I recently took my 3DS on a trip to Portland Oregon and it got me thinking about all the great 3DS games I still love playing after all these years! Which ones do you still play on the 3DS? Which eShop games do you recommend people pick up before the store gets shut down?

GAMES SHOWN:

Luigi’s Mansion : Dark Moon

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate

NANO ASSAULT

Super Mario 3D Land

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

Andro Dunos II

3D Classics: Excitebike

3D Outrun

Siesta Fiesta

Box Boy

Fire Emblem Awakening

Kirby: Planet Robobot

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION (English)

– [Metal Jesus] Hey guys, Metal Jesus here, and I am back again with a new video, this time talking all about the 3DS games I play all the time. You guys know that I love to travel and one of the things I like to do is mix up which handheld I take with me on my trip. Recently I took a road trip down to Portland, Oregon, for the Side Quest Expo, and this time I busted out my 3DS. It had been a couple months since I had messed around with the system, but it got me thinking what some of my favorite games to play on it are. And so I’m gonna share that with you now.

Now, there are two “Luigi’s Mansion” games on the 3DS and both of ’em are very good, but I prefer the sequel, which is “Dark Moon.” This game takes everything that was good about the Game Cube remake and just adds a little bit more spice to it. I love these games. You play as Luigi and you are going around a haunted mansion trying to solve puzzles. You’re doing some ghost-busting. These games are full of charm, they’re full of personality and they play really great. There’s nothing quite like them. I like how they stand on their own. And again, “Dark Moon” on the 3DS is one of my go-to-games.

Next up might be a little bit of a controversial one, least it was I guess when it came out. That is “Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate.” This is the sequel to “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” that came out on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 and the PC. And this is a very different “Castlevania” game. First of all, combat feels very “God of War” like, where it’s slowed down a bit from the classic “Castlevania” game. In here, enemies take several hits to kill and you’ll need to worry about blocking and also dodging more than you typically would in a “Castlevania” game. I’d almost go so far to say that this is kind of like a 2.5 D platforming, beat ’em up. Again, not exactly what longtime “Castlevania” fans were maybe hoping for, but I think it stands on its own. You play as several different characters and I like how it spices up the game and the story a little bit. And this game has amazing 3D visuals, some of the best on the system. There’s a lot of detail and animations in the environment and the depth of field feels really good in this game. It’s something to behold. I think this is a really cool reboot of the “Castlevania” franchise and it’s one I enjoy playing when I do pick up the 3DS.

Next up is “Nano Assault.” So this is a 3D twin stick style shoot ’em up, although it doesn’t actually use that second nub to fire. Instead, you move with the directional pad and then you shoot in the four directions with those A, B, Y, and X buttons. And this is a spiritual successor to “Nanostray” that came out on the DS. That’s also a really fun game, but again, here you just get an updated version with 3D graphics. I like how the levels are round or circular, so you’re spinning around them, which, again, lends itself really well to the 3D visuals. It shows that depth in a really cool way. And this is a hard as nails arcade style shooter that will definitely keep you on your toes, but for me it keeps me coming back time and time again. I wanna beat this game.

This one is a no-brainer. It’s “Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.” I’ve talked about this before, but I’ve always loved the “Donkey Kong Country” series, all the way back to the first time that I saw it running in a Toys ‘R’ Us at a demo kiosk. And I just thought it was amazing on the Super Nintendo. And I have to say these platforming games still hold up today. And again, the 3DS version is great. These games are challenging and fun and full of things to find and collect. I mean, they’re a classic for a reason. And like so many other games in this video, the 3D visuals really enhance the gameplay. Instead of just being a gimmick or distracting, you can tell this game was really optimized for the hardware, for the handheld.

Here’s a relatively new game to my 3DS library. I’m gonna try to pronounce it, I think it’s called “Andro Dunos 2.” This is a 3D version of a side scrolling arcade classic shoot ’em up. Normally, one of the things that makes shoot ’em ups so difficult is that there’s just so much going on. Enemies and bullets tend to blend into the background, that scrolling and creating this kind of chaotic mess to just track, right? Here, because you have that 3D effect, well, enemies and bullets are in the foreground, which helps you when you’re trying to play and keep track of everything. It just completely changes the game. Now, that doesn’t mean that this is an easy game, not by a long shot, but the 3D really helps in addition to just being really cool looking. And this game does have a small tutorial and it also has difficulty settings, so it’s very beginner friendly.

Here’s another one that’s a no-brainer. That is “Super Mario 3D Land.” You know, this is a 3D “Mario” game that is, again, is just perfectly designed for the 3DS hardware. The 3D visuals are very nice here. The game will often use them to give you a new path or let you go around things that feel very natural. Now, like a lot of these games, the 3D isn’t required for you to play it, but I do think you get a better experience with it turned on. This game is a nice mix of traditional 2D “Mario” and the more open 3D “Mario” games. And, again, one that I think is just brilliant on the 3DS.

There are a handful of racing games on the 3DS, and you see a couple of ’em here. But for me, the one I keep going back to, the one I think is a real standout is “Asphalt 3D.” This is a traditional arcade racing game and it looks really good, again, especially in 3D. You don’t have to play it in 3D, but I like how it has that depth there. That’s kind of what I’m looking for, right? ‘Cause I’m using it on the handheld, I wanna get that 3D effect. The only downside is that sometimes it does have a little bit of a performance issue. It may not run smoothly 100% of the time, and that’s a real common problem with racing games on the handheld. But, again, I think that “Asphalt 3D” does it right. I really like how the drifting works in this game. Feels very easy to control, even more so than the “Ridge Racer” game on the 3DS. So if you’re looking for an arcade racing game on the 3DS, I do recommend “Asphalt 3D.”

Sega released a bunch of 3D versions of their classic arcade home and console games, including “Shinobi 3,” “Power Drift,” and also “Sonic the Hedgehog.” But for me, it’s the arcade racing game “Outrun” that I think is absolutely brilliant on the 3DS. Giving that extra dimension to a game that is already fun and timeless just adds a little spice to the sauce. Does this game need 3D? No, but it’s better for it.

And speaking of classic games that got the 3D enhancement, you have “Excitebike.” One of my favorite games on the original NES is “Excitebike.” I loved that when it came out, both in the arcade and at home. And when I heard there was gonna be a 3D version, oh, I couldn’t buy this fast enough. And again, like “Outrun” it doesn’t really need the 3D aspect to it, but it is really cool, especially for a game I’ve played for decades now. And, again, just to have a new kind of jazzed-up version of it, I think it’s awesome.

Another eShop digital game that I often am addicted to is “Siesta Fiesta.” Now there have been a lot of “Breakout” and “Arkanoid” clones over the decades, but “Siesta Fiesta” is one of the more original and best in my opinion. Basically this game takes that brick breaking concept and adds a bunch of additional layers of fun and complexity to it. For instance, you can double tap on the lower screen when the ball hits that little bed down there, and then it gives it more power, more juice to go up. And then notice that the screen scrolls, which I think is pretty cool at keeping the game flowing and also the challenge fresh. And like “Arkanoid,” there are a lot of power ups that you can collect and there’s also things to avoid and little secrets to discover. It’s definitely not the deepest game, but, again, sometimes when I am on a handheld, I’m traveling, I just want a quick little fun arcade experience. And this is a really fun one, especially if you have just a few minutes to play.

Another eShop game that I really like is called “Box Boy.” And basically this is a platforming puzzle game where you play as a character that can squeeze out boxes to help you navigate the environment. What’s interesting about this game is that you have a limited number of boxes set at the beginning of each level and then you can configure them almost in like “Tetris” shapes. And this is important when you need to get past a pit or a certain obstacle or try to reach a higher platform. This is definitely a good brain teaser and something that will have you scratching your head trying to solve some of these puzzles. I got stuck a few times, but, again, when you figure it out you definitely feel rewarded for doing so. Like, “Okay, that made sense, that was cool.”

I don’t often talk about tactical role playing games, but I’ve been addicted to several in the past including “Final Fantasy Tactics” on GBA, “Jeanne Dark” on PSP, “The Banner Saga,” “Tactics Ogre” on the PSP and more recently the Switch port, and even “Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance” on the Game Cube. So, I was originally very intrigued when I heard that “Fire Emblem: Awakening” was coming to the 3DS, and now it’s considered a classic. This is the 13th game in a long-running series that now enjoys a lot of popularity. If you aren’t familiar with this type of RPG, well, basically it takes place on a grid and it’s turn-based and then you have multiple characters that you control that have different classes and different personalities, different backstories. And what’s interesting about these games is that often they raise the stakes of combat by making character death permanent. So again, you get attached to ’em, and then they could actually die for real in the game and you can’t use ’em anymore. But they did introduce a casual mode, if that’s a little bit too much stress for you, which is a nice option. These type of RPGs are not gonna be for everybody, especially if you prefer more, you know, faster pace action combat. But, I sometimes really enjoy the kind of thoughtful nature of these games. And “Awakening” is a great one. It is highly recommended.

I also can’t forget about what is my favorite game on the 3DS and that is “Kirby: Planet Robobot.” I’m sorry, I’m like a broken record with this game. Anybody who talks to me about the 3DS usually gets an earful as to how I just absolutely love this game. Now, there have been a lot of Kirby Games. This happens to be the 11th game in the Kirby series. It comes right after “Triple Deluxe,” and there’s just something very perfect about this game. I think that it has the right amount of cuteness, but also there’s a bad-assery to this game. I especially like it when Kirby transforms into this hulking robot and he basically just lays waste to all the enemies and also a bunch of stuff in the environment. And like so many of these other games, you don’t have to play in 3D, but I feel like this is definitely enhanced if you do. Especially on levels like this you see here, where there’s a depth to the level and I don’t know, it’s kind of gimmicky, but it’s also really cool. I actually think this is a perfect game. I played it and beat it twice now and I’m tempted to go back and replay it again.

And then finally I wanna mention the Street Pass feature that is built into the 3DS. I was reminded this weekend just how much fun it is to add people to your Street Pass as you are walking around the convention center. And I met a lot of people, and you can see here over the years, I’ve taken my three 3DS to many expos, and now I have over 700 people in here. That’s such a cool option. I wish they had it on Switch.

So, there you go guys, that is just some of the games that I go back to and play on my 3DS all the time. However, like you see here, there are many, many more great 3DS games for you to choose from. Any of these games you see here, I could have easily included on this list. It’s such a cool handheld, so many great games on it. But I would love to know down in the comments, what are some of your go-to 3DS games? Which games do you play when you are sitting down with that awesome handheld? And as always, guys, I wanna thank you for watching my channel. Thank you for subscribing and take care.