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[higgsboson1997]

For me, it's the 3DS. I have been using the 3DS constantly since I got it 4 years back, and have played close to 60 games on it. Looking back at it, I can't think of any system I enjoyed more than it, even though it is only 4 years old while systems like the DS got 7 years. The great games that it got are greater than pretty much any handheld game that So, do you share my opinion?

Some of its games, like ALBW and Pokemon Y, are some of my favourite games ever! And these are only the retail titles. Another big aspect that I feel makes 3DS stand apart from the previous handhelds is that it has some great indie experiences such as Pushmo, Shovel Knight, Shantae, Steamworld Dig, etc.

Anyways, the 3DS is my favourite by far; what's yours?

 

[delSai]

Gameboy Color because that's where i played my favorite game of all time, Pokemon Gold on. Still used that thing when all my friends played on DS.

This ugly motherfucker btw, my second place would be the Vita.

 

[Mozz-eyes]

Bizarrely it's probably the PSP. I was a young'un around that time so enjoyed more action type games like GTA. Plus, a lot of the DS titles early in the system's life didn't interest me that much.

 

[Dr. Buni]

I want to say the DS, because of the huge variety of imaginative games present on the system, but at this point, I think I already like the 3DS library more. So, 3DS.

 

[Currygan]

torn between the DS and 3DS

DS has a plethora of rpgs, Picross 3D and generally a library so full and varied that puts almost any other console to shame, but it lacks Nintendo's spectacular first party games for the most part

3DS has Nintendo at its finest with excellent first party games and what i consider the best handheld game ever made: KIU, but it lacks shooters and RPGs


all in all, for now it's the DS, but only by a slight margin

 

[Ladekabel]

 

[Zalman]

I agree with you, OP. 3DS is awesome.

 

[Baleoce]

DS Lite. So reliable, great form factor and very strong battery life. Beautiful little machine. Between the GBA and the DS library there's just a plethora of stuff to play on it. I'm still trying to get through that library even now.

 

[KHlover]

3DS, not even close at this point. Nintendo's output on it has been nothing less than stellar and we got quite a few great 3rd party games. It also can play the entire NDS library and has (needs SNES VC on New 3DS tho) a decent list of VC games.

GOAT handheld, now we wait for NX.

 

[Dead_Pixel]

A vote for 3DS here too. Nintendo first party at its best. I never really got into the DS.

 

[BTHR Zero X]

Gameboy Advance/SP the whole Libary of the GB/GBC/GBA on one handheld was nice.

3DS is a close second.

 

[mp1990]

3DS,but it's an easy choice for me, since the only other portables i had were an DS, that i only used to play Pokemon, and a PSP, that i used to play an Sudoku game that had ninjas. But the 3DS still is a beast, the BC with the DS games, it's own library, and a lot of it Eshop games makes it an excellent handheld,with one of the greatest libraries even compared to consoles.

 

[Pankratous]

PlayStation Vita (/TV).

Huge library, free games every month with PS+, beautiful hardware and great online multiplayer for titles such as Killzone.

Edit: Oh, and remote play is sweet too.

 

[Spiritwalker]

DS Lite was/is my favourite by far. It's also my favourite Nintendo hardware design.

Runner up would be Vita.

 

[-Amon-]

This, followed by n3ds and vita.

 

[Marvel]

Gameboy Advance.

 

[jroc74]

Vita.

I had a GB years ago, have a 3DS and 2DS in the home now for my 2 sons. Never had a PSP.

The Vita is just everything I want in a handheld. (like the OLED screen alot, never played on the LCD version) I probably would have felt the same way if I ever had a PSP. And...my son still complains that I should have told him the Vita was coming out. lol. I got him a 3DS one Christmas, I knew the Vita was coming out the following year. Fast forward to this year and he wants a Vita now.

 

[bobbytkc]

The vita is the the sweet spot for me hardware wise, so the vita. Hard to go back after using it.

 

[nampad]

Vita and there is no contest. First time I don't feel held back enormously by the hardware and the controls.

Second place would be the PSP but only because of the homebrew possibilities, barely played PSP games because the controls sucked.

Third place is the original Gameboy because of nostalgia.

 

[Number_6]

Library-wise, it's GBA.

Aesthetically, it's GBC. I love old Game Boys and collect them just a little bit.

 

[Puru]

It's really hard for me to choose between the DS or PSP, but i'll admit i had a small preference for the PSP. Imo they are both equally good, i miss the old handheld generation.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Vita - great system

 

[WonderzL]

I think it would be the Vita if I had tons of dollars on PSN, but I don't, so 3DS so far (I'm broke rn so I can't buy games. Vita is new in the family etc). Nintendo at its finest, GB VC, DS BC. Possibly my most played gaming device.

 

[jonno394]

More than likely this

It is probably the handheld ive owned most games for and played the most. Fantastic screen, great power, and plenty of games I want (so much so it'll likely be the first device I actually try to mantain a collection for rather than selling when i'm finished with a game)

Runner up would be the DS Lite. Beatuiful system, great range of games (Hotel Dusk, The Zeldas, Phoenix Wright games, NMSB...)

 

[Misterinenja]

DS Lite had me hooked for thousands of hours with its great library. It's still my favorite design too.

I've really been slacking with my 3DS. I have barely touched it besides one playthrough of ALBW.

 

[Synless]

Vita is first followed by the regular 3ds. I was the minority that liked the three-toned look and size of that system.

 

[Dennis]

Sega Game Gear.

Columns was the shit. I still dream of falling blocks.

 

[Currygan]

shit, i forgot about bc

n3DS that is

 

[Joey Ravn]

What a hard question to answer. Exclusively in terms of its own library, I think I'll go with the GBA SP with the improved backlight.

But, man: backwards compatibility is amazing in Nintendo handhelds. I honestly don't know what I prefer: GB/C + GBA (GBA SP), GBA + DS (DS Lite) or DS + 3DS (3DS). If I had to choose one... it'll probably be the DS Lite. But any of the three options could win if I think about it.

 

[CaviarMeths]

I gave it a good few minutes to think, to make sure I'm not just saying this because it's freshest in my mind.

But this current generation of handhelds is by far the best ever, in my opinion. Both the 3DS and Vita are fantastic machines with access to five of the best software libraries in gaming history. I'll give the edge to 3DS as my favorite handheld.

 

[sixteen-bit]

famitsu Game Boy Light based on looks. In terms of library I'll go with GBA tho.

 

[Acquiescence]

Vita is pretty much the only handheld gaming device I've owned that I actually enjoy playing on.

 

[Links_fantasy]

The New 3DS as it makes the 3D usable and the 3DS has been my most used console handheld or other for the last several years.

 

[Baleoce]

Sega Game Gear.

Columns was the shit. I still dream of falling blocks.

I loved the game gear too. Lucky Dime Caper etc. So good. Even if I was forever stuck next to a power outlet. Columns and Mean Bean Machine were great too.

 

[Danneee]

n3ds, at least so far. Could even be one of my favorite consoles ever depending on if we see full support for for at least two more years.

 

[Akiyama_AE]

Gameboy Gameboy color Gameboy advanced DS PSP and 3DS i own a vita but i only ever use it for remote play

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Vita. Lifelong Nintendo handheld gamer here and now I can't go back. I straight up dislike the 3DS now and sold mine. Vita has a weird magnetism that makes me not even care about games I wanted for a long time, like Majora's Mask 3D.

I have 55 games installed on my 64 GB memory card. That is more content that I have ever owned for any one system my entire life.

 

[Mokubba]

Vita

 

[Fapol]

 

[Busaiku]

DS has my favorite library, but New 3DS has a really great library (2nd best) and offers backwards compatibility, so that.

 

[Funyarinpa]

<-- Profile picture is self explanatory

First Place: GBA SP NES Limited Edition

Perfect design for a retro console. My first dedicated gaming device was a GBA SP(though mine was red). Still one of my life goals to buy one in good condition (along with a flashcart).

Library? Amazing. SNES in your pocket. Cannot say it misses anything for its time, except an original Mario game. Gladly paid for an emulator as soon as I got a smartphone.

Runner-up is Vita.

I do not care about the (lack of) media coverage. I do not care about the few big budget games.

Haven of VN's (visual novels) and indies. Also, Tearaway and Soul Sacrifice. SO GOOD.

I could go on about these to for the whole damn week.

 

[Mytherin]

If we're only talking about native titles, the DS is the best handheld by a landslide. It has so many sick games in such a wide variety of genres. It's the handheld PS2, no other handheld comes close.

If we're including BC it becomes really hard, and because I don't want to choose I'd say it's a three-way tie between DS/3DS/Vita. The 3DS and Vita both have so many great titles to play through BC, and each have a great library of their own. The DS is still in there because the 3DS doesn't have BC with the awesome GBA library.

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

3DS. Monster Hunter, 3D Pokemon, 3D Fire Emblem, a sequel to Luigi's Mansion, one of the best 3D Mario games ever, Smash Bros, Fantasy Life, SMTIV, remakes of OoT and MM and a brilliant follow up to LttP...I could go on all day. Just a fantastic system all round.

Vita and GBA come very close too. Vita being a runner up since it has the best feature set of any handheld, plus games like Digimon Cyber Sleuth, Dragon's Crown, Gravity Rush, Danganronpa and Tearaway are just that damn good. The only thing stopping it is that it doesn't have quite as many heavy hitters from my favourite franchises like 3DS does, but its no slouch.

 

[That1BlackGuy]

Playstation Portable (PSP).

 

[DMiz]

Probably the Game Boy Advance SP.

It was such a neat little system that tucked into a pocket or your backpack - and anytime you had some downtime, you could basically pull it out, play for a few seconds or minutes, and then put it back.

It doesn't have as many bells and whistles as the Nintendo DS Lite, which is arguably the most functional portable that Nintendo has made, but it was still a great little machine with a fantastic library.

As a SEGA kid growing up, it basically opened up the SNES library for me, on top of having tons of great RPGs and platformers. Truly a magnificent machine.

 

[Infernal Monkey]

 

[gngf123]

DSlite.

The DS library is massive, it fixed most of the problems with the original DS, and the GBA port is still intact.

 

[SnowTeeth]

Vita + PSP + PSone libraries (inc minis and mobile) on the Vita make it the best in my book.

 

[vatstep]

Game Boy Pocket

 

[Cheeseman Battitude]

Neo Geo Pocket Colour. The only handheld to get anywhere close to being as good as a Nintendo handheld.