Nintendo 3ds game library

Although Echoes is a fully tinseled remake of a year-old game, its roots are still firmly grounded in the past. As time goes on with Shadows of Valentia , you get to fully embrace the more straightforward style. As fun as combat is, there are also plenty of head-banging, soul-crushing difficulty spikes. Spellcasting enemies known as Cantors spam your forces with wave after wave of dragons and skeletons, and witches ping-ponging between trees picking off your most vulnerable units.

Elsewhere, it carefully guides the series forward into new territory. The series has been responsible for hilarious memories and strained relationships since the Nintendo 64 era, and now comes Mario Party: Island Tour , a raucous portable entry in the series that adds some refreshing new elements.

Island Tour adheres to the same structure as many of the other Mario Party games: two to four human or AI players move around a traditional board-game-style map in a competition, playing minigames for prizes, and attempting to hinder other players throughout. Some, like Perilous Palace Path, simply require that you be the first to reach the goal, differentiating it from previous iterations.

It takes a few minutes to send the game to other 3DS's, but after the wait is over, the players have access to the entire game. As many new features as there are in Island Tour , the meat of any Mario Party is its minigame catalog, and Island Tour has more winners than losers in its mix.

Since the 3DS offers a variety of control methods - control sticks, buttons, stylus, microphone, and gyroscopic motion - the minigames can use one or more of these elements to make more interesting snack-sized experiences. Mario Party: Island Tour is not a perfect party nor the best one from its entire line, but some good design considerations, better-than-average variety, and always-enjoyable Mario Party themes put Island Tour a few notches above your average 3DS game.

This entry should sound familiar to Metroid fans: in Samus Returns , you explore a mesmerizing subterranean cavern with interconnecting passages that lead to dead ends as often as they lead to exciting new areas. As you explore, you upgrade your arsenal with mostly rehashed mods and beams from previous games that allow you to shoot new blocks, open special doors, or roll up ceilings and jump over more obstacles.

These nullify dead ends, leading to superior map design. The entire game lasts at least 13 hours because Samus Returns has the biggest map of any Metroid outside of the Prime games, but probing every corner of it is made artificially easier with a new skill that reveals nearby rooms and secrets with the tap of a button. First of all, Samus looks awesome, and 3D allows for much more detail in her movements. Secondly, each 2D space you move around in serves as a little window into a lush background that greatly adds to the atmosphere.

In gameplay terms, Samus Returns distinguishes itself from the old-school Metroid games it pays homage to by adding some new moves, the coolest of which is a timed counter-attack. Luckily, deeper in the campaign, your weapon upgrades allow you to slice through enemies quickly, leaving counter-attacks as an optional way to grind for more special abilities.

In boss fights, it becomes even more useful, and a desperate counter can often mean the difference between life and death. Your objective in each level is to run, jump, barrel blast, and climb your way to the goal at the end, grabbing as many bananas as you can in the process. Considering the deliciously high difficulty level, this is no small feat.

One of the cool things about Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is that levels only get more creative as time goes on. Flexing the old platforming skills in each new world is a joy, and because the controls are simple and easy to master, the true difficulty comes from the brilliant level design.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is a great port of an amazing game. The extra world is a worthwhile addition, and the new easy mode should allow even more people to enjoy the ride. Simply put, the Nintendo 3DS is capable of displaying stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or additional accessories.

The handheld console has been around for nearly a decade and holds some of the best games that Nintendo has released ever since. If the game is action-adventure filled with a great storyline or a role-playing game that lets you explore an open-world journey, you can expect it to mostly be a single-player experience. Single-player experiences are perfect for playing when on the go, being able to play by yourself.

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It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Its stages are easy to finish and you may reach the end before you realize it. But what Planet Robobot lacks in difficulty it makes up with relentless charm--from its expressive cartoon characters to its catchy soundtrack, there are multiple reasons to fall in love with Kirby all over again.

Planet Robobot once again leans into Kirby's unique ability to swallow enemies and acquire their powers, but the addition of mech suits gives him a newfound presence. Between the two forms, there are over twenty transformations to experiment with, and this inherent variety never stops being entertaining. It's not the sort of game that will blow you away with wild innovation or complex level design, but it will make you smile from start to finish, as perfect a reason as any to give Robobot a shot.

As a sequel to a game released 21 years prior, A Link Between Worlds needed to please two very different crowds: those who played A Link to the Past, and those who have become Zelda fans since.

Luckily, it's brilliant, simultaneously harnessing the nostalgia many have for the early games in the series while also accomplishing some completely new things. You can transport yourself between the second and third dimensions, for example, and the ability to do so is the basis for many of the game's ingenious puzzles.

You also merely rent the game's arsenal of weapons and tools now, embarking on whichever quest takes your fancy at that time. You'll be spoilt for choice, too, since A Link Between Worlds contains some of the series' best-ever dungeons. The combat is simple but satisfying, and it's kept fresh with a number of different enemies and boss fights throughout the game and its extra-hard Hero Mode.

The game amazes at every turn, and it more than earns its place among any 3DS owner's library, regardless of whether this is your first time in Hyrule or if you've been here before. Even nearly two decades after it was first released, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remains one of the most beloved video games ever created, but its 3DS remake is the definitive way to experience it. Developer Grezzo took great pains to recreate the adventure as fans remember it, going so far as to include some of the glitches that appeared in the original N64 release.

But while the game's foundation remains largely untouched, its presentation has received a dramatic overhaul. Characters and environments have been completely remade and sport more detail than Nintendo could have ever achieved on N64, breathing new life into the familiar world of Hyrule.

As stunning as the updated visuals are in Ocarina of Time 3D, just as notable are the gameplay improvements afforded by the 3DS hardware. Inventory management is more intuitive than ever thanks to the handheld's touch screen, allowing players to swap between items with a tap of the stylus.

The bottom screen also makes it easier to glance at the map and get your bearings in a dungeon, while the 3DS gyroscope allows for more accurate aiming. However, the best thing about Ocarina of Time 3D remains the adventure, which takes players through some of the most challenging and well-designed dungeons in any Zelda title. Whether you're a newcomer to the series or have already experience Ocarina of Time countless times in its original form, its 3DS remake is a masterpiece that belongs in every 3DS owner's library.

When Majora's Mask released on the N64 in , it was praised for its originality. Even in the shadow of Ocarina of Time before it, Majora's Mask stood out for its inventive three-day cycle, markedly darker tone, and mature narrative. Majora's Mask was built using Ocarina of Time's assets and is an impressive reimagining of the first 3D Zelda game, but it's truly special for how it weaves a very Zelda-like story through the ins-and-outs of a town and its inhabitants.

The 3DS upgrade includes reworked bosses and quality-of-life improvements. And like Ocarina of Time 3D, it retains so much of what made the original great while updating the presentation and inventory management.

The world and characters--which are so central to Majora's Mask and what sets it apart--are more vibrant and detailed, and using the bottom screen to switch weapons and masks in particular is a game-changer. All of this makes Majora's Mask even more essential, whether you're playing it for the first time or revisiting it. Not that it needed it, but the upgraded visuals make its personality-packed world stand out more than ever, with Mario and Luigi's expressions lending Superstar Saga a lighthearted atmosphere that's easy to love.

In typical Mario RPG fashion, Superstar Saga gives you a chance to add a bit of activity to the otherwise formal turn-based battle system. You can press a button at the right moment to add damage to your attacks, but you can also now, only in the 3DS version press a button to negate a bit of incoming damage from an enemy assault.

You may not think of Mario and Luigi as RPG stars, but that might be because you've never given them a chance to convince you. If any game will win you over, it's Superstar Saga. Mario Kart 7 is an essential purchase for any 3DS owner. It left behind the somewhat sluggish racing of Mario Kart Wii and propelled the long-running series forward into the air and the water. Hang gliders and propellers might seem like standard fare for Mario Kart since the Wii U and Switch editions, but 7 introduced them and uses them to full effect.

As a positive shift, the game also eschews the snaking exploit seen in some previous entries, meaning for a fairer and less annoying grand prix. Mario Kart 7 might have been superseded by the more recent Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but the seventh entry in the franchise remains a superb game that belongs in any 3DS library.

It's one of the best entries in the long-running franchise by prolific developer Hideo Kojima. As a prequel to the entire Metal Gear series, it's a great place for newcomers to dive in--despite Metal Gear purists probably disagreeing with this notion. Furthermore, its 3DS port is also one of the best versions of the game. For the uninitiated, Snake Eater takes place in and centers on a special forces operative codenamed Naked Snake as he attempts to rescue a Russian rocket scientist, sabotage an experimental supertank, and assassinate his defected former boss.

It's pulpy spy-fiction made even greater by Kojima's keen cinematographic eye, over-the-top characters, and quirky sense of humor. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D makes a series of updates to the original that improve the overall experience. First, it adds the crouch-walk, a navigational innovation not introduced to the series until Metal Gear Solid 4. This completely revamps the experience of sneaking, enhancing its flexibility and overall pacing. Various other additions, like improved over the shoulder third-person view, the ability to create your own camouflage for Snake to wear, and stereoscopic 3D visual effects also help to elevate an already thrilling and entertaining adventure.

Unfortunately, some sacrifices were made to the Snake Eater 3D's framerate to get it to run on 3DS, which has it running slightly lower than previous versions of the game. However, this comes as a small sacrifice towards experiencing the improvements on display. Whether you're a fan of the series or a complete newcomer, Snake Eater 3D is a must-have in anyone's 3DS library. Perhaps more surprising: The game is excellent. Mercury Steam has talent, but the last time a third-party studio developed a Metroid game Team Ninja on Metroid: Other M , the results were rather inconsistent.

But here, we see a Metroid game that feels familiar; the classic Metroid formula is intact, albeit with a 2. It's also got new tricks up its sleeve that add to the excitement. Mercury Steam's knack for combat can be seen in the new parry mechanic, which allows Samus to push back against an attacking enemy, leaving them vulnerable to a deathblow. The 3DS models also come with a glasses-free 3D screen, which is seriously impressive.

It adds extra depth to games and the 3D effect was substantially improved on the New Nintendo 3DS models. You progress through various puzzles and quests by collecting Mii characters of other 3DS owners, who you may encounter on your way to work or at conventions.