Kolzig

Nintendo 3DS

Recommended Posts

In between Link's Awakening dungeons I have been getting very much into Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, anyone played this? I did about 60 hours of FF7 back in '99 (never did finish it) and increasingly less of the next few up to 10 which I didn't like at all so I'm hardly an enthusiast and know almost none of the music but this is excellent. I'm approaching it a bit like a more varied

which is easily one of the best games on the DS and was also full of music I didn't know at first. For each game in the series it offers a battle theme, an "event" (cut-scene) theme and a field theme, each of which play slightly differently and are all bookended by opening and closing credit pieces you can just watch or skip so you basically get to experience legendary JRPGs in supercondensed ten-minute edits. If this was Nintendo music or something else I actually cared about presented in such a slick way it might be my favourite thing.

 

Something new and cute happens

 

Animal Crossing in five words. I never got the series at all, tried really hard with the DS version, and after a few hours of this one I was equally mystified by its popularity. I got it free so didn't feel too bad about neglecting it. Went back to it about two weeks ago and rather than try to amass a fortune and do major things and approach it like a regular game basically I've become utterly smitten by it and pop on every day for a bit to buy a piece of furniture and catch some fish and talk to a mouse in a Nirvana T-shirt about fireworks. It's become a Street Fighter IV replacement for me of all things, that became a game I put on daily without any expectation or intention of improving in, just something I can do with my hands of an evening while I listen to a podcast or have the football on in the background. Dip-in/dip-out, laid-back, relaxing gaming with no penalties and always something new and adorable happening, I have a space for this in my gaming routine it turns out. Very refreshing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, that seems like the proper approach to AC to me. I haven't looked in at my town for a few days, but I trust everything is ok there. Next time I boot it up, my orchard will have bloomed and I can make a bit of cash towards expanding my house again. Meanwhile, I've got other stuff to occupy me when I have time to game. Pikmin and Rocksmith won't play themselves, and I have an upcoming school year to think about as well. AC is great fun when I want to kill 20 minutes.

 

EDIT: This is also the main reason that AC is the only "full" game I've purchased from the eShop. It's nice to have it ready to go whenever while I still have a different game in the card slot.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I loved the tetrarythm demo, but it's a bit much to pay full price for it. If I find it cheap ill definition get it. Playing through elite beat agents again awaits me!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just played Steamworld Dig for three hours straight, since I finally had some spare time after buying it a few days ago. It's really good!

The upgrade structure strongly reminds me of Torchlight and recent mobile games like Ridiculous Fishing: head out into the world for a minute or two to find loot, then come back to town and sell everything so you can buy upgrades to your earning ability. I get much less of a timewastey feeling from this, though. The direct controls allow a lot more nuanced interaction than most games with this structure, and the persistence of all the dug blocks, enemies, and gems makes your progression feel like more than just your upgrades or how much you've earned.

There's also a bunch of optional caves, with entrances scattered around the main one, that work like puzzles. You can't use special items, and any digging you do is reset each time you enter or die, so you have to work out the series of digs or jumps or whatever to reach the treasure. I like that none of this is explained, it's all just there to discover.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been playing a bit of my new 3DS and loving it. It's a pretty sweet system.

I'm curious though, does anyone else here still keep the 3d turned up all the time or only for specific games? I think it's pretty cool but I have a hard time keeping it at just the right distance/angle without some slight double images coming up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think pretty much everyone turns it off. It's an eyesore most of the time, and it's a huge pain in the ass to try to hold the thing at just the right angle for it to not look like shit.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have it at full all the time. When I first got it I remember playing Ocarina of Time and the Deku Tree boss gave me my first double vision experience, I'm not sure whether I've just become accustomed to it or developers are a bit more subtle with it these days but I have no issues now with that slider being whacked up to 100%.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Man, am I glad I purchased Code of Princess, it's a pretty cool brawler that I think is inspired by Princess Crown? Even when I beat it I played a bit with it and saw all the silly but fun extra characters like the villagers you rescue.

 

I loved playing at the zombie girl, her spells are great at keeping the enemies at bay with the long range attack and turning enemies to stone! Gah, now I have to wait until Dragon Crown comes out in Europe later this month to get more brawler action! XP

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Regarding 3D: I find a different sweet spot for the 3D slider in each game i play, some games give me some minor eye strain if they're turned up all the way.

I do leave it on most of the time, i like the effect, it's nice 3D.

The viewing angle is very small though, yeah. I find myself losing it easily when playing a more active game that has me instinctively tilting the 3DS around.

 

Man, am I glad I purchased Code of Princess, it's a pretty cool brawler that I think is inspired by Princess Crown? Even when I beat it I played a bit with it and saw all the silly but fun extra characters like the villagers you rescue.


It's inspired by Treasure's Guardian Heroes. I believe some of the original team even worked on it?

I mostly stuck to the main character since she had a lot of tools for easy combos and juggles, lots of fun.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I leave 3D on pretty much all the time unless I'm in bright lighting or sitting at a weird angle or something. Going back to playing games in 2D after using the 3DS for a while actually feels kind of frustrating to me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I play on the bus a lot, and usually have 3D off there or else my neck starts to hurt from trying to hold my head steady. When I play at home, I typically have the 3D at about 50%.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Cool, glad to hear that some people still use it regularly. Personally, I like the 3D effect and I agree with shammack's sentiment about being frustrated when going back to 2D. Everything pops so nicely and in a subtle way in Animal Crossing and when I turn it off I feel like I'm missing out on part of the experience.

 

I used to play Mario Tennis on my Virtual Boy for hours on end when I was younger and never had an issue with eye strain or headaches so I don't think that will be an issue for me with the 3DS. I think my only concern at this point is finding a comfortable way to hold it where the screen stays in that sweet spot consistently.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I used to play Mario Tennis on my Virtual Boy for hours on end when I was younger and never had an issue with eye strain or headaches so I don't think that will be an issue for me with the 3DS. I think my only concern at this point is finding a comfortable way to hold it where the screen stays in that sweet spot consistently.

 

High five for Virtual Boy Mario Tennis! I did the exact same thing!

 

And yeah, add me to the "3D is always on" crowd.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been playing a bit of my new 3DS and loving it. It's a pretty sweet system.

I'm curious though, does anyone else here still keep the 3d turned up all the time or only for specific games? I think it's pretty cool but I have a hard time keeping it at just the right distance/angle without some slight double images coming up.

I just got one too! It's pretty rad. I haven't played a mario game since SNES days, and it turns out Mario is still super fun and cool. Good job, Mario.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just played Steamworld Dig for three hours straight, since I finally had some spare time after buying it a few days ago. It's really good!

The upgrade structure strongly reminds me of Torchlight and recent mobile games like Ridiculous Fishing: head out into the world for a minute or two to find loot, then come back to town and sell everything so you can buy upgrades to your earning ability. I get much less of a timewastey feeling from this, though. The direct controls allow a lot more nuanced interaction than most games with this structure, and the persistence of all the dug blocks, enemies, and gems makes your progression feel like more than just your upgrades or how much you've earned.

There's also a bunch of optional caves, with entrances scattered around the main one, that work like puzzles. You can't use special items, and any digging you do is reset each time you enter or die, so you have to work out the series of digs or jumps or whatever to reach the treasure. I like that none of this is explained, it's all just there to discover.

Yeah, Steamworld Dig is fantastic. More people really ought to pick it up. Soooooooooo fun making your little cave and making sure you have shafts to get back up and all that. Really beautifully done game.

Also, I turn off 3D all the time. I really liked playing with it on at first, but my eyes freaked out when I went back to read on my iPad and the text started moving.. I can appreciate what Nintendo did including it, but eh they should have waited till the technology improved because it definitely isn't there yet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I picked up the black 3DS XL and Fire Emblem + Animal Crossing, but probably won't have much time to play them until this weekend.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I generally keep the 3D on, but at a different level per game. I generally keep it off for Animal Crossing, though, because I'm usually playing that while laying down sideways and it just gets really hard to see.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So I'm planning on getting a 3DS XL this weekend.  I've been wanting one for a while and with PAX coming up, I decided it was a good time to finally get it.  I have a few dumb questions though.  Forgive me if these have been covered.

 

1.  How is the battery life on the XL?  Both with the 3D on and off.

2.  Does it come with a charger?  I've seen people say it doesn't, but is that just in certain regions?

3.  What kind of port does the charger use?  Is it like a mini-usb port or some proprietary Nintendo thing?

4.  How does Streetpass work?  Do I leave it on and just walk around?  Do I have to be connected to Wi-fi?  Is there a limit to how many people it can interact with?

5.  Does it use that horrible friend code system the Wii does?

6.  Any recommendations on the color?  Or maybe a good bundle?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

  1. Nintendo's estimate is 3.5 to 6.5 hours, but I find that's a little conservative. I usually hit the upper part of that estimate even with 3D and wireless turned on. It's much better than the original 3DS, at any rate.

There's a charger included if you're in North America, Australia, or Korea. I don't believe it was included in Japan or, for some reason, Europe. There's no charge cradle included like there was with the original model, though, which sucks because I love charge cradles.

Proprietary port. I believe it's the same one the DSi used.

Leave it on and walk around. You don't have to be connected to any sort of network, just make sure wireless communication is turned on.

It's waaaaay simpler than it was with the Wii. You have one friend code associated with the system itself. It only takes a few seconds and you can do it without even leaving the game, since your friend list is one of the apps you can multitask with.

The new black one is nice. There's a blue one that comes bundled with Mario Kart 7 that I still see kicking around, but otherwise the bundles tend to be for limited edition systems so they only sell for inflated amounts on ebay if you don't pick them up right away. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Prepare to be annoyed by the limited streetpass buffer at PAX. You can only collect 10 at a time before you have to go clear them out. It's entirely possible there to collect 10 more in the time it takes to clear out the first 10.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I usually get around 4-5 hours on the 3DS, maybe only 3 with the brightness up and wi-fi on.

It's still one of the big weak points of the system, but the 3DSXL is supposed to be a tiny bit better.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Prepare to be annoyed by the limited streetpass buffer at PAX. You can only collect 10 at a time before you have to go clear them out. It's entirely possible there to collect 10 more in the time it takes to clear out the first 10.

Yeah I really hate the buffer.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This haunted house StreetPass game is killing me. It takes so long to clear out! I find myself intentionally avoiding creating rectangles because then I have to spend extra getting an item and send it to my dimensional box and maybe having to solve a puzzle. I get so many more items than I'll ever use; I've stuck with the same gun since floor 2 and just kept upgrading it, never having any reason to use anything else. I'm on something like floor 11, but at this point I'm not enjoying myself at all. I think I'm just going to skip that game from now on when I check my StreetPasses, unless anybody has any tips on how to make it fun.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There's an anime convention going on in the park down the street. I got SO MANY streetpasses on my walk.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now