Nintendo 3DS Retrospective– The Greatest Handheld Ever (Angela’s Picks)

By the time of this writing, Nintendo will have shuttered the 3DS and Wii U’s eShops. A retrospective for the 3DS is the perfect way to commiserate the closing of an important digital storefront. Drew, Geoff, and I wrote our retrospectives for the Wii U back in 2019. Sure, the Wii U’s eShop was in no danger of closing in 2019, but the system was dead in the water. The 3DS was so much more successful all around, and it still seems too soon to say goodbye to one of the greatest handhelds.

Geoff wrote a fantastic five-year retrospective for the 3DS in 2016. So, if you want to read about how the system was a successor to one of the most popular handhelds of all time, and how it stumbled out of the gate, be sure to check his article out. A lot has changed in the gaming landscape since Geoff penned that article almost seven years ago. The Switch arrived on the scene which serves as both a successor to the Wii U and the 3DS. While the Wii U bit the dust early, the 3DS chugged along with major releases up until 2019. In 2020 prices for out-of-print games began rise. Thankfully, the eShop was a reliable alternative to physical games.

For me, the 3DS’s writing was on the wall when Nintendo announced in 2020 production was coming to an end. At that point, I figured I should grab every physical game I wanted in my collection. My decision turned out to be a good call as some games have dramatically increased in price. Others have remained incredibly cheap. That said numerous digital-only copies of great games will disappear with the eShop’s closure. Proving time and again, Nintendo does not care about preserving games in the long run. My “In Piracy We Trust” article will forever remain relevant.

 

Two days before the eShop’s closure, I went through my physical and digital game collection to update all of my titles and to purchase some DLC. I found about 10 out of 40 games that needed updating. I discovered one absolutely broken game– more on that later. I made it through all of my games with more than a day to spare before the closure, but the process was mind-numbing. I almost envy Drew for his conviction.

Enough about the eShop, let’s talk about some of my favorite games on the system.

 

Fire Emblem: Awakening | Developer: Intelligent Systems | Publisher: Nintendo | Release: 2013

When the 3DS released in 2011, I thought it was great looking system, but the high price point and lack of exclusives were a turn off. When I got my own 3DS in late 2012 the first game to hold me over was Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, a DS game. The game released in 2009, and was not a particularly good remake of the original NES title. I was thirsty for Fire Emblem and slogged on. It had been a five-year drought between Shadow Dragon and the first Fire Emblem game to hit 3DS, Fire Emblem: Awakening. When Awakening was announced, it was a day-one purchase. Compared to Shadow Dragon and even Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, it was nice to see some important changes to the FE formula. Sure, the game was easier than its predecessors, but it was fun to play.

The large cast of characters had their charm, the game direction was bright and colorful, and the game was more forgiving. The ramped up support system that saw characters paired off once they reached S rank support was welcome. The unit combinations seemed endless. The varied units were great, though nothing quite reached the highs of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. Maps were a breezy affair, not too short or too long. In addition to great gameplay, the story was enjoyable from start to finish. I’d argue Robin was a self-insert character and kicked off a trend, but Chrom and Lucina more than made up for the self-insert. This is a minor nitpick for a fantastic game.

Fire Emblem: Awakening pulled the series back from the brink of death.

 

Shin Megami Tensei IV | Developer: Atlus | Publisher: Atlus | Release: 2013

2013 was a hell of a year for game releases. Having finished the excellent Fire Emblem: Awakening, I had Shin Megami Tensei IV to look forward to, and I was not disappointed. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey served as my gateway into mainline Megaten and I wanted more.

The collector’s edition of Shin Megami Tensei IV was a day one purchase for me.

As much as I missed Kazuma Kaneko’s signature character designs, the game still looked incredible. I loved the bold anime style cutscenes and full voice acting that the 3DS could provide. Dungeons were a bit linear at times, but the gameplay was solid as the “Press Turn” system returned, in addition to the “Smirk” ability. The demons were nicely rendered, and I loved the third person dungeon exploration. This style of exploration brought the game closer to Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne.

On top of amazing gameplay, the story and characters were well-developed. I loved the reveal of Tokyo after running around in the Kingdom of Mikado for a few hours. Tokyo felt like a rough place to survive, and I could sympathize with the hunters and their plight. The main characters joining the protagonist (aka Flynn) were good representations of their alignments. When the endgame loomed large, and it came time to choose a side, no one felt out of character as their journeys were natural.

My only complaints with Shin Megami Tensei IV were the God-awful lack of an in-game map, and locking in the alignment you wanted. It was actually possible to be too neutral in this game to receive a neutral alignment, and the nihilistic ending was way too damned cynical.

Despite my getting this game in 2013, I didn’t actually finish it until around 2018. Guess what game was in my first 3DS when it was stolen from me in early 2014? Worse yet, I was in the endgame. Despite buying a replacement digital copy, it took years for me to return. I’m ultimately glad I did because SMTIV is easily one of the best games on the 3DS.

 

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies | Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Capcom| Release: 2013

After the end of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Trials and Tribulations the series would not see Phoenix staring in his own game for a number of years. Yes, we received Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (an underrated gem), Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, and Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, but we wouldn’t see Phoenix in a proper staring role until Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies. To let that sink in, the release period in North America from Trials and Tribulations to Dual Destinies was five years. That’s a long time for everyone’s favorite spiky-haired attorney-at-law to remain seated in the gallery.

Dual Destinies was an excellent return to form after Apollo Justice, while acknowledging Apollo still had a role to play in the series. We had the pleasure of playing as not one, but three different defense lawyers, a move not seen since T&T. While I missed Phoenix’s personality from AJ, his devious personality from that game probably wouldn’t have worked as a defense attorney. Getting to play as Apollo again felt great, but the new star of the series was Athena Cykes. Her Mood Matrix ability was an interesting twist on the cross-examination formula. On the prosecution side, Simon Blackquill pulled double duty by serving a murder sentence, and performing prosecutor duties to reduce his sentence time. I feel like this should be an obvious conflict of interest, but weirder things have happened, and this prosecutor is fairly straightforward.

The story was engaging from start to finish and everything is wrapped up quite neatly. There is a DLC case, but it is entirely optional and has nothing to do with the main game. It was a silly, but fun case.

Sadly, Dual Destinies was never given a physical release, and it was only ported to iOS and Android. As of this writing, the game is no longer supported in newer versions of Android or iOS. With the closure of the eShop the fifth mainline Ace Attorney game will be lost to time unless Capcom ports it elsewhere. This also true for the sixth game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Spirit of Justice. Capcom has taken the time to port the first three games to newer systems. Surely they can do the same for the rest of the mainline series.

 

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth | Developer: P-Studio | Publisher: Atlus | Release: 2014

As late as 2014, Persona 4 was a hot commodity. Previously we had the base PS2 game, the 2011 anime adaptation, the 2012 Vita port, Persona 4 Arena in 2012, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in 2013, and Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth in 2014. (2015 would see Persona 4: Dancing All Night.) Unlike the ports and spin-offs, PQ returned the series to its turn-based roots. That said, the series would take on a decidedly different twist. A dungeon crawler in the style of the Etrian Odyssey series.

Better yet, like the Arena games, Persona Q featured the casts from both Persona 3 and 4. Players had the option of starting the story from the perspective of either cast, though both stories quickly merged. Additionally, the game saw two new characters in the form of Rei and Zen, who are both afflicted with memory loss. The plot takes place in a strange alternative world in P4’s Yasogami High School during a school festival. Dungeons are all school themed, and like Etrian Odyssey, they’re explored in a first person view. Dungeons contain a variety of traps and powerful enemies known as FOES. The bottom 3DS screen can helpfully be used like graph paper to manually map out dungeons.

The battles are a solid cross between Persona and EO. As well as their main personas, characters can also use a wild variety of sub personas, which grant them new active and passive skills. Having characters besides the main protagonists equip other personas hasn’t been a feature since the PS1 Persona games. In short, Persona Q is one of the best Persona 4 spin-off games in the series.

Unfortunately, early physical editions of the game were not built for longevity. A lot of first run cartridges suffer from a strange issue where the game either crashes near the end, or the cartridge itself won’t load. It wasn’t an immediate problem, but the older cartridges degraded a few years after being printed. I discovered my game no longer worked during my last minute update– previously I thought it had been a one-off glitch. My husband also pre-ordered the game at launch and his copy still works. To be on the safe side, I did purchase a digital copy. Sadly, dozens of hours I had in the game are now gone. Persona Q is one game I’d actually avoid making a physical purchase of because of the numerous issues.

 

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse | Developer: Atlus | Publisher: Atlus | Release: 2016

The downside of taking an extra few years to return to Shin Megami Tensei IV, is that I missed out on buying a physical copy of Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse when it was new and relatively affordable. When I was ready to play the game in 2020, I had to opt for a digital copy. I’d heard that the game fixed everything wrong with SMT IV, and that excited me. When I actually started, I had no idea how much I would enjoy myself.

Not only did it feel great to be back in the world of SMT IV, it was refreshing to play from a hunter’s point of view. I had feared the game would be a weird retcon of its predecessor, but it fit nicely into the role of side-story and soft prequel to SMTIV’s neutral route. Yes, many of the assets from the original game were reused, but there were numerous new locations to explore. And the map along with goal markers made navigation easy. The new characters were a lot of fun, and returning characters such as Nozomi and Navarre were actually useful in this game. Better yet, when the side characters assisted you in battle, they actually helped instead of being a hindrance.

SMTIV:A expanded upon the wonderful story its predecessor started, and actually gave the new characters some development. Almost every line in the game had voice acting and the voice direction was outstanding. In fact, I enjoyed Apocalypse so much that Shin Megami Tensei V’s characters and story were a step back in comparison. A lot of long-time Megaten fans complain the game feels more like Persona than a true mainline title, but that’s a matter of personal taste– especially when the power of friendship is optional.

In short, this game has plenty of upsides and very few downsides. The Shin Megami Tensei IV duology is simply excellent.

 

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux | Developer: Atlus | Publisher: Atlus | Release: 2018

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is simply my favorite Megaten in the entire franchise– or at least among the games in the franchise I’ve had the pleasure of playing. SJ even beats out the Persona games. (Having a cast exclusively made up of relatable adults helps a lot.) When I played the game in 2010, I had no idea what to expect. All in all, it was an amazing experience from start to finish even if some dungeons were maddening.

When Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux was announced on the 3DS I was ready. I loved the inclusion of voice acting (though not having an English dub was a huge miss), anime cutscenes, and reworked character art. The addition of new skills made the game slightly easier in some aspects, though the downside was a tougher new final boss.

That said, I didn’t enjoy all the new changes. I didn’t like the inclusion of Alex, a new character who served as a plot device to goad players into choosing the new alignment endings. The new endings felt too safe as consequences had been removed entirely. In fact, the only new ending I liked was the new law route especially compared to its original counterpart. Still, the dire warnings and hard choices were just gone, lessening the overall impact of Strange Journey’s original message. The new message is very much “Don’t worry about your bad choices, someone will come to save you from the terrible consequences of your own actions!”

Thankfully, the new endings in Strange Journey Redux can be completely rejected, while enjoying the new features. This might be the best way to play the game if you enjoyed the original DS game’s message. If you’re new to SJ, feel free to play however you want– this game still gets my stamp of approval.

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

Nintendo StreetPass | Developer: Nintendo | Publisher: Nintendo| Release: 2011

StreetPass is easily one of the features I’m going to miss the most about the 3DS even though it should still work without the eShop. For some the feature was meaningless, as they either didn’t live near enough people to make regular use of StreetPass, or they didn’t travel much. Mercifully, there were workarounds such as turning your home’s Wi-Fi router into a StreetPass relay. For me, I found myself getting plenty of StreetPass action by living in a city sporting a population of over 1.5 million people. The chances of getting StreetPassed were pretty good. I received passes in my own neighborhood, while taking my 3DS to work, and while visiting friends who also had a 3DS. Of course, the overwhelming majority of my StreetPass action came from traveling to anime conventions.

Otakon, Katsucon, and Anime Boston were excellent sources of meeting new people via this 3DS app. In fact, one of the most amusing weekends came from Katsucon and being near people who also had StreetPass enabled. I exchanged messages via Mii Plaza the entire weekend. During the last year of Otakon in Baltimore, I spent a good chunk of that Sunday afternoon just collecting Miis for the Plaza. StreetPass was also great for games such as Mii Force, Warrior’s Way, and Puzzle Swap. That said, I didn’t get far along in these games, except for Puzzle Swap. I found Mii Plaza way more enjoyable for just seeing the parts of the world people came from, and what games they were currently playing. On a quick note, Miitopia was utterly unplayable for me. The game ran too slowly on my system.

StreetPass features were included in some 3DS games. I dabbled in a few games using it. I once sent out my Fire Emblem: Awakening team to a friend, who exclaimed they were way too overpowered to even consider fighting. I also got some use from these features in Shin Megami Tensei IV (the automatically fused demons were interesting), and Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest. Even though I didn’t get a lot of in-game StreetPass use, I wouldn’t mind if this feature returned to the Switch or whatever the successor to the Switch ultimately ends up being. That said, I fear my hopes are little more than a pipe dream.

 

Bravely Default | Developer: Silicon Studio, Square Enix | Publisher: Nintendo | Release: 2012

I’m not going to lie, I fell off the Bravely Default train much sooner than I should have. I put about 20 hours into the game before being distracted by another game. What I loved about Bravely Default was how it represented a return to classic Final Fantasy without actually being a Final Fantasy game. I also loved the new features such as the “Brave” and “Default” commands which shook things up nicely in battle. This is a game I intend to return to some day. Though I hear Bravely Second: End Layer might be a better choice in terms of pacing, and Bravely Default II is also an option on the Switch.

 

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest | Developer: Intelligent Systems | Publisher: Nintendo| Release: 2015

After enjoying Fire Emblem: Awakening, I was delighted to learn we’d be receiving Fire Emblem Fates. What I didn’t expect was how Intelligent Systems would pull a Pokémon style move with the new title. Instead of one game, they actually developed three– Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest, and Fire Emblem Fates: Revelations. Birthright and Conquest contain different routes with different characters, and Revelations combines both routes. So to experience the full story, players would have to buy all three games. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo released an extremely limited edition containing all three games which sold out instantly. The next hope was to buy each game, but Revelations remained a digital-only title.

I didn’t care much for the characters or the aesthetic of Birthright, so I went with Conquest. Plus with Conquest the main character and their family were technically a part of the antagonists’ storyline which was a nice departure from the norm. I enjoyed my time with Conquest, but it turned out to be WAY harder than Birthright. So much in fact, that I never finished the game. I’m still sitting at the final battle, unable to finish because it is a multipart, multimap slug with zero opportunity to save between matches, and I can’t afford to lose characters in battle.

Part of this difficulty dampened my enthusiasm for Fire Emblem for years. I never got into Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (despite snagging the special edition), and I was slow to get into Fire Emblem: Three Houses (though I would go on to beat that game). The fact that I haven’t finished Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest just bothers me. Perhaps I’d be better off starting the game over and choosing Revelations as my path seeing how I did grab that game before the eShop closed.

Fire Emblem Fates is good, but I’m glad Intelligent Systems dialed back on the formula of forcing players to buy multiple games just to complete a single story.

 

Monster Hunter Stories | Developer: Capcom, Marvelous | Publisher: Nintendo| Release: 2017

It was probably Geoff’s impressions of the Monster Hunter Stories demo that put this game back on my radar in 2020. When Monster Hunter Stories was first announced in 2015, I had convinced myself that Monster Hunter was not for me. The series was too hard, too tedious, and I simply didn’t have the patience to “git gud.” If I had pulled my head out of my ass, I probably would have realized sooner that Stories was actually a turn-based RPG a la Pokémon. Also, it turned out Monster Hunter World was a fantastic introduction to the Monster Hunter series for me. Ironically, it was the action RPG that paved the way for Stories.

I managed to buy a physical copy of the game before the release of Monster Hunter Stories 2, in 2021. I didn’t actually start playing the game until 2022, as something to compliment my Switch playthrough of Monster Hunter Rise. It’s probably for the best that I played Stories well after World and Iceborne, because seeing how the game translates into a turn-based RPG has filled me with awe.

I love the game’s art style and the concept of using Monsties (monsters hatched from eggs and raised by Riders) to fight Monsters. The battles translate well into turn-based affairs and I love the rock-paper-sisscors style of combat. Basically, speed attacks beat power attacks, power attacks beat technical attacks, and technical attacks beat speed attacks. In addition to those basic style of attacks, both the rider and their Monstie have specialized attacks. Monsties obtain them by leveling up, and the rider gets them via weapons and skill books.

My only lament is that more weapon types aren’t available in the game, or at least where I’m currently at. Both World/Iceborne and Rise offer 14 different weapon types, while Stories just has four. I’d love to have a bow or a bowgun as an option in addition to swords and hammers. The variety of monsters to fight and collect are nice, and it’s great to see types from older games in the series represented in Stories.

At 30 hours in, I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface of the game, despite feeling like I’m about halfway through the story. I have more thoughts on the game, but I’d like to save them for a future Quarantine Control. But if you’ve found yourself intrigued by Monster Hunter, but would prefer the slower pace of a turn-based title, this game is perfect. I deem it a fun mix of Monster Hunter, Pokémon, and a dash of Shin Megami Tensei (in terms of Monstie management).

 

I cannot state how amazing of a system the 3DS is. At 12 years old, it is still a system that has plenty to offer. It carried all the momentum of the DS and its robust library and immeasurably improved on that. It simply is one of the greatest handheld systems ever to be created, and it still feels like Nintendo shutdown the eShop way too soon. Countless numbers of digital games will be lost to time unless they’re ported elsewhere. Even as I say goodbye to a system, it still has plenty of life left. The numerous tributes to the 3DS pouring out this week are a reminder of that. The 3DS is a system that will stand the test of time and will be remembered decades from now, much like we hold the Game Boy handhelds in high regard.