So I managed to preorder one of the $99 New 3DS units from Walmart on Black Friday and it’s finally getting delivered this week. I had one of the old DS but sold it off years ago. What are the must have games these days? I picked up the latest Fire Emblem but I was also looking at one of the Zelda titles.
The 3DS will also likely spend some time in the hands of my 7 year old daughter (who enjoys the Mario game on the Wii U) should I just pick up the latest Mario game as well? (I’m not getting her into Pokémon, I refuse)
There are other threads full of 3DS recommendations so have a search for those - the 3DS has a lot of great games.
But there’s only one essential, and that’s Monster Hunter Generations. :)
The only real Zelda made for 3DS is Link Between Worlds, unless you also want the remastered N64 games.
For the kid, maybe Animal Crossing New Leaf as well as Mario? Mario 3D Land, New Mario Brothers 2 are great, not sure on Mario Maker.
(J)RPG: Bravely Default (or the sequel), Shin Megami Tensei IV, Persona Q, Xenoblade Chronicles (if you didn’t play Wii version)
Fighting: Super Smash Brothers
Racing: Mario Kart
Platform: Apart from Mario, Kirby Planet Robobot is getting some great reviews. Don’t have it yet though.
Pokemon Sun/Moon are awesome, if not for her - for you! ;) Anyway I think kids today are more into the Yokai Watch?
If you specifically want a New 3ds game, the best one is obviously Xenoblade Chronicles. Super fun openworld rpg, great story, fun combat, just a really good time. Tom has a review of the Wii version on the front page, and there are no differences other than graphical.
If you want any game recommendations:
Monster Hunter Generations is probably my favorite 3ds game of all time. There is an astounding amount of content and the gameplay is extremely diverse and interesting. Plus, the online play is great. However, there is an “updated” version called Monster Hunter XX (in japan) coming out sometime in the middle of next year (not sure about the english release) so you may want to wait for it. I’d also suggest just getting Monster Hunter 4U, it has the best story of the series (generations is sort of a homage to all the previous games, while 4u is its own unique entry) and has much more end end game content (very hard, I didn’t even get close haha)
Pokemon Sun/Moon are actually fantastic. I haven’t played a pokemon game since Diamond many years ago, and I was really surprised and happy with sun moon. Really fun, can get kinda tough, lots of end game stuff, surprisingly deep systems.
Rhythm Heaven Megamix is also pretty great. I was pretty skeptical at first, it looked kind of dumb and uninteresting but its actually a pretty difficult and replayable rhythm game. It’s basically a collection of wacky zany games that require you to hit a certain beat. Clearing all the levels and playing all the games takes a surprising amount of time and all the games are cute and fun. Plus, theres a huge end game with more stuff to do.
Smash Bros is obviously great. I still play melee so I don’t play this all that often but its a great smash entry with its own benefits.
I personally found all the mario games I’ve played to be pretty underwhelming. Maybe they are just not my thing anymore. I’d also advise to stay away from Fantasy Life, which is recommended pretty frequently on the internet; it was super super boring and basic and I really regret buying that.
For strategy, it’s hard to beat Fire Emblem Awakening and the recent follow-up, Fire Emblem Fates and Conquest (two separate sides of the same coin; basically two separate Fire Emblem games).
Theatrhythm Curtain Call is great if you’ve ever been into the Final Fantasies & like rhythm games. Skip the first one.
I’ll give a non-recommendation to Mario Kart 7, unless that’s the game your daughter likes on Wii U. Doesn’t really have much single player content & online is plagued with cheaters. It does look great in 3D though.
Along with many of the suggestions here, Kirby Triple Deluxe is wonderful, Project Mirai DX is adorable, and Rune Factory 4 easily devoured a few hundred hours between me and my sister.
Thanks for all the great suggestions! Xenoblade Chronicles was my favorite game on the Wii so I don’t really need to play it on a handheld. Fire Emblem: Awakening was my favorite 3DS game back when I owned the old model but I did pick up Birthright on Black Friday.
I think I will pick up Link between worlds as I love me some Zelda and either Mario 3D or the latest Kirby game.
Someone sell me on Monster Hunters Generations or Pokemon whatever. Arent these games nothing more than monster collector games? Is there anything beyond just gearing up your character and fighting increasingly tougher enemies?
Monster Hunter is pretty far from a monster collector game. It’s more like an Action third person rpg? You basically start by fighting some monsters, and then continue making new weapons and gear from the pieces of the monster that you’ve defeated. It can be pretty difficult, but it is really really deep and there is a ton of stuff to complete and kill. Plus, all of the monsters are really interesting to fight…
theres also no health bars or mana bars (for monsters) so for me, it emulates actually fighting a monster pretty well. you’ve basically just got to read its tells and get better at fighting over time.
also, there are like 17 different weapons, which are all insanely unique and have very different movesets and playstyles. Generations introduces hunting styles which further changes things (adept style lets you dodge into monsters attacks, ariel lets you jump ontop of monsters generally etc
It is also supposedly the reason to have a 3ds, because you have the extra little nub stick for camera control. Apparently playing it on an old 3ds required either a beastly addon controller or a contortionists hands.
You could apply similarly reductive reasoning to all games… ;)
Fact is, both these games are full-fat experiences in a handheld, with some pretty deep systems once you dive in a bit - particularly if you gravitate towards the online aspects (which I don’t really do, but they’re there).
Some people do find them boring and grindy. Some hate the MH combat. So check out the demos in the eShop.
But I’m with @Kyle700 in that the MH series are easily my favorite 3DS games. I’d also recommend 4U as a good starter, it’s probably available cheaper too.
I can’t stress enough how amazingly good Zelda, A Link Between Worlds is. This is a must have imo. It’s also extremely well done 3d.
Be wary about the demo though. I tried the demos of both 4U and generations and hated it. I hated it until I decided to buy Generations anyway. Things made a lot more sense after going through the real tutorial (the demo has an abbreviated one) and I started understanding the combat system more.
I am in love with MHG (my first MH game) but holy crap, until you understand the combat system and the weapons in general (things like DON"T PICK GREAT SWORD UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND WHATS GOING ON) things are very overwhelming and confusing. It took me a bit for everything to click, and now i love it.
That’s definitely true. They definitely have a learning curve. The game might not make sense for like 10 hours. The weapons can feel clunky if you don’t know the full skillset. Information can be limited.
However, if you can get past all that, its such a deep and expansive game.
also, yeah, its pretty great with the little nub. You can also get the circle pad plus which adds a second circle pad on the other side. I think it might be a bit difficult to play monster hunter without it…
So what’s the difference between Generations and 4U? I doubt I’ll pick up a MH game now since I’ll have Fire Emblem and Zelda to keep me busy but maybe later on or if I see one on sale.
4u is a stand alone game in the series, sort of like a mainline game. It has a better story, an arguably easier introduction to the game, and much more harder difficulty content (g rank later in the game). It also released before generations (generations is the most recent version)
generations is sort of like a throwback version. There is essentially zero story, and it has a lot of the older maps, villages and monsters from the earlier games. However, it also introduces styles, which change how each weapon acts. There are 4 styles: guild, Aerial, adept, and striker. they add and remove skills to the weapons and give you different perks or bonuses. Also, generations has added “skills”, which are charged through fighting and do some big move, maybe a strong buff or an attack or something.
4u is basically a more authentic monster hunter, while generations has added a lot more variation. For what its worth, I enjoyed generations more. The story was not as good but I really like the styles (especially adept) and felt like they added a lot to the game. I also found the styles to make the gameplay a lot more forgiving. (monster hunter can be truly brutal at times so it isn’t always for the faint of heart)
Like most games, the story is kind of rubbish anyway so the lack of one in Generations didn’t bother me. The 4U story does give structure for newer players though, rather than letting you go pretty much anywhere right off the bat. I liked the four styles. The Palico mode I can take or leave.
The one thing I would really miss going back to 4U is the ‘hold to harvest’ shortcut. :)
After reading about how so many people lixe Monster Hunter series I was thinking of trying it out. Which one would be best? I was reading that Generations would be easier for a beginner?
Also, I have the 3Ds XL not sure if I can use that to play the game.
I picked up Generations when it was on sale for $20. So far I’ve only done a few training quests but I can say this game is a little…intimidating. There is a lot going on here and I think it will take some time to get familiar. There is definitely a lot of content though. This game will keep you busy.
