For a couple of years we at Kotaku have deemed Nintendoâs 3DS as an essential piece of gaming hardware. And for decades, new iterations of Nintendo hardware have immediately rendered older units obsolete. Things are different this time around.
Get it if you donât have one.
We still think you should have a 3DS in your gaming collection. There are tons of great games for the system (these are our top 12, with the caveat that we havenât decided whether the brand-new Monster Hunter 4 and Majoraâs Mask remake should get added to that list). More 3DS games are being made all the time, primarily by Nintendo themselves, with key contributions from Atlus, Capcom and some others.
https://lastchance.cc/the-12-best-games-on-the-3ds-5878903%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
If you donât have a 3DS yet and are willing to spend $200, the New 3DS XL is a pretty good option. (The non-new 3DS XL costs $175; the smaller 3DS goes for about $160). Youâre future-proofing a bit, and youâre getting some better control options and stereoscopic 3D tech than you would if you got the older models.
But, if you do have a 3DS, you donât need to upgrade yet.
The New 3DS XL has a faster processor and will eventually have games that only run on it and not older 3DS/2DS models. Not yet, though. You donât even need to think about that in North America until the first New 3DS-exclusive game, the port of Wii role-playing game Xenoblade Chronicles, comes out in April (Check out this Wii-New3DS Xenoblade graphics comparison, if youâd like to see how close the boosted 3DS hardware can match Wii/PS2-level tech).
Above: Nintendo promotional imagery highlighting the new control inputs.
The new nub is not quite the second circle pad we were hoping for, but it helps.
The New 3DSâ new c-stick allows for dual-analog controls and surely will be programmed for that by developers who believe there are enough New 3DS owners to justify a control scheme that wouldnât work on a standard 3DS. For the moment, though, the c-stick nub can pretend to be a âcircle pad pro,â which was an add-on that put a second analog circle-pad input on the right of the 3DS. There arenât many games that supported the circle pad pro (hereâs a short list), but itâs nice that the New 3DS will at least let players play those gamesâ alternate control schemes without an added peripheral.
https://lastchance.cc/the-3ds-circle-pad-pro-is-mostly-great-actually-5886103%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
It is promising to see that the developers of Majoraâs Mask 3D programmed free camera controls to the c-stick, which makes tracking enemies in that game a lot easier. In this regard, at least, New 3DS players will have a better experience with the game than non-new 3DS players will.
We do love the improved 3D.
The New 3DS tracks the position of your mouth and eyes in order to calculate the proper angle at which to display the systemâs glasses-free stereoscopic 3D. It can do this constantly and on the fly, which means that itâll transmit a clear 3D image to you even if you begin to rock your head or the system. This results in more stable 3D effects that are only occasionally baffled if a second personâs face gets close to yours or if youâre moving your head while wearing glasses. Even then, the system figures things out quickly. Itâs a lovely improvement
https://lastchance.cc/testing-out-the-new-nintendo-3dss-head-tracking-1646040641%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
The much-improved 3D effect on the New 3DS has even elicited this odd remark from Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata:
âIt looked so good that it made me want to apologize for not having the 3D functions work this greatly when we first released the Nintendo 3DS system. Of course, such technology was not available when we released the original Nintendo 3DS, so it was impossible to integrate it at the time. I hope people will forget their expectations of 3D from the past, and replay on the New Nintendo 3DS systems the 3DS games they played before.
We donât love that they left out a power cable.
For reasons that reek of Nintendo cost-cutting (from the company that eliminated the headphone jack from their second Game Boy Advance!), the New 3DS XL does not come with a power cable. The new handheld is compatible with the AC adapter cable from the 3DS and 3DS XL, but if you donât have one of those, then youâve got to buy a $10 cable. Nintendo has been leaving power cables out of their hardware packages outside of North America for some time, but that doesnât make it any less strange or annoying.
Itâs oddly difficult to buy an official Nintendo AC adapter, but our friends on the Gawker Media Commerce team have some power cord suggestions
You should be aware of some other possible hidden costs.
The New 3DS XL uses micro SD cards. It comes with a decent-sized 4GB one, but if you want more storage, or if you had more storage on a standard SD card on your 3DS, youâll need to buy a bigger micro SD for your New 3DS XL. The new Nintendo portable doesnât support the SD card. Data transfer is easy, though, and youâll be able to bring all your games and save files from an older 3DS to the new one. Just make sure you have a small screwdriver to open the new unit up.
The New 3DS XL has a pretty short stylus, too, shorter than the 3DS XLâs. You might want to think about getting a larger stylus.
Oh, if you want the non-XL, smaller New 3DS? Sorry, America.
Itâs not coming to North America, and any overseas models will be region-locked. Maybe Nintendo will bring it here in the future. After all, our main guy in Japan really likes it. To be fair, our main guy in the U.S. is pretty happy with the New 3DS XL!
Bottom line: itâs still a good system, though, and the best 3DS yet.
(For a second opinion, check out the New 3DS XL review from our friends atGizmodo.)
https://gizmodo.com/new-nintendo-3ds-review-a-terrible-name-for-a-worthy-s-1685598298
To contact the author of this post, write to [email protected] or find him on Twitter @stephentotilo.
