure luggage gets on the correct flight) Crimson Shroud (single player D n D) Attack of the Friday monsters (a narrative adventure) The Starship Damrey (an atmospheric scifi horror game) and Bugs vs Tanks (exactly what the title implies)

other gems include
Ikachan
Boxboy
Nightsky
Gunman Clive 1 and 2
The Shantae series (you can get all 3 currently released games on the 3ds)
Bomb Monkey
Chain Blaster
Hazumi
The Legend of the Dark Witch
1001 Spikes
VVVVVV
Mighty Switch Force 1 and 2
Steamworld Dig
Adventure Bar Story
Chronus Arc
Grinsia

if you have a New 3ds (if you aren't sure if it has a built in nub that can act as a second joystick and two extra shoulder buttons it's a New 3ds) I also recommend Binding of Isaac Rebirth

 

[Rebel_Raven]

shantae and the pirate's curse: is a fun, light hearted platformer.
Rune factory 4: is a neat action rpg mixed with harvest moon.
Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: A solid hack, and slash from people that made hack and slash their bread, and butter
Nintendo badge arcade: You can play for free, and win stuff that'll let you decorate your 3ds.
Pokemon rumble World: A simple, fun top down game where you control a toy pokemon and fight in real time.
Pokemon Trozei: A free match 3 style game.
Senran kagura Burst: An excellent side scroller beatem up that's actually 2 games in one.
Senran Kagura Deep Crimson: the sequel to the aforementioned which improves a good bit on the predecessor.
Fantasy Life: A deep action rpg.
Style Savvy trend Setters: A puzzle game revolving around clothes, and growing a clothing business. making everything come together is pretty satsfying.
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A puzzle game with a sizable amount of DC lore in it.
Radar Mission: It's battleship!
Project Xzone: the battles can become a slog, but watching the chaos of combat, and watching the interactions makes it great!
Project Xzone 2: I don't have this one yet, but it's on my list. They say the long battles have been toned down some. there's a demo out!
Tomodachi Life: A funny game where you take care of an island of people who do random things.

Oh, and terraria. A 2d minecraft with enough uniqueness to stand apart.

I'd keep an eye out for hyrule warriors.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[fenrizz]

Adding my support for:

Bravely Default
Animal Crossing New Leaf
Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS

 

[EbonBehelit]

IF you're a fan of the Souls games, have a look at Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. It's almost legit the only game you'll ever need, especially if you've got friends on hand to play it with.