Nintendo 3DS Review

If you go see a movie nowadays, you’ll most likely have the choice of watching it in traditional 2D or with 3D effects. The 3D effects work great on some films that have been made specifically with 3D equipment and cameras. For others that simply have added effects after they’ve been made, it’s not so impressive. Plus, you need to wear special glasses to see these 3D effects.

The 3D revolution is sweeping the world and game systems are catching up too. Nintendo’s newest handheld lets gamers experience glasses-free 3D effects right in the palm of their hands, but are the 3DS’s effects and added technological upgrades really worth its pricetag, let alone its short battery life?

Aesthetically, the 3DS looks very pretty. It currently comes in two colors. The Aqua Blue model gives you an aqua colored device with a black top inner shell, and the Cosmo Black model is all black but has a faded slate colored top cover and a slate outer base. Both models are very sleek and glossy, and all surfaces are shiny unlike previous matte finishes previous DS Lites and DS XLs have had. This means you might want to get a cover or some form of protection for your device or else it’ll get scratched or covered in fingerprints.

The 3DS sports an updated button layout and gives you a new Circle Pad above its D-pad which lets you move in 3D environments much more fluidly. It is made of a soft rubber material and is very responsive. Making quarter-circles and full-circle turns in Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, for example, is very effortless. Below the touch screen you’ll find the Start, Select, and Home buttons. Pressing them requires more force than your A,B,X,Y buttons, and it will take a bit of getting used to if you’ve played on previous DS devices.

You will also find an update to the shoulder buttons and they are now smaller and don’t feel like they’re going to detach from the device. They now click when you press them. The power button’s location has also changed, but don’t worry about pressing it accidentally as the system will alert you whether you want to put it on stand-by or shut it down.

Located on the 3DS’s top screen is its 3D depth slider that lets you control how much depth you will be getting from the 3D images it displays. The reason why the 3DS lets users view 3D graphics without glasses is because it uses a technology called autostereoscopy, which to put it in simple terms, involves lenses and alternating columns of pixels. The only downside to this is that you can’t view the 3D image from certain angles so your impression of the effect is different unless you’re looking straight at the screen. This is where the depth slider comes in.

Depending on your eyesight and personal preference, you might not crank up the 3D depth slider all the way to max. The more 3D you’re having the device emit, the more strain it will have on your eyes. But each person will have his or her own 3D sweetspot that’s both comfortable and noticeable. I got dizzy after playing on it the first time, but slowly my eyes adjusted to the 3D. It all depends on how long you’re gaming and Nintendo advises you take breaks every 30 minutes.

Once you view a game in 3D, you’ll realize how much potential this little system has. The 3D effects you’ll see are very much like pop-out dioramas and the added graphic output boost makes them look even better. The top screen is wider than the touch screen, so this gives games more space to show off their crisp graphics. Not to mention, the 3DS is capable of displaying 16.77 million colors so your games will look amazing.

The problems with the 3D effects actually increase when you use the device’s gyroscopic controls. Some games will let you tilt it to move your characters like Super Monkey Ball 3D, for example, but if you have the 3D on, you might get dizzy keeping track of where you are since the 3D will shift as you view it from different angles. This rather defeats the purpose of having 3D effects if you can’t use them all the time. Thankfully, that’s why you can turn it off whenever you want.

Once you turn on your device, you’ll be greeted with a user-friendly interface that expands on the DSi’s layout and combines it with the Wii’s channel displays. The 3DS comes ready some basic software such as Nintendo 3DS Sound that lets you record, edit, or play music tracks and Mii Maker that lets you create your own Mii like on the Wii. The device’s limited multi-tasking capabilities let you pause one program and open another. Unfortunately, you can’t have more than one program running at the same time, so this limits your multitasking by a lot. There are also two games that are more like glorified tech demos to show off the 3DS’s capabilities.

There are a total of three cameras on the 3DS, two external ones on its cover and one above the top screen. These cameras let you take 3D pictures and also take pictures of yourself to use with Mii Maker. One of the “free” games that comes with your 3DS is Face Raiders which takes a picture of your face and creates enemies that float all around your surroundings for you to shoot down. AR Games also utilize the 3DS’s cameras to read the included AR cards and project the data onto your screen. This creates a variety of games that take place right on your table and have you moving yourself around the card to play them. Both of these games require you to move around and they give you an impressive new way to game.

Nintendo has made going online a bit easier since you now only need to share one 3DS friend code instead of an individual one for each game you play. The code is still 12 digits long, but it’s a great leap forward in terms of online gaming. Your 3DS also has the ability to share your information with those around you using Street Pass. Some games let you share your information with other by simply walking by them and others like Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition even let you engage in battle while your 3DS sleeps. Your 3DS can also download updates and display notifications straight from Nintendo. Of course this means your 3DS needs to be turned on, and even in stand-by mode, its battery wanes.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to the pitiful battery life of the 3DS. If you’re playing a game with max brightness, full volume, on Wi-Fi, and the depth slider set to max, your system will only last you about three hours. Of course, you can always sacrifice some of these things like Wi-Fi and brightness to extend your battery, but that would take away from your gaming experience. This prevents you from taking your 3DS with you on a long trip that lacks power outlets, which defeats its purpose of being a handheld device.

Of course, you could always play your 3DS at home. Nintendo probably wanted to remove some of the pain of recharging your device since it includes a charge cradle that charges the 3DS with ease. All you have to do is place it on it, and walk away. Another thing that’s bizarre is that the system doesn’t achieve full brightness until it is plugged in. I guess this is to prevent it from losing even more juice, but after being used to bright DSi displays, you’ll notice your 3DS is darker than its predecessor. Maybe Nintendo really did want you to play it at home most of the time.

Actually, Nintendo also included a pedometer feature that gives you a coin for each 100 steps you take. These coins can be used to purchase in-game items in some games and for other unannounced purposes. It’s a nice little feature that makes you want to keep your 3DS turned on. Plus, having Street Pass on also lets you engage in data exchange with other people. But then you think of the battery life and you have to make a choice. Longevity or interactivity?

Time will tell how Nintendo uses the 3DS’s capabilities to the max, but until then, some may think its 3D is just a gimmick and not worth its $250 pricetag. Your 3DS can play all your DS titles and gives them to you with smoother graphics. Some will look fuzzier than other depending on their pixel count, but it’s great update if you have one of the older DS Lites. Nintendo hasn’t released its internet browser or activated eShop yet which are sure to give the 3DS more options. Until then, you’re limited to playing the few launch titles and the included games. You can take fun 3D photos, but they have low resolutions and appear really grainy when you transfer them to your computer. The camera only has .3 megapixels, just like the DSi, so don’t expect anything too impressive.

Despite its shortcomings and short battery life, Nintendo’s 3DS will give you a whole new way to play games. Plus with so many different ways to play a game – gyroscopic, touch-based, and 3D – developers will have many options when it comes to creating the next big titles. I personally can’t wait to see how future games will utilize the cameras and AR technology to give you a completely immersive gaming experience. Perhaps we’ll be able to catch Pokémon in real life someday.