Topic: Testify as to how and why the 3DS is your all-time favorite platform.

Not too long ago a user named @Magician made a thread discussing why the Switch is his all time platform.
I thought it would be fun to make a 3DS version of that thread. It would also be funny too if it sparked other console variants.

But anyway I'll start with my reasons:

• The Library of Games
  The 3ds still manages to have one of the best libraries out of any game console period with the switch still having yet to surpass it, let along reach it. Having a treasure trove of quality and exclusive games of almost every genre, especially RPGs which are my preferred one.
  And thats with its exclusive games alone, add in its vc console and backwards compatibility with ds and you have access to Ds, NES, SNES, GB, and GBA games all on one console. And if you were to add homebrewing/modding you can even play PS1, NEOGEO and more consoles! Another thing if you homebrew your 3ds is that you have access to games you wouldn't be able to play otherwise - for example, Dragon Quest Monster Joker 3 along with a bunch of other DQ spinoffs are exclusive to Japan and have no english options even if you were to import it. But thanks for the fans and the power of emulation I own DQMJ3 and other spinoffs I wouldn't be able to play otherwise. Another cool thing is that I downloaded a patched version of DQ8 that uncensored everything in the base version and brought back the orchestral soundtrack as opposed to the Synth version.

SMT V, MHRise, Xenoblade1+2, DQ11 etc. are all bangers to me but 3ds has those series in its library and more.
(DQ 4-9 + 11, xenoblade 3D (though i'll admit the switch version is the definitive one), MH4U,3U +gen, SMT 4, devil survivor etc.)

• Portability
  Along with its amazing library I just love the neatness and portability factor of it, especially with the new 3ds xl.
  Also its flexibility in customization there's something special about having custom themes on your 3ds, they go together so well with the console that even if you were to replicate it with your switch it wouldn't feel as special.
  Furthermore the special edition versions of the 3ds are the best looking and creative ones out of any console.
• The Neatness/Novelty Aspect
  There's just something about the design of the 3ds I love so much, whether its the simple iconic clamshell design that Nintendo adopted with the ds, the sleek aspect of the newer models like the new 3ds xl and 2ds one and more. The console is brimming with personality and I can't get enough of it.

Well those were my reasons as to why the 3DS is my favorite system, what about yours?

Is the 3DS having a moment in this forum lately?

@NinChocolate Well I'm sure trying to give one!

@iLikeUrAttitude I do appreciate it. It is my all-time system as I was born into the gaming world with game boy, and 3DS embodies the spirit of the concept of that system. Sure the Switch is impressive with its versatility, but game boy wasn’t about being impressive, it was meant for bite sized gaming. The 3DS delivers on that need. It’s not flashy but you could have a bite sized modern gaming experience with its technology. If mobile has now sucked all the air out of that scope of gaming, at least the 3DS was a good send-off

The 3DS was a mighty fine platform. Although I never cared to use the 3D functionality until the New 3DS that came with the enhanced head-tracking technology. But the 3DS is home to several personal favorite games. Fantasy Life is the most dope mmo-lite not enough people played, Animal Crossing New Leaf was the highpoint of the series, Zelda ALBW is my favorite game in the series, SMT IV was my introduction to that series, Kid Icarus Uprising is the best rail shooter I've played in the past decade, etc.

And chances are...none of those games will be available on any other platform...ever.

Bittersweet.

Maybe not my favorite console (that would be GameCube, with Wii U close behind)
But it's definitely my favorite handheld ever. It has a bunch of great games, good use of the 3D tech, THEMES, folders, download play and so many great stuff. Streetpass was also really fun!

The 3DS really has that "Iwata" feel to it. I mean, name another game console that can act as a camera and MP3 player.

The games that utilised the camera and gyro sensor made the 3DS a unique experience.

It was a console that adapted. The badges and themes update was a welcome one. Amiibo (while basically physical DLC) added that little extra touch on certain games.

I haven't even started on the 3D yet. Ok, the original models had trouble displaying it correctly, but with the New 3DS (XL), it made games that bit more immersive and "Wow!".

I've had the most fun with the 3DS and doubt any other console can replicate that same amount of fun I had with it.

@Luigi05 I agree 100% while I personally didn't care for the 3D feature, all the other things the 3Ds had to make up for it blew me away and you got exactly what you paid for and more.

It amazes me how the 3Ds still has more features than the switch despite being a decade old handheld.

The Switch is a great console but nothing will capture the magic and memories I had when I got the 3Ds or DS for me.

As somebody who grew up with a Nintendo handheld always in their gaming scope, the 3DS is my way of holding on to that really fun big-adventures-in-small-packages feeling, both for the nostalgia and just because, hell, I love handheld gaming.

The library is amazing, like you've already said, and the convenience of being able to just pick up the thing and play it, closing it into sleep mode if I need to stop for a while and do something else, is amazing if you've got kid(s) like I do. Especially if you've got an energetic, demanding kid (like I do).

I don't really know. As much as I can list the facts of the 3DS that make it my favourite console, there's something else ineffable that makes it really special to me. Maybe it's the nostalgia trips, maybe it's because handheld consoles have always been the home of series like Pokemon. I just love the damn thing.

I'm not sure if I'd consider it my favorite platform overall, but I would definitely say the 3DS is my favorite handheld. Not only does it have its own library of fantastic games with representation of many of Nintendo's beloved IPs, but there's also stuff like Game Boy games being on its own eShop, and it's backwards compatible with the vast majority of DS games. It was also my introduction to the Animal Crossing series - New Leaf was quite a great game to start out with. It did have a few games that were junk (I'm looking right at you, Sticker Star), but thankfully, most of the 3DS's first-party games range from good to awesome.

I didn't use the 3D effect super often, but it sure looked impressive, especially when I first saw it. StreetPass was good fun, as well, I'd have my 3DS in my pocket many times when I go out to my college campus or whatever. I love the themes, too. I proudly have my Mario theme going on my 3DS, it really gives my home menu so much personality, alongside many of the Mario badges I got. If they made themes available for the Switch, I would have had a Mario theme on my Switch's home menu by now.

Nintendo's handhelds seemed to be getting better and better in many cases, to me at least. I liked the GBA, for example, it was the first handheld I really got into, but I wasn't a fan of its small screen. The 3DS might be Nintendo's last dedicated handheld system (besides the Switch Lite, of course), since they're enjoying great success with the Switch. If that is indeed the case, they sure went out with flying colors with the 3DS.

1. It has the most beautiful machine design in my opinion, especially Pearl White color XL model.

2. It has the best retail box design with White box and almost square ish cover design, with the game app icon on the spine.

3. It has tons of kids games with varied genre, from mainstream games to quirky games.

4. It has 3D slider.

5. All the games saved inside the cartridge.

6. It has some fancy lounge music and themes.

3DS was the first time it felt like I had a full ‘console’ on the go, rather than a much weaker handheld companion to current consoles. I started with the Game Gear and Game Boy back in the early 90s and as great as those systems were (barring lack of colour on one and terrible battery life on the other) the gulf between them and the Mega Drive and SNES was immense. The 3DS, with its graphics and decent virtual console feels far closer to a console. Plus, for this old SEGA kid, being able to play Sonic 1&2 and Streets of Rage 1&2 on a plane (20 years later) was brilliant!

I think the library of games is a big one for me. The Switch just hasn't been around as long as the 3DS to have a wide enough range of games to satisfy me... but then again, I'm only speaking from the experience of playing SMT games, so that might not be an entirely reliable observation to begin with. The 3DS does have better SMT games that I like such as SMT IV and Strange Journey: Redux, and while I do have a wider variety of games I enjoy on the Switch... they're not Switch exclusives (The House in Fata Morgana, Digimon Survive, and the upcoming Chaos;Head: Noah Double Pack looks pretty good too, and probably coming out on PC too). I think the existence of ports nowadays really doesn't help the Switch's argument why its library is so great either because the 3DS existed at a time when PC ports (or just multi-platform games) weren't really as common, so just because I like a wider range of games on the Switch, that isn't really as significant as liking a 3DS game that would never come out on the PC (my main choice of gaming platform).

However, there's one thing the 3DS does a little bit better than the Switch: portability. I hate carrying around the Switch handheld. It's so big and clunky. I could barely squeeze it into my pocket. The 3DS, on the other hand, fits into my pocket just fine, even the 3DS XL. This is, of course, largely due to the fact that... it can be "folded." Maybe "folded" isn't the right word, but you know what I mean. It can be closed into a smaller size.

The Switch, however... can be displayed on a 4K TV without a capture card and looking upscaled (it would look less upscaled than a 3DS displayed on a 4K TV through a capture card anyway, I'd imagine... never really tested out this theory). But you know, graphics. Who cares about that in gaming? (hypocrite alert since all I care about is the fancy graphics of a game...)

The 3D. It might seem like a gimmick for kids, but I like the 3D, especially on the New 3DS XL which doesn't require the adjustment of your eye level (AT LAST). It's a cool gimmick that enhances your gaming experience/immersiveness. You can't do that on the Switch since Switch VR is probably not a thing... yet.

And finally, the customization of its skins. I believe there are a lot more 3DS case designs that I like more than Switch designs. Furthermore, once I prop my Switch on the dock anyway, I wouldn't bother looking at its fancy design, but with the 3DS, which I could only carry handheld, I'm literally forced to see the design everytime I play it, so that works better as a design choice. Also... you can't customize your Switch's home page with different themes like the 3DS. For shame, Nintendo.

@Gamecuber @Maxenmus

Wow I did not expect this thread to be revived but I'm glad you both have the same opinions as me.
The 3DS power, while still very much outdated now is still underestimated, they have been full console ports like xenoblade 3d, captain toad and more which impresses me.
And the games built from the ground up for it are also very impressive like the monster hunter games and SMT ones.

I truly believe it also has one of the greatest libraries of all time without even counting modding, with mods it surpasses most consoles.

And its customization gave it so much personalities that other consoles don't have as well.
It remains my favorite console of all time.

The 3DS has Sticker Star. nuff said.

@Kermit1

@iLikeUrAttitude

For me, I just feel like the 3DS has the best library out of the Nintendo consoles, and I find myself returning to it constantly, even though the switch exists. A ton of the switch games that have 3DS counterparts feel worse to play in comparison to their 3DS counterparts, at least to me.

For example, Animal Crossing New Horizons. While many believe it's the best in the series, and I can see some of the improvements that New Horizons has made, I still feel like New Leaf is much more superior in every way aside from decorating. You have better house customization, the villagers actually argue with one another and have more personality, and it doesn't feel like my town is a hostage situation where I'm forcing animals to stay. Watering my flowers also actually does something instead of just being a step to breed them, and there's more than just the big holidays to look forwards towards around the year. Multiple shop upgrades, and stuff to actually do with friends over multiplayer as well.

You also have more quirky games that felt experimental, but ended up being really fond memories, such as Tomodachi Life and Nintendogs + Cats. Bite sized experiences, which the switch doesn't seem to provide, and probably never will.

You have your heavy hitters on 3DS as well, like the Zelda series getting two remakes and a brand new game on the console, Mario getting 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, Pokemon getting it's first 3D game, a remake which is probably one of my favorite games in the series, and then two subpar new games that made me want to nearly quit the series.

Virtual console actually existed on the 3DS, which is way better than Nintendo making you pay for online, as you can just buy the games you want and be done with it, without having to fear a subscription running out and losing access to the game you wanted to play. You also had streetpass, which was a cool way of connecting with others through games, an on-board Mii Maker which wasn't hidden in the settings, and blew my mind when I was a kid, since it felt like the 3DS was a small wii console that I could put into my pocket, and many more.

I don't think I'll ever not love this console, and there's still so many games that were made for it that I might never get to play, given the closure of the eshop. Recently, I got ahold of SMT IV and IV Apocalypse, and I've been glued to it more than I was towards SMT V. I'm also on my third playthrough of A Link Between Worlds I think.

Are you trying to tell me...

... that you've never played Breath of the Wild in VR!?!

Erm, no. I was saying it's probably not a thing, meaning it's something I didn't properly confirm because I don't fact-check everything in casual conversations. Clearly, I was mistaken, but oh well. Was never a Zelda fan, or (ironically) most Nintendo games. lol