I was really happy to open up the New Nintendo 3DS for Christmas this year as it's nice to own a newish Nintendo handheld. Setting up the new system from boot to accessing the 3DS Nintendo online store wasn't too bad considering I've heard Nintendo's online offerings are pretty abysmal. I wasn't expecting anything fantastic with the online experience but I have been really surprised with how seamless the whole eShop system has been. In fact the whole online connected experience on the 3DS has more than met my expectations. Surprisingly enough the 3DS has the ability to watch YouTube and Netflix even though YouTube is a less than stellar experience. I'm also not sure why you'd watch a Netflix video on it either but it's here and it works well if you need to use it for that in a pinch. The web browser is pretty terrible but i'd sort of blame the lacking horsepower of the 3DS as the reason why these apps suffer compared to the smartphone in your pocket. Speaking of horsepower the 3DS sports 256 megs of RAM an 804 MHZ quad core CPU and a 4G micro SD flash card for storage. Immediately I got a 32G micro SD card for cheap because I planned on downloading a ton of 3DS demos.
The biggest draw to owning a new 3DS is playing Nintendo games and so far I've been very impressed with what I've played. The battery life seems more than adequate to my play style and the controller grip, buttons and action are superb. Makes sense that Nintendo shines here as they've been making handheld systems for years and it shows. I've heard earlier models had issues but I haven't seen any of that in what I have here.
Beyond the mountain of 3DS demos awaiting me I've picked up New Super Mario Bros DS, Legend of Starfy DS, Ocarina of Time 3D, Link Between Worlds and New Yoshi's Island. I've heard great things about the Bravely Default series and am waiting to try my hand at the demos before I decide to pick it up or not. I've also never played a proper modern Pokemon game either so, again, i'll try out the demo before I pick it up. Which, you know, is honestly pretty refreshing to have a demo of a game coming from the PC world. Demos are very rare and if they exist are capped to a very short experience on PC. On the 3DS they are gated to 30 plays which seems like a really unique way to do it. Even with the high accessibility of the eShop my preference is to own the physical game cart of a game I want to play which so far hasn't been a huge problem even though some 3DS games are no longer "in print" from Nintendo such as Link Between Worlds.
New Super Mario Bros on DS is a great game to start with as it is a pretty average difficulty Mario game and hasn't seemed overstuffed with level filler. So far I've spent about 5 hours on the game and just opened up World 6 and the final stage World 8 is up after I complete World 6 so I don't think i'm too far from the end. I've nearly abandoned Super Mario Run in favor of New Super Mario Bros as New Super Mario Bros is essentially the same game but it was cheaper ($8 used at Goodwill) and frankly, is a better game. Like Super Mario Run you can collect three big coins in a stage and go back to replay each level to collect them all. Collecting more big coins allows you to unlock special Toad Houses and shortcuts through worlds. New Super Mario Bros also comes with a Mario battle arena you can use to challenge a friend as well as a myriad of mini games I have yet to try. Since New Super Mario Bros was made for the original DS the graphics aren't as good as Super Mario Run but honestly it doesn't matter much as the base platforming is top notch. I'm not slamming Super Mario Run as they are really different games but if I had a choice between Super Mario Run and New Super Mario Bros i'd personally pick the latter one.
So far I've been really surprised with how great the new 3DS is such that I've begun to think if Nintendo can make the new Nintendo Switch as good or better then Switch will be absolutely incredible. Hopefully the Nintendo Switch will get all the great things from the 3DS and fix many of the limitations inherent with it such and underpowered system and a better online experience. It seems a lot of third party developers are jumping on the new Nintendo Switch hype train so it will be good to see what games end up chugging into the station on launch day. Nintendo will have an upcoming livestream showing off more details about the Switch and you can join the Cheerful Ghost event below if you are interested in talking more about it below.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/events/135/nintendo-switch-live-stream
The biggest draw to owning a new 3DS is playing Nintendo games and so far I've been very impressed with what I've played. The battery life seems more than adequate to my play style and the controller grip, buttons and action are superb. Makes sense that Nintendo shines here as they've been making handheld systems for years and it shows. I've heard earlier models had issues but I haven't seen any of that in what I have here.
Beyond the mountain of 3DS demos awaiting me I've picked up New Super Mario Bros DS, Legend of Starfy DS, Ocarina of Time 3D, Link Between Worlds and New Yoshi's Island. I've heard great things about the Bravely Default series and am waiting to try my hand at the demos before I decide to pick it up or not. I've also never played a proper modern Pokemon game either so, again, i'll try out the demo before I pick it up. Which, you know, is honestly pretty refreshing to have a demo of a game coming from the PC world. Demos are very rare and if they exist are capped to a very short experience on PC. On the 3DS they are gated to 30 plays which seems like a really unique way to do it. Even with the high accessibility of the eShop my preference is to own the physical game cart of a game I want to play which so far hasn't been a huge problem even though some 3DS games are no longer "in print" from Nintendo such as Link Between Worlds.
New Super Mario Bros on DS is a great game to start with as it is a pretty average difficulty Mario game and hasn't seemed overstuffed with level filler. So far I've spent about 5 hours on the game and just opened up World 6 and the final stage World 8 is up after I complete World 6 so I don't think i'm too far from the end. I've nearly abandoned Super Mario Run in favor of New Super Mario Bros as New Super Mario Bros is essentially the same game but it was cheaper ($8 used at Goodwill) and frankly, is a better game. Like Super Mario Run you can collect three big coins in a stage and go back to replay each level to collect them all. Collecting more big coins allows you to unlock special Toad Houses and shortcuts through worlds. New Super Mario Bros also comes with a Mario battle arena you can use to challenge a friend as well as a myriad of mini games I have yet to try. Since New Super Mario Bros was made for the original DS the graphics aren't as good as Super Mario Run but honestly it doesn't matter much as the base platforming is top notch. I'm not slamming Super Mario Run as they are really different games but if I had a choice between Super Mario Run and New Super Mario Bros i'd personally pick the latter one.
So far I've been really surprised with how great the new 3DS is such that I've begun to think if Nintendo can make the new Nintendo Switch as good or better then Switch will be absolutely incredible. Hopefully the Nintendo Switch will get all the great things from the 3DS and fix many of the limitations inherent with it such and underpowered system and a better online experience. It seems a lot of third party developers are jumping on the new Nintendo Switch hype train so it will be good to see what games end up chugging into the station on launch day. Nintendo will have an upcoming livestream showing off more details about the Switch and you can join the Cheerful Ghost event below if you are interested in talking more about it below.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/events/135/nintendo-switch-live-stream
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First, you didn't mention the fact that the New 3DS does not come with a charger, which for some is a drawback, especially for you since you had to buy one. Second, you should look at a New 3DSXL after playing with your New 3DS for a while. You'll probably think, "wow it's huge!" :) Third, I'm glad you've found some fun games to play and are enjoying them. Demos are a fantastic idea. I also have had a pleasant experience with their eStore. While you enjoy physical copies of games, that means you'll have more free space on your SD card. The drawback, though, is that physical copies are more easily lost or damaged. If you have digital copies of games and want to switch to another system, all you have to do is log into your Nintendo account and download them again onto your new system. You don't have to buy them twice.
Lastly, I'd like to see what you think about the 3D feature. I'm not sure many people are a fan of it, really I don't know how many are or are not. Personally, it's something I could do without.
I have complete faith that the Switch will be more powerful than the New 3DS, even while undocked. I'm also sure it will be more powerful than the Wii U, hopefully also while undocked, but from what I'm seen I'm unsure. I don't think it will be more powerful than a PC, XBox One, or PS4, but I think it will still be pretty damn good. I think Nintendo made a beautiful leap into HD with the Wii U. We'll see in the coming months more information about the Switch and then we'll see it's release and how well it goes. As of right now, I intend to wait until the new Zelda game is released and then decided whether I'm going to get it for the Wii U (which I own) or if I'm going to buy a Switch to play it on.
Oh, Pokemon! I think Pokemon games are great. I started out on the GBA versions, then tried a GBC (color) version, and have since played the DS versions. I have not yet played Sun and Moon (especially for reasons I've already explained to you privately). I'd like to give them a try, although graphically they don't seem to be incredibly impressive. So, when you do actually get to Sun and Moon (assuming you go there), I'm interested in knowing your thoughts about them as well. :)
I personally love the 3D aspect of the 3DS. The new 3DS makes it even better.
> First, you didn't mention the fact that the New 3DS does not come with a charger, which for some is a drawback, especially for you since you had to buy one.
That's right, that did happen and was annoying. Some say Apple is bad but at least they put the cables they always change in the box
> Second, you should look at a New 3DSXL after playing with your New 3DS for a while.
I've tried the XL about a year ago. I like the larger system but for my usecase I think the smaller one works a bit better. It's a bit cramped in the hand some but haven't found that a huge deal so far.
> The drawback, though, is that physical copies are more easily lost or damaged.
True, but to date, i've never lost any physical media to wear and tear... that I can think of and I have a shit ton of CD's from the 90's. I usually treat my things pretty well but the other day my infant son Finley(6 months) nearly ripped the DS a part so I need to be ultra careful there of a BABYPOCALYPSE! I also found him trying to eat my iPhone, which was disturbing as I wouldn't suggest putting any part of anyones phone in your mouth.
> Lastly, I'd like to see what you think about the 3D feature.
Oh right, it's superb. To me, the best 3D i've experienced to date. I've turned it on for Ocarina of Time and it's incredible and way more immersive than I thought it would be.
> I also found him trying to eat my iPhone, which was disturbing as I wouldn't suggest putting any part of anyones phone in your mouth.
Well, it is an Apple.....lol bud dum chi
Thanks for the replies, @Will_Ball and @Jon!
I buy extended warranties on all my expensive small electronic gear now days in case of babypocalypse or in my case now days, toddlerpocalypse.
I just checked my new 3DS and it is an XL. Having had an old 3DS small, the increase in size is a bonus.
BTW, iPhones taste like chicken.
@Will_Ball, I've already gone through babypocalypse and toddlerpocalpse. I have now been upgraded to pre-teenapocalypse. I bought Pokemon Sun and Moon for the 3DS. My son was going to play Sun and I was going to play Moon. I thought about buying a New 3DSXL for him or one for each of us. But, he lost his 3DSXL, then he lost mine, then he lost Pokemon Sun and Terraria. His friend's dog chewed on Pokemon Moon. Now that I have a smartphone, I can play Pokemon Go and I realized that my son probably could, too (I think he has a smart phone). The problem is that he also lost his phone. So, now he wants to use my phone to play Pokemon Go. I won't let him take it out, been there, done that. Kids...!!
Wow. I don't look forward to any of that.
Condolences on the lost 3DS.
@Jon, knowing how much you love the Legend of Zelda, you should check out Hyrule Warriors Legends. I heard and read it plays much better on the New 3DS than the old one, better FPS, etc. I don't know if they have a demo for it, but if they do, I recommend giving it a try. Hyrule Warriors is absolutely my favorite game on the Wii U, or at least the one I enjoyed and played the crap out of. If I had a New 3DS (or New 3DSXL), that would be something I would seriously consider buying for it. :)
There is a demo and I have downloaded it. Let you know how it goes after I play it!