My 3DS review/impressions


Prometheus

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Even though I dealt with a complete disaster, with Amazon UK not even bothering to ship my 3DS in time for launch-day as they guaranteed, I got my Nintendo 3DS on the European release date of March 25th. I'm getting on very well with it, and figured that I would share my impressions in case anyone was curious enough to read them. :p


It's a nice and solidly-built device, the same size as the DS Lite, but with a little more heft due to the screen part being a bit thicker and more solid. The finish is very shiny, and the top half has a coloured part with a thick-looking clear shell fixed over it - it's a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but this doesn't bother me too much. Also worthy of note is that the Health Warning that appeared on boot-up on all of the Nintendo DS line is now relegated to a completely optional menu button that you never even have to read - in fact, you can pick it up and move it far out of the way, so that it never bothers you and you've got room to arrange your icons as you want to. It's good to know that the litigious few who caused this to be the case for so many years are being placated in a different manner now - one which no longer affects the rest of us who know how to read the warnings that have been present all over the packaging and manuals for decades.


Curiously, the wrist-strap hole is located at the bottom of the machine, and there are now two of them - one on each side. This actually works really well, as it means that, unlike with the DS line, you don't need to find ridiculously long wrist-straps to use with the console. It also means that you can attach a stylus-on-a-leash, or a mascot, or whatever you like, to the other one.


The default screen brightness setting is ludicrously high, so prepare your eyes for that. There are five brightness settings, ranging from the fairly dim "1" to the eye-searing "5". 5 is the default, and I soon after set mine to 2 (and flipped Power Saving Mode on, which alters the backlighting a little bit), which is just right for me. Interestingly, lowering the brightness and activating Power Saving Mode enhanced the 3D effect further for me.


As I noted when I wrote up my impressions of a hands-on in-store demonstration, the 3D effect works very well for me. What I had not predicted would be how well it worked in games for me. In particular in Rayman 3D (a port of the Dreamcast version of Rayman 2: The Great Escape) and Pilotwings Resort (two of the three games I bought*), it's proven to be useful in judging distances. I had been skeptical of the claims that it would help in 3D platformers, but those claims really are true - there is one section in Rayman 3D which, in the original Dreamcast version of Rayman 2, was hugely difficult to get through due to it being very hard to know when you should be jumping to the next section (for those familiar with the game, it's the section with the slides in The Sanctuary of Water and Ice). I cleared it with next to no effort due to actually being able to judge distances and judge when I should jump, which was something I absolutely hadn't expected. I'm looking forward to seeing a platformer built from the ground up for this machine, because if it works this well in a fairly lazy port of a game that's more than a decade old, I can only imagine it working better in something designed for it. It works great for judging my landings in Pilotwings Resort, too, and for ascertaining how close I am to hazards. It is more than a mere "special effect".


*(I had originally pre-ordered four games. Specifically, Pilotwings Resort, Rayman 3D, Nintendogs + Cats - Toy Poodle and New Friends, and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition. However, shortly before launch I purchased the CPS2 board for Street Fighter Zero 2, which I think is a much better game than Street Fighter IV, for only a few pounds more, so I opted not to waste my cash on Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition.)


A curious, and positive, side-effect the 3D effect is having for me is that I'm finding myself better aware of things around me in real life as well. I'm noticing that it's improving my judgement of long distances and volumes a bit when working with various things. Previously, this was something I could only leverage at very short distances (such as when replicating Mega Man characters in sewn form :p ). I wasn't expecting this to occur, and it's actually quite neat.


I really like the built-in software of the 3DS, as a lot of it is finally expanding on what the Game Boy Camera started off back in 1998 (I waited for a long, long time for that...). The social features are easy to set up and use, and it's fun checking to see if you've walked past any other 3DSes when you get home. I'm quite enjoying the built-in StreetPass Quest mini-game, too, although I'm currently just spending Play Coins (you earn one for every 100 steps recorded by the 3DS' built-in pedometer) on hiring heroes to assist me in the quest, because I haven't gathered any Miis via StreetPass yet.


Having Miis on the system is a great idea, and it's good to see them return to the handheld space - they were originally conceived for the firmware of the Nintendo DS, but were ultimately never used. I think that it was a good idea to hold off until now, as the 3DS' connectivity is better.


I really like the Circle Pad (the 3DS' analogue nub/slider/whatever) - it's quite springy and I find that it responds quite well. It's purely a gaming nub, and in that regard I would have to admit that I prefer it over the Pandora's for that. However, that's not to say that I don't like the Pandora's - the Pandora's is a multi-purpose nub, and I use it primarily for mousing, and couldn't live without it. The 3DS' nub would probably not really be usable for mousing, as far as I can tell.


The Circle Pad is also used as an alternative to the d-pad when in DS mode, and to my great surprise, I've found that I prefer using it more than the d-pad for this. It's been implemented very well for this, and has none of the problems typically associated with using an analogue stick to act as a digital pad - it just feels like a smoothly-responding d-pad. I wasn't expecting that at all, but I'm very pleased with it.


DS mode works nicely, although it's a shame that you have to hold down Start and Select to boot DS games at their native resolution - I would have liked it if an option in the user settings were available to set a preference for this. 2D DS games look really ugly when using the 3DS' filtered upscaled mode, but look great if you run them at native resolution. Polygonal DS games look fine pretty much either way, although I'm sure there are examples of some that may benefit from the upscaling, and others that may not.


There is no real delay in booting DS games, and anyone claiming that there is is grabbing at straws in an effort to try to claim that there is a problem with the system that actually does not exist. In fact, it wasn't until I remembered that people had been claiming that this is a problem that I tested it personally (I used a DS, a DSi, and my 3DS). The original DS and DS Lite took two seconds to start them, the DSi and DSi XL took 4 to 5 seconds to boot them, and the 3DS takes 5 or sometimes 6 seconds to boot them. If you don't have the time to wait an extra second over the DSi or an extra three seconds over the DS, then you don't have time to be playing video games in the first place.


The charging time is identical to that of the DSi and DSi XL. As with the DS mode claims, I would be very wary of anyone who acts as though the charging time being this long is a new thing.


Now, all of that aside, we come to the battery. It is my only gripe with the system - it is a bit short-lived. With the settings that work best for me, I can get a decent stretch out of it, but for getting the best out of the built-in features, which some games as well as the system itself leverage (and which, no doubt, many more games will in the future), it's still not quite good enough. It certainly doesn't help that I've gotten very used to the Pandora's battery-life, either! The machine is designed for easy battery-changing - the entire back panel is the battery cover, and is easily unscrewed to change the battery. A third-party battery by Nyko that doubles the run-time is already available in the US (but there is no European release date for it yet) which is designed to take advantage of this fact (I gather that you remove the back panel, and screw the replacement battery on in its place). I will be buying one (which for me should bring it close enough to the Pandora's life to be fine for my liking), but it is a bit of a disappointment that the built-in one does not last longer. Whilst Nintendo have stated that there are no short-term plans for a revised edition of the hardware, I would imagine that they may well release an official extended-life replacement battery at some point instead, as the system's casing was clearly designed with an eye to making that very easy to do. Indeed, that's all that they really need to do, as far as I can see, as everything else is very well thought-through and works excellently, at least in my experience.


Inevitably, there are going to be some folks trying to compare the 3DS with the Pandora, for whatever reasons they may have, but I personally don't think that that's really a good comparison to make. The fact is that they are vastly different systems that perform quite different tasks (I'm very grateful that my situation is such that I can afford to have both). If it comes down to a choice between them, you'd have to weigh up what your wants are against what both systems offer - I don't think I could make such a comparison, here, as they're just too different.
 
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seeing as i dont have my pandora yet, and youre also an owner of sennheisers, please compare 3ds sound, mainly headphone output(but also speakers), to pandora sound. of course only compare music using mp3s as the 3ds doesnt support flac for now so it wouldnt be fair


and yes, i am quite impressed with the 3ds headphone output, im sure it helps im using $250 headphones, but whatever
 
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^ I actually forgot to mention that. I tested it this very day, would you believe? :lol:


Anyway, the 3DS' headphone output for its games is great, and for MP3s I find that it's good, but not as good as it is for the games - in the case of MP3s I think that it's somewhat flat-sounding when compared to the Pandora. I tested with my Sennheiser PX200s (original type), using The Megas' first album, Get Equipped, in this case, as well as the soundtracks from a couple of games (Cave Story, and Croc: Legend of the Gobbos).
 
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Hi Prometheus, thanks for your review. I am unboxing my 3DS as I post this and I was wondering what your thoughts are on Nintendogs + Cats. I haven't ordered any games yet and I'm debating between Street Fighter for $15 or both Street Fighter and Nintendogs + Cats for $45. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Wow, that's two completely different games if ever I saw them. :lol:


I'm enjoying Nintendogs + Cats quite a bit, as it improves on the original in just about every way. Accordingly, it's a very laid-back sort of affair. If that's not your sort of thing and you're looking for something more action-packed, though, it wouldn't be worth you picking it up. If you liked the original, though, it might be worth it. That's the best I can say on the matter.
 
Wow, that's two completely different games if ever I saw them. :lol:


I'm enjoying Nintendogs + Cats quite a bit, as it improves on the original in just about every way. Accordingly, it's a very laid-back sort of affair. If that's not your sort of thing and you're looking for something more action-packed, though, it wouldn't be worth you picking it up. If you liked the original, though, it might be worth it. That's the best I can say on the matter.

What are some of the improvements? I played the original quite a bit, but I was the guy that would mess with the DS clock to do more than a day's worth of activities in one sitting. I know there are cats this time, but everything I've read said they were kind of an afterthought. Are there new contests?
 
I actually haven't taken part in any yet, but apparently yes. I don't have it to hand right now to check, though, so I'd advise looking that up elsewhere.


My experience so far is that the house is much improved (you can furnish it, as well as being able to pay decorators for new themes), and that the walking is a lot better. There's also a pedometer mode, which uses the in-system pedometer and gives rewards according to how much walking has been done. Voice-recognition seems to have improved, too, as my dog recognises a few more variations in my tone of voice than what he initially learned. You know how you had to repeat the name a few times so it could get a handle on your voice in the original? The same happens here, but I've noticed that my puppy will respond to more variations after the fact than dogs in the original would/could. The photography (both in-game and AR) is quite a fun addition, but nothing too important. That's my experience so far.
 
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I'd buy a 3DS if it was necessary for Golden Sun 4... If there's ever going to be one. Otherwise, I'm just not seeing this whole upgraded DS malarky. I still have my ugly old "fat" DS and you're saying it starts games faster than the 3DS? It also runs GBA games. The DS just seems to get more and more packed with gimmickry as it evolves, keeping the price massively inflated. Oh well, perhaps I'll pick up a cheap DS Lite for a less awful screen, the original DS really isn't doing Golden Sun 3 justice.


Nintendo lost their way after the GBA SP and Gamecube.


I'm glad I spent my cash on an iPad 2 instead!
 
I know I shouldn't bite, but;


It's not an upgraded DS, which is where you're making an error here. ;) The DS line ended on February 26th of this year.


Nintendo have been far more successful by abandoning the mistaken direction of the N64 and GameCube, that is a fact. One only has to look at the social phenomenon, better games, and accompanying sales the DS and Wii have generated - it's not difficult.


Anyway, enjoy your iPad 2. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy my video games. :p
 
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I probably won't get a 3DS for a year or so, maybe not until they make an 'XL' version, but I still plan on getting the games I like, like any Zelda games. I held off on getting a DS and am still kicking myself for missing some of the Castlevania games. That way when I get a 3DS I'll have a handful of games I've been getting as they came out.
 
I know I shouldn't bite, but;


It's not an upgraded DS, which is where you're making an error here. ;) The DS line ended on February 26th of this year.


Nintendo have been far more successful by abandoning the mistaken direction of the N64 and GameCube, that is a fact. One only has to look at the social phenomenon, better games, and accompanying sales the DS and Wii have generated - it's not difficult.


Anyway, enjoy your iPad 2. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy my video games. :p

It's called a DS, how is it not a DS?


To hell with Nintendos mass appeal. We've got Apple to sell overblown flash games to idiots, I want Nintendo to produce a real console and not a pulsating blue box with magic wands for controllers. The next Zelda better be good! I keep telling myself I bought those pink and blue WiiMote Plus controllers for something.
 
It's called a DS, how is it not a DS?
The screens are in for backwards-compatibility (and because they just plain work well, I assume), and the name is punning off of the DS' name. They've repeatedly made it clear that this machine is the successor, not least of which in the investor memorandum that announced the machine.

To hell with Nintendos mass appeal. We've got Apple to sell overblown flash games to idiots, I want Nintendo to produce a real console and not a pulsating blue box with magic wands for controllers.
They did make a real console, and it sold gangbusters. Calling those of us who buy consoles and games that we want, and that sell, "idiots" is really not polite, I think, but whatever makes you happy. I'm glad of the Blue Ocean direction personally, because I stopped buying games almost completely back when they kept making stuff that doesn't sell anywhere near as well.

The next Zelda better be good! I keep telling myself I bought those pink and blue WiiMote Plus controllers for something.
Good luck on the next Zelda. I'm not a fan personally, so I haven't been keeping up with it - everything after the first two really put me off. Not my sort of thing.
 
regarding the next two zelda games to come out, nintendo really cant lose, you got the crowd that wants a zelda thats like ocarina of time, well youre getting ocarina of time 3d, and you got people that want the next installment in zelda franchise thats all new, you got skyward sword, i wont complain about either. and its called a DS because it has dual screens, the 3ds is to the ds, what gba was to gb, i cant find a batter way to explain it
 
^ You've also got us lot over here, who want a Zelda like The Legend of Zelda. We've been ignored for a long ol' time. :lol: We'll keep waiting. If Nintendo doesn't make something for us, no doubt someone else will.
 
To get native resolution on DS games you only have to hold the SELECT button.

It's called a DS, how is it not a DS?

DS = Developers' System or Dual Screen


3DS = 3rd Dimensional Screen


Hence the 3DS is the true successor to DS.


Also, the graphics on DS can't be compared to 3DS graphics, which are able to match XBOX 1 graphics.
 
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im under the impression that you write columns for some magazine/website, is there some truth to this?
 
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