Allow me to show you the 3DS a bit

Drew-B

Well, this was my first-ever system pre-order. I have plenty of thoughts about the system and the like, but I want to keep the OP brief and just show some vids, leaving the discussion for the thread itself. I'm just glad to see the power of the system in these clips. Most of the launch games I own look a little rough or might as well be DS games...

Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars -- Gameplay around :30

The handheld game where my average playtime is 50 minutes and I've put in over 35 hours goes at the top of this thread. It's the best original title on the system. Embrace it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc7HYUWLhl0&feature=relmfu

Resident Evil: Revelations -- Gameplay around :45

I've always enjoyed the RE games, from the classics to RE:4 and even RE:5. Those that would like to see the franchise reigned in a bit, this game features a "brand new story line with a return to survival horror"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5QTLtLr844

Resident Evil: Mercenaries -- Best gameply around 1:00

The full mercenaries suite. We enjoyed RE:4 Mercernaries so much in college, my roommates and I would actually sit on the couch to take turns playing this "one player" minigame game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwys0ee70x4&feature=fvst

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater -- In-game hype trailer

It's MGS: Snake Eater in your hand, which is awesome. I know Jeff Gerstmann may say that full console experiences are completely unnecessary on a handheld. With respect, Gerstmann doesn't co-habitate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0avWN8PYRk&feature=related

Mario Kart: 3DS -- All gameplay

It looks slick and it's Mario Kart. I'm not sure how I feel about this franchise anymore, but who would I be to not include it here? This isn't a direct feed, but I'm still including it because it's nice to see how much slicker the games appear on their native device and not some device-to-PC rip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H82Srqie2kk&feature=related

Luigi's Mansion 2 -- Gameplay around :10

It looks incredibly charming, has some great music and makes great use of the 3D (if you have a device, you can download 3D trailers of games from the eshop, quite quickly on wifi, I might add). Sweet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-xVPaDUR18

Super Marion 3DS -- Gameplay around :30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7-2ONYDpvU

I've heard a lot of knee-jerk reactions to this. Honestly, when I saw it before hearing other's complain, I immediately thought, "I must have this." Hopefully it'll be a blast.

Ocarina of Time 3D

It's fantastic. It's also my first time playing through the game. (Was more of a PC/Quake kind of person at the time).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuCXrryVJZ8&feature=related

Maximum

I really wanted one of these but I told myself

"Self, just wait a year and get the 3DS Lite or XL or whatever crap they come up with"

A new Paper Mario may be too tempting though.

LTM

Ars has taken quite a violent opposition to Mercenaries:3D

DJ Eebs

I almost bought one of these last week with ocarina but I thought better of it. Then I found out that it was on the virtual console and when I went to download it I found out that my brother had already downloaded it and never played it. And that is the story of how I saved $300

Garlic Bread

I have one and Zelda. Zelda's gorgeous on it.

I played the Resident Evil Revelations demo on the Mercenaries cart. It's literally 2 minutes long. You kill 3 monsters and then it says "to be continued"

Garlic Bread

They should get the people that made 3D Dot Game Heroes to remake A Link to the Past in that gameplay style (but a more traditional graphic style)

unintentional

I'm going to be borrowing zelda from a friend in a couple weeks, gonna be fun

meanwhile I am killing time at work by pretending to improve at street fighter (oh my god I am bad at street fighter)

Kochikens

excuse me where the fuck is nintencats

Aeyther

Ocarina of Time is beautiful on the 3ds.

Can't wait for paper mario, animal crossing and luigi's mansion.

Drew-B

Really, the only complaint I have about the hardware is the screen size, which is rather disappointing. Going from my 4.3" HTC phone to my 3DS is like stepping back in time. I also have some trouble with the L and R buttons but that may just be because I'm an adult.

Given the fact that they really have no way of increasing the screen without increasing the resolution itself and thus, the hardware, I don't feel like I'm missing out by waiting for a stretched out XL version.

Other than being thick, the device really is incredibly slick. It doesn't hit you at first, but the entire top half of the device, screen, speakers and all, is a completely flat glass-like surface. It's also not evident in most other photos that the surface of the bottom half, accompanying the screen and face buttons, has a glass-like glaze over it, too.

This image adds in a "sheen" but before holding the device and really examining it, it didn't hit me how slick it is despite its thickness, which is far skinnier than my wallet or a pack of cigaretttes.

King Riptor

The Geebs That Is A Pony wrote: »

I almost bought one of these last week with ocarina but I thought better of it. Then I found out that it was on the virtual console and when I went to download it I found out that my brother had already downloaded it and never played it. And that is the story of how I saved $300

This version has the master quest a better item management system a boss rush though.

so you know its better in every possible way.

Garlic Bread

Koshian wrote: »

paper mario & animal crossing are comin out sometime this year so there's that

I don't think either of those were confirmed for this year?

Mario Kart and Super Mario 3D were

Agahnim

I do not have $300 for this

Garlic Bread

Paper Mario says November 2011 on Wikipedia (without a source) but Animal Crossing says TBA

I mean I'd love it, but I don't remember hearing otherwise

Drew-B

Koshian wrote: »

woah that ghost recon game is very x-comy, cool

It was made by former X-com people. It has the unfortunate appearance of looking like another shit Ubisoft game. It garnered 7-8-range scores, but games like this often do. It's not exactly mainstream, and the production values (this could have been a DS game) didn't help.

It has all the addictive tropes. Typical scenario: In one turn, you might sneak your cloaked unit up to backstab a guy, giving her enough points to perform a super-attack on her next turn (double damage + another turn). On this same turn, you could spend some of your command points on an airstrike, but instead you spend them on a "rejuvination" of the cloaked unit, restoring her action points. With a fresh set of action points, you use her super attack you've built up, killing another enemy, then use the additional turn allotted by the super attack to kill a third. Hell, or you could just set up a sentry gun with your engineer in a safe place to repair and lob grenades.

If plotting out little shit like this is fun to you, you'd love this game. I can't count how many times a "mission failed" screen has just made me double down and think "this time I'll be even more efficient." (note: you can save at any turn)

Still, the 3D is some of the more enjoyable I've experienced because, looking in, you get the sensation that you're looking down on some sort of play set from your childhood, army men positioned all about, etc. Gorges and rivers have natural depth, and it really does add a lot to my personal enjoyment of watching and playing the game.

unintentional

Koshian wrote: »

we are sure Paper Mario 3DS is a new original adventure and not a remake of 64 or somethin rright

yes

FCD

I like my 3DS quite a bit, but I find the ergonomics of it to be more harsh than the DSlite. It just doesn't feel as smooth and rounded. And I'd prefer that the start and select buttons be actual buttons, and not some membrane thing.

Drew-B

Oh, it has a lot of X-com lineage, but I would say gameplay-wise, it's more comparable to Fallout: Tactics. There's no meta-game, although there are dozens of missions and fun sandbox-like missions (zombie wave survival, for example).

You also have a set squad that never changes, though each squadmate has about 30 different perks or items to unlock.

VALVEjunkie

when they announced luigi 2 the nostalgia was so intense it felt like someone punched me in the gut

I had to pull the original out of storage and I've now played through it three times in this one week someone help me

Drew-B

Thrice?!

Drew-B

I still feel a little weird about the sentiment that Ocarina is superior to Twilight Princess after playing through Ocarina's revamped 3D iteration.

I sort of feel like TP is superior in every way, despite the shitty wolf bits. From dungeon complexity to world-size and detail, I just can't stand here and say "oh Ocarina is a better game"

Is there something I'm missing? Don't get me wrong, Ocarina is fantastic.

Garlic Bread

FCD wrote: »

I like my 3DS quite a bit, but I find the ergonomics of it to be more harsh than the DSlite. It just doesn't feel as smooth and rounded. And I'd prefer that the start and select buttons be actual buttons, and not some membrane thing.

Yeah, it's a little uncomfortable to hold, and the circle pad needs a better grip. And the stylus is placed in the worst place.

I'd prefer if they made the Start/Select/Home buttons touch buttons because when you're using a stylus they're annoying

fix this stuff with the 3DS Lite, please

VALVEjunkie

gotta get dat A rank house playa

Another Mansion mode is neat, too

E: as a lefty the stylus positioning is fan-fucking-tastic and I'll be bummed when they move it on the eventual 3ds lite

Drew-B

I just wish the circle pad was a little looser. I really feel like I'm having to push down too much.

Oh man, I also REALLY miss the little notches that house the thumbsticks on most controllers allowing you to easily hold the the thumbstick at 90 degree angles.

unintentional

i never found the ds lite uncomfortable, but i cannot comfortably be using the circle pad and the L button at the same time

Drew-B

unintentional wrote: »

i never found the ds lite uncomfortable, but i cannot comfortably be using the circle pad and the L button at the same time

Same, and I have small hands. It's really annoying that L is the z-target button in Ocarina.

VALVEjunkie

you can set Z-targeting to switch instead of hold, that should help a bunch.

Drew-B

Oh yeah, I don't even know if I checked the options screen

VALVEjunkie

it's totes in there

Riale

Drew-B wrote: »

I still feel a little weird about the sentiment that Ocarina is superior to Twilight Princess after playing through Ocarina's revamped 3D iteration.

I sort of feel like TP is superior in every way, despite the shitty wolf bits. From dungeon complexity to world-size and detail, I just can't stand here and say "oh Ocarina is a better game"

Is there something I'm missing? Don't get me wrong, Ocarina is fantastic.

for me it was the world and item design.

Twilight Princess' world was huge, but mostly deserted. It felt weirdly empty and quiet. I felt like Ocarina had you interacting with the people of the world more, and due to size restrictions on the 64 the world was smaller, and thus felt more populated.

Also, in Twilight Princess you often got a dungeon item (which were mostly really cool) but only used it a few times in that dungeon and then never again. In Ocarina of Time, the dungeon items are really useful and will come back again and again (hover boots especially, I love those things).

A lot of it is also nostalgia, being the first 3D Zelda game and all. A lot of the tropes that are now deeply associated with the series started in Ocarina.

Oh yeah, and the Gorons don't have creepy nipples.

VALVEjunkie

SPINNERRRRRRRR

Aeyther

Drew-B wrote: »

I still feel a little weird about the sentiment that Ocarina is superior to Twilight Princess after playing through Ocarina's revamped 3D iteration.

I sort of feel like TP is superior in every way, despite the shitty wolf bits. From dungeon complexity to world-size and detail, I just can't stand here and say "oh Ocarina is a better game"

Is there something I'm missing? Don't get me wrong, Ocarina is fantastic.

When Ocarina first came out it was revolutionary, zelda went from 2d overworld to 3d. It really made an impact on those who played the original and LttP. (never have played zelda 2 so idk what it's like)

Ocarina is really good. I enjoyed playing though it, the story was good, the dungeons and bosses were challenging and fun at the same time. However, TP is also a good game. The story is good, the graphics and lighting was amazing. The dungeons and boss battles were fun.

Now the first zelda game I ever played/beat was ocarina so I may be biased in saying that I enjoy Ocarina more than TP. I absolutly love being able to play this game again, with better graphics and portability!

Edit:

Riale wrote: »

Twilight Princess' world was huge, but mostly deserted. It felt weirdly empty and quiet. I felt like Ocarina had you interacting with the people of the world more, and due to size restrictions on the 64 the world was smaller, and thus felt more populated.

Also, in Twilight Princess you often got a dungeon item (which were mostly really cool) but only used it a few times in that dungeon and then never again. In Ocarina of Time, the dungeon items are really useful and will come back again and again (hover boots especially, I love those things).

I totally agree, they could have made some things like the spinner more useful, instead of being used in one dungeon and never again.

Drew-B

Riale wrote: »

Drew-B wrote: »

I still feel a little weird about the sentiment that Ocarina is superior to Twilight Princess after playing through Ocarina's revamped 3D iteration.

I sort of feel like TP is superior in every way, despite the shitty wolf bits. From dungeon complexity to world-size and detail, I just can't stand here and say "oh Ocarina is a better game"

Is there something I'm missing? Don't get me wrong, Ocarina is fantastic.

for me it was the world and item design.

Twilight Princess' world was huge, but mostly deserted. It felt weirdly empty and quiet. I felt like Ocarina had you interacting with the people of the world more, and due to size restrictions on the 64 the world was smaller, and thus felt more populated.

Also, in Twilight Princess you often got a dungeon item (which were mostly really cool) but only used it a few times in that dungeon and then never again. In Ocarina of Time, the dungeon items are really useful and will come back again and again (hover boots especially, I love those things).

A lot of it is also nostalgia, being the first 3D Zelda game and all. A lot of the tropes that are now deeply associated with the series started in Ocarina.

Oh yeah, and the Gorons don't have creepy nipples.

I guess I really just liked the world. The first five hours of the game almost exlusively involve interacting with emotive characters, and villages actually felt like villages to me, rather than just a few buildings plopped onto the ground. Kakariko has tons of activity, and Lake Hylia is actually a lake, not a pond. Even Zora's Domain felt nice and populated to me. And of course, I always liked the ad-hoc knights of the round table thing going on at the bar in Castle Town. Ocarina didn't necessarily feel more populated to me...it just felt like all of these vastly different environments were about five city blocks apart. It was nice having places like snow peak and gerudo feel like actual expanses of wasteland.

I agree on the item aspect, but it never bothered me too much, because even if you might not use the spinner much, there's still just as many areas that require the hookshot or bombs like any other zelda game. Oh, and the few spots where you do need the spinner to snag an item are pretty damn awesome, so even if it was underutilized, I'm still glad it was included.

Drew-B

In short, certain underutilized items and a lack of innovation still don't change for me the fact that TP was just far and away a superior experience for me. Playing through some OOT dungeons, they just don't have the kind of complexity and difficulty that I found in TP.

Ubik

i'm gonna pick up one of these before i go on my study abroad

probably gonna get:
one of the newest pokemon
ocarina of time
???
profit

CptKemzik

I would really like to get a 3ds (ive only ever had my original phat DS), but for now I'd rather wait it out and spend the $300 on a wii bundle plus extra controllers and games.

unintentional

Ubik wrote: »

i'm gonna pick up one of these before i go on my study abroad

probably gonna get:
one of the newest pokemon
ocarina of time
???
profit

henry hatsworth in the puzzling adventure
picross 3D
all the layton games

Drew-B

Oh man Civ Rev on the DS is dogshit. It's like a SNES game.

UnbrokenEva

Koshian wrote: »

woah that ghost recon game is very x-comy, cool

Drew responded to this some, but I feel I should be more specific: it was designed by Julian Gollop, same guy who made X-Com. So yeah, there's a reason for the similarities.

VALVEjunkie

unintentional wrote: »

Ubik wrote: »

i'm gonna pick up one of these before i go on my study abroad

probably gonna get:
one of the newest pokemon
ocarina of time
???
profit

henry hatsworth in the puzzling adventure
picross 3D
all the layton games

5-1 here I come!

Centipede Damascus

Kochikens wrote: »

excuse me where the fuck is nintencats

Dogs > Cats, sorry