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The 3DS is the greatest console I have ever owned.

It's up there for me with the Super NES. Of the main line Nintendo franchises, I prefer their iterations on the 3DS much more than the DS. The third party support is right up there with what the DS had (save for a few franchises like Castlevania) and the eShop is so much better than the DSiWare offerings it's like a different world.
 
I agree. As a long time gamer (multiplatform BTW) I also think 3DS is the best system I've owned. Truly awesome little system.
 
I acquired my 3DS in 2013 expecting it to be my most-played system that year, and I was right: I logged about 400 hours.

I put mine away for most of 2014 thinking there was nothing much left to play on it, and was astounded to see my end-of-year log: another 400 hours.

I certainly had no idea that it would be, thus far, by far my most-played system of 2015, thanks largely to Majora's Mask, Code Name: STEAM, and a personal resurgence of interest in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Now I'm flooded with additional games I snagged off Club Nintendo and I have more than enough to play for the rest of the year.

Far on the horizon Fire Emblem If guarantees I'll still be playing in 2016.

This is a system that came out in 2011. For over a year it looked like a platform that could be safely skipped. Instead, it has one of the healthiest mid-to-late-life Nintendo libraries I can remember, even though the release schedule looks sparse from here (nothing new I'm looking to pick up unless Bravely Second makes it over the Pacific soon, though I expect a winter surprise to be revealed at E3). I'm hoping the same long-term support will materialize for the Wii U. In terms of pure software quality the Wii U is even more exemplary, with one best-in-series release after another (3DW/NSMBU/MK8/SSBU make 3DL/NSMB2/MK7/SSB3DS look totally superseded), but it lacks the 3DS's all-round depth chart when it comes to genre/series coverage.

For me there are only two major holes the library needs to plug, and they are Advance Wars and 2D Metroid. Sadly, I don't expect the first, though Code Name: STEAM and a second Fire Emblem are ample compensation for now.
 
Cabal said:
Considering the backwards compatibility with DS, I would say it's the best handheld out there. If you are going console, I would say SNES and the 60gb PS3(RIP) were the best consoles I ever had in my life. If they could get SNES and n64 on 3ds VC, I think it would be a contender for sure.
Click to expand...

But 60gb PS3 ran like ass. Play it for more than a couple hours at a time and it became a BBQ. Plus later in the gen, 60gb wasn't really feasible anymore. My game installs alone definitely take up more than 60gb, let alone PS1/PS2 Classics and digital titles.

Love my 500gb Slim though. Loss of BC was a shame, but I think it was the right compromise to make.
 
It's a fantastic console indeed, it has a great library. Never having owned a DS before, I do think it's a bit uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time, but I still like it. The 3D effect is really nice.

As many people already said, it's only missing GBA and SNES VC titles, and downloadable DS games. I should use it much more than I do, but it's hard to balance it along with PC and PS3 (good luck I didn't go ahead and get a Vita or Wii U as I considered doing in the past, because that would have been impossible to manage).

Backwards compatibility with DS is a fantastic feature, and thanks to it I'm slowly grabbing some games I missed back then (Ace Attorney 4 and Investigations 1, The World Ends With You, 999, Ghost Trick and the 4th gen of Pokemon -with 5th gen eventually coming too).
 
I think it lacks the output of unique and original games of the DS (which is fighting for the top spot of my favourite console). While the 3DS library is incredibly solid, it relies too much on established franchises (more a result of the current gaming climate than anything else) which are arguably the best entries in their respective series (ex. Monster Hunter, Fire Emblem, Mario Land, Shin Megami Tensei, Etrian Odyssey etc.). Nevertheless it is my favourite current gen gaming device (containing 3DS, Vita, Wii U, PS4 & XBone)
 
I play mine every day. Its good, but I would put GC, SNES, GBA, WiiU, GB, NES ahead of it. 3DS has a lot of games, but there is no WOW factor in any of them. The 3D is just a gimmick that everyone turns off. The New edition pretty much confirms the 3D was trash on the original model, and it always needed dual analogs.
 
It's up there. Vita is pretty damn good too IMO....and Frankly so is Wii U. Those 3 systems really make it a joy to still be playing video games these days.
 
The fact that I can whip out an arcade perfect Space Harrier or After Burner no matter where I go is enough to seal the deal on it being the greatest handheld of all time.

Throw in all the other stuff (Kid Icarus Uprising, OoT, Star Fox 3D, Majora's Mask, ALBW, NES VC, GB VC, eShop titles, DS compatibility) and it achieves deity status.
 
"The 3DS is the greatest console I have ever owned."

It is by a long shot the system I play the most and have the most games for. I don't argue that display wise the TV is much better. To me its like playing games on the PC, its right in front of you, unlike TV which is across the room. Doesn't feel as immersive.

For example: A copy of MH4, Pokemon, Mario 3d, EO or DS,, Mario Kart, Zelda, DQ or any turn based RPG, Animal Crossing and shovel knight and you got pretty much all genres covered and you got hundreds/thousands of hours of game play. All could be loaded digitally and you are done. We all know people who own DSs for just Pokemon or MH and those folks play 100s if not thousand hours of those games.

You can do this on a console for sure but you can't pack in your bag and go to work, airplane or in another room and keep playing. Its not everyones cup of tea for sure and some games will play better on a TV but for me its been fantastic. The only thing that rivals it is the PC. So yeah I agree with the OPs statement, especially this new upgrade (though I wish I could get an US version of my JPN smaller 3ds, which I like even better).
 
I really, really like my 3DS. Very good Nintendo games, pretty good (and on going) 3rd party support from Japan, maybe it lacks a bit on the eShop side in terms of support from Western indies (but that's more due to the specs not being enough for many of them), but there are many good games there as well, including Nintendo own offerings and Japanese games. Kid Icarus: Uprising is something I can't forget and that I won't forget. Still, even if I didn't live the DS generation as much as I'm doing with the 3DS, I can say that DS had much bigger variety in terms of styles and kinds of games, especially the freshness of specific games. eShop compensates (and, in some regards, pretty well), but not well enough to equal what the DS achieved. So, 3DS is a great console, but DS remains superior IMHO.
 
It's close to the top but I feel like only Nintendo, Atlus, M2 and maybe Level 5 have really shown it the love it deserves overall. It seems like too many Japanese publishers would rather invest in the smartphone boom/lottery or else they throw everything at trying to prop up the failing PlayStations, and 3DS seems sort of caught in between.

VC could also be a lot better, both in coverage for the systems it does have and in getting additional systems. Somehow it's the worst of all the VCs.
 
eighty(one) said:
Wave Race 3D
1080 Snowboarding 3D
Pikmin 3D
Endless Ocean 3D
FZero GX 3D
Metroid/Prime 3D

Those are big missing software opportunities :(

Same with some third party software:

EX Troopers
Final Fantasy Explorers
Yokai Watch
Click to expand...

Whole heartedly agree, F-Zero, EO and Metroid would make it my favourite Nintendo console of all time.
 
One of the worst I've ever owned.

Just could not play it for any amount of time without being bothered by hand pains and a tiny screen. Yes I've tried the XL. Once a 3DS emulator comes out I'll enjoy the rest of the games I missed, but even the ones I did play weren't anything special. Except Theatrhythm <333
 
The design of the handheld itself puts it near dead last of all the handhelds I've owned.

I hope the next Nintendo handheld returns to a comfortable form factor.
 
Well it's easily the worst system I've ever owned. Shit hardware, super dated, lacking major features, terrible screen, extremely uncomfortable to hold and most importantly has hardly any games at all that I like. The only game system I regret buying. To this day I don't understand how I was convinced to spend £200 on this thing. Crazy to think Nintendo went from the DS to this. It's a Mega Drive to Saturn level quality drop. But hey, opinions and all that.
 
great software library but the hardware (ergonomics, controls) leaves much to be desired
the new3DSXL really helps though :D - it's finally playable for me now
 
sörine;160121773 said:
It's close to the top but I feel like only Nintendo, Atlus, M2 and maybe Level 5 have really shown it the love it deserves overall. It seems like too many Japanese publishers would rather invest in the smartphone boom/lottery or else they throw everything at trying to prop up the failing PlayStations, and 3DS seems sort of caught in between.

VC could also be a lot better, both in coverage for the systems it does have and in getting additional systems. Somehow it's the worst of all the VCs.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I'd say that, overall, 3DS had a pretty good third party support from Japan, with many major releases from them. But it's true that some of them could be/have been better. I'd love to see actual support from NIS/Falcom and the likes, but their games sell well on Sony platforms usually, and they don't need to sell that much in order to profit, so they have no reason to change platforms (still feeling very sorry for Disgaea 5 :( ). At least this gen. While Square supported the platform and is still giving support (in the past few months, they released FF: Explorers, T:DQ and Bravely Second is approaching in Japan), they could've done more, especially with another new IP (aside from, you know, releasing DQ titles over here...even if now there's a bit of hope). Konami's support, instead...where is it, compared to DS gen? Why did they decide, all of a sudden, to not release PES 2015 on 3DS, when the Blue Samurai expansion did pretty well (selling better than the PS3 SKU for many weeks, selling better than the main PES 2014 game, thus showing signs of growth)? Where's the Jikkyou Pawapuro series (which would make sense on the platform, style-wise)? But it's also true that Konami heavily diminished their amount of games overall on traditional platforms, so... Koei could have been better too.

Still, this is what happened this gen. Next gen won't probably have a Sony handheld platform, and most of these games (especially the hunting games) not released enough / at all on 3DS don't fit the mobile environment that well, if not at all. Some of them will go to PS4 surely, but not all can go there: hunting games, for example, sell by far the most on portable devices.
 
Its pretty great. Got a lot of games on it. The greatest though? ehhhh call me again in a few years and I'll give you my final critique then.
 
It's a good console but not nearly my favorite.

No Castlevania game automatically makes it not as good as the other Nintendo portables.

And no, I don't count the modern ones.
 
I want to get a New 3DS. Is the transfer system still a mess? Does everything even transfer over? Any reason not to upgrade from an OG XL?
 
The library on the system is phenomenal. I enjoy every game that I own. On top of that, I have been able to download some VC titles that I really enjoyed from the GB/GBC era (though more titles would be awesome).
 
I agree wholeheartedly. The 3DS is by far the system that gets most of my attention. Such a great library of games

The Lamonster said:
I want to get a New 3DS. Is the transfer system still a mess? Does everything even transfer over? Any reason not to upgrade from an OG XL?
Click to expand...
The system teamsters process is only a bit convoluted because there's a lot of steps that you have to follow. I've done it multiple times without a single problem. It literally just copies everything you your new system so it's basically a clone of the old system
 
The Lamonster said:
I want to get a New 3DS. Is the transfer system still a mess? Does everything even transfer over? Any reason not to upgrade from an OG XL?
Click to expand...

Transferring takes about an hour/two hours depending on whether you do PC based or not.


And yes, it feels so much better than the old XL. You couldn't pay me to go back.
 
Looking at the strong software of the 3DS, it becomes a top 10 "best gaming system ever" contender, easily.

But then I realize that I actually have to play such software, and the atrociously bad, god-awful ergonomics make it plummet in ranking very quickly. As far as ergonomics go, it may be the absolute bottom-place gaming control device I've ever used.

EDIT: also, a bit of a click-bait thread title. "Best console ever" (title) is VERY different from "Best NINTENDO console ever" (text in the OP)
 
It's the second worst Nintendo handheld after the GBC. The library is missing the insane variety of the DS and the consistent quality of the GBA.
 
I gotta agree. It has given me great remakes of some of my favourite games ever (both N64 Zeldas, Star Fox 64), the first handheld 3D Mario and Smash games, the best Animal Crossing by far, a crossover between some of my favourite series from the last gen (Layton vs Phoenix Wright), the resurrection of Luigi's Mansion and some other pretty good games like ALBW, MK7, Fire Emblem Awakening or Paper Mario.

And on top of that... Kid Icarus Uprising, Nintendo's best handheld game since Link's Awakening. So yeah, for a Nintendo fan it can't get any better.

EDIT: I forgot about Streetpass. Such a nice and addictive feature, can't wait for the new games.
 
I like my 3ds but it doesn't even come close to been better than my vita, never mind any other console
except wii u
that I've played.
 
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