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DS/GBA vs 3DS/DS; which is the stronger combined library through backwards compatibility?

Which of these two was the best 'combo'?

  • DS/GBA

    Votes: 239 45.1%

  • 3DS/DS (no virtual console)

    Votes: 291 54.9%
  • Total voters
    530
Discontent

Discontent

Member
May 25, 2018
4,232
I know I'm gonna get flak for the 'no virtual console' qualification in the poll description but it is what it is! The 3DS VC renders a lot of the GBAs SNES ports null and so I think its more interesting without VC. So with that caveat, both are still insane backward compatible combos; with the DS/GBA you get a sizable amount of the SNES' best games on the go with two insanely strong libraries of their own. And the 3DS is a JRPG powerhouse more than anything else but it had a good deal of variety on offer especially towards the earlier years in its lifespan.

Please tell us what you voted for and which games tipped the scale for you!

I made like 15-20 more but these were my favourite so I've compiled them here as an easy reference for myself and anyone else that loves vs polls.

Capcom vs Konami on the PS2
1998 vs 2001 vs 2004 vs 2007 vs 2017
SMW/64 vs ALTTP/OoT vs Super Metroid/Metroid Prime
Consensus for third best Zelda game
Burnout 3 vs F-Zero GX
Bayonetta 1 and 2 vs DMC 3 and 5 vs NGB and NG2
All the games in the one above duke it out individually with MGR in the mix
PS1 vs PS2 vs PS3; which is the PS Triple?
Silent Hill 1-3 vs Resident Evil 1-3
SNES vs DS
Best 3D platforming series that originated on Sony consoles
Simulation vs Arcade vs Simcade vs Rally vs Futuristic vs Kart; best racing subgenre
PS2 vs DC, XBOX and GC combined
Metroid vs Metroid
2D Metroid vs Igavanias (all credit to Keym my mortal enemy for the thread idea)
Games stuck on the PS2 (with a poll cause f--- it why not)
Square, Enix vs Square Enix
Most revolutionary game of the 90s
Best 2D beat em up
Football vs American football
Football vs all other sports

FPS:
Battle of the long running FPS franchises
90s vs 00s vs 10s
Multiplayer FPS' of the 2000s
Console multiplayer FPSs of 8th gen
Singleplayer FPS' of the 90s
Half Life 2 vs Doom Eternal vs Titanfall 2

Troll polls:
DMC 1,2,3,4,5 or DMC
Getting Era to willfully vote BOTW and TLOU2 as being worse than Superman 64 tee hee

Sega:
Genesis vs Saturn vs Dreamcast
Sega vs Nintendo 6th Gen
Sega on the Dreamcast vs Sega on the GC, Xbox and PS2 combined!

Fighting games:
Street Fighter vs Street Fighter
Chun Li's classic costume vs alpha costume (all credit to Jaded Alyx my mortal enemy for the thread idea)
Best one two punch of fighting games by developers in the 8th gen
7th gen 2D fighters
6th gen best fighting game

Square 'trilogy':
N64 Rare vs PS1 Square
Capcom 1996-2005 vs Square 1992-2001
90s Nintendo vs 90s Square

Zelda 'trilogy':
Final Fantasy or Zelda: which has more 10/10 entries
Mario or Zelda: which has more 10/10 entries
Sekiroulsborne or 3D Zelda: which has more 10/10 entries

Sega vs Namco 'trilogy':
Tekken 1-5 vs Virtua Fighter 1-5
Time Crisis vs House Of The Dead
Ridge Racer V vs Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast
 
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the magical kitsune

the magical kitsune

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,499
So it's just GBA vs 3DS

edit: deliberated for a bit and I'm going with 3ds, for me it had the better (j)rpg lineup or overall lineup. Snes titles on GBA were cool but in almost every case inferior to the original snes versions, and some of the best games never got localized
 
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Rayasab

Rayasab

Banned
Apr 12, 2021
1,954
DS/3DS lack classics, decent libraries but none of them have games you itch to play on current consoles.
 

ThisIsBlitz21

Member
Oct 22, 2018
4,662
3DS > GBA

However, the 3DS back compat for GBA isnt that good, DS games on it straight up feel wierd.

So Ill give it to GBA + DS based on that.
 
EggmaniMN

EggmaniMN

Banned
May 17, 2020
3,465
3DS+DS by a MILE and I say that with Mother 3 as one of my favorite games of all time. The GBA's library has some real greats but it just isn't that many overall.

The 3DS+DS is the PS2+PS1 of portables, complete with early 3D style. Completely unstoppable.
 
Beer Monkey

Beer Monkey

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,308
BabyDontHurtMe said:
DS/GBA because it includes GBC and original GB games as well. More impressive technically speaking.
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I'd have to agree. I'd never be able to live without ALL the Nintendo handhelds though. The Zelda library alone from GB to GBC to GBA to DS to 3DS is a treasure trove of the highest quality.

Rayasab said:
If so pretty sure Nintendo would be making Switch ports by now
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It's a different environment now.

Sony did two whole generations of 'bringing the console experience to handheld' and it failed resoundingly.

Now the console experience is literally on the handheld.
 
OP
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Discontent

Discontent

Member
May 25, 2018
4,232
BabyDontHurtMe said:
DS/GBA because it includes GBC and original GB games as well. More impressive technically speaking.
Click to expand...
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Beer Monkey said:
I'd have to agree. I'd never be able to live without ALL the Nintendo handhelds though. The Zelda library alone from GB to GBC to GBA to DS to 3DS is a treasure trove of the highest quality.



It's a different environment now.

Sony did two whole generations of 'bringing the console experience to handheld' and it failed resoundingly.

Now the console experience is literally on the handheld.
Click to expand...
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I don't think I made it clear enough but it's DS/GBA only through backwards compatibility. I don't think DS could play GB/GBC games?
 
Tavernade

Tavernade

Tavernade
Moderator
Sep 18, 2018
8,623
I love the GBA but other than WarioWare and Castlevania there's not a ton of games I'd want to revisit versus the 3DS which has so SO many amazing games on it.

I do imagine the GBA has better and more varied licensed games, though.
 
onpoint

onpoint

Neon Deity Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
14,930
716
That GBA library by itself is everything I need. I'd gladly sacrifice the other two for just that. Adding DS to that is just icing on the cake.
 
Lant_War

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
The Fallen
Jul 14, 2018
23,556
3DS + DS for me. GBA has a lot of cool games but 3DS games are deeper and more advanced.
 
Eppcetera

Eppcetera

Member
Mar 3, 2018
1,907
I voted 3DS. For one, I like the system's games more than the GBA's offerings. Additionally, a number of GameBoy, GameBoy Color, and NES games are available through its Virtual Console library (and some SNES games are available if it's a New 3DS), so this isn't strictly just GBA vs 3DS.
 

Deleted member 8752

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
10,122
I'll go with 3DS... by a landslide actually. It just had more variety. GBA had higher highs with its two Metroids, Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Minish Cap etc. Some excellent titles all around. It's one of the greatest platforms of all time. Full stop.

But 3DS had like... everything on it, especially if we are talking BC here. I assume that means Virtual Console is included too. So that's tons of Game Boy, GBC, NES, SNES, Game Gear, plus M2 ports of Sega arcade hardware and Genesis. Plus a lot of the best GBA games got Ambassador releases on the 3DS if you snagged one on time - and that should be considered a major breaking point in this debate.

Plus the first party output on the 3DS itself is just insane. It got a really amazing Mario Kart, Kid Icarus Uprising, Fire Emblem Awakening, Kirby, Super Smash Bros., Luigi's Mansion, ALBW, Star Fox 64, OoT, MM, etc. Plus tons more fun small games through the downloadable route like Pushmo and such.

And that doesn't even begin to touch 3rd party offerings like Dead or Alive Dimensions, SFIV, Atlus games, Dragon Quest titles, Yo-Kai, etc.

3DS just went on and on and amassed itself a brilliant library.

GBA is one of my favorite systems of all time and the thing I carry everywhere from the time I was in high school to PRESENT DAY (seriously, I just took my GBA SP to a coffee shop for an espresso this morning). I've been playing the hardware for 20 years straight and I'm still not bored of it.

But 3DS has got to be the clear winner here just for the sheer scope of what you can play on it. It's library is on par with something like PS2 - too many titles are on it to ignore.
 
PlatypusDude

PlatypusDude

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,143
3DS/DS unless every other system vanishes. GBA is a bit too reliant on SNES ports while most of the 3DS standouts are original.
 
RKasa

RKasa

Member
Jul 28, 2019
680
New Jersey
DS/3DS, though they're both solid picks.

Rayasab said:
If so pretty sure Nintendo would be making Switch ports by now
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Third parties are making Switch ports. Off the top of my head, there's been TWEWY (DS) and Rune Factory 4 (3DS), and there's others as well.

The second screen makes any porting of DS/3DS games to current systems that much harder, especially for games and series like Etrian Odyssey where it's a huge part of the experience.
 
Man God

Man God

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,301
GBA, besides the Micro, can play every GB game all the way back to the beginning and should be added to the poll.
 
Rayasab

Rayasab

Banned
Apr 12, 2021
1,954
RKasa said:
DS/3DS and it's not even close.


Third parties are making Switch ports. Off the top of my head, there's been TWEWY (DS) and Rune Factory 4 (3DS), and there's others as well.

The second screen makes any porting of DS/3DS games to current systems that much harder, especially for games and series like Etrian Odyssey where it's a huge part of the experience.
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I'd love a Pokemon B/W remake since it's my favorite but aside of good jrpgs and visual novels, DS best sellers were part of its limited era
 
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OP
Discontent

Discontent

Member
May 25, 2018
4,232
Eppcetera said:
I voted 3DS. For one, I like the system's games more than the GBA's offerings. Additionally, a number of GameBoy, GameBoy Color, and NES games are available through its Virtual Console library (and some SNES games are available if it's a New 3DS), so this isn't strictly just GBA vs 3DS.
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Peltz said:
I'll go with 3DS... by a landslide actually. It just had more variety. GBA had higher highs with its two Metroids, Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Minish Cap etc. Some excellent titles all around. It's one of the greatest platforms of all time. Full stop.

But 3DS had like... everything on it, especially if we are talking BC here. I assume that means Virtual Console is included too. So that's tons of Game Boy, GBC, NES, SNES, Game Gear, plus M2 ports of Sega arcade hardware and Genesis. Plus a lot of the best GBA games got Ambassador releases on the 3DS if you snagged one on time - and that should be considered a major breaking point in this debate.

Plus the first party output on the 3DS itself is just insane. It got a really amazing Mario Kart, Kid Icarus Uprising, Fire Emblem Awakening, Kirby, Super Smash Bros., Luigi's Mansion, ALBW, Star Fox 64, OoT, MM, etc. Plus tons more fun small games through the downloadable route like Pushmo and such.

And that doesn't even begin to touch 3rd party offerings like Dead or Alive Dimensions, SFIV, Atlus games, Dragon Quest titles, Yo-Kai, etc.

3DS just went on and on and amassed itself a brilliant library.

GBA is one of my favorite systems of all time and the thing I carry everywhere from the time I was in high school to PRESENT DAY (seriously, I just took my GBA SP to a coffee shop for an espresso this morning). I've been playing the hardware for 20 years straight and I'm still not bored of it.

But 3DS has got to be the clear winner here just for the sheer scope of what you can play on it. It's library is on par with something like PS2 - too many titles are on it to ignore.
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<3 Both great points but VC is banished to make this a harder choice.

Man God said:
GBA, besides the Micro, can play every GB game all the way back to the beginning and should be added to the poll.
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My weak ass wording getting a lot of people mixed up here. This is not DS and GBA but rather DS with GBA BC.
 
Man God

Man God

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,301
Discontent said:
<3 Both great points but VC is banished to make this a harder choice.



My weak ass wording getting a lot of people mixed up here. This is not DS and GBA but rather DS with GBA BC.
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I get that. What I'm saying is that the GBA's BC itself goes back over a decade and should be added to the poll as a third option. GBA with GBC and GB content is a vast library. Full of a lot of junk but also puts up a good fight on its own with the first three generations of Pokémon.
 
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Discontent

Discontent

Member
May 25, 2018
4,232
Man God said:
I get that. What I'm saying is that the GBA's BC itself goes back over a decade and should be added to the poll as a third option. GBA with GBC and GB content is a vast library. Full of a lot of junk but also puts up a good fight on its own with the first three generations of Pokémon.
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Oh right, my bad. Yes that's true, I should have added it.
 

Deleted member 79058

Account closed at user request
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Aug 25, 2020
2,912
You can play GBA/GBC/GB games with a homebrewed 3DS. Hehe, I just circumvented the "no VC" qualification!
 
Man God

Man God

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,301
3DS has the best library on its own of any Nintendo handheld. DS is second best, so the choice is pretty clear.
 
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