Topic: Nintendo 3DS stuff

[TerraEsperZ]

Is it too late to join the club? I'm finally taking the plunge and buying a 3DS (the A Link Between Worlds bundle to be exact) after several weeks of convincing myself that with the excellent state of my finances, I really could stand to treat myself to a little something nice for once.

...

Laugh if you will, but it's really hard for me to spend money for things that I don't *need*. It took me weeks for example before I bought a tablet, months for an MP3 player, etc. Anyway, I'll post my information on the 22-23, whenever I'll actually receive the thing.

[TerraEsperZ]

Also, for those of you who already own a 3DS XL, is the system prone to damage or failure? The store (Best Buy) will most likely push for the extended warranty plan and I'd like to know if I'd be wasting my money or if it could really come in handy.

[Revned]

I got an XL a couple of months ago and have had no issues. Seems pretty solid. Don't give Best Buy any more money than you have to

[TerraEsperZ]

Ah hell, I just learned that the 3DS Zelda bundle has a download code instead of a cartridge, despite being assured otherwise by the employee I asked the question to. I'm saving 20$ but come one, this is *Zelda*! I don't care about your stupid download code, I want physical media as long as it exists .

This is the first handheld I've ever considered buying and it's already pissing me off a week in advance. That preorder is *so* cancelled, and I'm this close to giving up on the whole purchase altogether. I *hate* being misinformed like that, especially since the game being on physical media is what motivated me in the first place. The only reason I might not cancel my preorder is if one of you here wants to buy the download code from me for less than the full price (obviously). I don't know much about how Nintendo handle accounts and such but I've heard they pretty much suck at it and like to keep separate accounts for every device you own. I'm *not* trusting them with a download only game.

[JonLeung]

Whoa, calm down tiger.  Nintendo announced in their most recent Nintendo Direct video that they would be consolidating accounts.  Or something.  Maybe it was just 3DS and Wii U eShop balances.  I'm warming up to the idea of digital downloads for certain software (stuff like Wii Fit U, which should be easily accessible, and if I don't mind it "tied" to a particular console), but if there's a chance I want to trade or share games with others, I too prefer a physical version.

As for 3DS durability, it's weird...I consider myself pretty good about taking care of my stuff, and almost all my stuff back to the NES is in good working condition.  But the 3DS has been a different story.  It could be because I carry it with me ALL the time (for StreetPass tags primarily, I rarely play games when I'm anywhere but home).  Technically this is my third 3DS...  The first one I got on day one (March 2011).  By February 2012 I noticed that the B button was not very responsive, I had to push hard for it to register (could be why I sucked at Mario Kart 7, which I should probably get back to...remember the VGMaps Mario Kart community I made but never logged into?  Oops...).  It was still under Nintendo's warranty so I sent it in to Nintendo Of Canada as per their instructions and they very quickly sent me back a new 3DS unit - same colour of course - with all my stuff transferred over.  Also, another year of warranty.  Which was good because by February 2013 the headphones' audio wasn't working on one side, and as it was within the year of warranty I merely sent it in to Nintendo again and so I am now technically on my third 3DS.  They've been good about transferring stuff over (come to think of it, that happened a few weeks in with my first Wii), but I can imagine how frustrating it would be if they somehow didn't transfer your saves/games/etc. - I guess another reason why physical media is nice, you'd always know where it is...  It would be nice if Zelda games still regularly came in gold cartridges/discs.

If you like the StreetPass game included (Find Mii), then I recommend the other ones (the ones you have to pay $15 for).  They are strangely engrossing.  At least if you are guaranteed a few StreetPasses a day, like I do with my brother, co-worker, and on my commute.

[TerraEsperZ]

Sorry for the "overreaction"; I tend to be kind of a drama queen over annoying but ultimately not that important stuff. Sometimes it just feels good to let the whiny immature child inside you out for a little while before locking him up again in some dark corner of your brain for a couple of weeks or months. *ahem* Anyway...

I'm really not interested in Streetpass or any other feature like that. I'm not really (at all) a social gamer so even if I knew anyone with a 3DS (which I don't), I wouldn't be interested in the feature anyway. The only people I'd ever consider playing with would be my closest friends and unfortunately for me, we all have very different tastes in games and even platforms.

I've decided to stick with the bundle and simply sell the download code for the price it amount to, which is 20$ + taxes that I'll round to 25$. So if anyone here already has a 3DS and wants the game for a little over half its full price, let me know.

I'm not sure what other games I'll buy though. So far, "Super Mario 3D Land" looks interesting in a Super-Mario-Galaxy-lite way, as well as "Shantae and the Pirate's Curse" once it comes out. "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D" might be interesting if only to have a version of the game that has a chance of aging well, and "New Super Mario Bros 2" because why not get more Mario platforming goodness?

[JonLeung]

Oh, you'd be surprised about StreetPass.  It's not about live multiplayer gaming, since you're picking up others' Miis when you walk by them, and "using" them in the games, not really interacting with them.  Really it's a bunch of single-player games, where you just need to run into other people with a 3DS to progress with.

For starters, you'd be getting puzzle pieces you need to complete Nintendo-themed puzzles (you get copies of whatever puzzle pieces they have, and they would get copies of whatever puzzle pieces you have), or using them in Find Mii (and Find Mii II), an RPGish game where you use collected Miis to fight monsters, and the colour that they're wearing determines what magic spell they have on hand.  At least try those free/included things out before you decide if you want to buy any of the other StreetPass games, of which the current four others are really quite neat and varied:

-Mii Force: a spaceship shooter where each person you StreetPass provides a different weapon depending on their colour
-Flower Town: a game about growing flowers where you pollinate with other people's flowers
-Warrior's Way: a strategy game about conquering the world using rock-paper-scissors to defeat others' armies
-Monster Manor: a puzzle/RPG where the colour of StreetPassed Miis allow you construct rooms with that colour, and bigger rooms of the same colour get you treasures

I'm also not a social gamer when it comes to handhelds, for whatever reason, but I love all the StreetPass games - if you carry your 3DS around all the time like I do, you're bound to get some each day, and it's a nice twice-to-thrice daily diversion.

As for the games you mentioned, I loved Super Mario 3D Land (longer yet easier than expected), any Shantae game is good, and I enjoyed Ocarina Of Time (yet again, and the 3D effect is really nice in that).  I must say New Super Mario Bros. 2 was okay, but I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as Super Mario 3D Land or even the other New Super Mario Bros. games and I never felt like going back to get the 1,000,000 Coins goal.  Of course I'm looking forward to The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds which comes out tomorrow, but currently my 3DS time is devoted to StreetPass Mii Plaza (I'm serious), and Pokémon Y (not sure how interested you would be if this is really your first handheld, but it does feel friendlier to newcomers to the series).

[TerraEsperZ]

Well, I've had my 3DS for two days so far and restrained myself to buying only Super Mario 3D Land and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. I've said Zelda aside for now, preferring to keep the best for last and I've been making my way through Super Mario 3D Land. It's quite a bit easier than I anticipated but given how I'm not used to handheld controls, it's alright; I've reached World 5 and I've collected every Star Medals so far as well as reached 99 lives. I hope there's a secret world or something near the end because otherwise, it's going way too fast!

Sadly, I have to interest in Pokemon or anything where the primary gameplay involves collecting a whole bunch of things or creatures, nor in anything that resembles modern JRPG (so no Kingdom Heart either). I might let myself be tempted by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D eventually but after that, there are really no other games at present that interest me. I've always been a fan of Nintendo's first party franchises so hopefully there are exciting things in the future to look forward to.

[TerraEsperZ]

Well, I'm half-way through the Special Worlds with Mario with all gold flags and every star medals collected so far, and I think I might have damaged my vision ? Because every time I'm staring at my computer screen without focusing too much on it, parts of it seem to pop out in 3D. So yeah, I should probably take a break for a few days.

(Oh who am I kidding, I'll never be able to stop playing until I've either achieved 100% or reached the limits of my skills...)