Nintendo 3DS (image: nintendo.com)
After digging into the 3DS hardware a couple of weeks ago, I got rather excited about Nintendo’s new gaming machine. Not just for a new shiny piece of kit, but for the new and creative ways it will enable my family to play and share games.
Since then I’ve been tracking down every last scrap of information on the upcoming 3DS games. Some of these are exciting as soon as you hear about them, while others take a bit more digging to understand why they’d be worth playing. Here’s the top five 3DS games I’m looking forward to:
3DS Pilotwings Resort
Pilotwings Resort 3DS offers Bi-planes, Jetpacks and Parachutes as it returns us to Wii-Sports Resort’s island – only now it’s in miniature 3D.
The 3DS’s first party flying game merges classic game play from Pilotwings with Wii-Sports Resort flying. Returning to the same location with more aircraft and challenges is not only prudent but also sounds like a lot of fun.
3DS Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing 3DS looks like it was made for the 3DS. The first thing that strikes you about Animal Crossing on the new system is the higher resolution display. Moving from two 2D screens to one 3D screen frees up the lower screen for interaction, as well as answering critics of the largely empty top screen on the DS version.
With that higher resolution comes a higher level of customization as well. More screen real estate provides more space to lay out your fung-shui homestead and display hard won rewards.
3DS Mario Kart
Mario Kart 3DS gets a boost from 3DS visual horsepower and 3D display. The higher resolution display takes the compact nature of Mario Kart DS and moves it towards a Wii look and feel.
Combined this with the 3D element of the upper 3DS display and you have the pieces for an exciting Mario Kart game. The game looks to include tracks from existing and classic Mario Kart games as well as new courses created specifically to capitalize on the 3DS features.
3DS Professor Layton
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle 3DS leverages the usual winning formula, only now it’s sprinkled with high fidelity visuals and a genuine depth of field.
This adds another English translation to the iconic series. The first 3DS version focuses more on finesse than innovation. The Mask of Miracle maintains the familiar approach, aesthetic and setting as you embark on a mystery in a bustling European city.
3DS Street Fighter IV
Super Street Fighter 4 3DS presence on the 3DS is testament to the visual horsepower of the new machine and is one of the more surprising titles in the lineup.
As part of a push to engage third parties on the 3DS hardware from launch – Nintendo have done well to include the classic fighting game in their line up. While my kids don’t play the console version I’m hoping the scaled down visuals on the 3DS game will make things more appropriate.
It’s these games, rather than the direct remakes of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3DS and 3DS Starfox 64 that have got me most excited. Although I must admit, looking in more detail at those I was impressed with the level of work being invested to give them a new lease of life.
My next port of call for 3DS investigation is the DSi-Ware support and Gameboy Virtual console. These aspects alone of the new handheld could keep me entertained for hours.
With all this though, what it comes down to is a chance to share classic games with my kids, while also discovering new experiences for them to make fresh memories of their own.
