Nintendo 3DS - anyone got one?

[radiator]

These days I tend to play Zelda games with a guide. Some people may think it's cheating but I just think it makes the whole thing more enjoyable (I was turned on to playing with a reference guide when I bought Super Metroid for my Snes which came packaged with a guide).

Does the 'C' stand for 'Cheating c*nt' James???
I know what you mean though, I remember a long time ago on my first play through of Ocarina I was totally stumped on finding the Hookshot- never occurred to me to pull back Dampes gravestone, and I only did so by accident after 3 days of scouring the surface of Hyrule.
But man, that feeling of satisfaction...unbeatable.

And Radiator- sort out that gap in your gaming history; A Link To The Past is one of those games you have to see through to the end. I replayed it a few years ago on GBA (my SNES was long gone), and it still had that magic.
Don't know if you have a WiiU or not, but it's recently available via Eshop.

I adored ALttP but simply found it beyond my skills back then! It isn't available on the eshop, neither are any other SNES games (which is a crime) though there are rumours that Nintendo are going to start releasing them soon. I'd happily pay a tenner for the pleasure of playing it again on the go.

[Tiplodocus]

Tiny Tips has had his head stuck into the new 3DS Zelda and is loving it. Best of all, he got it on cartridge so I'll be pockling it off him as soon as I can.

The Wii U Santa brought is shaping up very nicely as well. Some fantastic use of the game pad controller. We managed to bag:

- Windwaker (more charming than ever in it's shiney new HD clothes)

- Batman: Arkham City (never played one of these before but loving the predator style bits where you take people out from the shadows)

- ZombiiU (looks like a last gen game but full of atmosphere and dread)

- Rayman Legends (not played but Tiny Tips and his big brother spend a lot of time on co-op)

- Pikmin 3 (absolute delight but gets really hard quite quickly)

- NintendoLand (the asymettric hide and seek games are great as is Ninja castle; flicking shuriken off the game pad onto the screen is brilliant fun).

Wii U Fit may also be getting an outing shortly - once I've finished all the pies.

But blimey, how long were the Nintendo servers down for over Christmas? Somebody didn't do proper stress testing.

[shaolin_monkey]

Yeah, my kids were whining about the lack of eShop over Xmas. They had been saving their Xmas money to spend on it, but then couldn't. It was their first introduction to the frailties of the Internet, and they were not happy! 

I'm thinking of buying them Petit Computer each, which is a tool that allows them to write their own stuff in BASIC and then share it with other 3DS users. It comes with pre-written stuff for them to muck about with, and various tutorials. Apparently there's a thriving community around it. Nothing ever came of my days faffing around with the language, but it was fun, and I want my girls to at least have access to something similar. Well worth a look, and only £7 on the eShop!

[TordelBack]

Fantastic tip there, SM: I'll definitely have to look into Petit Computer, which i had never heard of, and indeed had no idea this sort of thing was even possible on a 3DS.  I'm not sure if BASIC is the way to go, when Python is nearly as easy to write and has wider transferability of concepts into Java and the C family later on.  But man do I love the idea!

My lads' grandparents clubbed together to replace his 7-year-old original DS (technically borrowed from my mother for the last 4 years,inadequately repaired by me several times, and now returned with free duct tape and clumsy solder included) with a 3DS this Christmas, and I've been blown away by what a clever machine it is.  The DS itself is a marvel, and the bells and whistles on the 3DS just seem to make it all the sweeter.

Incidentally, I bitched in strident fashion about my in-laws attitudes to Christmas and presents on another thread, but in the end they confounded my expectations and we had a very pleasant kid-focused day with them.  Maybe I communicated something of my displeasure without meaning to, or maybe I'm just a sour git.

[Bolt-01]

I too got a copy of the new Zelda for the DS this X-mas, and a thing of beauty it is too. The gameplay is just wonderful. I spent far too long playing Links awakening back in the day.

Think one of the big issues for Nintendo over the holidays was the abortive launch of the Pokemon bank.

[The Adventurer]

I don't think I ever posted in this thread. Which is unfortunate because I LOVE my 3DS. I've had a 3DSXL since February and since then its rekindled my enjoyment of console gaming, which I kind of got out of over the last 10 years. I have a Wii, but I never got the use out of it I wanted. 3DS just works for me; portable and it has a strong library of games I can afford. Something else that sort of crept up on me, historically I don't have a lot of patience with JRPGs. I've never found the Final Fantasy games and their ilk particularly endearing or exciting. Outside of the Paper Mario series I was just never that into them.

But this year I discovered Atlus. Opinions have... changed a bit to say the least. The lesson I've basically learned is don't judge every JRPG the same. Especially bonkers crazy quirky ones like the Shin Megami Tensei series. Now these are some games I'm willing to sink 50 hours into. Who knew what I always craved was an old fashion dungeon crawler. And of course the moment I become a fan of something it goes into financial turmoil and threatens to dissolve. Though it looks like Atlus got out of this one alive.

Also personally I LOVE the stereoscopic 3D effect, I find it adds a lot of character to games that use it well.

So far my 3DS library is...

Etrian Odyssey IV - Not as quirky as the SMT games, but I find it endearing in its old fashion dungeon crawling style. Haven't put a lot of time into it yet. Only picked it up because it was half off.
The Ledge of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - My latest game. Woof, people weren't wrong about this being a breath of fresh Zelda air. Which is ironic considering how much of a throwback it is.
Paper Mario: Stickerstar - Haven't played it yet, picked it up for half off on a whim, but historically I've always loved Paper Mario as a series. So I'm sure I'll dig it when I get to it.
Pilotwings Resort - Picked it up used for under 10 bucks. I was a huge fan of the N64 Pilotwings. This one doesn't feel nearly as chunky as that one. And its 3D isn't as impressive as other, more recent, games I've played. Not put much time into it yet.
Project X Zone - Funfact, some online friends of mine were talking about this game last year, and it put the 3DS on my radar for the first time. Even though I had almost no connection to any of the characters on display here. Overall the game is a bit repetitive and its story quite contrived. But it made me aware of a whole bunch of different franchises I wasn't before, and its entertaining enough. Love the 2D sprites on 3D planes look it has.
Rune Factory 4 - Was sort of on my radar, but not quite. Then the developer when out of business and I didn't want to be paying out the nose for a copy 2 years from now. I'll get to it eventually.
Shin Megami Tensei IV - Probably my most anticipated game for the first half of this year. I got to play a bit of SMT: Strange Journey for the DS in the first month I had my 3DS and really liked what I saw. So seeing the latest main series game coming out really soon got my hype up something fierce. Unfortunately I don't think the final product is very... good. Its setting, story, and presentation is just PHENOMENAL. But its gameplay is really lacking a few important things. Like being good at telling you where to go next. Which sucks when it gives you such a mazelike overworld to run around. Also some of the stats are just broken, and literally don't do what they are suppose to. And the dungeons aren't as interesting as previous SMT games... and... and... basically this games gets a pass by shear uniqueness and being essentially playable. Strange Journey is just a better game IMO. I would be super stoked if Strange Journey got a 3DS enhanced port.
Shin Megami Tensei - Devil Survivor: Soul Hackers - SMT was getting on my radar just as this was coming out. Even though this is an enhanced port of a PS1 game from 1998, it really shines on the 3DS. Its interface is pretty archaic though (you literally can't see what certain spells do unless you are in combat) and its plagued by unskipable cutscenes that you have to rewatch if you die before you can save.... But if you can get past that, its really entertaining.
Super Mario 3D Land - Probably the best 3D Mario game of all time. And I mean I put it over Mario 64 and Galaxy. It finally brings that 2D Mario gameplay to 3D. No hit points, no timed power-ups. Mario BECOMES SMALL WHEN HE'S HIT! I was actually livid when the Wii U got the sequel. Also some of the best usage of 3D on the system. The sense of depth is just fantastic, and makes landing jumps in 3D space so much more intuitive then before. Also it has a ton of levels! Definitely my overall favorite 3DS game. I'm glad it was my very first. 3DS needs more action platformers like this. Its sorely lacking what should be a cornerstone genre.

So yeah, games. And I actually missed a bunch on 2013 that I really wanted. Like; Fire Emblem: Awakening (literally the game I bought the system for... and then never bought), New Mario Bros 2, Luigi's Mansion, & Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (though I'm trying to lay off the RPGs for the moment... got a bit of a backlog now).

2014 looks like it could be another banner year. The US should get Bravely Default soon, and I'm willing to give Square-Enix one last chance to impress. And Persona Q, which will be my first Persona game. I bet I'll be totally confused. And yes, I realize I just said 'no more RPGs'. Bleh.

[radiator]

I love the 3DSXL, but there's one thing that really bothers me about it and that's the location of the volume slider - I keep accidentally sliding it up and down as my finger naturally rests over it as I play.

Seems a strange oversight from a design point of view.