My 3DS Review

The Nintendo 3DS is the ambitious new handheld by Nintendo, boasting better graphics and the ability to display 3D images without need of special glasses. With a price point of $250 at launch, it did not sell nearly as well as Nintendo had hoped, causing the company to cut the price of the system by $80 after only five months on the market. To salve any bitterness from early buyers, Nintendo is giving these people 20 free Virtual Console Games (10 NES and 10 GBA). I got my hands on a 3DS and a couple of games for it from Craigslist a few weeks back. After playing around with it for a while, here's my review of the Nintendo 3DS, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:

The Good:

The Nintendo 3DS boasts better graphics, faster processing, more memory, blah blah blah. It's a cool system capable of really pretty graphics or memory intensive programs (it can do Netflix!). The button layout is generally the same (D-Pad, four main buttons, L and R trigger, et cetera), but there are some new things added (circle pad, motion sensor, sliders for the 3D and the WiFi, et cetera). It's basically the same set-up which gives earlier system owners some familiarity, but the new stuff may come with a small period of adjustment. Unlike the DSi and the XL, you can actually import your DSiWare from those systems onto the 3DS, so your copy of Cave Story or Shantae: Risky's Revenge won't be lost if you trade in your older system. Not all apps will transfer though, like the web browser or Flipnote Studio as the 3DS is getting/has its own version. The eShop is a great improvement over the previous DSi Shop. Not only can you buy 3DSWare and Virtual Console (GB, GBC, Game Gear), you can also buy DSiWare. The software that's already on the system is a great demonstration of its capabilities and is actually fun to play (AR Games? MiiPlaza? Face Raiders? who knew?). There's also a pedometer (linked to a coin system, getting gamers to go walking with their 3DS) and a decently reliable web browser built right into the firmware. The internet works better on the 3DS with a WiiConnect24-like option to keep your system connected to the internet, even in sleep mode (this option can be turned off). Instead of each game having its own friend code for online play, there's now only ONE friend code for your system. And, of course, Nintendo promised a 3D effect without the need for glasses...and they delivered. It probably won't revolutionize gaming like the Wii, but it is a cool trick with a definite "Wow" factor the first time you try it. The built-in outward facing cameras can do 3D photographs instead of 2D like the DSi. It is a cool trick...

The Bad:

...one gives me a headache after about twenty minutes of use. There is a sliding mechanism on the console to let the user control the intensity of the 3D or even turn it off entirely. However, considering Nintendo is gambling heavily on consumers buying the system for the 3D effect, this is not a good sign, especially since my headaches are, by no means, an isolated incident. Battery life has become a HUGE complaint for 3DS owners. System tests by third parties put battery operation at 3 - 5 hours for 3DS software and 5 - 8 for DS software, versus up to 19 for a DS Lite. This does not bode well for potential transcontinental airline passengers looking to bring their new system along for a trip. The 3DS is backwards compatible with DS and DSi software. However, I have two issues with it: 1.) It makes the games look ugly. I was playing Dragon Quest IX with a friend and the text and general environment looked fuzzy, unlike when I played it on my DSi XL (which only stretches the pixels). There is a special option to make the resolution a 1:1 ratio on the screen. However, this makes the game look really small. 2.) The wireless will unexpectedly go out. Again, I was playing Dragon Quest IX in its Co-op mode and the connection between mine and my friend's system went out randomly. To be fair, it's only happened about 40-50% of connections. However, if I didn't say something about it, it wouldn't be right. Unfortunately for shutterbugs, the 3DS cameras are still only 0.3 megapixels and there's currently no option to upload directly to Facebook like there was with the DSi.

The Ugly:

Overall, it's a good system, but it's not perfect...and its expected to follow a really tough act. The DS was is immensely popular with great software, tapping into a non-traditional gaming demographic, an area I feel Nintendo is failing to reach when marketing its new system. Sure, you can play DS games on the 3DS, but in the mind of a casual gamer, Brain Age is only $120 away on a DS Lite (game and system), versus $190 on a 3DS. Speaking of software, there currently isn't a lot out there right now. I have The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Street Fighter IV, but passed that, there isn't a lot out there to make me drop $30-40 on a new game (on their own, games are expensive...or maybe I'm spoiled). Lastly (and the 500 pound gorilla in the room), Nintendo's competing with the iPhone and other smart phone devices. Every dollar that goes to a copy of Angry Birds is a dollar not going to Nintendo. Every minute someone flings a cartoon bird at a green pig is a minute Zelda's not being played. Nintendo can tout that a $40 epic will satisfy a gamer more than a $.99 shot of gaming. However, quality is subjective and a person can have a lot of fun with a cheap or free game (e.g.: Angry Birds). Also, the landscape is vastly different than it was years ago. It used to be a person was playing a Game Boy when they were looking down at a device. Nowadays, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it's a smart phone. Even kids have them, where I catch myself thinking, "Is that a DS? Nope...it's a Droid."

Again, on its own, the 3DS is good, warts and all. Not great, but good. It's following a tough act from the DS with pressure from the availability of smart phones. Is it worth buying at $170? Not yet. Wait for more games, unless you absolutely want to play Zelda or just to have another means of watching Netflix (truthfully, the 3DS Netflix experience for me is hit and miss). Nintendo needs to try and retake the non-traditional audience it built with the DS/Wii. It needs the equivalent of Brain Age or Wii Fit to entice customers to buy a 3DS, something a grandmother can play and enjoy...if it doesn't give her a headache within twenty minutes.