Roundtable: 3DS at 3 – A look back the first three years of the 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS turned three this week, boy has it really been that long? Not only has the 3DS itself changed in those three years but the gaming and tech world around it. Gaming just isn’t the same.
To celebrate the occasion we got the team together to put their thoughts of the first three years of the system.
We’d love to hear your thoughts as well, the ups, the downs and your favourite moments of the Nintendo 3DS three years in.
James Mitchell
Anyone who knows me know that I was a bit of a late comer to the original DS. Heck, I bought a Game Boy Advance SP straight after the DS launched. But I bought the 3DS on launch and I was kind of disappointed. There were hardly any great original titles and I found my console gathering dust as time went by. But then the good stuff started coming – we got a port of Ocarina of Time – which while it wasn’t the original content I was longing for, it did tide me over. To be able to re-experience such a fantastic moment of my childhood all over again was definitely appreciated.
Then we got Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, which was a little bit of a disappointment but still an enjoyable online game. It was almost my equivalent of Metroid Prime Hunters for the original DS. Star Fox 3D came and my interest started to wane as I realised I was only playing more and more ports. Buyers remorse had set in yet again. These games were fantastic fun but they weren’t anything new – they weren’t anything that really sold me on the concept of the 3DS.
Other original games came and disappointed – including Shinobi and the oft delayed James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes (which I played and reviewed from a hotel room in Bali) but things started to pick up with the release of Resident Evil Revelations – a game I played and absolutely adored. We finally had a handheld Resident Evil game that rivalled the production of some of the console games too.
Fast forward to today, March 2014, and we’ve had heaps of fantastic games. Kid Icarus Uprising, Rhythm Thief, Theatrhythm, Kingdom Hearts 3D, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Epic Mickey, Paper Mario, Luigi’s Mansion, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Donkey Kong Country 3D, Animal Crossing, Mario & Luigi, Pokemon X and Y, Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Bravely Default and a game I thought would never happen here – Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
There’s not a lot on the horizon, but considering just how much we’ve got in the past three years it’s hard to believe that it’s actually only been three years. But with so little on the horizon, it’s hard to muster up enthusiasm for the 3DS. But considering how much I’ve gotten out of it, that buyer’s remorse feeling probably won’t setting in again.
Troy Wassenaar
The 3DS was the first console I bought on day one. Hell, technically before that, because EB sent mine out a day early. Without the foresight to buy any games, I spent the evening playing around with the built in games and features, setting up StreetPass plaza, and taking photos of my cat to shoot in Face Raiders.
The next day, I went out with my 3DS to buy a game, and try out StreetPass for real. I ended up getting Super Street Fighter IV 3D, and eventually Ridge Racer, just to tide me over until something cool came out. I was raving about the 3DS to everyone, very carefully skirting around talking about the game selection.
Most of my friends jumped on board after the price drop, but I then got to brag about my 20 NES and GBA ambassador games. Mario Kart 7 ended up getting pretty much everyone involved with the 3DS, which then went on to have a massive year in 2013. I’m very happy with how far the 3DS has come, from the underdog that everyone thought was going to tank Nintendo, to the best gaming console out there.
And it really is, isn’t it? The 3DS has somehow revived Pokemon fever in a lot of my friends, introduced so many people to the Fire Emblem series, and practically invented a new form of social gaming with StreetPass. I like to think this is only the beginning, with a lot more 3DS goodness coming in the coming months, and I hope for the years to come, too.
Steven Impson
From a slow start where many condemned it to fail, the 3DS underwent a meteoric rise to prominence in it’s second year. It’s bizarre to think about the similarities between the now successful 3DS and the currently flailing Wii U, and how each console has progressed in entirely different directions from a similarly rocky start.
For me, the 3DS honestly laid dormant, collecting dust as is popular to say these days, for the better part of it’s first 12 months. Ports of games we’d all played before like Street Fighter IV and Ocarina of Time, as fantastic as the ports were, did little to offset the feeling of disappointment in a console that showed so much initial promise.
Mario Kart 7 was the point where I first felt really happy with the 3DS. It looked gorgeous and smooth, and was a blast to play. Nintendo kept the hits coming with Super Mario 3D Land and others bolstering their first party line up, while third party publishers finally came around with fantastic and original titles for the platform.
In 2013, Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Pokemon X kept my 3DS in near constant use, and I feel like these two titles in particular have hugely helped boost the 3DS’s prominence in the general gaming market. I have known so many people completely uninterested in what the 3DS had to offer, until Animal Crossing or Pokemon appeared and suddenly it was a must have item.
Right now however, I feel that we are beginning to see the major technical limitations of the platform. It was clearly designed for a very specific set of background tasks, for example, and we have seen that when Nintendo tries to expand on these with Miiverse that the system has trouble keepng up. The whole thing feels more cobbled together than the perfect fusion of hardware and software we come to expect today from our devices.
For this reason, I have this tiny niggling feeling that the 3DS might be nearing the end of it’s useful life. Releases seem to be drying up in what normally would be a bumper season for game releases, and the whole system feels a bit antiquated compared to it’s contemporaries with effortless sharing and graphics power. I would not be entirely surprised if we catch a glimpse of a new Nintendo handheld by the end of this year.
That said, Nintendo have always been adept at using what seems like outdated technology and keeping it relevant as a low cost option for the mass market, and have been incredibly successful in this endeavour. Who knows, we might see the 3DS relevant for many years to come. I’m excited to find out what’s in store for Nintendo in the handheld arena, bring on the future Nintendo handhelds!
Daniel Vuckovic
To say the 3DS had a slow start was an understatement, we all know what happened to the system in it’s early days but despite that I’ve still had fun with my Nintendo 3DS from day one. Alright so launch was a bit naff, Ridge Racer and Street Fighter were pretty good, Pilotwings was alright, Steel Diver… well maybe not so much that one. Launch like most Nintendo consoles of late was a hard sell, it was fun but it wasn’t $329.95 fun for a lot of people.
Switch forward a couple of years, the eShop is booming and indies are loving it, we’ve got StreetPass add-ons that make taking your 3DS with you daily a prerequisite. The 3DS XL has been a god send and I’ve seen more children with a 2DS in their hands than their Mum’s iPhone as of late – a bold move by Nintendo there. Ditching the 3D, but it looks like it has paid off.
Last year though was the consoles high point, Luigi’s Mansion 2 kept me hooked for weeks, Fire Emblem was introduced to a swarm of new gamers, Animal Crossing again became a part of daily life. Pokemon X and Y proved you can teach a old Pokemon new tricks. It’s just been a complete smash, forget the Wii U, the other two next gen consoles – at the moment some of the best gaming on the 3DS. Tough call maybe, but I’m willing to go there.
Scott Lucrei
I think it’s safe to say that the 3DS didn’t have the best launch, or first year in its life cycle for that matter. Thankfully the following year saw the release of several games that garnered my attention. The excellent Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure was the title I picked up with my system and I also grabbed Resident Evil Revelations (an amazing entry to the series) alongside a few other titles (both retail and eShop). I think these set a good foundation for what the system was capable of.
2013 was an amazing year for Nintendo 3DS and saw the system really live up to its potential. There were so many good games released yesteryear for the system so I’m just going to focus on the games I played. Luigi’s Mansion 2 was a really fun and enjoyable exploration-based experience (Luigi and E. Gadd’s characterisation a highlight) however I found the mission-like structure of the game to be too restrictive, although admittedly it is perfect for short bursts of hand-held gaming.
Fire Emblem: Awakening launched a couple of months later, and whilst I loved the presentation and the ability to integrate yourself as a character, it never quite sucked me in like it did others (I’ll no doubt go back to it one day and be unable to put it down). Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate deserves a mention, although I do mostly play it on Wii U, the local co-op is really amazing and it’s a great game all-round (certainly worth picking up the 3DS version if you don’t own a Wii U).
However the games that really stepped it up for me were The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Pokémon X/Y. A Link Between Worlds, nailed everything that was perfect about 1992’s A Link to the Past and just adding to an already winning formula. An unprecedented level of exploration in today’s gaming landscape marked a great feeling of freedom and nostalgia. Likewise Pokémon took everything that made the other games great and just turned everything up to 11. I think the greatest highlight is the ease at which players can battle and trade through the online services (something that many people, myself included, have no doubt struggled with since their youth with the original games and link cables).
Nintendo 3DS as a huge Nintendo fan, is clearly the best system available on the market for me at present time. The fact that I have top tier games like Kid Icarus: Uprising, Bravely Default, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, Super Mario 3D Land, Yoshi’s New Island and the soon to be released Kirby’s Triple Deluxe all in my backlog (or to be purchased) speaks volumes to me. Where the Wii U is struggling to push out content, Nintendo 3DS has it in spades. In my humble opinion if Nintendo can keep this consistent flow of quality we as gamers have a lot to look forward to. The future is certainly bright for Nintendo 3DS.
Wayne G
When the 3DS first came out I was working in a video game store. For some reason customers just didn’t seem into the idea. This perplexed me because all of us who worked there were pretty excited. Release day came and we all purchased our new machines. It was for a good month or two that we brought our 3DSs in just to streetpass with each other to unlock new puzzle pieces and fight ghosts.
Unfortunately my first 3DS had an issue and I had to exchange it for a new one. The thought of having to go through all the Streetpassing again bored me and I never really got back into it. Most of the games I own for the 3DS are first party titles, which frankly, are the games I enjoy the most. I have a lot of Mario games. New Super Mario Bros. 2 was good fun even though I’ll never reach 1,000,000 coins.
My original impressions towards Super Mario 3D Land were reserved but it quickly became my favourite handheld Mario game and the only 3DS game I’ve played through more than once. Mario Kart 7 was awesome while it lasted. I guess the thing that killed it for me was the lack of anybody to play with. I don’t enjoy online play too much and the lack of friends and family who had a 3DS at the time made it hard to find others to play with. I also have Luigi’s Mansion, Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi and Mario Party. For the most part they are a good collection of games. Unfortunately they sit in my pile of shame; games I want to finish but have trouble finding time to play.
The remastered classic Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was a nostalgic trip back to my childhood and the innovations A Link Between Worlds brings to the Zelda series is enough to make it my favourite handheld Zelda game. I’m not into Pokemon and I don’t care for JRPGs. Many third party titles hold little interest to me. When it comes to my 3DS, it’s Nintendo titles all the way. And it’s a Nintendo title that has consumed more time from me on this little machine than any other. That game is Animal Crossing. I had a love affair in the past with Animal Crossing on the Gamecube and once again I was sucked right in. So much so that I even had a daily Animal Crossing Diary that I would update on my personal blog.
For three months I played daily and interwove my own story into the game, making it a bit more deeper for me than what the developers had intended. I was so much into the world that I had co-created in the diary, that the death of my favourite villager made me stop playing. Well he didn’t really die. He just moved away.
It feels a bit of a shame that my 3DS is just a ‘Nintendo machine’ but really that’s all I need it to be.
