Nintendo 3DS Review

How do you create a successor to the Nintendo DS, the most successful handheld ever made? In a little over six years, the DS sold 146.8 million units. That is the feat Nintendo has to overcome. Their solution? The world’s first glasses-free 3D video game handheld.

Nintendo is relying very heavily on the 3DS to once again revolutionize handheld gaming, an area quickly becoming overrun by hundreds of different phones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Nintendo claims that the device is ujlike anything they've ever used before. Read on to see if I think that's true.

The 3D

The handheld is capable of viewing 3D content without the need of glasses. This is possible by splitting the 2D image into two, shifting different pixels to the left and right eye, thus creating a "3D" depth. Essentially it is just a trick on the eyes.

This trick on the eyes however is all fine and dandy until 30 minutes later, your eyes begin to hurt and want to simply bulge out of your head. This feeling didn't strike me on a regular basis, but every now and then, especially when my eyes were tired, the 3D effect was an uncomfortable strain on my eyes.

The 3D effect is great, much better than I thought it would be. The only problem that lies in this area is the 3D's sweet spot. Every 3D device seems to have one. The problem with the 3DS's sweet spot is that the device needs to be right in front of you. Not a little to your left,not a little to right. Directly in front of you. If it isn't, all you will see is a blurry mess that can be rough on the eyes. Lying down on the couch or showing the handheld off to friends won't be an option unless they're holding the 3DS themselves.

Not to worry though, if you aren't a fan of the 3D, or if your eyes begin to nag at you, the 3D slider can be configured to fine tune the 3D to a intensity setting of your choosing, ranging all the way down to completely off.

Sound/Screen Quality

I found the system's speakers to be very good while playing games The system is exceedingly louder than the DS and was everything I expected a handheld's speaker system to sound and act like. The only complaint I have is that when listening to music through the speakers, I found that the sound was far more quiet than normal.

The screen is a huge improvement over the DS. I found games to look rather sharp for a Nintendo handheld when playing them in 3D. Turning the 3D ff however seemed to really dumb things down. Only a slight problem as I didn't want to play the games in 3D all of the time. However, the 800×240 pixel screen may sound good on paper, but it qill quickly become last generation technology as soon as the next batch of smartphones come out, including the upcoming PlayStation Vita with it's gorgeous 5-inch OLED screen.

Multitasking

Nintendo made an attempt to jump into this area, something that has become essential in the world of technology these days. Unfortunately, they tried and failed. When you open an app, hitting the home button will return you to the main menu. Sadly, if you try and open another app, it will force you to close the one you were just in. This means no jumping out of Mario Kart to snap a quick picture of something and then jumping back in later. Maybe we'll see some sort of fix to this in a future update? Hint, hint. 

Controls

The transition from handhelds only using a D-Pad is finally over as the 3DS finally gets an analog stick called the Circle Pad by Nintendo. Just like the PSP, there is only one of them. The rubber finish is great and feels perfect on the thumb when playing, however I have heard of and seen people with problems that the rubber has or is beginning to wear off after too much use.  Also, with the Vita coming out soon with two analog sticks, this will only further enhance the feeling that the 3DS is dated technology.

Built-in Software

The 3DS bucket load of preloaded software, all really good. Included with the device for free is a camera app that allows you to take pictures and video in full 3D. 2D pictures will appear in a  640×480 resolution. A music player app and the AR card games are included as well.  There is also an app called Face Raiders that allows you to take the picture of someones' face and later fight them in a mini game. There is also an activity log that will automatically track your steps and playtime, automatically placing them into tables and charts which you can look at to see how much you've played.

You can also connect to the internet through your home router. With internet access you can browse the web, with no flash plugin, or visit the e-Shop and download games and other apps. The e-Shop also includes full retail games that you can download if you have the space on your SD card. No longer are the days where you have to visit a brick & mortar store to pick up a new game for your handheld!

The Games

For the time being, not a whole lot of games are there to choose from. At launch, only nine games were available to choose from. There are a few more that sound exciting such as Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land, but as of now there just aren't enough "good" games out there that are worth you shelling out almost $200 for the 3DS itself.

In my opinion, the Mario games are once again the most fun games for the handheld, something that seems to always be the story for anything Nintendo makes. If you're going to buy one, definitely pick these games up. But isn't time for something new? I can't see how much longer Nintendo can keep this up, cranking out new devices only supported by a few, strong titles.

Not to fear though, there are a few games coming out next year that are worth noting. Luigi's Mansion 2, Kid Icarus, and Paper Mario all sound very fun. Once again, they're just a bunch of recycled Nintendo exclusives but most likely they will be worth every penny.

The 3DS is also compatible with the old DS games, so if you haven't worked your way through the DS library yet, there are still some great games to be played. There are a few still being pumped out for the handheld as well, so it isn't quite "dead" yet.

Battery

Nintendo rates the official battery life at 3-5 hours. In the time I've had it, I managed to pump out almost 3 hours playing Mario Kart 7 with the 3D on at full blast. The brightness was also on the maximum settings. Playing the old DS games, I managed to squeeze in roughly 4 measly hours. This is a huge disappointment since the previous generation of handhelds, the DS/DSi and DSI XL were all able to average about 8-10 hour of gameplay. The 3DS can't even beat previous generation technology!

Keep in mind that these statistics were all of my personal figures. Battery life can varry for everyone and can change drastically to how your settings are made up. Lowering brightness settings, turning the 3D off, limiting StreetPass, etc. can all add up to a much better, higher performance. I'd estimate about 5 hours. I bought the 3DS for use on the go, for the event of a road-trip for example. With the poor battery life, it seems as though I may be out of luck if there are no outlets in my car for the charger!

Closing Comments

The 3DS is a slick successor to the DS that seemed to have the potential to even be better. It is definitely worthy enough thanks to all its snazzy features. However, due to a meagre battery life, a hefty price tag of $169, 3D that may hurt your eyes, a dated screen, etc. etc., this may not be the right thing for you. Many critics thought the 3DS was rushed out the door in order to meet quarterly quotas and stave off competition from Apple’s iOS devices and Sony’s upcoming Vita. I have to agree. It seems that with a little more time and thought into the device, the flimsy problems that the handheld has could have easily been avoided. I'd recommend waiting to by this piece of hardware until more games arrive and some hopeful updates come to fix some of the issues.