Reviews

3DS Game Reviews

  • Review Fragrant Story - A Goofy, Final Fantasy Tactics-Style Indie Swansong For 3DS

    Needs a little more watering

    Since this review was originally published, the free Papaya's Path DLC update — which remains downloadable from the 3DS eShop if you own the game — was made available on December 11th, 2023. This free expansion is significantly longer than the base game and adds a large amount of content, including new story...

  • Review Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth - The Last Picture Show

    You'll find me in the matinée, the dark of the matinée...

    Atlus has been one of the strongest supporters of Nintendo’s 3DS handheld over the years, keeping RPG fans busy with a total of seventeen stellar RPGs from the company. These releases have been coming at a consistent and reliable pace since the 3DS’ first year, so it's only fitting that...

  • Review Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn - A Timeless Classic That Feels Right At Home On 3DS

    A quality port cut from the same cloth as the original

    Much like its infinitely versatile mascot, the Kirby series has always been comfortable in taking many forms; Kirby has starred in several roles that diverge significantly from the copy-ability platforming of the mainline series. Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn – an enhanced re-release of the...

  • Review Etrian Odyssey Nexus - A Stellar Send-Off For A Beloved RPG Series

    And for the 3DS itself?

    Long before games existed as we know them now, ‘video games’ consisted of text-based adventures that demanded just as much imagination from the players as they did input. Dungeon crawlers were a popular genre at the time, one in which you guided a protagonist room by room through sprawling, confusing castles guided only...

  • Review Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey - A Worthy Remaster Of An RPG Classic

    Tummy trouble

    When the Switch came out nearly two years ago, few would've expected that Nintendo would still be supporting the ageing 3DS with new first-party software as far as 2019, yet here we are. Picking up the ball that the Paper Mario series has long since dropped, the Mario & Luigi series of RPGs has been a celebrated mainstay of...

  • Review Yo-Kai Watch 3 - The Perfect Swansong For The Series On Nintendo 3DS

    A charming addition to the tribe

    While it’s never quite reached the levels of superstardom enjoyed by Pokémon and other Japanese-centric monster-collecting RPGs (well, not consistently anyway), the Yo-Kai Watch series has remained one of the best handheld franchises to ever grace the seemingly immortal Nintendo 3DS. Of course, we western fans...

  • Review Luigi's Mansion - Experience The GameCube Classic The Way It Was Meant To Be Played

    3D support only took 17 years!

    In the most recent Nintendo Direct, the Big N shocked plenty of fans by announcing a third entry in the Luigi’s Mansion series; while the franchise enjoys a loyal fan base, it was nevertheless a very pleasant surprise. Alongside Luigi’s Mansion 3, a port of the original title to 3DS was announced as well - the...

  • Review Yo-Kai Watch Blasters - A Spin-Off Done Right, Even If We've Had To Wait A While

    Blasting makes us feel good

    When it comes to most of the best games coming out of Japan, we dedicated Western fans are often left waiting years to finally getting our hands on them. Three years, in fact, when it comes to this particular (and very popular) Yo-Kai Watch spin-off. And considering the series’ third full entry entirely avoided a...

  • Review WarioWare Gold (3DS)

    The golden touch

    After five years, a new WarioWare is finally upon us. Well, mostly new, anyway. Warioware Gold is a mashup of some of the best microgames the series has had to offer, along with a few new ones. Most 'best of' collections include a creator's hits; those tracks you can't help but play over and over, despite knowing every single...

  • Review Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (3DS)

    So, you CAN teach an old dog U tricks

    The Switch version of Captain Toad is a no-brainer. Given that Nintendo’s latest home console (of sorts) is massively more popular than the Wii U was, it’s only logical that Captain Toad would be the latest in a long line of ports aimed at giving some of the Wii U’s brilliant library a second chance at...

  • Review Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (3DS)

    A Place Further Than the Universe

    By now, ATLUS’ long-running Shin Megami Tensei series should be a familiar name for 3DS owners; from the Sega Saturn-remake of Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers to Shin Megami Tensei IV and its direct sequel Apocalypse, these darkly stylish, demon-collecting JRPGs have...

  • Review Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers (3DS)

    They see me rollin’

    It’s been quite a while since we last saw Nintendo’s cool, silent, tough-guy armadillo bounding around the Wild West, but the titular mammal has now made his return to the 3DS in Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers, bringing some fancy new tricks along for the ride. His original game Dillon’s Rolling Western was an interesting...

  • Review The Alliance Alive (3DS)

    Alive and well

    In 2015, Atlus published The Legend of Legacy, a 3DS JRPG produced by a dream team of veteran developers with credits on classics like SaGa, Final Fantasy, and Chrono Trigger. The game was met with mostly positive reviews, but at the time, another game was in development from the same team. This game came to be The Alliance Alive,...

  • Review Detective Pikachu (3DS)

    A bolt of brilliance

    We’re now just over a year into the Switch’s life and, despite knowing that the core Pokémon franchise will make the leap from 3DS to the new hybrid console at some point in the future, we know absolutely nothing about how the series might evolve with the huge system differences. Keeping the Poké-dream alive on the...

  • Review Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (3DS)

    You can go home again

    The 3DS may be getting on these days, but it’s certainly got plenty to show for its half-dozen years on the scene, including an astoundingly impressive collection of RPGs. ATLUS has been a prolific contributor to this corner of its library, and alongside original titles such as Shin Megami Tensei IV, Persona Q, and Stella...

  • Review River City: Rival Showdown (3DS)

    Come get some!

    Following on from last year’s River City: Tokyo Rumble, Natsume is taking the rough ‘n’ tumble Kunio-Kun out for another spin in a follow up action game. River City: Rival Showdown largely follows the same beats as its predecessor, but refines many of its ideas down into a tighter and more enjoyable experience. Though it still...

  • Review Nintendo Presents: New Style Boutique 3 - Styling Star (3DS)

    We're so style savvy

    Paris. London. Milan. Kyoto? That’s right; while fashion industry hotshots and hopefuls tuned in to expos and trade shows in the Big Three, for many others, 2017’s haute couture highlight was delivered in a Nintendo Direct from the heart of Kansai: the announcement of New Style Boutique 3: Styling Star. Syn Sophia’s Style...

  • Review Mario Party: The Top 100 (3DS)

    Relive the friendship ending memories

    Just because a game has a great concept, doesn’t mean the end product will be the same. Mario Party: The Top 100 is an incredible idea on paper. With over a dozen titles released and a combined total of over eight hundred minigames, this series has been long overdue for some kind of compilation; it’s...

  • Review Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)

    Ultra fantastic

    Just like games such as Pokémon Emerald was to Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, or Pokémon Crystal was to Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are intended to be the definitive ve

  • Review Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth (3DS)

    Off the charts

    ATLUS has been one of the 3DS’ biggest supporters, supplying Nintendo’s stereoscopic system with an impressive stream of JRPG gems over the last 6 years — including several excellent entries in the Etrian Odyssey series. Starting out on the DS and combining first-person dungeon crawling and touchscreen map-making, these...

  • Review Kirby Battle Royale (3DS)

    With added cheese

    When Nintendo confirmed a 'multiplayer-focused' Kirby title plenty speculated over the approach it would take, but Kirby Battle Royale ultimately delivers a rather predictable spin-off release. What we have, once you get past an initial introduction that suggests a different style entirely, is a minigame collection, one...

  • Review Culdcept Revolt (3DS)

    Fully decked out

    Twenty years ago a bizarre amalgamation of card game, board game, and video game first released on the Sega Saturn, and made waves with its strategic depth, addictive gameplay and unique concept. Subsequent titles have shuffled the formula since, but that core blend of number-crunching, dice-rolling and card collecting remained,...

  • Review Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy (3DS)

    A pleasing puzzle solution

    The Professor Layton series was an endearing part of the DS and 3DS generation, spawning six main-series titles and a spin-off with Ace Attorney. After that point Level-5 called it a day on the puzzle solving gentleman, no doubt concerned about the IP losing its freshness and a general decline in sales. It was a sad...

  • Review Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions (3DS)

    A classic for the ages

    Nintendo's portable gaming has a special place in the industry, a challenge the company will need to tackle in the years to come should it stick with a single 'hybrid' device in the form of the Switch. Nintendo's dedicated handhelds have consistently had games unique to that on-the-go space, with the Mario & Luigi series...

  • Review Yo-kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters (3DS)

    The Boos are Back in Town

    Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch drew plenty of comparisons to Pokémon when it first came West, thanks to its monster-gathering mechanics and playground appeal, but it really started to resemble Nintendo’s Pocket Monster powerhouse with the split release of its 2016 sequel: Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy...

  • Review Monster Hunter Stories (3DS)

    Pocket Monsters

    Capcom’s Monster Hunter series has become something of a runaway success since its 2004 debut on the PlayStation 2, reaching millions of players on various platforms, and spawning an explosion of similar games in the ‘Hunter’ mold. Action RPGs with a focus on multiplayer teamwork and lengthy battles against massive monsters,...

  • Review Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)

    Welcome back

    You know, there’s a reason why they call it 'Metroidvania' and not 'Castletroid'. As much as the Castlevania series took the whole ‘interconnected 2D map’ ball and ran with it over the past decade while Metroid fans had to do without, it’s Nintendo’s series that first defined the rules and, when handled properly, did it best...

  • Review Miitopia (3DS)

    RPMii Maker

    Nintendo’s endlessly endearing Mii characters have been one of the most enduring creations of the Wii era; from their earliest days as Wii Sports athletes and player avatars, they’ve gone on to star in StreetPass and Nintendo Land, soar through the air in Pilotwings Resort, race in Mario Kart 8, and even battle it out in Sup

  • Review Hey! Pikmin (3DS)

    Throwing the game

    Pikmin, as a franchise, is arguably a mid-tier IP for Nintendo - perhaps not in terms of quality, but it is nevertheless refused the same priority and release frequency as other highly successful and profitable Nintendo brands. The Wii / DS generation passed with nothing but re-releases, before Pikmin 3 gave us a timely...

  • Review RPG Maker Fes (3DS)

    Unlimited Adventure

    If any modern system can lay claim to the JRPG throne, it’s the 3DS. In the six-or-so years since Nintendo’s little handheld hit the market, aficionados have been treated to all sorts of adventures new and old, from Dragon Quests and Bravely games to Shin Megami Tenseis galore. That sort of library encourages serious RPG...