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Episode 357: 10 Years of Nintendo 3DS (Patreon)

Published:
2021-02-08 14:00:04
Imported:
2021-08

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Content

Heck! How is the Nintendo 3DS a decade old? It doesn't make sense, and yet it's true. With this episode, we've very nearly completed our surveys of Nintendo handheld systems; only Game Boy Advance remains. I hear it has an anniversary coming up soon...

Given the relative recency of this anniversary, we approach this topic from a place of familiarity and something of a professional point-of-view, since all three participants in this issue covered the 3DS as Real Live Games Journalists. But also as fans! Honestly, I'm of half a mind to go dive into some ridiculously long 3DS RPG I can't afford to get hooked on now... 

Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, and Diamond Feit look back at the Nintendo 3DS on the occasion of its 10th birthday. The li'l fella may have had a rough early childhood, but we explore how it eventually grew into the elegant swan we all knew and loved. Art by Step Sybydlo.

Music this episode:

  • 10:15 - Luigi's Mansion 2/Dark Moon: Dual Scream Ringtone
  • 22:40 - Steel Diver: Flagship
  • 29:37 - StreetPass: Puzzle Swap
  • 37:28 - Etrian Odyssey Nexus: Yggdrasil Labyrinth
  • 46:49 - Monster Hunter 4: Ruins Field Battle Theme
  • 56:59 - Xenoblade Chronicles 3D: Colony 9 (Night) =[Ad Break]= Pilotwings Resort: Hang Glider
  • 1:05:56 - StreetPass: Mii Plaza Theme (7th iteration - 1000+ Miis)
  • 1:16:19 - Star Fox 64 3D: Mission Failed
  • 1:26:34 - Kid Icarus Uprising: Aurum Island
  • Closing - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch): Find Mii I & II Medley

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Comments

Grant Baxter

Oh man, I remember year 1 when Nintendo did that emergency price drop the fall after launch and Sony was showing off Vita, which looked like a portable PS3 at first, I was absolutely convinced Vita would completely crush 3DS.

Alex Irish

I loooove the 3DS. I can't have enough things to say about it, so I'll bullet point some things of interest. -I still think the Aqua Blue 3DS is one of the most beautiful handhelds Nintendo ever made. -I got my 3DS two days after launch via Amazon. I saved a good chunk of money on it and a trio of games because I used a $50 gift card for the system and took advantage of a Toys R Us "buy one get one free" deal. They were Super Street Fighter 4, Nintendogs + Cats, and Ridge Racer 3D. -The Circle Pad Pro DID come to America, as a GameStop exclusive. Probably why most people didn't hear of it. I imported mine and got it in January 2012 to use with Kid Icarus Uprising among others. -I'm one of the people who never had a problem with playing Kid Icarus Uprising. The controls never hurt me, a lefty who played it primarily with the CPP. -I believe the Pokemon RPGs on the system would be better if they had full 3D throughout. My theory is that Game Freak and Pokemon Company didn't have full 3D in them specifically because they were terrified of getting sued by parents for a Pokemon game blinding children. Other Pokemon games did have full 3D, but the core RPGs sell a lot more than the spin-offs. -I'll never forgive NoA for how they screwed us Yanks over a lack of 3DS colors. I wanted the all-white 3DS XL, or the pure silver and black model, and we never got them. I didn't system transfer to a 3DS XL until the Animal Crossing special edition came here with New Leaf. I'll also never understand why they made the Pikachu and Animal Crossing systems so rare as to sell out the day they released, because later special editions never had that problem. Reggie was dead wrong when he said Americans don't care about white and silver handhelds. -I suspect why NoA didn't want to release the small New 3DS at first was the face plates. They have periodic squeamishness about the manufacture and distribution of small accessories, which is also why we likely don't have Brain Age on the Switch (the stylus). -The New 3DS came out in the states multiple times, but only as a special edition release (with bundles based on Pokemon, Super Mario 3D Land, and a Mario-themed Black Friday edition). I bought it every time it came here to vote with my dollar. to show the stuffed shirts at NoA that there was an audience that liked the smaller system. I was kind of angry at their initial refusal to bring it over here when everywhere else had no problem releasing two SKUs. American retailers, why are you so weird? -I've been wearing cargo pants for the last decade because of the 3DS. Their side pockets let me carry it with me wherever I go for ultra convenience.

Eric Plunk

I was a “3D always on” guy. Also, the Luigi’s Mansion Dual Scream tone has been my ring tone/alarm for a good 7 years now and I thought someone was calling me when it played during the show.

hibikase

Always hated the 3DS, its woefully outdated specs and stereoscopic 3D gimmick that my less-than-perfect eyes could never see properly. I eventually caved in and bought a 3DS XL when it came out for first party games like 3D Land, but I couldn't help but resent it for how it completely eclipsed the Vita. And yes, I know perfectly well that Sony's incompetence and bad decisions are what really killed the Vita, but still, it was disheartening nevertheless. Thankfully Nintendo followed up the crappy 3DS with the fantastic Switch which is basically the perfect realization of what Sony failed to accomplish with the Vita, so all is forgiven now.

Anonymous

How about games like Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, or Bravely Default? Those are absolutely the ones that solidified my love & commitment to the console. I enjoyed Luigi's Mansion as well, also some indie games from the eshop, but those 2 had the most impact. I only got a Switch a year ago, or else I'd still be putting lots of time on my 3DS XL.

Ryan Atkins

Crappy 3ds? No such thing! If I were forced to choose one system only for the rest of my days, it would be the 3DS. Its plethora of quality games, backlog of (also quality) DS games and healthy amount of Game Boy, SNES, etc through the Virtual Console make this an easy pick for Its huge swath of content. (I'm also an early adopter so I have the GBA peace offering of those 10 additional great games. Did they ever explain why GBA never got emulated?). I do agree the 3D thing was a miss. I don't think I turned that on for more than 15 min of my 1000+ hours of play time.

Bob Mackey

In case anyone is wondering, I bought a New 2DS XL recently and just transferred my old data today!

Faux Macho

Since I fixed my dpad in October, I've been using my «new» 3DS XL as an excuse to go for a walk and get at least 1000 steps a day. Not a lot but it's been a nice way to relax, slow down, and take breaks. I only got mine in late 2017, but I still played 9 Picross games, EarthBound, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Mr Driller (on DSiWare), and a bunch else. It also taught me a lot about ergonomics, an aftermarket grip is my favorite and makes fast twitch games much easier to play.

Anonymous

The 3DS is what got me back into gaming. Okay, well, I’ve always been into gaming, but when it came out I was still in college and working part time in retail. Those two things ate up a lot of my time and money (especially because the pay sucked), so I hadn’t been able to play as much. A few months later, I met my wife which also ate up more free time (I was less bitter about this, for sure). Eventually I graduated, got a full-time job, and picked up a 3DS. I didn’t play much of it at first, though I sunk a lot of time into Pokémon Y. The small screen really had me yearning to pick up a 3DS XL. When A Link Between Worlds came out, I saw the limited edition 3DS XL for it and had to have it. That’s when everything finally clicked and I played the hell out of the thing. Eventually the New 3DS XL came out and it was even better. I want to thank Jeremy for his review of Shin Megami Tensei IV review. The game is one of my absolute favorites and the soundtrack is so damn good. I also picked up a few DS games I missed out on, like Dragon Quest V, which finally made me a DQ fan.

Dave Dalrymple

I picked up a 2DS in the fall of 2013 in order to play "Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies" and "Link Between Worlds". The slab was a little awkward after being used to my sky blue DSi, but I didn't have any trouble beating action-based games. What really made the 3DS for me was the eShop. Having a steady stream of $5 puzzle games from Hamster and Nintendo was great. And there were a handful of full-priced Japanese games that probably would never have seen a US release if they had to go physical (like the aforementioned "Dual Destinies" and "Picross 3d Round 2"). 3D may have been a fad, but the eShop alone justified the existence of the 3DS.

Anonymous

I love and still play my 3DS XL. It's worth noting that the 3DS line is the only Nintendo handheld that is region-locked (not counting a handful of region-specific downloadable DSi games). As for 3D, I'm with Jeremy in hating 3D in general. Whenever I play a new game on my 3DS, I try out the 3D for about 5 minutes and then never turn it on again. The 2DS, by the way, is a great device for kids. Thing is a damn tank and you can share most of your 3DS games.

Anonymous

The Sega Ages series justified the 3D function on the 3DS. Outrun, Space Harrier, Streets of Rage 2 and Fantasy Zone II W all sing with it turned on.

Anonymous

I am probably one of the few people who kept the 3D on at all times. The game that justified the system for me was Pushmo. The 3D effect was not essential to the gameplay but it helped make solving the puzzles more intuitive. I also loved Kid Icarus Uprising. I have not played it in years so I do not know how I would deal with the controls. However I do have fond memories of the game.

Ewen Roberts

My 3DS XL was my main gaming console for a long time (until games started arriving for the Switch.) I was fortunate that in San Diego there was a StreetPass meet up group which met monthly (unthinkable this year!) so I was never short of people in my plaza. Eventually the thumbstick came off and I replaced it with my New 2DSXL which as Jeremy says is a superb device I expect will last me into (my) retirement.

Anonymous

When Jeremy was talking about how "solid" and "great" the New 2DS feels, I felt he must have had a completely different handheld then me. It felt so plasticky and cheap to me. It felt like how the 2DS was cheap alternative to the 3DS for small kids, etc, except the New 2DS was the cheap alternative to the Switch. My New 2DS top screen broke not too long after I got it while I was moving (was careless at one point, though it was in a padded laptop case) and I got a New 3DS non-XL shortly after and it's like night and day. It feels so solid and premium compared to the New 2DS. Also, way better speaker placement on the 3DS. Would not go back, though I do like how the New 2DS is notably slimmed down in the bezels compared to the New 3DS XL.

Anonymous

Great episode! My son had the OG 3DS and I thought it wasn't great. He then got a 3DS XL and I became intrigued. After seeing the Samus Returns remake I caved and bought a Samus edition new 3DS and have been thoroughly enjoying it with various games the last few years.

Andrew O.

My biggest aggravation with the 3DS is never having gotten Virtual Boy games. What a missed opportunity! I would've loved a compilation, remastered in full color, even if it was only titles developed by Nintendo. I know Nintendo would rather forget the Virtual Boy, but everyone makes mistakes and eventually you just need to embrace the ironic love. Also, we didn't get Theatrhythm: Dragon Quest. I'm modding my 3DS just to play it.

John Learned

I don't play it very often anymore, but I loved the 3DS. I work on a college campus, and would just leave it plugged in under my desk and watch the tidal wave of street passes come in. It was the best

Anonymous

Having bought a used DS Lite in 2009 and played the heck out of it on public transport and planes, I got an original 2DS the Christmas after they came out, at my request, and shortly after got Ocarina and Animal Crossing (thanks to Jeremy for the Animal Crossing rec!). Several other people in the family got tablets that year and I felt like a big kid at the age of 29. I also love / loved Luigi’s Mansion, Mario Kart, the Dragon Quest games (thanks Jeremy!) and Pushmo / Pullblox (thanks Jaz Rignall, I think?). I then got myself a New 3DS pretty close to release, at a time when my partner and I were more financially secure than previously, and also with the knowledge that it was a system I would use. The 2DS is still with me for the day when my kid wants a system of his own. I like the 3D, but I never experienced the older, wonkier system, so maybe that’s why. I also have had a lot more luck (years back) with Street Pass in the US, specifically Atlanta, than I hear people talking about - I rode Marta a lot while visiting my folks in 2015 and 2016 and would pick up enough passes to make it worthwhile. Going on planes used to be great for getting lots of different countries. The DS systems are great and also served as a way to inch myself back into (computer and video) gaming - I eventually got a Wii U and a Switch as well as a lot of PC games.

Diamond Feit
>>53403399

I live near a small shrine and a public park so yeah, I didn’t have to leave the house for Streetpass success

nina matsumoto

Regarding Streetpass games where you needed people with certain-coloured shirts (most notably Find Mii and Monster Manor) -- I had two 3DS systems (one NA, one JP) so I would constantly change my shirt colour on my other system to get through numerous roadblocks.

Anonymous

This was a really great episode, just so enjoyable to listen to. Please do not wait long to do a Part 2! One thing I remember from when the system first launched that contributed to its slow start was the panic/uncertainty around the 3D effect and eye damage. I know they had warnings on the boxes and anecdotally knew of parents who would not let their kids use them. I think the price drop and wider realization the 3D was cool but not required to enjoy the games helped with wider adoption.

Nigel G

Three cheers for streetpasses, the 3DS's killer feature. I carried mine everywhere I went from 2011 to mid-2017, including two years I lived overseas. I went to PAX during the craze, and it was nearly as satisfying as tagging people in DQIX when that game came out. It's been years since I've been to an event like that, but if I go to one again, I'll probably have my trusty 3DS in tow.

Anonymous

We need that 3DS part 2 episode so the New Retronaut XL crew can exhort the accumulation of Gamestop's meager 3DS game stock (pun intended).

Anonymous

Great episode! After hearing that Nintendo stopped producing the 2DS XL last September, I was motivated to get my two kids their own systems plus Animal Crossing. In Covid times, well worth it!

Anonymous

I have a lazy eye that prevents me from seeing the 3D effect, to this day my wife doesn't understand why I ever bought one.

Anonymous

So... Part two, anyone?