It’s finally here. I hold in my hands a genuine, brand spanking new aqua blue Nintendo 3DS!
Although I’ve played the 3DS a few times before, this is the first time I’ve had the chance to really check everything out. Here’s my impressions after having played around with this baby for the past few hours…
-I love the fact that midnight releases are now common for system launches and major releases.
-If I’m not mistaken, the final version of the system’s casing is identical or nearly identical to the one I played at E3 last year. I see no drastic changes in the system’s appearance, unlike when the original Nintendo DS was unveiled at E3 2004 in prototype form.
-I appreciate that the 3DS come packed with a 2GB SD card. It’s very convenient.
-The 3DS UI looks very nice. In many ways it’s a natural successor to the DSi UI, which was inspired by the Wii UI.
-I appreciate being able to control the 3D depth because my eyes feel somewhat strained after playing for a long time. Not sure if it’s because of the 3D of because it’s 4 in the morning. Probably a bit of both.
-I love staring at the 3D screen. I want to stare at it forever.
-The sliding thumb stick is far superior than the one on the PSP. Concave is the way to go.
-I am happy about the inclusion of a switch that controls the wireless capabilities. On the original DS and DSi, you had to go into the UI to turn it on or off. I know this will come in handy, especially when I need to conserve battery power.
-I have no idea what the battery life is like yet because I’ve only been using the 3DS on its initial charge. I feel kind of bad about playing it right out of the box because I remember reading somewhere that when you first receive an electronic device with a rechargeable battery, apparently you’re supposed to let it fully charge once before ever turning it on. Otherwise, apparently the battery will die faster. I’ve no idea if this is true or not.
-I wish the 3DS would lock into its bundled cradle accessory. If you want to handle the 3DS while its charging, make sure to pick it up by the cradle, not the 3DS. Otherwise, you will end up removing the 3DS from the cradle and it will stop charging.
-I didn’t pick up any games yet, but the system already comes with an impressive amount of pre-installed software.
-The Mii creation software is even better than the one for the Wii. I don’t think there are any new facial features and hairstyles, but being able to make a QR code for your Mii is awesome. I already have official Nintendo Miis for Reggie, Iwata, and Miyamoto.
-I’m excited to try out Street Pass. I had a blast with Dragon Quest IX’s tag mode and Street Pass seems even better because it’s integrated into the system.
-AR (Augmented Reality) Games could arguably be what Wii Sports was for the Wii. I had my girlfriend play around with a few games and she was blown away. Not only are they impressive and innovative, but they’re just plain fun.
-I need to get a case for this! I don’t want it to get scratched up. I want it to look shiny forever.
-With the exception of Portal 2, all of my gaming money will end up going towards 3DS stuff. I can already tell.
-The AR Games that require the player to physically move around don’t work well with the 3D screen because if you move your head, the 3D effect screws up. I either make sure to move the 3DS accordingly with my head’s movements, or I turn off the 3D effect.
-If you make sure that the AR cards are brightly lit, or you play in a brightly lit room, it helps the 3DS detect the cards.
-There is a noticeable amount of lag in the AR Games, for most games this is not a problem, but in Archery 2, I had some trouble because of it.
-The system itself feels very sturdy. The slot where 3DS and DS game are inserted is made to metal.
-There’s some software and functionality that doesn’t work yet. When I tap on the icon to use the web browser, it tells me that it will be included in a future system update. I wonder what else Nintendo might add in future updates.
Well, I think that’s enough for now. So far, I’m ecstatic. The last time I’ve felt this much excitement was when the original DS launched. I remember how psyched I was just to mess around with Pictochat. There are naysayers, but I feel that Nintendo has another winner on their hands. I don’t own a single 3DS game yet, but I’m already having a blast with it.
