Elite Beat Agents Elite Beat Agents is one of the best rhythm game out there because it's just so quirky weird, goofy and cool. In this game players use the DS touchscreen to pop balloons in time with a an eclectic mix of pop tunes while a movie plays on the top screen. Do well and the movie will offer a good scene, do bad and you get the bad version of the moive - not that it matters either way. While this rhythm game is mostly about tapping on colored numbers with the stylus that string out along the screen and sounds deceptively simple, Elite Beat agents is one of those games that is easy to understand and hard to master. The game also offers compelling multiplayer support, including coop, or you can play a downloadable version with someone who doesn't own the game. While the gameplay seems pretty straightforward and simple, what makes Elite Beat Agents shine is its quirky style, weird melding of popular songs with bizarre movies and the whole concept of secret agents that save the world by being cool.

Castlevania: Portal of Ruin Portrait of Ruin is a great game and probably the best release of the series on a hand-held to date. We give the game that distinction not because of what it changes, but because it returns the series to its roots. Add to that faithfulness a team mechanic that lets you switch between two main characters on the fly, tons of weapons, items, secrets, fantastic boss battles, excellent music, cool environments, and a lot more. Gamers looking for a Castlevania game that reaches back to the original early titles will feel right at home with POR, because it adheres closely to the same kind of style that made the original games so popular. For brining the series full circle and delivering an excellent gameplay experience, Castlevania: Portal of Ruin takes the second spot our list.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team Pokemon Mystery Dungeon took the popular “gotta catch ‘em all” franchise and mixed it up a bit, allowing players to don the roles of Pokemon and go on special "rescue" adventures. But beyond that interesting switch, the game implements a neat Rogue-like style of gameplay which adds a lot of replayability due to the randomness of each adventure. Of course you have access to all those wonderful Pokemon attacks as you take your team on incursions into the deep dungeons to rescue other Pokemon that find themselves in a bad way. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon really took the popular franchise in a new direction, and for those gamers who like Rogue-likes, it's a wonderfully clever and entertaining role-playing game experience.

Final Fantasy III Final Fantasy III is just a great role-playing game that delivers the classic play style of the original game with a veneer of graphics, sound and style is truly next-generation. Final Fantasy III serves up all the popular jobs you'd expect in a classic Final Fantasy game, along with fully 3D worlds, some nice DS-specific features, and some nice extras tied to the classic moogles. Final Fantasy III looks great and delivers an epic RPG experience without all the endless talking and storytelling you'd get from a full-blown Final Fantasy release. It is the sum of its parts, meshing together perfectly that makes Square Enix's recreation of Final Fantasy III one of the better role-playing games on the DS.

Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime Square Enix's Rocket Slime is a great game where players take the popular bad guy from the Dragon Quest games (the slime) and use him as a living weapon, much like stretching a rubberband. Rocket Slime might sound like a platformer, but as the game moves forward players will collect objects and enemies (for use as ammo and crew in a nifty giant battle tank), rescue fellow slimes and rebuild their kingdom. Rocket Slime is cute and doesn't take itself too seriously, but the actual gameplay – most notably the tank battle system -- is clever, fun and challenging. For blending multiple genres and supplying an unusual cast of characters, Rocket Slime gets a nod as one of the best DS titles in 2006.