• Light/Dark

Is the 3DS worth it today?

ned_ballad

ned_ballad

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
48,654
Rochester, New York
There's tons of games that will never be re-released due to dual screen or touch screen requirements. It has an amazing library with many games worth playing

However, both the console and the games are very expensive and often annoying to even find for sale
 
TeenageFBI

TeenageFBI

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,606
I love the New 3DS XL in spite of the subpar hardware. It has a great library and the eye tracking actually makes the 3D mode worth trying.

Look into modding/jailbreaking as it can significantly improve the system.
 
YohraUtopia

YohraUtopia

Member
Apr 1, 2021
1,150
I think it depends on your interests; the more obscure titles? They're never getting ported (or very unlikely). If you're buying mostly for some of the big Nintendo first party stuff--- I feel like many (but not all) which haven't been ported will be ported or remade for Switch/Switch 2 in some form.
 
Aswitch

Aswitch

"This guy are sick"
Member
Nov 27, 2017
5,165
Los Angeles, CA
Really only if you plan to mod it where I would then say it's absolutely worth it. If you can find physical games for cheap(good luck with that), sure but otherwise with the eshop being shutdown its value has diminished greatly imo.
 
eraFROMAN

eraFROMAN

One Winged Slayer
Member
Mar 12, 2019
3,045
I'd say you should let it go for now. It's obnoxiously costly to get into 3DS at this point, unfortunately.
 

Harmen

Member
Aug 30, 2023
637
It has a good library and is an overall unique experience. However, it is also costly and heavily depends on your taste. I personally enjoy 3d. But if that is not your thing, a 2ds is probably a solid option.

I also use it as an DS. But if you already own a DS, that part is probably not really adding anything.
 
Kschreck

Kschreck

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,191
Pennsylvania
The 3DS library is in my opinion still one of Nintendo's greatest libraries once you factor in DS games as well as downloadable games (eshop stuff obviously being gone now). There are still a LOT of amazing games on 3DS that aren't even available elsewhere. Especially if you like JRPG games and of course Nintendo's own IP has always been great so my answer is a resounding YES but it will cost you a lot of money tracking down DS/3DS carts these days.
 
demi

demi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,292
You are hung up on things like tech so no, don't get a 3DS

I'll continue enjoying mine
 
Fevaweva

Fevaweva

Member
Oct 30, 2017
6,680
Yes but only modded. Don't do what I am doing and try to get as many cool physical DS/3DS games as I can at a relatively acceptable price.
 
Clive

Clive

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,180
Definitely research the library beforehand. Many of the games people love are JRPGs so if that's not your cuppa tea then you might not find that much to play. It does have top tier Mario, Kirby, Zelda and Metroid games though and there isn't really much more needed to make it worthwhile.
 
chrominance

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,423
If you're just getting into it now, and aren't really sure why you'd want one, it might not be worth it. You'll have to buy used physical copies of everything you want, and prices on all that stuff will be higher now (though a brief glance at PriceCharting suggests most games aren't stupid expensive... yet).

In a vacuum I'd say it's worth it because quite a few 3DS games will likely be stuck on that system forever, partially due to its unique form factor (will Nintendo ever release a two-screen system again?) and partially because of the ravages of time--publishers and developers dying or moving on to other things, games that weren't successful enough to be good port candidates in the future, etc. If you're willing to go all-in, there's a lot of fun stuff to discover. But if you're already concerned about the system looking and feeling ancient, that might be a sign that it won't be worth the extra hassle.
 
Daccus

Daccus

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
4,040
Still use my old 3DS. It's a convenient place to play digital backups of DS games if you don't have a DSi or a flash cart. Still some great 3DS titles there, and a nice selection of VC.

It's unfortunate that DS / GBA / GBC scaling is subpar due to there not being enough pixels to integer scale or power to use different scaling algorithms. With homebrew you can improve the DS scaling but it'll never be native. However - you can enable widescreen and analog stick patches for games like Mario 64 and Prime Hunters. That's pretty cool.

I also genuinely enjoy the 3D effect and there are some unique experiences that you can't play on any other hardware, even the 3D remasters of classic games like Sonic and Kirby are fun, and some indie titles like Shovel Knight and Cave Story.
 
night814

night814

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 29, 2017
15,223
Pennsylvania
It's got so many exclusive games for better or worse. A LOT of stuff is only on there especially some great Nintendo games, 2 pokemon gens, and some original third party stuff like SMT IV and Apocalypse. This year for Nintendo would be an excellent opportunity to port some of the forgotten gems like 3d land and kid icarus.
 
Celestial Descend

Celestial Descend

Corrupted by Vengeance
Banned
Aug 15, 2022
3,831
I can never play DS or 3DS games on emulator. Just doesn't feel right without the two screens in my hand. So yes, I'd say it's well worth it.
 
julian

julian

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,511
Blackpuppy said:
Pros:
- great games that are unique to the hardware
- 3d effect is neat (get the "New" branded console for a more stable image)
- portable
- easy to mod

Cons:
- pricey as shit. I honestly don't understand the used 3ds market.
- the screens are rather small and low-resolution
- battery life isn't great and worse, the sleep mode guzzles your battery faster than it should.
- the online shop is closed and stores don't sell games anymore
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The big reasons sleep mode eats into the battery is because of online and streetpass. Not much reason to keep WiFi on after next week and streetpass is only worth turning on in crowded areas where you know other 3DS owners might be (not a lot of places).
 
SireNightFire

SireNightFire

Member
May 8, 2023
17
Kraehe

Kraehe

Member
Mar 9, 2024
147
Alrest
The 3DS is still my most favorite gaming platform of all time. You can play everywhere because you can I've the xl just into your pockets.

It might have the best gaming library of all time (because you can also play all DS games).

And I really like the graphics, they have their own Charme and I miss not getting new (3)DS jrpgs.
 
SirNinja

SirNinja

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 17, 2017
8,492
Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
It's still a very good handheld with an incredible library (esp. once you count all DS games), but echoing what others have said: you are definitely gonna want to go the homebrew route, especially after Nintendo closed the 3DS eShop for new purchases early last year.
 

Atom

Member
Jul 25, 2021
12,552
Waaaay to expensive. Worth it for dumping games to play on citra though.
 
Flevance

Flevance

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,598
Lamine said:
but the tech look so ancient now especially after owning a switch.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It indeed does, by the time I got my Switch in 2017 I just decided to wait for the games I haven't played yet to come to Switch (which they never did) although I own the New 3DS XL. I think getting one of those PC handhelds and using the emulation would be a much better option if you don't already own a decent PC for gaming, I finished some games on it a couple of years ago and they ran perfectly well
 
horkrux

horkrux

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,155
Legit no idea why people are saying not to bother, or "only if you mod it."
Go for it. You're not gonna get games at bargain bin prices, but it's not like it's prohibitively expensive either.
 
Blackpuppy

Blackpuppy

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,432
julian said:
The big reasons sleep mode eats into the battery is because of online and streetpass. Not much reason to keep WiFi on after next week and streetpass is only worth turning on in crowded areas where you know other 3DS owners might be (not a lot of places).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I can turn that stuff off and my full battery will be flashing red by the next morning.
 

ne1

Member
Oct 27, 2017
38
I've got a normal 3ds and really wish I had upgraded to a new 3ds XL, while they were decently priced. Not enough to buy an expensive one nowadays though.
 
Vito

Vito

One Winged Slayer - Formerly Undead Fantasy
Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,834
Blackpuppy said:
Pros:
- great games that are unique to the hardware
- 3d effect is neat (get the "New" branded console for a more stable image)
- portable
- easy to mod

Cons:
- pricey as shit. I honestly don't understand the used 3ds market.
- the screens are rather small and low-resolution
- battery life isn't great and worse, the sleep mode guzzles your battery faster than it should.
- the online shop is closed and stores don't sell games anymore
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Your last con is the reason for the first one.
 
bananab

bananab

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,987
I got one shortly before I got my Switch, bit before the prices on 3DS stuff went bonkers. I've had some very nice experiences with it and it has a lot of games that are worth playing, many of which wouldn't port well. But with hindsight, I'm not sure I'd do it again given the chance. I sort of wish I'd just focused on Switch. And that's having had eshop access with many Altus sales. Post eshop shutdown, and with prices on games as they are now, I wouldn't.
 
evilromero

evilromero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,783
Pilotwings Resort and Metroid Return of Samus are the main reasons to own a 3DS. So just get those games and you'll be good.
 
Lotus

Lotus

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
110,200
horkrux said:
Legit no idea why people are saying not to bother, or "only if you mod it."
Go for it. You're not gonna get games at bargain bin prices, but it's not like it's prohibitively expensive either.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I mean OP doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic about getting it for one thing
 
ZeroCoin

ZeroCoin

Member
Oct 26, 2017
436
I recently bought a Japanese new 3ds LL off ebay and modded it to make it a US version. Literally everyone in Japan must have owned one of these because the price difference between a US system and Japanese system was crazy. I haven't had a Nintendo handheld since my old DSLite was lost and I'm pretty glad I picked this one up.
 
Pancakes R Us

Pancakes R Us

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,588
Faceless_Caesar said:
You would be stuck using physical games exclusively since the digital storefront is long gone, but there are some decent games you can play on it. The 3D effect is also really neat if you can get the sweet spot just right. This is a lot easier with the newer revisions like New 3DS/XL.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You could softmod it and rip your carts to have a good chunk of retail titles available on the go if you don't want to carry everything. But yes, it's a shame the eShop has closed. A bunch of us went on a buying spree on Wii U and 3DS before the stores shut down last year.
 
TrendingNonGamer

TrendingNonGamer

Member
Feb 23, 2024
44
Strandr said:
This, I've been having a renaissance playing 3DS and DS games (just last night got DS games working in widescreen)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Is there a way to make it so only some games render in widescreen? Because it seems like every game is rendering in widescreen, whether it's been patched to "look right" or not. Also, is there a usrcheat.dat that combines a "regular" cheat database with the 3DS control enhancement patches and the widescreen patches? (Or a way to have multiple usrcheat.dat files all being loaded at the same time)
 
RingoGaSuki

RingoGaSuki

Member
Apr 22, 2019
2,520
I got one again after four years without one earlier this year and have had plenty of fun with it to make it worth my time.

One thing you should absolutely do as soon as you get one is homebrew it to get access to emulators/injected GBA VC games, save movers and editors/revived online games etc.

You can't buy games for it any more unfortunately, but there are ways to stock up that don't involve going into the ridiculously priced used physical games market. Nintendo was very unhelpful about accessing my old Nintendo Network account to redownload the 50+ games I bought digitally during the 3DS' life so if anybody has previously had the system and wants to get back into their old stuff that's something to consider :/

Pokemon Bank is still working as of today too, so you can move stuff forward to Home and the current gen games which is fun
 
Last edited:
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
12,086
If you like JRPGs, it's very worth it:

Etrian Odyssey 4, 5, Nexus, Untold 1, and Untold 2
Bravely Second (best game in the series)
Enhanced versions of Radiant Historia, Devil Survivor 1 & 2, SMT: Strange Journey, and Dragon Quest 7 & 8
Persona Q1 & 2
SMT 4 & Apocalypse
Soul Hackers (technically an enhanced version, but it's the first official English release of the game)
backwards compatibility with DS games

and more.

Plus, primitive though it may be compared to the Switch, it's really nice to have a portable system that's actually portable. When I go out and expect to have some free time, it's a lot easier to just stick the 2DS XL in my pocket than lug the Switch around.
 
BaconHat

BaconHat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,392
Been playing a lot of games on mine for the last few months, so I would say yes.
 
BK0X

BK0X

Shinra Employee
Member
Oct 28, 2017
702
Absolutely. There are so many games on the system that may never be released on any other platforms.
 
World B. SkiFree

World B. SkiFree

Member
Nov 2, 2017
1,009
Overall, I personally enjoy the 2DS more than the Switch but I'm not sure I would want to pay current prices for 3DS games/hardware.
 
Derbel McDillet

Derbel McDillet

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Nov 23, 2022
16,487
As the last system of its kind, yes, but you're asking this question at a time where it's gonna be much harder to get stuff and the digital only output is just gone.
 
i-Jest

i-Jest

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,076
User Banned (3 Days): Advocating Piracy
I'd like to say yes, but that depends on what games in the library you're interested in. You can definitely buy physical copies if you're willing to drop the cash, but there are also less than legitimate means to get games too.

That's something you can research yourself if you care to though. If you go that route then you might want to think about getting a JPN N3DS as opposed to a NA N3DS. They were cheaper on average last I checked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.