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The 3DS celebrates its 10th anniversary

Hello everyone, how are you?

                     Every 3DS hardware iteration pictured. New 2DS XL not pictured

Today marks 10 years since the Nintendo 3DS released. The 3DS had a rocky start at the beginning, Nintendo even had to reduce the price as well as offer free games to existing users for it since it wasn't selling quite well. I imagine they thought that everyone who had a DS would buy one, probably a reason the name is similar to the DS. Whatever the reason was it wasn't selling as well as they had hope, which would unfotunately also be a sign of things to come with their new home console that would release a year later. Anyway, the 3DS took off not only with the price cut, but also the games that released later that year.

After games dropped, sales started to rise, and a few hardware revisions later the rest was history. 3DS had a great variety of games released in its lifetime, while it didn't have a library quite as good as the DS, the 3DS had a good library of games in its own right. And in the end that what mattered, the games on it. I have played a good number of 3DS games over the years so I decided to do a list of my favorite games for it. Not a Top 10 because that would be too low since there's a lot of games I loved on the system. So for this I tried to have one game per series, not counting spin-off games, so hope that makes this list have more variety. Anyway here are my favorite 3DS games:

 

It's a rule that if you have a (new) Nintendo system, Mario Kart is always essential to have on your library of games for said Nintendo system. For the 3DS that game is Mario Kart 7. For this game, 3 of the big selling points was that for the first time you could customize your kart with 3 different parts. From vehicle bodies, to wheels, and gliders. For racing games, this was a normal thing but for Mario Kart this was huge since the parts you chose affected your stats overall. A series first was that you can now fly, more like glide in the air and you can race underwater now too which was this game's new gimmick. It's pretty cool since it changed the dynamic of the races. And the other new thing was the 3D effect. I remember when my 3DS analog wasn't working well I had to adapt to the first person camera which relied on tilt controls, I got so good with them that I couldn't race well with the regular camera and controls anymore. 

Anyone into rpgs should be familiar with this one by now and it's a game that has made an appearance a number of times in my posts in the past. Xenoblade Chronicles 3D was a port from the Wii version of the game that was ported over to the then new New 3DS (XL) since the regular 3DS couldn't run it. I should know, I tried it for science. The textures aren't as good as it's Wii counterpart, something had to get scaled down during the porting process. But Xenoblade Chronicles is a really massive game and the fact that they ported it to a handheld was an amazing feat on its own. Having it on the go was a game changer in my opinion. At the time this was the definitive way to play it if you had an N3DS, sure I would love to play my rpgs on tv, but these days I appreciate convenience more than anything since not all of us have time to play on our tvs. Which is why I would recommend the vastly superior Switch "remake" since you can play it anyway you want.

Arguably one of, if not the best launch game the 3DS got. I've always been a fan of Street Fighter but I haven't really kept up with all the games or the series in general since SF2. This being a port of the console version of Super Street Fighter IV was the perfect chance to jump into the series once more. The game is pretty much identical to its home version counterpart, it has all the characters and whatnot but it has some 3DS exclusives as well. One of the new features is being able to perform moves via touch screen to make it more causal friendly which is pretty cool. Another neat mode is Dynamic Mode which shifts the game from its 2D plane to an over-the-shoulder view, which makes  aneat use of the 3D effect. It's really impressive that they mananged to port a console game to a handheld and it plays really well too, but note that the frame does drop if you turn on the 3D effect..

The Persona games have always been a Playstation exclusive series till this game came along. Persona Q is a crossover game of sorts that features the entire main cast of both Persona 3 and Persona 4, along with some new characters. The game features the first-person dungeon crawling and map-drawing of the Etrain Odyssey series, as well as all the narrative that you'd expect from a mainline Persona game. The game does introduce the characters, but I feel you'll get more out of this game if you have played both Persona 3 and 4. One of my favorite parts is being able to draw your own maps as you explore the dungeons in the game. You can take notes and you can go for sme elaborate or simple designs for your maps. It's definitely really neat.

One of the biggest selling games on the 3DS and it would be really dumb not to include this one on my list. I got New Leaf as the last reward from Club Nintendo, I had pretty much everything else that they were offering so I figured why not? New Leaf, pretty much any Animal Crossing is one of the most chill and relaxing games you can play out there. There is no endgame of any sort, like saving the world and whatnot. Instead the game alows you to just relax and have fun. In the game you become the mayor of (insert name here) Town and your job as a mayor is to pretty much improve the town as you see fit. I spent a lot of late nights catching fish and bugs and just pretty much messing around and trying to pay off my house in the game. Animal Crossing really hits differently at night.

When it comes to Dead or Alive and Nintendo, that's usually something that you'd never thought you'd see together but it happened. Dead or Alive Dimensions was no only the first DoA game on a Nintendo system, but also in fact my very first Dead or Alive game as well. The runs at a silky smooth 60fps, it drops to 30fps if you opt to use the 3D effect but it still retains the fast-paced fighting and action that you would expect from these games. The game also has a sort of story like mode that allows you to catch up with the 4 previous games in the series so this game is a sort of compilation of sorts, that's perfect for newcomers or veterans that would want a refresher. There's a wealth of modes and content to unlock, making this among one of my favorite fightitng games on the 3DS.

If there was one thing the 3DS wasn't short on it was JRPGs and Bravely Default is no exception here. Bravely Default is an rpg that takes you back to the roots of JRPGs but at the same with a unique twist and tweaks. The game plays like your traditional turn-based rpg, but the twist here is the Bravel Default system. Every action you take during a battle costs one Brave Point, if you Default, you can boost your defense and you gain one additional Brave Point. If you take the Bravely Action, you get to attack which cost a point. It's a strategic high risk and high rewards system. Bravely Default to me was the start of trying to get games not made by Nintendo on the 3DS and my 3DS library was just that at the time, with the exceptions being Street Fighter and Dead or Alive.

It would be a crime not to mention this one. Fire Emblem: Awakening at the time was the latest installment in Nintendo's tactical rpg. The game is also more accessible since it added a Casual Mode which is perfect for those who want to dive into the series for the first time. Fire Emblem has never been a casual friendly series, since these games are mostly for the hardcore. In these games your actions have consequences, like do you send a unit to attack an enemy and the thing is things can go wrong if the character you sent out to fight isn't well suited to fight. Thing is characters in your party can permanently die here. There is a lot of strategy and planning involved in these games, think of it like chess in a way but not as complicated as actual chess. But I suppose that's part of what makes Fire Emblem appealing. It also would have been the very last Fire Emblem game had it not done well.

When Smash 4 was shown off for the first time, they announced that there would be 2 versions of the game. One on 3DS and one on Wii U. The 3DS version released first and many wondered how the console fighter would work on a handheld. It actually works surprisingly well and the models for the characters look great and I think in some ways they look better than their Wii U models. It even featured some pretty neat exclusive stages that unfortunately never saw the light of day in Smash Ultimate. It has Smash Run, a mode that is like the City Trial Mode from Kirby's Air Ride. To this day I still think the 3DS version of Smash 4 the definititve version of the game just for Smash Run alone.

Not for honor, but for you. This is a 3DS port of the already amazing Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. But was is new about this version? It makes use use of the 3D effect here really well and it never feels gimmicky, feels like this game was made for it. You can also make your own unique camo index using the 3DS camera, which can break the game. And the characters models and textures are actually better than the PS2 version of the game. This in a way makes this version the best looking version of the game. If this is your first MGS game, then the best part is that you don't need prior knowledge of the series to enjoy the game. Unfortunately the frame rate in the game isn't as good as its console counterparts, which is a shame but its not really a deal breaker. I hope one day we actually get a port of this version.

I have already talked about Fantasy Life not too long ago but I loved the game a lot so it sederves another mention on this this. As mentioned before, in Fantasy Life you can choose to be whatever you want from the 12 available Lives, which are basically job classes. The best part is that the game never forces you into any Life and you can switch at any time with no consequences or penalties. The story doesn't have any sort of urgency so you can play at your own pace thans tot he relaxed and laidback nature of the game. What you choose to do nextin the game is really up to you.

 A lot of you won't be familiar with this series, and I don't blame you since none of these games have ever released outside Japan despite being a legendary series over there. Till now that is. In Yum's Odd Odyssey you play as Yumi herself as she navigates though these surreal looking platforming levels as you try to make it to the exit. There are walking fish and all bunch of crazy looking stuff. Your handy tool in this game is your fishing rod and here it is used for pretty much everything. The fishing rod can be cast in 8 different directions and you can use it to latch on to walls, floors, ceilings, and more and you can use its mmentum to get across areas. Its very physics based and you need to master it since it is what you'll be using in the whole game to clear levels. If you thought Dark Souls was hard, then you haven't played this game.

Super Mario 3D Land was the true first killer app that made the 3DS tae off during it's first year on the market. The idea of a 3D Mario game that played like a 2D Mario was a really interesting idea since that hasn't been done before. The game was also one of the first games that made a good use of the 3D effect for some of its puzzles. Super Mario 3D Land would on on to become one of the est selling games on the 3DS and one of the best, if not, the best 3D platformer on a handheld system. It's definitely one of my most favorite 3DS games and I hope it does eventually get a Switch port, might be a bit tricky to rework the puzzles that relied on the 3D effect but I think that could be solved by allowing you to turn the camera.

3DS as home to a number of Zelda games, from remakes like Ocarina of Time 3D and Majoras Mask 3D to games like Tri-Force Heroes. But the first original Zelda game on the handheld gets the spot here. A Link Between Worlds is a sequel to A Link to the Past, it even borrows the same map for the most part, but the twist here is that you can rent the equipment/weapons you'd normally find in a dungeon and that allows you to tackle the dungeons in any order you like as well. New to the game is the ability to turn into a painting and allows you walk on walls, get through cracks in the walls and reach areas you normally couldn't. Oh and the 3D effect here is fantastic and the frame never drops as well.

The 3DS marked a huge transition for the mainline Pokemon games as they finally made the leap into 3D since the mainline games have always been in 2D. To me, that was a huge leap. It reminded me like when Mario went into 3D for the very first time. I mean sure there have been 3D spin-off games in the past, but there was something special with the mainline games making that leap. I can pretty much put any of the mainline games that released on the 3DS but I am going to go with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, as I have always had a softspot for the original versions of these games. Unfortunately making the leap into 3D also opened up a can of worms in the process that has plagued the series since.

When it comes to Kirby games, you are sure to have a good time no matter what the game or genre they put him in. In short, no bad Kirby games exist. Kirby's bread and butter has always been 2D platforming, it's been in his roots since his very first game. In Planet Robobot, Kirby is trying to stop capitalism from taking over his home world and using its resources. This time Kirby can pilot a mech that has its own copy ability and allows you to access areas Kirby normally can't as well as dealing out some robo pain. The themes of these games are some that Kirby games noramally doesn't tackle, combine that with the already great Kirby gameplay and you have yourself one of the best Kirby games ever made.

It only took over 2 decades, Pit kept us waiting but he finally got a new game with Kid Icarus: Uprising. The levels in the game are divided into 2 portions the first half is an on-rails shooter whereas the second half has you go on land like an action game. You also have a large variety of weapons to choose from and they all have a different feel to them so you can pretty much spend a good time experiementing to see what works best for you. The voice acting is top notch and the story is well done and I feel that they should adapt this into a show. Maybe the people who worked on Avatar might be a good fit for a show based on this game. There is a wealth of content in the game to keep you occupied for a very long time. Unfortunately the controls aren't so good. They work, but not as well as dual analogs would have. Which is why I hope that one day we get a remake on the Switch with traditional controls.

 

The 3DS may not have sold as much as the DS but it was still a very successful system in terms of sales and also the quality games it had. I felt the library of games truly had something for everyone. It was also the one system that kept Nintendo afloat when the Wii U wasn't selling. You can say the 3DS had to carry Nintendo for almost a decade, and now the Switch is carrying the same torch that the 3DS had carried for all those years. Except this time not with the entire weight of Nintendo on its back since the 3DS did much of that heavy lifting.

Did you own a 3DS or any of its different hardware iterations?  If so, what are your favorite 3DS games? Thanks for reading and Happy 10th Anniversary 3DS!