Nintendo DS Line Retrospective
I personally want to know when I ask this, but how many of you never grew up on any of the Game Boy handhelds? Because I never did. I was surrounded by a lot of kids that had some form of a Game Boy, and always felt the odd one out at times. I had a Sega Genesis growing up, but that was taken away from me for reasons I don't want to explain here, although I got it back at least nine years later. About ten and a half years ago, I got a PlayStation 2 for my birthday which brought me back into the gaming world, but I personally feel I didn't ever get into gaming until my parents bought me a red Nintendo DS system, which came with Mario Kart DS as a Christmas present. That little system was my early teenage years, with the amount of time I put into it. Sure a part off me was somewhat jealous of my cousin who had gotten a DS Lite at least a year later, given the compact redesign, improved backlit screen, and the longer battery life. But at the same time, I was still content with the DS that I had owned for three and a half years and the games that I had gotten for it. I still have Mario Kart DS, even though I don't really play it anymore. If I ever had one major regret with the system, it's this. Around the end of 2008, Nintendo announced and released in Japan the DSi, which offered a built in camera and improved online functionality. And the biggest regret I've had with the red Mario Kart DS I had gotten was the decision to upgrade, and trade the system over to GameStop to get a DSi in it's place, and I never saw it again. In a way, I feel awful now over having done such a thing. For one, I had gotten a few Game Boy Advance games for it, and I had the DS to play them. When I got the DSi, I was no longer able to play those games. I decided to give the games away to a friend of mine, and they just vanished. But that's all in the past now, and I've learned from my mistakes. And in a way, I'm glad I did upgrade, though. I love how the backlit screen was improved from the original DS, and it honestly bugged me how tiny and nearly feeble the styluses were on the original DS. And I'm glad that Nintendo's made the styluses larger with each of the newer models. I still have my black DSi, which still works, although the shoulder buttons effectively make it useless. Then again, how many people had button issues with the DSi?It was around the summer of 2010 and an issue of Gameinformer where I would learn of the Nintendo 3DS. And personally, I was interested in getting it. A control stick of sorts, graphical capabilities that could be comparable to a handful of GameCube games, and the telescopic stylus captured my interest. Heck, I was already sold on getting it when The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was announced of being remade on the 3DS, having already played it on the Wii Virtual Console. I
guess it's ironic that Ocarina of Time 3D would literally be the first legitimate 3DS game I would get for it, and that wouldn't be until a month and a half after I got my 3DS, so I was stuck with the DS games I already had. And after I got the 3DS, I never went back to the DSi. Heck, I forget at times that I have it, because it's become useless to me.Anyway, if the Nintendo DS was my early teenage years and the DSi part of my mid teenage years, then the 3DS was definitely my late teenage years. And out of all of the gaming oriented devices I have owned, I'd say that the 3DS has given me some of the fondest gaming memories I've had so far, with maybe the Nintendo Wii or the PlayStation 3 sharing second place for my fondest gaming memories. I still own my Aqua Blue 3DS, and I don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Around the end of 2014, I'd hear the first announcements of the "New" Nintendo 3DS. It's funny how much opinions can change, because when I first heard about it, I thought it was the stupidest idea, and at the time I was still content with the 3DS I had gotten. (Laughs) Around the middle of January, I'd actually get the Hyrule Gold Edition "New" Nintendo 3DS Xl, and just to make one thing clear; I hate the use of the term NEW to differentiate it from the previous models. Worse thing is, I think it just adds more confusion. For the rest of this review/retrospective, I'm just going to call it the "Super" Nintendo 3DS. Anyone going to complain? No?; GOOD! Back to the topic at hand;The Super Nintendo 3DS is in my eyes the best Nintendo handheld that Nintendo's made so far. It's funny, I thought is was odd having the cartridge slot at the bottom when I first saw it, but it makes it so much easier to swap out games. And I love the little improvements Nintendo made with the device such as the faster processors, allowing for shorter loading times, and faster download speeds. It might not sound like much, but games like Smash Four and Majora's Mask 3D should be played on the Super Nintendo 3DS, I think they benefit on the newer handheld, especially on the XL. And I personally really love the larger screens. Speaking of which, I thought having XL versions of DS handhelds was the stupidest idea back in 2010, now I look forward to future XL handhelds that Nintendo makes. And to bring up the elephant in the room, I never actually used the 3D feature on the first 3DS I had gotten. To be fair, I found it difficult to work with, and I personally disabled it, only using it if I was curious. Especially since turning the 3D on made the system's battery life drop like a rock. I'm glad to see that the 3D now works as how Nintendo possibly envisioned it back in 2011, although I still don't use it if I'm finding games to start lagging a lot while it's on.If I only had one complaint with the Super Nintendo 3DS XL, it's the obvious fact that the size of the system really sacrifice portability for having in my eyes; a better gaming experience. For an idea, I love to wear cargo pants, and if I could carry my normal 3DS around with no problem. The XL doesn't even fit into my cargo pants by comparison. Granted I can stuff it into the pockets of my pea coat to carry it around, but it really looks awkward pulling the system out to game, given how massive it is. Oh, well. My problem. Get past all of that, I highly recommend getting the Super Nintendo 3DS XL.That all aside, I really love the Nintendo DS line long story short, and I personally look forward to whatever "new" handheld Nintendo makes in the future. My favorite games I've enjoyed on the DS would have to be the Pokémon games, Kirby Super Star Ultra, Mario Kart DS, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. For 3DS, I'd have to say ignoring remakes Kid Icarus Uprising, Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Smash Bros., and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.Now I want to hear your thoughts on the DS family. Did you grow up on the DS line since beginning like I did, or did you get into this system family later? Do you love the DS family, or do you still prefer the GameBoy family of handhelds?