Rusty's Real Deal Baseball (3DS eShop)

Remember when Nintendo tried to get into microtransactions in the most Nintendo way ever? We sure do! Rusty's Real Deal Baseball is one of the games that Nintendo released when they were in their free-to-play experimental era, but don't hold that against it — Rusty also includes a haggling mechanic, which helps you negotiate down the price of the in-game purchases. On the one hand, that's some incredible Nintendo history and a unique game mechanic to explore; on the other hand, that's potentially some predatory business practices.

The "Baseball" part of Rusty's Real Deal Baseball is what it sounds like: Similar to Wii Sports' take on the game, you get to play baseball. But Rusty really shines through with its strange, meta take on Nintendo and the games industry, with a fake game company called "Nontendo" who is trying to sell their new console, the 4DS.

It's weird. There's also nothing else like it. And it's North America-only. Sorry Europe!

3D Classics: TwinBee (3DS eShop)

Arguably the best of the 3D Classics bunch, TwinBee's three-dimensional remaster is well worth your time. TwinBee began its life as a 1985 Japan-only arcade game, then a Famicom game, and then eventually came to the West in 2007 under the title "RainbowBell"... but thankfully, this 3DS version restores this beloved vertical shooter to its former glory with a fresh lick of 3D paint.

VVVVVV (3DS eShop)

VVVVVV is the punishing puzzle-platformer from Super Hexagon and Dicey Dungeons creator Terry Cavanagh, and while it's also on Switch (and you should get it on Switch), we think it's worth getting on 3DS for the extra dimension.

Look, the glasses-free 3D was an underrated feature, okay? Still feels kinda magic if you ask us.

3D Classics: Excitebike (3DS eShop)

If it's more impressive 3D emulation you're looking for, you can't go wrong with Excitebike. Whether you know it from the NSO archive, that one Mario Kart 8 track, or from being a big 'bike fan from day one, Excitebike is good for everyone. It's always fun to go over comically large bumps.

Weapon Shop De Omasse (3DS eShop)

Another game that came out of Level-5's Guild series, Weapon Shop de Omasse is an innovative spin on a classic genre: What if an RPG was all about the chap who runs the weapon shop?

With a focus on rhythmic sword-forging, Weapon Shop de Omasse charges you with the most important part of a hero's journey: The sharp metal things he uses to kill dragons and all that. If you mess up, or do a bad job of matching the hero to a weapon, guess what? They die, and it's all your fault.

3D Out Run (3DS eShop)

Imagine if you could drive a car... in sorta three-dimensional space. That's crazy! But that's what you can do in 3D Out Run, a glossy, smooth remaster of SEGA's beloved arcade driving game from the emulation wizards at M2 that's actually enhanced by the 3D, making it easier to avoid swerving cars and admire the looovely backdrops.

You should get it for the soundtrack alone, but luckily that's not the only thing that makes it worthwhile.

Nintendo Badge Arcade (3DS eShop)

Another one in Nintendo's short-lived foray into microtransactions, Nintendo Badge Arcade let players pay real money for a go on some virtual crane games, which would provide them with small, Nintendo-themed stickers for their 3DS homepage. Pointless, you say? Hmm, maybe. It's pretty cool, though, and the Arcade Bunny is cute. We also might have got a tiny bit addicted to the pixel art badges as we used them to label and decorate our various Virtual Console folders. Must. Get. That. Game Boy badge!

Nintendo Badge Arcade hasn't had any new badges since 2017, but the choice of old badges is still massive. Soon you won't be able to pump real money into it. Which, for us, is probably a good thing.

3D Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (3DS eShop)

Chances are you already own this a dozen times over, but again, the option for autostereoscopic 3D — and the care M2 put into this particular port — make this a unique and exciting version of a stone-cold classic. Both Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 are available as 3D remasters on the 3DS eShop, but if we had to pick, we'd go with the sequel, which just edges out the first in our books. It's bigger, bolder, bluer [citation needed] and stars Tails the Fox. Also, the first game was included on the physical compilation SEGA 3D Classics Collection (the second of a trilogy of compilation carts in Japan, but the other two entries in the Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives series never released worldwide).

3D Sonic 2 improves on just about everything from the first game, and even includes the extra "Ring Keeper Mode" which starts you with 10 rings, and takes half away every time you take damage, in case you really hate having to pick them all up every time.

Crimson Shroud (3DS eShop)

Yet another game from the Guild collection, adventure RPG Crimson Shroud was developed internally at Level-5, and takes place 1,000 years in the past. The unique spin in this game is that combat is decided by dice rolls, like Dungeons and Dragons.

This game can be a bit hit-and-miss, with long, repetitive battles in the later stages and some slightly obtuse game mechanics, but it's a fantastic piece of 3DS history that's well worth the price of admission for fans of the tabletop RPG.

Aero Porter (3DS eShop)

Aero Porter — another game from Level-5's blah blah etc. — is an airport management simulation that's mostly about baggage handling. Thrilling, right? It's also the last game by Yoot Saito, the creator of the Dreamcast's Seaman and the penultimate GameCube exclusive, Odama, making it the last in a line of the world's weirdest games. Surely it's worth securing the bag on this one, just for its pedigree?