Which Nintendo Ds Should I Buy HOT!
Dare I say it: The 3DS is the perfect console for younger children, while the Switch should be limited to a slightly older audience. There are plenty of great 3DS games for adults and kids alike, of course, but the lower price and durability make it a more pragmatic choice for younger players.
which nintendo ds should i buy
Never one to shy away from experimental concepts and ideas, the Nintendo 3DS is crammed full of neat little features from the Japanese company. The console comes with a set of AR cards, letting you play fun minigames in augmented reality. The 3DS models also come with a glasses-free 3D screen, which is seriously impressive. It adds extra depth to games and the 3D effect was substantially improved on the New Nintendo 3DS models.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is among the very best Mario games ever, but there are numerous places you can play it. What makes this Wii U Virtual Console release notable is that it includes all of the additional courses and content that were designed for the GBA port, which required using the e-Reader. This was essentially Mario DLC, but it was gated behind card-collecting. On Wii U, you can play all of it without ever needing to bother swiping cards, and this was the only place to do so unless you go the costly route of tracking down the necessary items to play it on GBA. (The addition of the game to Nintendo Switch Online recently broadens its availability, but I'd personally rather not rely on a subscription service to maintain access.) The idea of there being 2D Mario content effectively lost to time for most people is just unthinkable, so it's not a risk worth taking. Pick this up now and ensure you'll never be without it and never have to deal with an e-Reader again. -- Chris Pereira
Pocket Card Jockey shouldn't work as well as it does. The bizarre mash-up combines solitaire and horse racing, as you play speed rounds of the classic card game to build up energy for your horse mid-race and then carefully position yourself to pass your opponents. It is, in short, very strange. But it's also extremely endearing, with adorable horses and a powerfully compelling gameplay loop. You can even retire your prize-winning horses and then let them live out their days on a farm breeding the next generation of thoroughbreds. Nintendo fans will also be tickled by the various references sprinkled throughout, especially to other games from Game Freak, which made this oddball a cult classic. A semi-sequel called Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On has since been released on Apple Arcade, which sports some new features and a revised graphical style. That's a great way to race as long as you have access to Apple Arcade, but if you want to experience the original, and you absolutely should, the eShop is the only way. -- Steve Watts
Rusty's Real Deal Baseball is a collection of baseball-themed minigames, all of which are pretty fun--there's something satisfying about stripping baseball down to its basic elements and hearing the crack of an aluminum bat on the ball in various contexts. But part of what makes this game still stick out in my mind almost a decade after its release is the way in which you pay for it: The basic download itself is free-to-play, but each of the minigames needs to be purchased individually. However, the stated price isn't necessarily what you have to pay--by playing and haggling with Rusty, you can get him to lower the actual price you pay (to a certain point). It was a unique setup, and it's one that will presumably be broken by the shutdown of the eShop (not to mention that the game was only available digitally). Still, there's time to enjoy the original, intended experience before that happens. -- Chris Pereira
This spin-off from the regular Mario franchise took the long way around. It started with Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, which was a very different platformer than the arcade games and had more puzzle and adventure elements. That resulted in a spiritual successor, Mario vs. Donkey Kong on the GBA, which added tiny robotic Marios. Then that birthed its own sub-series of spin-offs, the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, which presented Lemmings-like puzzles that had you guide your little Mario-bots to a goal. Finally, Minis on the Move took the idea into the 3D realm with track-based puzzles for your little miniature Mario to walk along. The game was budget-priced as a download-only game, but packed a whopping 180 puzzles and even a custom puzzle-creator. With a deceptively simple concept that has loads of variation and complexity, this one gives your brain a workout. -- Steve Watts
While both Nintendo 64 Legend of Zelda games have at long last made their appearance on Switch, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess unfortunately remain locked to the GameCube, Wii, and Wii U. What makes picking these games up on Wii U more enticing than their alternative iterations, however, are all the upgrades and quality-of-life improvements seen on the newer system. For starters, both titles were given the HD treatment for Wii U, which makes the games look more polished and true to their intended aesthetic, as different as they may be. The games also boasted a more streamlined experience and tacked on Hero mode, ultimately eliminating more tedious tasks while also offering greater challenges in their stead. Last but not least, while not all Wii U titles made the GamePad work for them, The Legend of Zelda series did so with flying colors. Having your map and your inventory so readily available made both games' dungeoneering more simplistic and immersive than ever before. All said and done, the Wii U was a fantastic home for the Zelda series, and one worth ensuring you have access to. -- Jessica Howard
Kirby Planet Robobot is one of the best Kirby games of all time, but it was just one of several games in the series to release on 3DS, and it arrived fairly late in the handheld's lifecycle. Considering that Kirby had been playing it relatively safe for years, it would have been easy to overlook this colorful and charming platformer. All fans of Kirby or side-scrolling platformers should play Kirby Planet Robobot.
Most Fire Emblem games are generally one-off affairs, but Fire Emblem Fates was different in that it took the Pokemon route. Fates initially released as two games, Birthright and Conquest, which provide alternate perspectives on two warring nations. However, the story wasn't really finished until the third storyline, Revelation. And the big problem? It had a very limited physical release. The only way to play Revelation on a cartridge is to have bought the physical special edition containing all three routes. These days, if you're buying off of eBay, that will set you back over $360, and it's not even that easy to come by. The complete edition with all three storylines is available on the eShop, but once that's taken down, it's bye-bye Revelation. Fire Emblem games are already difficult enough to play as it is. Not only that, but having two separate games with unique perspectives on a war, and for that to culminate in a third storyline revealing the origins of the conflict, is a unique experience that few games offer. So unless you want to fork out hundreds of dollars, I would consider picking up Revelation now. -- Oisin Kuhnke
The 3DS, on the other hand, is a dedicated handheld with a dual-screen design that lets you use touch and stylus controls for many titles. The handheld's clamshell construction gives it a big advantage over the Switch regarding portability, as you can easily stuff it into your pocket instead of having to carry it around in a bag. The one exception is the $79 Nintendo 2DS, which has a non-foldable design ideal for kids.
Select 3DS models can play games in 3D, which is an occasionally neat trick, but one that Nintendo has de-emphasized a ton as of late. The New 3DS XL is the only member of the current lineup that actually does 3D, and many newer Nintendo games such as Pokemon Sun and Moon and Super Mario Maker don't even bother with 3D support at all.
The Switch, which is powered by a special Nvidia chip, just feels more sophisticated by comparison. Its user interface is clean and snappy, and doing things like sharing screenshots to social media or checking up on your friends list feels instant and intuitive.
The nascent Switch library is thin by comparison, but it's still got plenty of stuff worth playing. The big highlight is the stunning Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which many folks already consider one of the best games of all time. There's also Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Arms to scratch that multiplayer itch, an excellent lineup of indie games like Shovel Knight and Thumper, and an awesome new Mario game that's right around the corner.
Still, there's no Virtual Console on Switch, and despite the fact that the console is essentially a tablet, it doesn't have any major streaming apps. The 3DS has access to apps such as Netflix and YouTube, but you probably won't want to watch movies and shows on a 4-inch, 240p display. Both the Switch and 3DS work with Nintendo's Amiibo toys, which unlock new content in certain games when scanned to your console.
If budget is a concern, the 3DS systems are for you. Your cheapest point of entry is the $79 Nintendo 2DS, which has a non-foldable design and no 3D functionality but still plays the same fantastic library of 3DS games. Stepping up to the $149 New Nintendo 2DS XL or the $199 New Nintendo 3DS XL gets you additional controls and improved processing power while still keeping you below the Switch's $299 asking price.
Both the New 3DS and New 3DS XL feature new, enhanced 3D technology, which Nintendo is calling Super Stable 3D. It uses the front-facing cameras in the new consoles to track your head and eye movement, automatically adjusting the 3D effect according to what angle your head is at in relation to the 3DS screen.
Nintendo claims the two newer consoles offer a slightly longer battery life than their original counterparts, which is partly down to a new auto brightness feature. The New 3DS XL has the longest battery life at 3.5 hours with 3D turned on and 7 hours with the 3D turned off. 041b061a72