The Last Truly Custom Nintendo: A 3DS Retrospective

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨PerfectDark@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨games@lemmy.world⁩

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/df4ac180-9fec-44df-bd2d-bb7367b92cd1.png

Well, I took some time to jot down some thoughts on the one handheld that everyone seems to agree was the bee’s knees: the Nintendo 3DS (and all its various iterations thereafter!)

It’s one I’ve gone through a few ‘phases’ with - collecting, modding, selling, then buying a ‘perfect’ one, then…the pattern just repeats and repeats. I love how truly customizable it is now that it is…essentially an abandoned generation. The community took things to great new heights (those themes!!!), 3D printed docks and displays, vinyl stickers…it makes me so happy to see how very few 3DS consoles look like anyone else’s.

The market is getting crazy though. Prices are only going up (and special editions are going waaaay up), but it’s nice to see options like the Thor, Pocket DS and Anbernic’s RG DS coming up to give modern users some solutions to playing.

Anyway

Don’t expect anything wonderful here, I wasn’t even sure what to write for this article. I guess while I call it a retrospective, it just touches on some key points in the lifetime of the 3DS system.

If you wanna read me rambling (as always) but this time on the flippy console, then this is the link for you to go and check it out!

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Comments

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PerfectDark@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
One thing I’ll add, since reviewing the AYN Thor, I have been playing a LOT of 3DS games. Upscaled and looking so beautiful. I just love the games they made for this console. I wish the Switch had more…pocketability? But seeing how the size increased for the S2, I don’t expect that will come about again :(

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- jodanlime@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  I have a feeling that a Switch 2 Lite is on the horizon, Nintendo loves a console variant. Not that the S1 lite is pocketable, but maybe they will shrink it more this time. I went down a somewhat similar path, only for me it was GBA and emulation on my Steam Deck that really made me realize I missed having pocket games that are real games and not mobile bullshit. I modded my old GBA with a modern screen and battery and it’s been my goto device for portable games. The OG DS dropped as I was graduating highschool and going into college, and the 3DS completely passed me by. I keep thinking about getting a used one but their prices are still a little high for me.
  
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  - chiliedogg@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    I just realized my Z-fold with controller case could make a truly excellent DS emulator.
    
    Anyone know if there’s an emulator out there that supports folding phones in landscape mode as a DS, similar to the way YouTube will split the video and the controls when partway folded in landscape more?
    
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  - PerfectDark@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    
    their prices are still a little high for me
    
    I’d recommend keeping an eye on something like Buyee (or one of several others that do the same thing!). Keep an eye on Mercari on there, sort by ‘newly listed’ and you’ll get a deal. I’ve bought a lot of Nintendo consoles using that method, and have got some amazing deals!
    
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  - nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    @jodanlime @PerfectDark I'm wondering about even this. It really feels like Nintendo almost entirely stopped caring about the Switch Lite not even that long after it came out. It should definitely have been a bigger focus IMO, but everyone seems to want everything bigger and bigger and bigger these days...
    I too absolutely miss just sticking my N3DS in my pocket. (Also StreetPass. Why did that go away with the Switch??)
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  - YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Recently got an r36s to scratch this itch. I love the little thing.
    
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  - Prove_your_argument@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    My magic 8 ball says they’ll release an oled refresh to up the price $50-100 and not much else before switch 3.
    
    As-is the thing has sold a ton despite no new games existing really.
    
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- termaxima@slrpnk.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Just looked it up, really disappointed it doesn’t do the 3D part. (yes, I’m part of the few people who always had it on and set to max depth)
  
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- cRazi_man@europe.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Switch games emulated on the Retroid Pocket 5 have been amazing. A pocketable console with full Switch 1 games and an amazing screen. It’s been such a good purchase.
  
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- Mynameisallen@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Exactly this, I’ve modded out 3DS and sold them for a while as a fun project. But it wasn’t until I got the Thor that I could really get into the games. I’m 16 hours deep into my first time playing Pokemon Y and looking forward to the dragon quest titles
  
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  - PerfectDark@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    I’ve never really been into any Pokemon games before, but I am getting closer to wanting to try sink into one! How beautiful is the upscaling for 3DS games on the Thor?! The games just sparkle. I have gotten slightly distracted by Metroid Prime 2 though…
    
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Aielman15@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
That’s a nostalgic pic.

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- SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I’m not crying, you’re crying
  
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termaxima@slrpnk.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I cannot describe how disappointed I was in the switch when it came out, and the situation isn’t much better now. It took one huge step forwards, yes, bus also ditched a ton of really good features :

No cameras !?

No microphone !?

No analog triggers

No 3D display

No stylus support

No Streetpass

No personality (fun apps, menu music, themes…)

Even the Motion controls, which are still a thing, do not feature any IR reference point, making the Wii still the best implementation of motion aim outside of VR.

The games are great, but these days I personally play the Wii U and 3DS more often, because unlike the switch these platforms still offer some experiences that are just not possible elsewhere.

In fact, the Wii U and 3DS are currently the only consoles I would recommend actually possessing physically. Wii U emulation is really annoying (though Steam Deck can get there, with a cable in the way), and good luck finding anything for the 3DS that does the 3D part any better than a New 3DS XL.
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- Natanael@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Some of the things make sense, but overall I agree.
  
  3D display simply died, everybody did it for a while but so few things used it well that it wasn’t worth the cost (especially since it hurts quality unless you can get the player to use special glasses).
  
  You could use touchscreen compatible stylus, but no extra features connected to it.
  
  Definitely miss analog triggers, which also hurts emulation (GameCube). Something streetpass-like could’ve been put in the mobile app (which also is way too limited and supported by too few games).
  
  Absolutely miss customization too.
  
  Gen 1 Switch should also already have gotten a top side USB C port - with support for accessories like a camera + mic (which wouldn’t have necessarily been built in, but supported).
  
  Switch 2 could benefit so much from better local discovery especially now that it has GameShare, you could have it passively advertise supported games so you could discover opportunities to play even games you don’t have (much like how Download Play used to work on the Nintendo DS and GBA)
  
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- Joelk111@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I miss street pass so hard. I loved playing those little mini games.
  
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B0NK3RS@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I really liked my 3DS and especially StreetPass and getting all those puzzles pieces. I’d take it to work with me everyday but once I lost all my progress I eventually just stopped playing on it.

I’m keeping an eye on the new dual screen handhelds but will wait a bit longer and see how it fares.

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Tuxman@sh.itjust.works ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I think I’ll always grieve the loss of Miiverse and Streetpass.

I’ll never forget the first time I took my 3DS to a nerdy convention and my green light just FIRED up! (Like a …. Green flame 😅)

I’m glad though that we can now at least use Pretendo. Those guys did an amazing job of recreating the community feel!

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Die4Ever@retrolemmy.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I loved my 3DS. And yeah it’s actually pocket sized, unlike the Switch or Steam Deck. I’m still not sure about the choice of the 3D screen instead of just making it higher resolution lol, a higher resolution DS would’ve been good too. The 3D effect was cool but kind of a gimmick.

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- PerfectDark@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Like most, it never really interested me. I just liked the clamshell self-protecting design. The 3D slider was firmly set to the ‘off’ position for me!
  
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- NOT_RICK@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  I still use mine. I modded it and it can play a ton of games. The Pokemon romhacks are fun
  
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  - Tuxman@sh.itjust.works ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Pokémon Team Rocket edition has been my “eye opening” moment on what romhacks can offer.
    
    SO…MUCH…FUN!!!
    
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neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
What are your game recommendations?

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- PerfectDark@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Shin Megami Tensei 4
  
  Bravely Default
  
  Professor Layton (I LOVE PROFESSOR LAYTON!!!)
  
  Kid Icarus: Uprising
  
  Metroid: Samus Returns (I’m obsessed with Metroid)
  
  But I’m also playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the very first time on the AYN Thor at the moment. I’ve never stuck with it, and I’m enjoying it so much. What a game! I’d have expected the ancient age would make it less of a game, but nope. It’s perfect!
  
  There’s so many more, but that’s a nice little cross-section of GREAT games :)
  
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  - darkreader2636@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    +1 for Bravely Default I love how much Revo cooked with OST
    
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  - prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    There is a modded version of Majora’s Mask 3D out there that fixes the stupid shit they broke
    
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  - neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Thanks for this list.
    
    I played the Metroid game and I love that series.
    
    I’m not sure I liked smt4 too much, but I’m not familiar with the others. I’ll check them out.
    
    I got a 3dsxl about 6 months ago for some Pokémon action, now I need something new.
    
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- v4ld1z@lemmy.zip ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Not OP, but I haven’t seen it recommended in this thread yet: the Monster Hunter games for 3DS are really good. Specifically 4 Ultimate is considered by fans of the games to be among the very best the series has to offer. Added verticality to the very flat games before, lots of new moves for existing weapons that make them actually viable options, amazing new monster designs and areas etc etc. Huge recommendation.
  
  If you’ve played Monster Hunter back in the PSP days, Generations might be up your alley since it’s kind of like a best-of title of most main-line MH games prior. Really beautiful homage to the roots of the franchise
  
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  - neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Thanks, I did give that a try and didn’t have much of an opinion of it. I’ll give it another try though.
    
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PieMePlenty@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
My favorite memory of the 3ds is probably from playing a link to the past. My worst memory was selling all the games I had for it… no idea why I did it considering the prices for them are insane now. Should have just kept them…
I still own the XL version and am not letting it go. Still play fron tine to time.

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v4ld1z@lemmy.zip ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
After finding out that you can (rather easily) jailbreak the 3DS family consoles, I promptly did so for my childhood 3DS, loaded a bunch of Layton games onto it and gave it to my SO for her birthday two years ago. She’s had a blast with it. No way in hell will I be paying 100+€ just for two used copies of the 3DS Layton games if I can just jailbreak the console and get all the games I could want.

After clowning on it for years, I also got myself a 2DS because it was the cheapest 3DS-family handheld I could afford and have had a lot of fun with it too

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- Valmond@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  My passkey died for my DS, haven’t been able to find a replacement, maybe I should look again.
  
  You could also do homebrew on it, kind of nice back in the day.
  
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DesolateMood@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I so love the DS and 3DS and want these new devices like the Thor to succeed, but the one thing I would see them improve before being called true successors is stylus compatibility.

I don’t know how touchscreen tech works, but the plastic tipped stylus for the DS just feels so much better than the rubber tipped ones meant for modern screens

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- frongt@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Different touch detection methods. The squishy DS screens work by physically making contact. Glass phone screens work by detecting electrical capacitance differences.
  
  digikey.com/…/whats-the-difference-between-capaci…
  
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- JackbyDev@programming.dev ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Modern touch screens work well enough to not really require styluses to feel good though. So modern styluses feeling annoying isn’t as big of an issue for most uses.
  
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SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
3DS was 3DBest, I love mine with all the Picross games

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christian@lemmy.ml ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I didn’t realize there were alternate hardware options available. I have the custom firmware installed on mine, but I had two of them crap out of me in the past so it’s crossed my mind that if that happened again the resale market for them might force this one to be my last.

Some ds and 3ds games tried to shoehorn in touchscreen usage, which was annoying because there’s no shame in a good game not making use of the stylus. With that said, the ones that made good use of both screens were spectacular. Shoutout to Yo-Kai Watch 3.

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kosanovskiy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Fire emblem awakening

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