Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

When it comes to Nintendo handhelds, it's standard for the first iteration to get the job done just sufficiently to sell the idea, but by the end of the system's lifecycle there are several upgrades available that, by comparison, make the original feel like a dev unit or pre-release prototype.

We love the original DMG-01 Game Boy, for instance, but there's no denying that the GB Pocket was sleeker and more practical, and the GBC brought back curves while adding colour. The original DS has its fans, but anybody who claims to prefer the ‘Phat’ to the Lite or the DSi is surely trying a little too hard, no? Again, we love the original and the era it represents, but as a console to play for hundreds of hours? The DSi XL is a much better machine.

Sometimes Nintendo takes things too far, though, (*cough Game Boy Micro) and we'd argue that the finest 3DS is not the final iteration — the New 2DS XL — but the New Nintendo 3DS (the smaller one with the faceplates), which launched in Japan a decade ago on 11th October 2014.

The release of this upgrade was staggered across regions, with Australia catching a lucky break for once and getting it in November, while Europe and North America had to wait until February, with one big caveat. While other territories got both the regular and XL-sized 'New' variants, North Americans would have to wait until September 2015 to get their hands on the smaller version (without resorting to importing), and even then it was only available in bundles.

Reggie Fils-Aimé and the US team decided that muddying the waters with two new entrants in the ever-growing 3DS family was potentially confusing, so while it did eventually get a limited release, many North Americans who might have been tempted by the smaller model — with its unreasonably attractive, Super Famicom-inspired buttons — had probably already picked up the XL already.

Hey, perhaps that colourful A-B-X-Y configuration wouldn't have held much sway in the US compared to us Europeans, who had those hues adorn our own SNES pads. We'll concede that, from a sales perspective, NOA probably made the right call in not widely releasing the smaller system in that territory. But it does mean that millions of Nintendo fans missed out on the best 3DS.

Why is it better than the XL? The answer's threefold - and none of those folds is 'increased portability.'

Firstly, faceplates. They're just cool. Damon Baker said as much when we asked him about them, and the ability to switch up the look of your console to match your mood was a major plus.

Sure, it doesn't affect the gameplay experience, but who can resist a switch in style once in a while, whether you're slapping new sides on your PS5 or eyeing that Echoes of Wisdom-themed Switch Lite that you absolutely don't need? Splatoon might not have come to 3DS in any form, but that didn't stop you rocking a squid-themed cover plate. Fresh.

New 3DS Face Plates
A speculative €10 eBay bid means this writer has 19 of the stripy pink and white plates stashed in the basement — Image: Nintendo

Fold #2: The buttons. As Europeans, we're obviously biased — and we'll admit to wishing Nintendo had combined the concaveness of the NA Super NES buttons with the SFC colour scheme for the best of both worlds — but it's hard to deny what a fetching set those face buttons make.

Lastly, being more pocket-sized isn't the main benefit of its reduced dimensions; rather, it's the increased pixel density of the screen that makes images that little bit crisper. It's larger than the original 3DS but still petite enough to keep those 400x240 pixels looking nice and sharp.

The regular N3DS offered nearly 40 more pixels per inch than the XL (132.15ppi versus 95.59ppi, according to Wikipedia), and especially when you fired up the underrated autostereoscopic 3D, the crisper detail is noticeable, especially with the eye-tracking software included in the 'New' system which all but did away with having to find and maintain The Sweet Spot.

10 years on, if we had to choose between the entire 3DS/2DS family, it's this console that strikes the perfect Goldilocks balance; it's just right.

Granted, 'the bigger, the better' is a valid argument for many gamers with larger hands prone to cramps or with eyesight issues. The combination of a larger screen with more 'controller' real estate to spread your fingers across does make the XL an attractive option (the gorgeous Super NES version, in particular, if you can still find it).

Luigi's Mansion New Nintendo 3DS
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life

However, for the youthful, vital gamers out there for whom arthritic pangs and reading glasses are a concern for the distant future, it's the New Nintendo 3DS — no bloody 'XL' or 'LL' — that represents the pinnacle of dual-screened, autostereoscopic gaming.

Many happy returns, my old face-plated friend.

Which is your favourite 3DS variant?

Feel free to share your birthday wishes and thoughts about the New Nintendo 3DS — standard or XL — below.