Now unfortunately, I do not have a 3DS. Technically, I don't have any DS systems, because my kids each have one (two lites and DSi). Still, I do get the play them and I definitely have some thoughts on these.
First, I love the library of games. Between the franchise sweethearts like Zelda, Mario and more to the downloadable content the DSi and later have access to, and the myriad of old-school RPGs that I absolutely love to play - there's a good collection here. The controls are unique and intuitive. I will be honest, my personal preference is a controller to the touchscreen overall, but in some games it does work really, really well.
The fact that your gaming is on the go is of course the primary selling point. I also have to give these things pretty decent credit for durability. Decent, not great. My youngest has had the same problem on her unit (bad cartridge port) twice, and my son once dropped his on the ground, Nerf armor and all, and it cracked the screen even though it was closed and landed on its side. Then again, those units have been dropped tons of times and still hold up, and my oldest has had hers since the beginning and it's in great working shape.
There are some downsides though as well. The screens are a bit small and hard to see - especially in a brightly lit room. The very nature of using an item to touch and drag across the screen scratches and scuffs it over time. The sound and video are a bit weak, even compared to another handheld like the PSP.
It's really not the system of choice either, when the kids have other options. My son will play a full console or my PC before playing his DS. My youngest will also. My wife and I fall into that category as well. It's not unanimous however - my oldest actually prefers her DS to any of the consoles and it is runner up only to her PC - and she uses it for Facebook and writing - not gaming.
There's really not much of an online presence for playing online either for their units. In fact the DS Lites can't even get online here because of our router encryption type, though my son's DSi can.
One last problem is the way the data saves to the games instead of the unity memory. This makes it impossible for the kids to share a game like Pokemon Diamond, because they are only able to have one save file, no matter whose DS it is being played on. That's caused several problems in the past unfortunately when someone bought a game and realized there weren't enough save slots to go around.
Favorite Games for the System so far:
- Final Fantasy Tactcis A@ - Grimoir of the Rift
- Final Fantasy XII - Revnant Wings
- Zelda Phantom Hourglass
Pros:
- Portable
- Great selection of games
- Unique interface
Cons:
- Weak audo/video
- Data saves to games, not memory
- Minimal online presence
We own two DS Lites in our house, and both were won through competitions/contests.
ReplyDeleteThe DS Lites though, are RARELY played, and we don't have many games on them.
Not sure what it is, but neither on of us are big with the handheld gaming systems right now.
I can definitely relate to that. There's some pretty good deals on 3DS's right now that I've glanced at, but I'm saving up for something a bit different right now so I've been letting those go. My kids love their portables, but I only use my PSP every few days - usually when I'm in bed while my wife's watching Netflix on the ps3.
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