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Nintendo 3DS Is Still Amazing

The 3DS is still, to this day, the system I take with me EVERYWHERE. Even walking to another room in my house. The glassesless 3D is still amazing and its a shame there will be nothing like it ever again. I just wanted to give it some love on here and see if there are others that feel the same. On to what makes it really special, the games.


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Ocarina of Time. My favorite game of ALL TIME. Remade. In 3D. What a spectacular release. I remember when Nintendo announced it as just a little logo lost among other 3DS games on a powerpoint slide and like a 3 second clip in a montage during e3 and I was like WAIT WHAT?? HOLD ON WHAT DID I JUST SEE?? Then the reports started coming in with photos of its remade graphics and it was AMAZING. I had tears in my eyes because my GOAT was just announced on a system with cutting edge technology(Im a total gadget geek) and as a Nintendo fan we never get a technologically advanced system. I must’ve played this non stop over and over 30 times. Diving into the Zora pond to dive for the rupees in 3D was stunning. I wouldn’t believe i entered my favorite videogame world in 3D with all the classic music and the feels coming back, riding Epona around with the tree swooshing by, brought back so many young memories I had. Then to fight Ganon in 3D, holy crap. I loved it.
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Majoras Mask. Are you kidding me?! They gave us that too, remade in 3D?? That intro song and just the whole vibe of the game is my happy place.
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The sequel to a Link to the Past-Link Between Worlds. What the heck???? I couldn’t believe this release. an old geezers dream came true. And it was SPECTACULAR. What an adventure to go back to that world with all new things to do.
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Kid Icarus Uprising- talk about an epic game made for a handheld. I remember getting to the end and being so blown away with the ending and how you beat the main boss.
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Super Mario 3D Land - seeing mario jump in 3D for the first time was really cool. And the game was a blast.
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Starfox 64 3D - i remember the original I had got with the rumble pack on n64, what an experience that was. I was like, I dont need to go to arcades anymore. To see flying a ship in 3D with the stars and barrel rolls, shooting, what a blast. With 1 cartridge local multiplayer, i played this so much with my cousins. So much fun.


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The first game I bought on launch was street fighter 3D and that was really sick even though Im not much of a fighting fan. I remember showing it to my brother and mom and they both didn’t like the 3D. I was blown away and they were just like its blurry, its no good. They didn’t get it & I was so surprised. How could you not see how awesome this is?!?

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The AR games were pretty fun too. Very innovative.


I just wish they continued and we would’ve got a higher resolution 3DS 2. Also, the analog stick still feels better then the Nintendo Switch’s stick. Anyhoo, who else has fond memories ( or current ones ) with the 3DS?
 

Kenpachii

Member
The idea was great, the hype was great the execution was dog shit.

The low pixel screen ruined games in 3D entirely, the 1 stick which was bad on top of it solution was just shit.

3D worked terrible, had to be locked into 1 place and ghosting in darker area's everywhere, OOT going into deku tree was a huge turn off, same for resident evil the whole game in 3D was just terrible.

I was waiting forever for OOT 3D to arrive followed most news etc, but eventually when it came out. I didn't even complete the run to the end. I got bored pretty quick as it was again just zelda oot i already played for a few times now. I hoped for some new DLC content but it never arrived.
 

DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
My favorite thing was Street Pass! It was so fun taking it around with me and seeing who I’d get. I used to work at a very busy airport so I’d get people from all over the world.

Such a neat little game system. It’s sad that the big 3 are all just conventional game systems now. I miss the gimmicks even if they were, well, just gimmicks sometimes.
 

jigglet

Banned
The one time Nintendo bucked and followed a modern trend and bet wrong. I would have traded all the 3D in the world for a larger screen and better battery. Didn’t even need better graphics.

The funny thing is the system seller for me was streetpass. And it’s the one thing they abandoned with the Switch. Fucking loved it.
 
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kunonabi

Member
My favorite handheld of all time especially the regular New 3DS model and possibly my 3rd favorite gaming platform overall. Still have like 30+ games in my backlog too. Actually bought the Fire Emblem if special edition and Kenka Bancho 6 last week.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
My 3DS has basically devolved into a Picross machine, lots of good titles including my favorite (Final Fantasy Pictlogica). But I love quirky shit like that and Theatrythm.

I also really enjoyed the system's RPGs. Most notably Fantasy Life (one of my favorite Level 5 games ever) but also the Dragon Quest 7 and 8 remakes, Bravely Default, Ever Oasis, Xenoblade Chronicles, and more. The fact that it can also play DS games opens up a whole other can of worms.
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
I have a 2DS XL and I absolutely love it. Such unique gaming experiences with access to DS and 3DS games. Plus I have it modded loaded with everything from NES to CPS I and II, and even some PSX RPGs. Was my favorite handheld until I got a Steam Deck.

My son has the actual 3DS original. I didn't really dig the 3D effect. However, 3DS games on PC Citra+Quest with a controller are pretty fucking awesome. The 3D effect is way more impressive in VR.
 
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Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Love the OP
For me handheld is nostalgia from yesteryear.
Gbc = nes
Gba = snes
ds = n64
3ds = gamecube
Switch = xbox 360+
Steam deck is ps4 xbox one
Pretty close comparison. I recall they used some higher texture filters on certain DS and 3DS titles which made then less polygonal than N64.
 
Rhythm heaven on 3DS is tops. And I really like Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia.

There are many good games. Luigi's Mansion 2 for example. Somehow they crammed Xenoblade Chronicles onto the 3DS lol thats loco. It has some great Ace Attorney and Kirby games also.

Crazy that it got off to such a bad start that nintendo had to do an early price cut and provide the "ambassador" bonus of cool retro games like Fire emblem and Yoshi's Island for early adopters.
 

BryceNobody

Member
The dry spell of new games over the summer led me to dust off my New 3DS XL and grind through some of my backlog (SMT IV, DQ VIII, and an unfinished OoT playthrough). I’d completely forgotten what an absolute banger of a little system this thing is and sunk hours into it.

Had so much fun that I ended up purchasing a brand-new Japanese 2DS XL and modded it after the eShop closed down to keep the party going. There’s still so many games, like Luigi’s Mansion 2, DQVII, and the Mario & Luigi remakes that I’m looking forward to playing. One of the best handhelds ever released.

Vita 3DS means life.
(jk still miss you Vita)
 
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ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
I mean, it didn’t end up the winner and killing the Vita (along with Sony’s handheld ambition) for no reason.
 

F31 Leopard

Member
The original 3DS/3DSXL without face tracking gave me headaches. The face tracking in the New 3DS XL was a gamechanger and made 3D awesome. I always played with it on. RE "Revelaitons" 😄 and Monster Hunter 4U especially looked great. The 3D effects in 3U and Generations was ok but nowhere near MH4U.
 
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My favorite thing was Street Pass! It was so fun taking it around with me and seeing who I’d get. I used to work at a very busy airport so I’d get people from all over the world.

Such a neat little game system. It’s sad that the big 3 are all just conventional game systems now. I miss the gimmicks even if they were, well, just gimmicks sometimes.
I forgot about streetpass! I had turned off the wifi a year ago to save battery and forgot to turn it back on. I was definitely obsessed with seeing who Id come in contact with and completeing the puzzle pieces to see 3D art.
 

consoul

Member
It's a great little system.
The New 3DSXL got the hardware to a good place, and there are loads of excellent games in the library. Still blows my mind that Resident Evil Revelations was a 3DS game.

The eye-tracking 3D is magic when done right. Some games become much more immersive as a result.
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Yes, in its final form (New 3DS XL) it’s fantastic. The 3D works as intended, the battery is better than the Switch’s, the original library is great, it plays all DS games AND it has Virtual Console for home and portable systems. Hack it, and you can have emulators on it too. I still have so much to play on the 3DS. The Switch can be played handheld, but it doesn’t have the true portable features and software the 3DS had. The Streetpass games were so nice, and the resistive screen worked so much better for many applications.

Some day more people will realize what we lost when dedicated handhelds that allowed for great games made with few resources ceased to have a dedicated platform.
 

Chastten

Banned
Haven't played it in years but I liked it a lot for stuff like RPG's.

It wasnt very comfortable to hold for longer amounts of time in fast paces action or racing games, but I played a shitton of Fire Emblem, Bravely Default, Mario RPG and Pokémon games on the thing. Kirby and Mario were great as well. Never cared much for the 3D though. Mine came with Mario 3D land and it was neat for a little while, DoA 3D looked stunning even, but after that I quickly turned off the 3d effect permanently.

Next weekend there's an Animecon around here and just yesterday they announced a Streetpass meeting, so I might just take it with me for shits and giggles as I never completed all images.
 
Wish I still had mine (Persona Edition I think), but got rid of it when I bought the Switch years ago. Might have to go back and pick one up again. Haven’t looked at prices in awhile so hopefully they are not insane!
 

alf717

Member
I was hyped for the 3DS and then Mega Man Legends 3 was cancelled. I got one when the New 3DS Majora's Mask version released. Played catch up for a bit with the handheld. It was overall pretty good not as memorable for me though but there are still a few games I would of liked to try out.
 

Star-Lord

Member
I, like you, still have and play my 3DS on a regular basis. I skipped the DS entirely, and went straight to 3DS upon it's release. There really are some truly amazing titles in the vast library - Ocarina, Majora, Star Fox 64, Pokémon X/Y, Pokémon Sun/Moon, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Super Mario 3D Land, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, and Fire Emblem just to name a few. I often replay through Pokémon and 3D Land, and New Leaf gets a revisit from time to time. In a world where Nintendo is often left behind when it comes to technological advances, they really did own the handheld market when it came to that generation. Never forget.
 

_Ex_

Member
I own a 3DS XL, 2DS, and New 2DS XL. I own 128 physical 3DS games, and loads of digital ones. So yeah, I'm a fan. The 3D effect was cool, but having to hold the 3D in exactly the right spot to see it properly was not ideal. By the time the New 3DS came out that supposed fixed the issue, I no longer cared about the 3D novelty. People saying the 3DS doesn't have a good library have not fully explored its offerings. Especially if you enjoy JRPGs, the 3DS has got 'em. The 3DS does pale in comparison to the DS overall though. The Switch is not a DS/3DS successor, if anything the Switch is the Vita 2.
 
I bought both a 3DS and a Vita right as the pandemic started to keep me occupied during lockdowns. I hacked both of them immediately. Prior to that the last handheld console I'd had was a Game Boy Color when I was a kid, and the only games I ever owned for that were Pokemon Red and Silver.

I fully expected to like the 3DS more, since the general consensus was that it has a far better games library. In practice, though, I've found that a hacked Vita is one of my favorite consoles of all time, and I rarely play my 3DS at all.

The reasons for this are several. First, the Vita's hardware is so, so much nicer - not just ergonomically and in terms of the better screen, but also little things like the fact that you can leave it in sleep mode for like weeks before the battery dies, whereas the 3DS can barely last a few days. This means that any game that's playable on both systems will tend to be much more enjoyable to play on Vita. And the current state of emulation on Vita is such that even SNES and GBA games play just fine on Vita, so the 3DS's superior emulation performance for those two systems doesn't outweigh for the Vita's screen and ergonomic advantages. At the end of the day, the Vita gets you access to the entire library of every console up through PS1, plus PSP and a little bit of N64 (though obviously I'd rather play the 3DS versions of OoT and MM than fiddle with Daedalus on Vita). All 3DS gets you by comparison to the Vita is 3DS and DS.

And to be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with the 3DS/DS library. I spent the most time playing Dragon Quest on it (4-6 on DS and 7 and 8 on 3DS), and the excellent DS Chrono Trigger remaster is still my favorite way to play that game. Crimson Shroud was probably my favorite 3DS exclusive. Other than that I was a bit disappointed. The major JRPGs like Radiant Historia and SMT didn't really catch my interest, and the Vita's library is actually massive when you factor in all the PS1 and PSP games and the often excellent PS2 remasters.
 
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