Best Deals And Cheapest Games In The 3DS & Wii U eShop Sales

None of these look good enough to buy. But thanks for the list!

I hope the US sale makes its way over to Europe too because I’d throw my money at ace attorney games if so.

I would like to get a digital copy of Resident Revelations also just for backup, but not for full price.

@Deviant-Dork They may not be your cup of tea but I can tell you with certainty that the Shantae, steamworld and Ace attourney games are very high quality and criticly acclaimed experiences.
To make such generalizing statement comes across as haughty.

As someone who already did he’s share of fomo spending last year when this was announced take it from me, there’s a reason why you didn’t buy these games these last ten years; you are not gonna play them. Save your money or spend it elsewhere.

Hope that Capcom sale makes its way to EU eShops!

The Ace Attorney games are a steal at that price!

I put an absurd amount of time into Monster Hunter 3U on Wii U. I'd recommend picking up that version over the 3DS one if you can. At $3, there is no better value for your money as far as I'm concerned. There are plenty of other great games on here, though I'd say you're better off getting the Switch versions for a lot of them, especially since there are at least a few that regularly go for similar discounts.

I’ve picked up most of what I want, but I’m still hoping we get sales from Atlus and Level-5 before the closure.

@Sondheimist That would be great I would love to get The Straship Damrey for a few bucks off.

looks like some great deals !

If you're like me and only really want stuff that isn't preserved on other consoles, the Ace Attorney games are locked on 3DS.

Has anyone played Gunman Clive on Switch? Is it any good off 3DS?

Some great games here. I highly recommend Virtue's Last Reward but if you haven't played it yet, you haven't played 999 either, which you should play first, so you're better off with Zero Escape: The Nonary Games which combines both.

@123akis They are really great quirky visual novels with zani characters and plots.
Good times!

I've picked most of these up. I'll download the SteamWorld games on Switch instead.

Mr. Pumpkin Adventure is the one game I hadn't heard of before reading this article, so I'll check it out given how cheap it is.

I'm still debating whether Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma are worth it on 3DS. I know they got ported to Playstation and Xbox. Do they suffer any control issues on those systems or do they play just fine? The reason I ask is because after The World Ends With You remake I'm more cognizant of some oddities in controls when porting games that were originally intended to be played with a touch screen.

Grabbed Apollo Justice, which I didn't own before now (borrowed a friend's copy when I first played it).

@Ade117 ZTD is somewhat visually compromised on 3DS, but it's actually the ideal platform for VLR from a control perspective. It's also an incredible game overall.

-Hello, Capcom here.
-Hi Capcom, it's Europe, we're calling to say we-
-No you don't exist. Also, we have no phone, how are you calling us, who are you even, don't call us again okay bye.

-Who was that?
-Europe. They want the sale as well. Cancel all physical games for them.

Most of these I either already have or can be played on Switch or elsewhere, but I'll consider grabbing escapeVektor at that price.

@Ralizah Thanks for the quick reply. I appreciate it. Looks like I have some more 3DS purchases to make.

Priced at absolutely criminal are the SteamWorld games, Monster Hunter games, some of the Shante games and Ace Attorney games.. crazy deals here gamers!!!!!!!!

@Shambo Took the words out of my mouth. Capcom Europe always used to put the exact same games on sale and the. Seemingly just stopped.

Biggest disappointment was discovering Nintendo published Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright; the physical is only going up in value and the digital in Europe has never once dropped below launch price.

@ElRoberico Gunman Clive is a fun little game, well reviewed as well. But don't play it on 3DS, too small for this game, so Switch is fine. You get both games if you get the Switch version, only $5

@Deviant-Dork it just looks so, so simple. Not in a bad way, but I just haven't heard anything about the Switch port.

Where are Nintendo’s games. They’re shutting them down and I refuse to buy them at full price. I 100% would buy every first party Wii U game I don’t own if they were down to at the very least 15$. Instead I guess it’s time to sail the seven seas like I’ve already done with my 2ds.

@Ade117 No problem.

If you can find a copy of 999 on NDS, I'd play that prior to VLR. 999, VLR, and ZTD form a connected story trilogy.

VLR is still understandable on it's own, though.

@Moonlessky Hey wait a minute! You gotta see the bigger picture, if this shop goes down, we CANNOT get the games anywhere else.

Never ever underestimate bored people in large numbers. Had it not been for these video games, tv shows, animated films, and the like, I would have been a street urchin or a temporary traveler.

Nothing better to do...nowhere to go home...let's walk the earth and look for the next best thing to get into. No wonder the natives and the locals stay being suspicious of people who look funny.

Where I'm going here with this is that these games save us the trip of going towards the local arcade. The local arcade is long gone but what remains are the handheld consoles and the eShop. But the eShop itself is going out of business, doesn't that bother you?

I can't believe Pilotwings Resort and Luigi's Mansion1 NEVER went on sale. Jeeez. Amazing. I have no regrets for skipping them, though. So long!!!🤣

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is my favorite visual novel, please consider it.

I don't expect Nintendo to run a sale, but I'm curious to see if companies like Sega and Square Enix will

@Moonlessky That does make sense but some games are extremely novel to have like the 3D classics.
and maybe they have slipped your mind and you forgot about them or were holding them off.
or now that they are on closure sale maybe some people see it as a cheap entry into Ace attourney wich can be incentive for more games in the series! (I am just love these games)

Apart from a few surprises we have seen most games on sale many times before. So we need more games on both regions to be included in the sales and especially the ones that were never included. Neither now? 13 days before closing forever?

Some great deals here, especially on Shovel Knight, the Steamworld Games, and some others.

I envy you lucky Americans who are getting Capcom's sale. I really want to get the Ace Attorney games, but I'm convinced Crapcom aren't bringing their sale to Europe for some reason, as they would have by now. However, if they don't want my money, that's their choice.

Sega have got a huge sale running on 3DS in Japan on basically everything they've ever published, so hopefully they bring that to NA and EU.

I don't expect Nintendo to put anything on sale. They let Fire Emblem Fates disappear last month without any sale, so they'll do the same with everything else. Idiocy.

Most of Square Enix's games were published by Nintendo outside of Japan, so I don't expect many sales from them either.

@ElRoberico I've played the Gunman Clive games on both systems. They're pretty much exactly the same, but the 3DS has a nice 3D effect. They're like more relaxed NES Megaman games, and you can easily finish them in an hour or so, but they're good fun while they last.

On one hand, the deals are fantastic and I’m very tempted. On the other, I rarely play my 3DS and Wii U anymore and I’m saving money for Tears of the Kingdom.

@WoomyNNYes In June of 2019 Luigi's Mansion 1 on 3DS was discounted to 23.99 in the North American eShop. I had to go check my 3DS virtual receipts for the date because I know I wouldn't have bought the game digitally if it wasn't on sale.

As for Pilotwings Resort, I never saw a sale on the game, so I don't think you missed it. I recently got the cartridge used for 5.99 though, so I don't think I'll be missing out there.

I can't believe the ps Vita shop is gonna be online after the 3ds. What a weird timeline we live in.

@ElRoberico I honestly like the 3DS version of Gunman Clive better, because of the subtle yet beautiful use of the stereoscopic 3D feature.

I actually own and have played the vast majority of those! There are just a couple that I have surprisingly not heard of and that have slipped my net. Puzzle Labyrinth being one. I have also decided to download Persona Q and Soul Hackers. I have played Q2 and used to own the Soul Hackers physical but never completed it (traded in to finance other games).

I just bought another 3DS about 10 minutes before I read this article. I got it exclusively so I can buy both of the KORG synthesizers again for backup/performance purposes. Still, I can't believe I just bought another 3DS.

Funny how more than half the list are Capcom games, yet none of them are on sale in Europe.

so... i will pirate every single capcom games if the discounts never start in europe, but i will do it only after the closing of the eshop.

@Omegainkh I'm ready to pirate my 3ds and get every game that didn't drop to a "last chance" (for them to make a few euro's) price. But my 3ds was my main console during its lifetime, so I did get many games already, physical, at release. Got to love ethical "piracy". No fair deal = no transaction. No other option or support at my budgetary capacity = everything for free, no loss for them, they dumped it.

Of the ones that'd interest me, I've either already bought them or they're on Steam. If I'd held off with foreknowledge of these sales, I might've saved a couple dozen euros over the past year.

Wait, still no SEGA/ATLUS sale??

Come on!

The 3 SteamWorld games (Dig, Dig 2, Heist) are incredible and play great on 3DS.

Shovel Knight on WiiU for $6 is also great, but no one probably still plays WiiU.

I picked up Runbow when it came out because it had the option for nine player local play! I had to buy several extra remotes and a batch of four classic controllers, but it produced some riotous gaming nights at my place and with a local meetup group!

It's another one that you can play on other platforms, and online, but getting nine people round a TV isn't an experience many other games can provide.

I think I’m going to try to pick up one of Pokémon Ultra Sun or Y, and then Treasure Trove. Then I will go back to being broke.

Disappointed that Etrian Odyssey V isn't on sale. Only one from eshop I don't have and picked up all the others in a sale previously so not sure what happened with V.

A question to all you Etrian fans

Which of these Etrian games are NOT included in the remaster that is supposed to come out on Switch? IV for sure but these Untold ones?

Is Atlus and Sega gonna do a fire sale any time soon?

Also Nintendo themselves? What gives

It's honestly crazy how few sales there are before people won't be able to give these guys money even if they want to.

@ComfyAko
Etrian Odyssey IV, Etrian Odyssey V, and Etrian Odyssey Nexus are the 3DS exclusive games.

Technically, Untold and Untold 2 are not just "remasters" of the first two games (included in the collection), but also have new story modes with a decent chunk of new content on top (new explorable areas, albeit smaller in size and scope). If that matters to you.

Lastly, there's also Persona Q and Q2, which are Etrian games with fun Persona skins, if that's your jam. You'll get the most out of those games if you happen to be fans of both series, but can still enjoy them if you're big on either Etrian Odyssey or Persona separately.

@Browny Thank you very much! I was wondering whether it's double dipping if I buy the Untold 1 and 2 and then the remaster, but it looks like the contents of the remaster are Etrian 1 hd, Etrian 2 hd and Etrian 3 hd, so... they aren't the "untold" games

Hey @dartmonkey , has NL reached out to Capcom to enquire about a UK/EU sale on their 3DS/Wii U games by any chance?

I'll probably hold out until the last day in a vain hope that their games will be discounted here in England.

I'm sure they won't discount them but I do wonder if the journalistic might of NintendoLife might convince them otherwise! Would be great if you could get in touch with them but no worries if not!

Be well, NL ✌️

So far in Europe the sales are disappointing. No capcom games and NiS/Atlus ones that went up are missing a few titles like Persona Q2 isn't on sale for example.

Like it's last week you'd think be 30 pages of sales not 6 (with half being the generic always on sale shovel titles)

@dartmonkey haha cheers, much appreciated! Ye of little faith, NL has more pull than you give it credit for!!

Seriously though, cheers for doing that and replying to me. Will keep my fingers crossed! 🤞

@ComfyAko
No, the versions in the remaster aren't the Untold versions, so you would lose out on the story mode content and small, new areas exclusive to said mode.

Honestly, the story modes of both Untold games, while nothing revolutionary in the slightest, are at the very least worth exploring. And while both games can be found physically, their prices are considerably higher now (as was to be expected). But given the time crunch with the closing of the shop, I suppose it's up to you if you want to spend $40 now on the pair, or potentially triple that down the line to experience the story modes.

More than that, I do recommend picking up IV and V to have the full suite of games. Nexus is more of a fun celebration title, mixing in stuff from every game that came before (think MH Generations for comparison). But it did have its fair share of balancing problems because of this, so I wouldn't consider it anything more than a fun distraction, and not a must play.

I’m starting to think a major reason why we aren’t seeing more Eshop closure sales is due to Nintendo fearing too much traffic will crash the servers. Sure we’d get the sales but locating and downloading the games would likely move at a snails pace , which would just end up frustrating the FOMO base even further.

@raplhdibny

That’s a bit strange that UK/Europe aren’t included at all for the Capcom sales. Sometimes NA gets the sales , sometimes it’s Europe. Hopefully they do something last minute, I’ve snagged all the Ace Attorney games on the cheap and I’ve never even played the series. Fingers crossed this week wields more sales for everyone

With only a week left, and it being Tuesday now, I’m doubtful that any new sales would start. I’ll be wrapping up my progress-locked DLC buying and start tossing eShop money to devs on my wishlist.

Then, maybe start prepping my old unused Cosmo Black for…a new adventure. Which is already color coordinated for the occasion.

@Browny I got U1 and U2, but I'm on the fence with 4 and 5 since I can probably get physicals. A bit pricier, but 3ds has limited space.

@JohnnyMind I think it works with 8 players on Switch if you have enough Joy Cons. Pretty good, but not quite as good as 9!

@Herna It's on my list! Really enjoyed the demo despite SRPGs are not my thing so I'm glad the option was there.

I definitely want to pick up a game in the Atlas sale but cant decide between soul hacker and etrian odyssey 4 :/

The good ones are already ported to Switch

I picked up sonic 2, the 3D overhauled one. That, along with the 3D classic Kirby they did is a good way to get something that will probably never come back in this form. Once the shop closes, these games are just gone for good. And the Kirby one in particular is fantastic. They did some great 3D work with the sprites and pixel art.

I also picked up pocket jockey, crimson shroud, and a few of the old pokemon games, cause who knows when they’re coming back. And like many others have said, get the transporter and Pokémon bank if you want to move anything to Pokémon home.

A sad day, but an expected one. Happy gaming to you all.

Not all these games seem to be on sale. Mr Pumpkin Adventure is still £3.99 for example.

Lots of Europeans bemoaning the lack of Capcom sale (and I feel you, I do!) but holy crap if the SMT games and Etrian Odyssey games were on sale here I'd buy every one of them!

Looking at my watch list on the 3DS eShop alone left me feeling sad; still a lot of stuff I am missing, though not for a lack of trying. I think I might try and buy Star Fox Guard, The 3DS Lourve Guide and maybe one or two more VC games before it closes in a few hours time.

Good stuff, thank you for these articles and they've been very helpful. It's a sad day, but thankfully I've done what I've needed to do with the 3DS already moved on. It does scare me that this probably is going to be the same reality for the Switch in 10 or so years, I know Nintendo has light plans to keep structures in place from Switch architecture going forward but I'm not too confident in those plans.

Cheers for these rolling updates — I spent the last few weeks perusing the eShop, I actually spent much less than I thought I might do — snagged a few outliers on the Virtual Console and some stuff on sale, but I've got most of the 3DS games I'll ever need phyiscally

I can say I've done some last minute shopping this past week. Hard to believe this is the end to the eshop for the 3DS and Wii U.

As for my sleeper pick I would say Stella Glow surprised me. It's a great game for people who like strategy games and the plot was a lot more interesting than I expected.

The following games aren't generally on these 'best of the 3DS eShop games to buy before the store closes for good' lists, but I looked at them and decided they were unique experiences on the 3DS that perhaps shouldn't be missed - also helps with TT that we have four 3DS & 2DS iterations so local multi-player is a good time:

1. Tank Troopers
2. SpeedThru: Potzol's Puzzle
3. Splash or Crash

I've made my peace and purchased what I wanted. My 2DSXL is now loaded with delightful games but not overloaded. It's time to move on!

I have never played a Phoenix Wright game, so I just got the original trilogy on 3DS for $3. That's a great deal, especially since the same trilogy is $15 on the Switch.

Honestly, I'm gutted that this day has come. The 3DS is probably my favourite console alongside the PS1...and these last few weeks have made me regret not paying as much attention to the eShop over the last decade, as I always bought the majority of my games physically. As a result, I have spent WAY too much but at least this wonderful little system is now an RPG and retro game beast!

I just wish we all got the same sales.

They're really going to pull down the eShop for maintenance on the last day? They really have no respect at all.

@Euler
Yeah I was going to grab some last minute deals and just hit this too!
Are we too slow?