I love my 3DS. It feels good in my hands, the display is so vibrant (and effectively destroys every complaint I've ever had about cinematic 3D), the UI is beautiful and fun to use. It's a system that Nintendo has knocked out of the park right in its first iteration. The only problem is that it "collects dust" (to use that overused trope). I've had precisely one game for it for three months, and that game – Rayman 3D – isn't exactly compelling. I know that the DS' launch was similarly anemic, and this is also the first console I've bought day one, but it's been quite a wait for something to use my $250 3D box on.
Though it can't hope to compete with the heavy-hitting retail games coming out in the next couple of months (which will be the real litmus test for the 3DS's market viability), the launch of the eShop has helped to stop the bleeding for a little while, anyways. The company is following the same model they have with the Wii – a combination of retro Virtual Console games and system-specific 3DSWare games – but with much improved functionality and usefulness.
The shop itself manages that Nintendo charm of being completely usable while also being a joy in and of itself to use. This is a massive improvement over the Wii's Shop Channel, even if it shares many of the same aesthetic touches. Delightfully bouncy music plays, the shop's subsections are divided into large, colourful blocks, and a sentient shopping bag character (not nearly as creepy as it sounds) traipses around the screen. It's very welcoming.
While the organization may not deliver the "EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME" mentality of something like, say, XBox Live, it does allow Nintendo to curate far more clearly than the "well, let's just put our stuff in this place and hope people find it" organization of the Shop Channel. Besides the aforementioned Virtual Console and 3DSWare sections, the eShop also has (almost) every DSiWare game ever made. More importantly, though, Nintendo has also created rotating "featured" sections. For instance, one category that came out on day one was a Mario-themed category; another had puzzle games only. Finally, the "staff picks" section is uniformly awesome, and actually highlights a lot of games that kind of flew under the radar, yet seem like they could be really cool. Everything's laid out very nicely, and everything is very responsive. As well, the 3D images created for some of the games are kind of amazing. The 3DS Excitebike's info pane is, in particular, a triumph of modern 8-bit design.
There are, however, a few legitimate complaints that could be leveled against the eShop. One is that it absolutely should have been included with the 3DS from the start, especially as a way to sate the day-one buyers like myself. What that likely would have meant was delaying the console launch rather than accelerating the development of the eShop, which, judging by the 3DS's lacklustre numbers, might not have been a terrible idea. The system update button isn't that hard to find, but the eShop should be mandatory for anyone with an internet connection, so the fact that you have to go through a slightly cumbersome process just to get what should be one of the 3DS's primary functions is a little irksome. Finally, and this is purely because we've been spoiled by the likes of Apple and Google, the eShop's prices might seem a little steep. $5.99 for a Gameboy game, especially in the age of emulation, might seem like a pretty big slap in the face, especially since (in Canada, at least) sales tax isn't included in the price. You also have to buy eShop points in increments of $5, meaning you'll always have leftovers that can't be used. I'm OK with this – it's clearly Nintendo catering to a younger fanbase – but I definitely would have preferred an iTunes-esque system that just deducted the exact price of a game rather than taking it out of a "pool" of money.
And finally, Nintendo has started the run of 3D video trailers on the eShop, and while they look fantastic and show off the system's capabilities nicely (while also getting me salivating for the likes of Star Fox and Ocarina of Time), having to download them directly to your system is a little cumbersome. Some sort of streaming service would have been considerably better. (Side note: when this thing gets Netflix, I'm never going to see this system again. It's going to be my girlfriend's system. I'm OK with that.)
Overall, though, the shop's benefits outweigh its negatives. Just like the Wii's Virtual Console, one has to go in with the mentality that actually going on eBay and buying a cartridge would cost much more than the Virtual Console release, and it has perfect emulation to boot. Add in the awesome feeling that browsing the store has, and I think that Nintendo has finally – finally! – entered the 21st century with their service. It's not on the cutting edge like the Android marketplace or anything like that, but it's fun and easy to use, and demonstrates Nintendo's seriousness with their online offerings. As long as the content delivers, they could have a hit on their hands.
GAME REVIEWS
The 3DS launched with a few games of note. So far, the system is delivering classic Gameboy and Gameboy Colour games, but expect that to eventually expand into GBA games and maybe even Virtual Boy games. As well, Nintendo is "remastering" classic games from their catalog in 3D. The first such game is…
Excitebike 3D
The original Excitebike is one of Nintendo's oldest games, and while it's incredibly simple, it's still a ton of fun to play today. It's basically a sidescrolling racing game wherein you race against the time instead of other drivers. You hit ramps and you try not to tumble off your bike. That's all there is to it, and frankly, that's all this series has ever needed – games like Excitebike 64 muddied up this game's pristine design with too much realism. This isn't a realistic game – it is, to some degree a simulation, but filtered through an NES lens, making it far more fun than an actual dirtbiking simulator. There's not a ton of depth, but once again, there doesn't need to be -this is as pure a videogaming experience as you can get.
As for the 3D effect, it's interesting but not entirely necessary. It works purely as an aesthetic contrivance, but not a gameplay one. So in essence, it's a gimmick, but a very pleasing gimmick nonetheless. What's especially cool, though, is that the 3D slider acts as a camera adjustment as well. With the 3D turned down, the camera is zoomed in, but with the depth all the way up, the camera is panned out to show off the 3D environments. Arika, the developers (also behind Endless Ocean) have accurately recreated the original game, and it's quite nice to look at. And the touchscreen controls for track building (easily the best part of both the original game and this one) add a level of elegance to the whole design. That, more than the 3D, is the reason to pick this one up. Well, that and it's free for the next couple of weeks.
Pokedex 3D
Not really a game so much as an opportunity to geek out over Pokemon and use your AR cards. It's a free application and you really shouldn't treat it as anything more than the opportunity to look at some cool dioramas. There's some neat SpotPass features where you can kind of "collect them all," and the idea of (FINALLY) a fully 3D Pokemon game is definitely teased here. Beyond that, this is kind of useless.
.png)
Super Mario Land
First, let's talk about the good things that Nintendo's done here. You can choose to emulate this in an idealized black and white, or you can emulate it in the actual colours that the Gameboy was able to produce, a kind of puke green. As well, there's the outline of a Gameboy on the screen, which really helps to present a pretty charming take on traditional emulation. Finally, Nintendo has smartly included save states and other elements of emulation, though being able to remap buttons would have been a huge bonus, and not too hard to implement.
As for the first game that has come out, well, it's a bit of a dud. Super Mario Land is easily the worst main series Mario game. The game looks like a third-rate company trying to make a knock-off Mario game, as the aesthetics are all wrong and just plain weird. Other than that, it's standard run-jump gameplay, though the absence of Miyamoto shines through in this aspect as well, as Mario controls completely differently than in his NES counterparts. It's not a terrible game, but it's also not good, and in a genre and a series with such a low tolerance for anything resembling a misstep, this one sticks out like a sore thumb. There's not too much 2D platforming on the 3DS yet, so that might be a reason to get this (or if you've never had a Gameboy, like me), but otherwise your best bet is just to wait.
Link's Awakening DX
This, on the other hand, is pure gold. This is one of the very best 2D Zelda games ever made (right up there with A Link to the Past). I'll definitely have a longer review when I actually play through the game for my Zelda feature, but it's a classic through and through, with enough to separate it from its brethren to not feel stale. Bonus: with the added fidelity of the 3DS screen, this Gameboy Colour game looks just as good as a GBA game. That's surely also due to Nintendo's unflagging artistic detail – Link's Awakening looks good no matter what era it's being played in.