I immediately disregard any review that marks the console down for lacking a GBA port. That thing is two generations old now, and yet people cling to it like it's still relevant.
It is still relevant when the Hoenn region hasn't been released in a DS game yet, so it's extremely hard to fill up the pokedex in any DS pokemon game.
So an entire extra hardware feature is relevant because of 3 (out of nearly 1,000) games that are helpful but not actually required to complete one pseudo-sidequest in 5 (out of over 1,100) DS titles? In percentages, that's 0.3% of the GBA library vaguely useful to less than 0.4% of the DS library. And you honestly believe the thing's still relevant? Buy a cheap second-hand Lite or Phat if you really need DS-to-GBA connectivity.
My 3DS First Impressions
I got a chance to play the 3DS in Game today. I played Face Raiders, a few AR games, and Super Monkey Ball 3D. I won't try to pretend it wasn't cool, because it was. It was very cool. I found the sweet spot almost immediately and had no trouble staying within it. It didn't make my eyes bleed or anything, and the depth effect was very neat. But it was nowhere near cool enough to want to fork over some notes for it.
I couldn't help but note as I was playing Super Monkey Ball that the much-touted depth perception was making absolutely no difference whatsoever to the way I played Super Monkey Ball. I still fell down the same old holes for the same old reasons as I did back on the Gamecube with none of its fancy 3D jiggery-pokery. I wasn't any more precise, is what I'm saying. In fact, it didn't feel much different at all. Once the novelty of "IN 3D!" has worn off (which didn't last terribly long for me), Super Monkey Ball is still very much Super Monkey Ball. The hardware didn't revolutionize anything, just made it a bit prettier - I'd completely forgotten I was even playing it "IN 3D!" after a few levels with the slide pad. It was just what the system did, a bit like after 5 or so stars the distinction between pressing a button and shaking the Wiimote becomes blurred in Super Mario Galaxy. You forget you're doing it, it's neither exciting nor annoying, it's just 'a thing' you're doing. Any excitement comes from the game itself, not the medium of interaction between you and it.
So I came away feeling like I'd played a console with a 3D effect that looked good but didn't exactly change much. Like a fancy bit of experimental tech you go 'ooh' at during the convention, but wait for it to be put to properly good use before considering actually paying for it. I probably /will/ buy a 3DS at some point in the future, but it will be the software that sells it to me, not the hardware. And right now the software line-up isn't inspiring me. I mean, I love Super Monkey Ball, but as is typical with launch games, it's not packing much. I'll hang on until the inevitable fleshed-out sequel (come on, you know the reason they left out Monkey Target, a game perfectly suited to the 3DS, is so that they can include it in the next one once all the launch party hype has died down and left people wanting more) and skip this one.
In summary, the 3DS is good. Great, even. If you're excited by it, go buy it, you probably won't be disappointed. But if you're not massively excited by it now, then playing the thing probably isn't going to change that. Wait for some better software, or the near-inevitable hardware revision (I know they said a 3DS Lite is unlikely, but I wouldn't bet money on them not making a 3DS XL), and then consider buying it.
I got to play a 3DS in Best Buy today, and I wasn't very impressed with the 3D. I may be one of those people who can't see 3D correctly. I can't give a complete opinion as i only got to play a couple rounds of Pilotwings Resort...
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Topic: 3DS Review Thread
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