Hands On: Nintendo 3DS
After attending an event showcasing the 3DS, it’s only fair that I should write a quick preview about the dang thing, no? So here it is, after the playtime is through, just how does the handheld fare?
To kick things off, the Nintendo 3DS is initially available in two flavours; アクアブルー or, Aqua Blue and コスモブラック, the rather more snazzy name of Cosmos Black. Along with this, the console is bundled with the obligatory charger, a charging stand, one stylus, a rather generous 2GB memory card and six of the Augmented Reality cards mentioned in my event review. Of course, that is all by the by. What do the 3DS graphics look like, I hear you scream. Well, that depends. It seemed to vary from game to game, perhaps understandably.
Some games (see: Resident Evil: Revelations) seemed to seamlessly integrate the 3D graphics in a way that wasn’t too jarring on the eyes, but also didn’t appear as obvious. The 3D seemed to be there almost to compliment the visuals in the game without adding or detracting too much. Then you had games ala Nintendogs and Cats, where the 3D edge initially took a little getting used to, especially when a lot of on screen movement was involved. However, soon the visuals looked entirely natural and even flattered the game.
Unfortunately, some games like Metal Gear and Ocarina of Time caused a lot of issues with adjustment. The former hardly gives the players eyes time to adjust during a certain battle cut scene; not to mention when you try to admire the leaves falling in the foreground you can end up seeing two Snakes. Which is unforgiveable of course, as there is only room for one Snake and one Big Boss (Ha, game related-joke there).
How does 3D look if you only have one eye Snake?
As for Ocarina of Time, as pretty as it looks, the continuous motion doesn’t seem to allow much time for adjustment. I’m taking this with a pinch of salt for now, however, as this could change with play time lasting more than 6-8 minutes at a time.
A treasure trove of 3DS goodies.
There is a switch on the top screen of the 3DS that allows the player to switch off the 3DS to regular 2D. Although perhaps defeating the purpose somewhat, it is fair to note that this did give the games slightly different effects. Without the 3D the majority of games still keep their fresh, aesthetically pleasing edge, with the colours sometimes appearing more vibrant and alive without the 3D edge. Of course, the 2D completely eliminates the motion blur that occurs with 3D, which might be an option for people who are affected by motion sickness. That said, if you are buying the console only to turn off one of the main selling features of the package, is it really for you?
The console boxes themselves, looking literally very shiny
I would say that the improved graphics alone probably make the console a good investment, not to mention that not all games cause as much ‘motion blur’ in the first place. Another amazing addition is the nub/stick that is now above the directional pad in a reversal of the PSP style. Every game seemed to use this flawlessly, controls feeling more natural and smooth with its use. Super Street Fighter IV was a particular delight, with the ability to do combos still intact. Although I’ll admit I was a little dubious about the addition, I can admit that I was completely wrong to question it.
The power button has moved once again, now located below the XYAB buttons. I don’t feel this is too wrong a move as unless you hold the console in an extremely odd fashion, I doubt there would be any power-off mishaps. Select and start, as well as the new ‘home’ buttons are all located below the rather nicely sized screen. The fact that they aren’t buttons at all but are in fact ‘bumps’ of some sort was disconcerting at first, but feel a little more natural after a few uses.
The future design of boxes and cartridges. Albeit perhaps not so grey
Any other features worth noting? The stylus is now springy. I’m not sure quite how else to put it. It has a longer part that can retract into the main body of the stylus, presumably making it shorter or longer depending on the usage. There is also a light on the R button indicating the use of Wifi now, rather than the flashing light alongside the power light on most models. Possibly a good thing, as the flashing could get a little annoying or off-putting occasionally in my opinion.
One other final thing to mention is now the new menu system. As mentioned, the home button will take you to the new home menu in much a similar style to the PSP. Without wanting to draw too many similarities, the menu features different accessible features housed in a box shaped display in a side-scrolling fashion. There wasn’t too much of this feature shown, however, so I can’t comment too well on exactly what it might entail other than seemingly giving you access to… well, most things.
As for battery life, it seems the figure kicking around is around 3 to 5 hours, with a charge time of up to 3 and a half hours. Whether this can be extended by not selecting to play games in 3D or not is probably speculative at the moment. Oh, and the 3DS now features two, yes two, cameras. Fun times!
In terms of the games it seems that the Japanese launch titles will consist of Konami’s Winning Eleven 3D soccer, Capcom’s Super Street Fighter 3D, Tecmo Koei’s Samurai Warriors: Chronicle (which was super popular here, by the way), Ubisoft’s Combat of Giants, Level-5′s Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, Square Enix’s Tobidasu! Puzzle Bobble, Namco Bandai’s Ridge Racer 3D, as well as 3 different versions of Nintendogs and Cats.
Titles developed by Nintendo that are due out post launch will be Legand of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Steel Diver and Pilotwings Resort (with Mii capabilities) in the spring 2011. Kid Icarus: Uprising will be released at some point in the summer, with finally Animal Crossing 3DS, Mario Kart 3DS and Paper Mario 3DS having unconfirmed store dates.
Of course, you could always do as this chap does and stick to the classics
Now finally, the all important question of price. Exactly how much will this ‘bad boy’ cost you? The exact figure seems to be 25,000 yen, which converts to around $300 or in good ol’ British pounds just a tad over the 200 mark. Is this worth it? Well, as with any hardware purchase it’s on a person to person basis. If you are looking for a worthwhile investment and upgrade to your DS lite or DSi then it might be up your street, even if it isn’t a day one purchase. If you’re content with your 360 with Kinect or PS3 with Move and don’t really dabble in handhelds then… it’s probably still worth a look in all honesty. I might be slightly bias though, since I’m willing to try and scrape together the money to obtain one of these. What about you? Feel like grabbing hold of a 3DS in the near future?
Stay tuned to The Newb Review as we still have previews for some of the 3DS games direct from the Nintendo World 2011 show floor!
- Sabbi “Enki” Stone
Great review. Thanks for posting such an in depth impression. I’ve handled one in the store, but your review covered alot of ground that I couldn’t with such a limited amount of time. Based on my in-store experience and your review I think I’ll be waiting for a future generation to arrive. The potential is certainly there for this device, but based on my current portfolio of tech devices (laptop, desktop, iPhone, iTouch) I’m not sure this device quite justifies the expense at this time for me.