Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?

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jawafour
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PostNintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by jawafour » Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:27 pm

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A birthday celebration for the divisive machine
The 3DS is four years old in Europe! Yes, the dinky machine has been with us for quite some time... with lots of ups and downs throughout those years.

It's had to contend with the rise of mobile and tablet gaming and changes in how we consume and pay for our games. To date the 3DS family has sold fifty million machines; far more than I had imagined it had. The game catalogue has some genuine gems and it'd be easy to focus upon the successes.

The console has had some rough times. A very weak post-launch period ("no gaemz!"), the painful price cut and a very inconsistent game release schedule.Third party support has been sparse and Nintendo itself has sometimes appeared to shy away from offering much support.

The recent launch of the "New!" variants has perhaps finally delivered the machine that people wanted, albeit at a time when the wee console may be heading towards the end of its life.

My own 3DS story
I picked up the machine in June 2011, three months after the initial launch. Sales had dropped away and I was fortunate to get a great deal on a new Cosmos Black 3DS with Zelda Ocarina from GAME. I loved it, and immediately picked up Pilotwings Resort and Ghost Recon Shadow Wars on the cheap as they had barely sold.

I found the 3D to be frustrating. Sometimes it worked well but generally it was just a bit blurry during gameplay. Even so, I enjoyed the crispness of the screens and the design of the machine. I infamously prefer the original machine to the later XL variants; it just felt more portable, slick and "right" for me.

My favourite games have been Animal Crossing: A New Leaf, Zelda: Ocarina, Pilotwings Resort, Mario Golf: World Tour, Freakyforms Deluxe (I love the creative aspects :oops:), Pushblox and, most of all, VVVVVV. Machine-wise I've tried several and I'm lucky enough to still have the Cosmos Black 3DS, the Zelda Ocarina 3DS ( :wub: ), and the New 3DS (black and white models... my XL was sold to part-finance one of 'em!). The New 3DS has reinvigorated my enthusiasm for the brand as the 3D now *really works* and I'm enjoying some of the older titles all over again.

Despite my fondness for the machine, there is an element of disappointment. The minimal third-party support and the, sometimes huge, gaps in the release schedule have served as sharp stabs on occasion. It has felt like Nintendo has let the machine drift, even with the pretty decent sales.

But overall I believe it has offered terrific fun over the four years and I hope to see a few more ace titles before we reach the finish line. Happy birthday, 3DS!

How has it been for you?

What were your initial impressions? When did you pick up a machine... or perhaps you haven't? What games have you most enjoyed? How do you feel about the machine overall?

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GrinWithoutaKat
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by GrinWithoutaKat » Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:42 pm

I didn't pick one up until I got an XL around the end of 2012. There's been some good stuff for sure, but personally it's a long way short of the DS library, although that's almost all down to the third parties dropping off. Highlights so far have been Super Mario 3D Land and Fire Emblem: Awakening. What hasn't helped is a few of my favourite Nintendo series have appeared and either been poor (Paper Mario) or maybe just not as good as previous versions (Mario and Luigi).

It would be really nice to see an Advance Wars game before the end, and I've still not given up hope on that Dragon Quest VII localisation.

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gamerforever
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by gamerforever » Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:47 pm

Started off with a bang with Ocarina of Time- absolutely astounded by that game and with the 3D effect, but soon work and studies took over my life and my gaming time was restricted to the PS3.

Now I have more time and since Christmas I have discovered Zelda A Link Between Worlds and had already bought a few games before like Mario 3D World, Mario & Luigi Dreamteam Bros and Mario Kart 7.

Now, with the New 3DS XL in my hands, I feel I have the best handheld console ever made, with some of the best handheld games ever made. The beauty is that I must have half a dozen or so games to play and complete still like Luigi's Mansion 2, Paper Mario Sticker Star, Kid Icarus and New Super Mario Bros 2. Then there's Xenoblade and the Monster Hunter games, although I am not too keen on the latter!

The new 3D effect is stunning, and I would say the only negative is the fact that the battery life is around 3.5 hours with full 3D and backlight, which for a handheld console is pretty bad imo.

I would love Nintendo to keep this fire burning for at least 3 more years and maybe then can they release a successor.

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OrangeRKN
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by OrangeRKN » Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:51 pm

Well, I got mine with Majora's Mask and MH4, and it's been alright so far!

Vita is still the superior handheld by far though

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Ironhide
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Ironhide » Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:52 pm

Bought one at launch and couldn't use it as it was too top heavy to hold properly and the buttons were a bit too hard for me to press.

My hand strength is almost nonexistent now so doubt I'd manage any better with the new model.

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Lazy Fair
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PostNintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Lazy Fair » Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:39 pm

I love the 3DS, possibly my favorite console ever. Such a good range of games.

I got the original black one on launch day and remember getting a few pot noodles in to keep me going throughout the day. I remember shortly after I ate the donner kebab one I bought, I shat myself. Right down my trouser leg and all over the Lino in the kitchen. No joke!

Every year when I see the anniversary of the 3DS, I remember shitting myself minutes after eating that Donner kebab pot noodle!

jawafour
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by jawafour » Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:39 pm

GrinWithoutaKat wrote:...There's been some good stuff for sure, but personally it's a long way short of the DS library, although that's almost all down to the third parties dropping off.

I have to agree, Grin. There are some excellent titles but perhaps, overall, it stands behind the incredible DS library.
gamerforever wrote:I would love Nintendo to keep this fire burning for at least 3 more years and maybe then can they release a successor.

I wonderif the possibility of a successor will be determined by the success of Nintendo's move to mobile gaming? Ironically, huge success in that field could finance the launch of a new, dedicated gaming handheld. But yes, gamerforever, I hope that we see a few more top-quality 3DS titles before then :-).
OrangeRakoon wrote:...it's been alright so far!

You've made a good start, 'Rakoon!
OrangeRakoon wrote:...Vita is still the superior handheld by far though

:x ( :lol: ).
Ironhide wrote:...My hand strength is almost nonexistent now so doubt I'd manage any better with the new model.

:( . Ironhide, I don't mean to pry, but are you able to still enjoy slower-paced games on PC via adapted controllers? It'd be cool to hear that you can still game with suitable equipment.

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Ironhide
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Ironhide » Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:22 pm

Jawa, although I'm quite limited to what I can actually play there's still loads of games I can enjoy with the right equipment/software.

Most AAA games are unfortunately not too great on the accessibility front but there are exceptions; for example, I can play XCOM Enemy Unknown by running it in a window and control it with the standard windows onscreen keyboard.

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Hypes
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Hypes » Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:29 pm

Started off with an original black 3ds bought shortly after launch, picked up Pilotwings and Streetfighter and they were pretty average. Pilotwings was not a patch on the 64 version. It was a poor first few months with a lull in new titles filled by the fantastic OoT3D and then Starfox 64 3D.

At some point in this time I became an ambassador and was pleased with the games I got even though I had played a lot of them. I really started getting in to Sacred Stones whilst I was waiting for new games!
Then in November of 2011 with Super Mario 3D Land came the amazing run of excellent games that Nintendo released over the period of 2 years.
Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Kid Icarus: Uprising, New Super Mario Bros 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Luigis Mansion 2, Fire Emblem Awakening, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, Pokemon X/Y, and finally A Link Between Worlds released in November 2013. The 3DS really did have the best quantity/quality of games being released in that period.

At sometime in 2012 I picked up a red 3DSXL and I loved it. The 3DS was my only console and I really felt that that was all I needed and I wasn't wrong.

Then came 2014. Nothing seemed to be on the horizon. Yoshi's new island was getting poor reviews and so I didn't pick that up.
I got a Wii U and MK8 was taking up my time along with Skyward Sword and Mario Galaxy. My 3DS was sitting unused for the most part with brief plays for Mario Golf and Kirby: Triple Deluxe. I missed Smash Bros as I was getting it on Wii U and got Pokemon Omega Ruby which I didn't get on with as much as X/Y.

I wasn't planning on getting a New 3DS for a while but Nintendo offered me the Ambassador edition and I bit.
I picked up Majoras Mask and it was lovely. I was playing through it enjoying discovering everything I'd forgotten from my N64 days.
Grcade plays interfered with it and I've abandoned it for the time being. However I have picked up Fire Emblem Awakening again and progressed further and am loving it.

The 3D was never a big point for me, I just wanted Nintendo's successor to the DS and I often played with it off. With the New 3DS the 3D is on nearly all the time and I love it.
I don't know of any games currently on the way that I'm particularly interested in, but perhaps I've forgotten some that might have been mentioned. I hope we see a Metroid on the handheld as we haven't had a proper one since the GBA.

A final word for the e-shop. This was Nintendo finally (once it was up and running and after a few tweaks) getting digital distribution properly done. I've picked up some great e-shop titles: Gunman Clive, Steamworld Dig, Pullblox, Picross-e, Nintendo Pocket Football Club, Dual Destinies and of course finally getting demos.

I think the 3DS has a better first party output than the DS and I hope it continues for a while yet as I love my little machine. :wub:

Last edited by Hypes on Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jawafour
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by jawafour » Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:29 pm

That's good to hear, Ironhide. I don't know very much about accessibility options for gamers, but I recall reading of adapted controllers that assist people. I believe the PS1 had a single-handed controller quite fairly widely available, although it stil required dexterity in one hand to be usable.

Are you able to play touch-screen games on Android / iPad? If so, it may be that some DS games would enable you to derive some enjoyment? Thinking off the top of my head, games like Professor Layton, Animal Crossing, Hotel Dusk and Electroplankton may be suitable?

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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by jawafour » Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:44 pm

Hyperion wrote:...Then in November of 2011 with Super Mario 3D Land came the amazing run of excellent games that Nintendo released over the period of 2 years.

Yes, Hypes, I agree - after a pretty awful start. the 3DS catalogue really blossomed during 2012 amd 2013.
Hyperion wrote:Then came 2014. Nothing seemed to be on the horizon...

Indeed... as you say, there were a few titles but Nintendo seemed to drop the ball and there were no third-party partnerships to fill the gaps. I enjoyed Mario Golf and Kirby, but it felt like a weak year for the machine.
Hyperion wrote:A final word for the e-shop...

Nintendo really has improved the eShop and content over the lifetime of the console. There are some gems and they've added an extra dimension to the games library.

I'm glad you feel more positive about the system following the arrival of New 3DS, Hypes. I feel that the better hardware has rejuvenated the console. It feels good to use and it has encouraged me to take a fresh look at the gaming catalogue.

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chalkitdown
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by chalkitdown » Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:30 pm

Probably my least played Nintendo console ever. The first two and a half years were great; Mario 3D Land, Luigi's Mansion 2, Link Between Worlds, Fire Emblem etc, incredible games, however 2014 was a wasteland, at least for the kind of games I'm interested in (Smash Bros aside, which itself ended being a waste of money as soon as I got the WiiU version), and 2015 doesn't seem to be shaping up to be any better. Remakes, ports and rpgs, all things I have no interest in. Codename STEAM is the only game on my radar for the whole year and it seems to be a middling game at best. Hopefully they'll reveal some new stuff at E3.

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Dig Dug
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Dig Dug » Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:43 pm

Still don't have one. I could have bought a cheap original recently when New 3DS came out but game got a load of uncommon PSP games such as Persona 2 in so I bought that and a PSP on the spot instead.

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Harman
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Harman » Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:39 am

Got mine Christmas 2013, and in the intervening time I have played three full retail titles - Pokemon Y, Super Mario 3D Land, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

It's an interesting console for me to think about, really. Every time I play it, I'm reminded how much I love Nintendo's original titles (and then comes the inevitable "Should I buy a Wii U??" debate inside my head) but the fact that you know games are going to cost £30 a time means I haven't been able to give it enough attention. I'll be picking up something new - perhaps Omega Ruby or one of the Zelda games - in the near future as I've got flights to and from New York to entertain myself with it.

Definitely don't regret getting my hands on one, just wish that I was a little more motivated to play it. Oh well, at least moving through the catalogue so slowly means it's going to keep offering me sporadic periods of intense entertainment for a long while yet, and to be honest I'm perfectly happy with that.

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Alvin Flummux
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Alvin Flummux » Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:46 am

Haven't owned one, haven't been able to afford the expense. Maybe this year I will get a New 3DS XL, that would please me.

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BID0
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by BID0 » Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:28 am

pretty gooseberry fool. I bought one on launch for some reason and have played a couple of games on it. Not sure where it even is right now :fp:

buyers remorse for sure.

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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Skippy » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:03 am

The best active gaming device out there, with a huge array of quality games. I've owned one since 2012, got a New 3DS last month and have been playing it pretty constantly since. Also with 2013 it can lay claim to the finest year of first party titles for any device in recent memory

Last edited by Skippy on Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Wedgie » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:04 am

Would help a lot if Nintendo enable cross buy, the ability to download games on another 3DS using your account details without flaffing around with your old and new 3DS.

Nintendo consoles today is the only one that doesn't have an account tie in DRM system like MS and Sony does and it makes me wary of buying digital titles. It isn't easy for me to phone a helpline in order to sort a replacement, due to my deafness.

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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Trelliz » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:18 am

I found myself in a GAME on launch day, was given a free 3DS tshirt which I have never worn as it is stupid-looking. Might have to dig it out and see if it's worth anything. Probably not. I had a go on SFIV, thought "it's cool, but not several hundred pounds-cool" and left the shop. That is the extent of my interaction with the 3DS.

jawa2 wrote:Tl;dr Trelliz isn't a miserable git; he's right.
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Super Dragon 64
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PostRe: Nintendo 3DS - Four years old - How has it been for you?
by Super Dragon 64 » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:56 am

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I received my 3DS for Christmas in 2012. It was the first gaming device that I'd been given as a present since my DS Lite way back in 2007. I enjoyed playing Super Mario 3D Land which would eventually become one of the very few games that I'd complete to 100%.

2013 was indeed a great year for the 3DS. I picked up Mario Kart 7 to tide myself over until 8 came out but the So Many Game Promotion was a big boost to my new handheld. I loved the demo of Fire Emblem: Awakening and I was very keen to get Luigi's Mansion 2. The promotion led to me deciding to pick up Donkey Kong Country: Returns, which I had wanted to play, and Animal Crossing, which I loved on the GameCube but I wasn't sure if I'd still enjoy it. I ended up sinking nearly 100 hours into both Awakening and New Leaf (each) after I had finished Luigi's Mansion 2. I never did complete DKCR but I'll go back to it via Dolphin with dat 60FPS.

The end of 2013 saw the return of three great franchises: mainline Pokémon, Ace Attorney and The Legend of Zelda. I was so hyped to play Pokemon Y that I put over 20 hours into it in the first weekend! Sadly this kind of burnt me out and I've never gone back to move onto the 5th gym. Ill return...one day.

I've had a strange tendency to play Phoenix Wright games in big, spaced out chunks so I ended up completing DUal Destines over a year after it launched. I think that I only completed the first case and about half of the second on around launch while the rest waited for me until the beginning of this year. I think that I even completed Ace Attorney: Investigations in the meantime!

I've owned A Link Between Worlds for nearly a year now but I've yet to even start it :oops: I wanted to complete A Link to the Past first but I never get around to doing it! Perhaps a GRplays LTTP is in order? After Xenoblade Chronicles, of course.

2014 slowed down for the 3DS but, after an incredible 2013, it wasn't too bad to have some time to catch up on old games. I did get caught up in the hype of a new Mario game before the launch of Mario Kart 8 which led to me trying the demo of Mario Golf. I was so impressed by it that I bought a download code from GAME the next morning and I was teeing off regularly thanks to jawa's wonderful tourneys :wub:

I was glad to finally get a chance to buy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call as I'd enjoyed the demo of the original but could never find a well-price copy. Sadly I didn't sink as much time into it as I'd have liked but it still has a place in my 3DS for when I want to have a quick go. It has made me keen to play some more Final Fantasy games but I just don't have the time for as many JRPGs as I used to.

The hype of Smash Bros sent me searching for a demo code and I was lucky enough to be sent one from someone on here, plastic, I think. I wanted to play Smash Bros as soon as possible but I wasn't sure about how it would handle on the 3DS. Initially, I wasn't a fan but, after a break of a week, I went back to it and it suddenly clicked. I remember waiting up until midnight to redeem my digital code, having tried throughout the day several times, and having a few matches with Qikz before bed. I managed to clock in over 50 hours of gameplay before the Wii U version was released. It's still amazing to see Smash run at 60FPS in the palm of my hand, even if I haven't played in since getting the Wii U version :lol:

One of my gaming highlights of 2015 has been replaying Majora's Mask on the 3DS. The improved framerate makes it an even bigger joy to play what was my favourite Zelda game until Skyward Sword came out. I'm still working my way through the Stone Temple, and some of the remaining side quests, but it's still an absolute pleasure to play after 35 hours. I'm still surprised that I clocked up so many hours without realising it!

I've got a lot of play time out of my 3DS, New 3DS and New 3DS XL and I look forward to many more hours in the future! I've got other games in my 3DS backlog, like Star Fox, Tales of the Abyss and Professor Layton, but I'm also looking forward to future titles, especially Code Name S.T.E.A.M. and the new Fire Emblem game. Hopefully E3 will bring even more life to the 3DS, perhaps with new Metroid and Advance Wars games.

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