By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador of the Mushroom Kingdom

Well, I went out and did it. I spent my hard earned cash on Nintendo’s new handheld that is capable of delivering a glasses-free 3D experience. After spending some time with it, I have decided to share my general impressions of the most notable features for the Nintendo 3DS. Let’s get right to it!

The 3D:

I’ll waste no time since anyone who is reading this is simply looking for yet another opinion about the 3D. In short, the 3D effect works for me, and I have had very little problems with it. There was a moment or two where I felt kind of weird looking at it, but I simply turned the intensity down to the lower end of the spectrum and all was well. Before purchasing the handheld, I was worried that doing that might hinder the 3D illusion, but it still looked very cool. I tinkered around with the 3DS for a good amount of time, and I didn’t experience any headaches or any other discomforts. Keep in mind that I am highly resilient to such visuals, as not even the Virtual Boy bothered me all that much in its brief lifetime.

Holding the handheld in a way for the 3D to take effect wasn’t much of a problem either. Most of the time I interacted with the system was spent sitting in a chair, and I didn’t feel too restricted. If you are one to lay down a lot, it might be a bigger pain holding the system in the right spot.

To sum things up, I like the 3D, and if you are considering buying a 3DS to experience 3D, go for it. Though, try a demo unit out for a decent amount of time to see if the 3D doesn’t affect you in a negative way.

The Screens, Circle Pad and Home Button:

If you have owned a DSi XL for awhile, please note that the screens on the 3DS are smaller, though the top screen is wider than the bottom screen instead of both of them being the same size. Having owned a DSi XL for a good amount of time myself, it took a little getting used to looking a smaller screens. If anything really threw me off, it was the stylus that comes with the 3DS, which is pretty small and felt uncomfortable to use, and I’m a dude with small hands. Bigger pen-like stylus’ are available, but they have to be bought separately.

Although I have only played Pilotwings Resort, the circle pad worked perfectly for me. Immediately, controlling the game felt very intuitive. Again, I must stress that this is my opinion based only on one game, but I have a feeling that the circle pad will work for other games just fine.

I thought that the home button would work in a similar way like how it functions for the Wii, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that you can do more than just back out of a function. As long as you don’t start up another game or application, you can mess around with a few things while an action is suspended. For example, you can go into the game note feature and jot something important down when you suspend the game you are playing. I just like the fact that pressing the home button doesn’t mean fully leaving a function if you get right down to it.

3D camera, Mii Maker and Face Raiders:

Another interesting feature is the ability to take photos in 3D. Though objects about a foot or two show up in a 3D photo pretty well, the effect isn’t as good as looking as a game for the handheld. It is kind of surreal taking a picture of yourself and looking at it in any semblance of 3D, however.

Just like the Wii, you can create Miis on your 3DS. A new way to create a Mii is by using the camera to take a photo of your face. The handheld then puts together what it interprets as the best Mii facial options to create a Mii that looks just like you. You always have to choose a skin color, eye color and hairstyle though.

I tried it, and after the Mii Maker scrunched my eyes, nose and mouth in the center of the fattest head I ever seen, I did my best to recover my devastated confidence and just created a Mii the old fashioned way. So yeah, if you use this feature, you might not like what horrible monstrosity the 3DS puts together.

However, the Face Raiders mini game that comes with the handheld does a great job of integrating a photo of your face. After you take a photo of yourself, you aim your 3DS around the room shooting down copies of your face while it uses whatever is around you as a background. I found Face Raiders to be an entertaining diversion, and I got a cheap laugh out of it too.

AR Games:

Much like Face Raiders, Augmented Reality Games, or AR Games for short, uses real life as a backdrop for a game. In this case, you take one of the six AR cards that comes out of the box, lay one of them on a flat surface and let the camera spot the card. You have to be in a well lit area for this to work, but once you get going, the experience is amusing enough. These games do a great job of making you look like an insane person as you constantly adjust positions in real life to successfully interact with whatever it is that you are required to do. The first thing I had to do was shoot a box in the front position, and I had to physically kneel down a bit to hit the right spot. As I moved around the handheld, the screen displayed game objects on the real background very smoothly. This is a feature that has some potential.

Overall:

So if you were to come up to me right this second and ask me if I should purchase a 3DS my answer would vary on your preferences. Right now, the launch titles are pretty weak. I’m not exactly saying that the games are bad, but there isn’t “that one” game that you really need to go rush out and get in my opinion. Again, while I have only played one game for the 3DS, none of the other titles personally interest me all that much. Street Fighter IV 3D Edition is good from what I hear, however, but I’m not huge on fighting games when it comes down to it.

The  two hundred fifty dollar price tag is also a point of concern to me. While the handheld comes with a lot of cool stuff, both software and hardware wise, the price may just be asking too much of some people. Plus, the internet and download service will not be available until an update near the end of May. If you were looking forward to using those features, you might want to wait until that update is released a couple of months down the line.

I’m left with the same feeling that the original DS left me on launch day. I like what the handheld can do, but it looks like it’s going take a little time for developers to truly craft some cool stuff for the 3DS. If any game available right this second interests you, the 3D works for you and the price point is affordable, go right ahead and buy one today. Otherwise, wait it out.

I do see massive potential with this handheld as I did see with the original DS, though. If history repeats itself, the 3DS will transform from an interesting idea to a must-own system.

Front page image and interior 3DS image from forums.penny-arcade.com, package shot from ign.com, circle pad photo from freethegadgets.com, Face Raiders screenshot from nintendojo.com, AR Cards image from planet3ds.net, Pilotwings Resort screenshot from g4tv.com.