Topic: 3DS eShop Recommendations thread

From what little I've played, it's kinda like if Castlevania 2 didn't rely on everything people hated about Castlevania 2.

My top picks would be Gunman Clive, Carps and Dragons, and Dress to Play: Cute Witches

Gunman Clive is a celebration of retro games. It takes a lot of ideas from old games, but in a way that feels like its paying tribute rather than stealing. It also has more replay than most people realize since the speed run goals are never mentioned anywhere in the game or e-manual, so most people never even know about them. You'll know if you've beaten a target time if you have a little star next to your top time. These add a lot more replay, and also make the game a lot more challenging. It's a lot like Mighty Flip Champs where you haven't really played the game until you aim for the top times, since it makes the game entirely different than if you were just playing normally. A very good game, and well worth the 2 dollars. Just be warned if you're expecting NES style difficulty, you won't get that here. Gunman Clive pays tribute to retro games while getting rid of the unnecessary difficulty of those games. It's challenging, but not in a bad way like a majority of NES titles.

Carps and Dragons is a very simplistic top score chaser, where you catch fish in a net. Initially it seems pretty brainless, but as you get to later stages, you'll find that you need to be more accurate than you thought, or else you'll get a game over and have your top score set back to zero if you choose to continue. It also has really charming main characters, (two happy-go-lucky old geezers who just want to catch fish and play the banjo) great audio (both music and sounds) and is very addictive. Just stay away from challenge mode, as its really not that great. Your mileage with the game may be different than mine, but so far I've gotten 8 hours of play time for five dollars according to my activity log.

Dress to Play Cute Witches is a very charming endless runner game, and if you've ever played a DSiWare game called "Gaia's Moon", you'll appreciate Cute Witches. While not particularity difficult or complex, it's a great game to play a few rounds of before bed or while waiting for your food to cook. It can get pretty intense later on too, as it becomes a test to see how long you can keep your run going, which can often be a really long time once you get good at it. While I'm sure most people won't get as much play time out of it as I have, I've logged 10 hours according to my activity log. It's not for everyone, but fans of Kirby won't be turned off by its cuteness, and those looking for something cheap and simple to play will enjoy it.

@CountWavula one thing is not liking a game, but being disrespectful with the developer is a much different story. Gunman Clive was made by a one man studio and personally, I think he did a great job.

@KeeperBvK have you tried SteamWorld Dig?

To me it just felt like Gunman took ideas left and right from old classics, but didn't know what to do with them or why they worked that well the first time around. It's an ok game, but nothing more to me.

@DarkCoolEdge I've downlaoded it (since it strongly reminds me of I Dig It on iOS), but I haven't tried it so far.

Gunman Clive is the best $2 I've every spent in my life.

On the topic of Shantae, I must say I'm very impressed by the animation they were able to pull off in that game - I might be able to take some lessons on small, pixelart animation from Shantae!

The fact is, if it wasn't a mobile game, would you be dissing it so much??? Re. watering down, I personally think that combining aspects from multiple games is good. Also, the story is practically irrelevant, like the Mario games. In my opinion it wasn't robbery, it was homage.
And if you are implying the soundtrack is forgettable...
But that's my opinion.

I always felt the downward thrust from Shovel Knight was more Ducktales-ey, but I'll stop before this thread gets too sidetracked.

Out of curiosity Wave, have you played Fractured Soul?

There are two ways to look at Gunman Clive. As an uncreative rip off game, or a celebration of retro games, which is what it's obviously trying to be. I'll say that having played the games Gunman Clive pays homage too, it's a really charming game that is essentially a road trip through old NES tropes, but without the needlessly high difficulty. Gunman Clive is like the Indiana Jones movies where you can point exactly to what it borrows from, yet it still feels like its own thing.

Gunman Clive has more replay than it initially seems too, since it has the speed run target times that add a whole new layer to how the game is played. It's kind of like how you really haven't played Mighty Flip Champs until you go for the target time S ranks. It changes the game completely.

But anyways, some other eShop games I recommend are...

Bloody Vampire, which is sort of like a much easier version of the exploration Castlevania games (complete with awesome soundtrack by eShop standards)

Bike Rider DX, which is a fun endless runner with a great campaign mode

And I also recommend Nightsky, but the game is pretty unremarkable if you're stuck in the house. Nightsky is best played on a clear night with the stars shining above you, as it suddenly becomes an amazing experience if played in this setting.

@CountWavula Really? I play mine like 4 plus hours a day and no problems. Maybe you need to step back up to the XL! it sounds like you need to relax more when playing. Lay down if you can I do.

I'm looking to get into the 3DS eShop but have NO clue what to get. Fire away, NLife community, what game would you recommend I get first?

the e-shop has a fair bit of content now (DsiWare library is huge) so what type of game are you looking for? also, what level difficulty are you aiming for?

some recommendations, have a look at the video's and reviews on NL

Sakura Samurai - fun little reaction based fight game, love the visual style, worth a look
VVVVV - platform, physics bending goodness... DIFFICULT
Steamworld Dig - engrossing dig-em-up, a joy to explore, all over fairly fast but worth it methinks

also had fun with:
SpeedX, PicrossE, attack of the Friday monsters, Gunman Clive, Mutant Mudds, Pullbox, Crimson Shroud and Mighty Switch Force.

Attack of the friday monsters! a Tokyo tale

@Tobias @Andy Thanks for the recommendations! I'll give them all a look. Yearning for a platformer so I'll keep all of these in mind.

@Chucko: If you're looking for a good platformer, Gunman Clive is a good (cheap) choice! It's not the longest game ever, but it gets pretty hard and it looks nice! it's worth a shot I'd say.

Should I buy doki doki panic? (Super Mario bros. 2 but I cant call it a actual Mario game andvprefer to use its real name)

I think it's pretty awesome. Just got it.

SMB3 or 3D Sonic 1? Both games are coming out soon, because Sonic 1 will release on 12/5 and SMB3 is in front in the Future Releases section on the 3DS eShop. I really want both but I don't know which one to choose! SMB3 is an 8-bit platforming masterpiece but Sonic 1 is great too and I've really been itching to own a 16-bit game on my 3DS. I'll probably eventually get both, but which one should I get first? I only have enough cash left for either of the two. Please reply ASAP!

Based on how you've been moistening your shorts over the prospect of Mario 3 being available on the 3DS VC lately, it's amazing you even have to ask.

I really love both games though.