New Nintendo 3DS Review

The New Nintendo 3DS was announced in August 2014. It was promised to have new features and hardware improvements. It is safe to say Nintendo went beyond that to make the New Nintendo 3DS one of Nintendo’s best handhelds to date and is surely a win.


Difference between the New Nintendo 3DS and “older” 3DS

The New Nintendo 3DS has abundant new features and improvements. To start, some of the headline features are the use of face tracking 3D, faster processing power (which means new exclusive games), amiibo support, the addition of a C-stick, 2 more Z buttons, the use of a micro SD card and switchable faceplates (not available for the US yet, and not usable on an XL model.)

In addition, some of the hardware’s old design has been changed. The cartridge slot has been moved to the bottom, the start and select buttons have been moved to the right side once again, the volume button has been moved to the top screen, the wireless button has been moved to the Home Screen Menu (digitally) and the 3D symbol next to the depth slider no longer glows green.


Face-Tracking 3D

One of the main features of the 3DS is to play games in 3D. I mean, they even named it after this feature! However, on the older model of the 3DS, the 3D could only be viewed at one angle and you needed to keep your 3DS in place. Now, the Face Tracking 3D is the new addition of a small camera next to the camera on the top screen. Whenever the 3D is turned on, the small camera will glow red. Now, the 3D can be viewed at almost any angle, and is much improved upon. Instead of keeping your 3DS in one spot now, you have a lot more options on where you can play in 3D.


Maxed-out power

Nintendo isn’t one to be known for making powerful consoles, which is frustrating to most developers wanting to make games run on a console. The New Nintendo 3DS has much more processing power which allows the addition of exclusive games, faster loading speeds and much faster download speeds. Xenoblade Chronicles: 3D will be the first of many games to be exclusive to the New Nintendo 3DS.

[As a side note: Super Smash Brothers for 3DS now doesn’t need to be restarted every time the application is closed. Miiverse can be used for this title and pressing the Home Button will bring you to the Home Menu instantly.]


amiibo Compatibility

Ever since they debuted, amiibos have been selling like crazy for the Wii U. The addition of a NFC port on the bottom screen allows amiibos to be playable in select titles now for the New Nintendo 3DS. Among these games are Super Smash Brothers for 3DS, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M, Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy+ and Xenoblade Chronicles: 3D. However these are the first of many games to come.

Other Features:

  • C-stick and new Z buttons: Adds more control to games that have Circle Pad pro support for a much smoother gameplay feel.
  • Changeable Faceplates: The use of changeable faceplates will change how your New Nintendo 3DS will look, instead of a plain one-color design. This will also change your Home Menu theme.
  • MicroSD cards: Provide more memory space



Cons:

Nothing is perfect, though this is pretty close. The biggest sins that the New Nintendo 3DS faces is the low battery life, reducing it to only a small 3-5 hours at a time, and the use of region locked games still (meaning games from other countries cannot be played on a 3Ds different from that region.)

All in all, the New Nintendo 3DS feels like a console completely separate from the older 3DS model and provides a better way of entertainment.

(Written by Nova)