New Nintendo 3DS - Timeline
Wednesday6th Apr 2016
Review Donkey Kong Country (New 3DS / SNES)
Great Apes
Rare's series of Donkey Kong games mixed impressive visuals with some brilliant platforming action as you ran, jump, swung and swam through a variety of locations defeating those nasty Kremlings, collecting bananas and finding secrets. The Game Boy's three Donkey Kong Land games have previously been re-released via the 3DS Virtual...
Friday1st Apr 2016
News Splatoon to Arrive on 3DS Under the Name "Splatoon Legends"
April Fools'
Update: Yep, as most of you guessed this was our contribution to the tradition of ludicrous and fabricated news stories on the first of April. We made it all up, all of what you see below is complete and utter nonsense as far as we know, we hope you got a laugh out of it! Massive thanks to Andy Carolan (@AndyCarolan) for the Inkle...
Monday28th Mar 2016
News Digital Foundry Breaks Down The Improved Performance of New 3DS
Plus how Hyrule Warriors Legends out-performs Wii U version
Since the New 3DS arrived it's not always been particularly clear to the end user how much of an enhancement it offers. We can count on one hand (ok, maybe two hands at a stretch) how many games have been exclusive or improved on the hardware, and beyond integrated amiibo scanning owners of...
Friday25th Mar 2016
Video Digital Foundry Shows Off the New 3DS Improvements in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
For any doubters out there
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate has been obsessing a core of 3DS fans for over a year now, and with Monster Hunter Generations on the way there's now renewed focus on the series. To demonstrate that point Digital Foundry has revisited the Capcom title to show the improvements in performance when played on a New 3DS. We and many...
Review F-Zero (New 3DS / SNES)
Retro future racing fun.
A launch title for the SNES, F-Zero is a game that showed off the system's Mode 7 visuals, provided great racing action and is now available for New Nintendo 3DS; now you can enjoy the high-speed thrills at home, in the park or in the bathroom. There's a lot of love for the futuristic racing series, but not from Nintendo;...
Guide Which Nintendo 3DS or 2DS System Should I Buy?
There's life in the old dog yet
Though we have a new generation of Nintendo hardware set to be revealed this year, there's life yet in the current generation. With the 3DS family of systems celebrating its fifth year anniversary in the West, it's worth taking the time to consider how much it still has to offer. With the range of portables...
Video See the Contents Spilled of the Hyrule Warriors Legends Limited Edition in our Unboxing
A Linkle between consoles
Hyrule Warriors Legends allows those lacking a Wii U to enjoy the ludicrous combat and unwavering demise of thousands of usually evil creatures, and if you can look past some of the graphical limitations and performance issues when on an original 3DS, it's a ruddy cathartic way to spend a few hours at a time. But if your...
Wednesday23rd Mar 2016
Review Super Mario Kart (New 3DS / SNES)
Classic karting on the small screen
Many Mario Karts later it can be a little disorientating to go back to where it all began. Each cup has five races. Laps are short, but there are five of them. Item boxes are squares laid flat on the ground and put out of use after you've run over them. The CPU characters don't collect items at all, but have a...
Monday21st Mar 2016
Review The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (New 3DS / SNES)
A gem from the past
With A Link Between Worlds, 3D versions of the Nintendo 64 games and a number of other titles available via the Virtual Console and backwards compatibility, 3DS owners are not exactly short of main series Zelda games to play on their machine. For those with one of the New Nintendo 3DS models The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the...
Review Super Metroid (New 3DS / SNES)
Superb Metroid
Nintendo has certainly brought out the big guns for the opening salvo of SNES games on the New Nintendo 3DS, with classic game after classic game arriving on the portable. It won't last and there may even be mediocre spin-offs or complete dross in the future, but for now New 3DS owners should enjoy the brilliance that is Super...
Wednesday16th Mar 2016
Video Nintendo Shows Off amiibo Functionality in Hyrule Warriors Legends
The Master Scan
The original Hyrule Warriors on Wii U made use of amiibo to allow daily scans in exchange for random goodies. That continues in 3DS expansion Hyrule Warriors Legends, but as expected there's extra content to be grabbed compared to the original. Details on these extras have dribbled out in recent weeks, but Nintendo has now produced...
Monday14th Mar 2016
News Futuridium EP Deluxe Approaches Wii U Release, Though the New 3DS Will Need to Wait Longer
April is the target release month
MixedBag is another development studio gearing up for its Nintendo eShop debut, having announced its intentions in early 2014. One of its planned releases is the intriguing forma.8, but first up will be Futuridium EP Deluxe, which is increasingly close to its Wii U arrival. Previously a PS Plus offering on PSN,...
Saturday12th Mar 2016
Review EarthBound (New 3DS / SNES)
This game smells lovely
Well here's a treat for New Nintendo 3DS owners: EarthBound! Back on the SNES, this second instalment of Shigesato Itoi's much-loved Mother series only received a western release in North America (where it sold poorly). Buying a second-hand copy for silly money was most people's only option until the Wii U came to the rescue,...
Thursday10th Mar 2016
Review Super Mario World (New 3DS / SNES)
Same great adventure, smaller screen
As everyone knows, the best use of your latest piece of gaming machinery is to play games from yesteryear. Should a Nintendo Direct mention a 'new old' system is joining the Virtual Console line-up there is much excitement, and so it was when it was revealed that SNES titles were going portable. Though limited to...
News Here's Why SNES VC Games Can Only be Played on a New 3DS
CPU seems to be the main problem
One of the surprise announcements from the last Nintendo Direct was the revelation that SNES games would be playable on the New 3DS, with the famous "available after this presentation" line being delivered. While many fans were no doubt thrilled to see the classic 16-bit console's games being made available...
Monday7th Mar 2016
Editorial Nintendo's Virtual Console Revolution Must Wait as We Pay Once More for SNES Games
This cycle is surely ending...
In one sense Super NES games on the New Nintendo 3DS is rather exciting - it's the first (legitimate) time a lot of these games can be played on a portable device, after all. That's something to celebrate, but the reveal and pending line-up also comes with its own nagging issues and annoyances, some of which could...
Saturday5th Mar 2016
Feature Exciting Wii U and 3DS Games to Play in Spring and Summer 2016
Nintendo upped the ante in its most recent Direct
Following Nintendo's latest Direct broadcasts, a much clearer picture of the upcoming goodies on Wii U and 3DS has emerged. It was pitched as a presentation to show off current-gen games in our near-future, and it delivered on just that. Following on from our equivalent list for the first quarter of...
Friday4th Mar 2016
News We'd Sure Love to See This Japanese Super Famicom New Nintendo 3DS XL in the West
It's Super
If you're yet to get around to watching the Japanese Nintendo Direct, it's worth taking a look. Much of it is either the same as in the West or focusing on titles long established outside of Japan (such as Shovel Knight and Terraria), but it had some unique segments that certainly catch the eye. For one thing a lot more SNES Virtual...
News Konami and Capcom Are Bringing Some SNES Classics to New 3DS
More Nintendo titles on the agenda, too
One of the most pleasing reveals of the most recent Nintendo Direct broadcasts - for retro fans, at least - was confirmation of Super NES titles coming to the New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. Various titles were confirmed for the first few weeks of the service in North America and Europe (see link above for...
Thursday3rd Mar 2016
News SNES Games Finally Arriving on the New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
Launching in waves over the coming weeks
During today's Nintendo Direct, an announcement many have anxiously been awaiting finally surfaced. Super Nintendo games are coming to the New Nintendo 3DS; they're not, however, coming to older models. Over the next few weeks, many of Nintendo's most beloved titles will be rolling out for the system. For...
Sunday28th Feb 2016
Talking Point The New 3DS Can Revive the Portable Family With Help From Pokémon and amiibo
Pokemon amiibo cards could print money
Nintendo knows how to bury bad news. Not long before the Pokémon Direct and the reveal of Pokémon Sun and Moon, it announced cuts to its estimated profits and sales. Net sales could be the lowest in 15 years for the
Wednesday24th Feb 2016
Random New 3DS Owner Replaces the C-Stick With a PSP Stick
The New 3SP?
We're strong advocates for the New Nintendo 3DS here at Nintendo Life, but not all of its enhancements and extras are universally loved. The C-Stick, for one, certainly has its critics - this writer likes it, but its occasional resistance to moving down can be one issue. Some simply don't like it, probably because it reminds them of an...
Wednesday17th Feb 2016
Video Here's What Final Fantasy IX Looks Like On The New Nintendo 3DS
Hack it, and they will come
Whenever a new piece of gaming tech is released one of the first things that many enthusiastic bedroom coders try to do it hack it, and the 3DS family is no exception. Despite Nintendo's attempts to secure the system, exploits are periodically found which allow users to run unsigned code on their machines and perform all...
Sunday14th Feb 2016
Feature Looking Back at the New 3DS Launch, Nintendo's Perfect Valentine's Day Gift
Have you bought the updated portable?
As another Valentine's Day draws to a close, with sales of cards, flowers and chocolates having hit a peak, we thought it was worth acknowledging one of many Nintendo Anniversaries for this year. It's a young one, not the multiple decades that will be the focus of other franchise landmarks, but it's notable...
Friday12th Feb 2016
Reminder US Pokémon Fans Can Still Pre-Order the New Nintendo 3DS Gen 1 Bundle
Huh, it didn't sell out in 15 minutes
When Nintendo and The Pokémon Company unveiled a whole load of 20th Anniversary plans earlier in the year, one of the announcements was for a New Nintendo 3DS bundle (pictured above) in the US. It includes both Pokémon Red and Blue pre-installed on a white version of the smaller model, with cover plates for...
Tuesday9th Feb 2016
News 3DS to Continue as a 'Major Pillar' of Nintendo's Business
Still targeting popular releases on Wii U, too
The present-day Nintendo landscape isn't particularly positive, even though we may wish it otherwise, as continually modest sales levels for Wii U are joined by dropping momentum for the 3DS. So much focus is on the future in mobile and the next generation of hardware, it's easy to forget that this...
Wednesday3rd Feb 2016
News Nintendo Outlines Future Plans for 3DS and Promises That "Several Strong Titles" are Planned
Also aims to grow 'Kids and Female demographics'
When we looked over Nintendo's most recent financial results one set of statistics stood out among the relatively uneventful reports - the 3DS and New 3DS are struggling. That's only reinforced in the official translation of company President Tatsumi Kimishima's Presentation, which includes slides...
Tuesday2nd Feb 2016
Talking Point The New Nintendo 3DS is Yet to Have a Real Chance to Revive the Portable Family
A sloppy release strategy and underperforming games have undermined it
The New Nintendo 3DS is approaching its one year anniversary, yet today's financial results and official sales figures brought home a cold reality - the system is struggling. That, frankly, shouldn't be particularly surprising, and we'll take a look at the figures behind that...
Friday29th Jan 2016
News Unity Support on New Nintendo 3DS is Now Available to Developers
Ports ahoy!
In 2015 the happy news was confirmed that support for the Unity middleware development platform was coming to New 3DS; that was pleasing news in consideration of the large number of Unity-developed titles on the Wii U eShop. It's a very common tool for smaller developers, in particular, so supporting it - and offering free licenses, as...
Thursday21st Jan 2016
News European Zelda Fans Are Getting A Shiny "Hyrule Edition" New 3DS XL Console In March
My precious
Should you be unsure about investing in Nintendo's latest 3DS hardware then you might find the decision is made for you once you clap eyes on this newly-announced Hyrule Edition New 3DS XL, launching in March alongside Hyrule Warriors Legends. The unit - which puzzlingly doesn't include a copy of the game - will launch in Europe on...