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Nintendo 3DS XL Review

MrTomnus

So, okay, I understand this is a console review coming from a PC gamer, but it's Nintendo, and hey, we get along with Nintendo! Don't we? I thought since the 3DS took a little flak on its release, I thought it deserved a second chance.

 

INTRO

 

I decided to buy the 3DS XL because currently I don't own a portable console. I used to have a Nintendo DS Lite (which I sold to cover the cost of the 3DS XL) and a PSP 3000 back in my console gaming days, and I did enjoy using it. The trouble was that the game library was lacking in decent titles. I sold it after a year of owning it. I picked the 3DS XL up because I'm going to uni this year and figured I might be out a lot, so I can bring the 3DS with me somewhere if I think I'll get bored. Also, the new 3rd gen Pokémon remakes are coming out soon and I just had to play them :)

 

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DESIGN

 

I actually think the 3DS XL is a really well designed console. With a plastic construction, it by no means feels premium, but the brushed plastic finish does have that premium device "cool to the touch" feel going for it. It has a nice weight to it for its size, and the size makes handling it very comfortable, compared to the previous DS iterations which are too small to use for long periods of time (however at that point in time I was half the size I am now so I didn't have a problem :))

 

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The first thing you notice when opening the device up is the sheer size of those screens. The square aspect ratio works for this console's lower screen, and it's nice to see that Nintendo has moved to (almost) 16:9 for the top display. Compared to the older DS systems, it makes them all look tiny. For comparison, the top screen is approximately the size of my HTC One! The resolution of the two screens has also been bumped up, but the XL model still has the same resolution as the original 3DS. This can make games appear fuzzy sometimes, specifically original DS titles. However, 3DS games still actually look very impressive as they are displayed at native res (at 800x240), and text isn't too jagged.

 

As for other features, the 3DS XL has stereo speakers, capable of getting quite loud, and they have surprisingly good directionality. It has Wi-Fi connectivity, SD card storage, a microphone and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The mic picks up audio easily and is used in the music software included and for some games too. 

 

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Speaking of the top display - this is where the 3D magic happens. It uses parallax barrier autostereoscopy (for those that understand what that means) which works by having channels that separate the screen from both eyes to produce an image for each eye, allowing a 3D image to be created without glasses. I'll talk about the 3D later.

 

Moving on to the rest of the design, the circle pad is a welcome addition. It has a little resistance but it's easy to swivel once you've pushed it. My only complaint with it is that it makes using the d-pad difficult, as it is awkward to reach with a thumb - you either have to bend your thumb uncomfortably to use it, or you have to hold the system at an awkward angle, which makes maintaining the 3D effect difficult. The face buttons have a nice click to them, and the L and R buttons are a little too squishy for my liking, but they work well nonetheless.

 

The touchscreen is still resistive, not capacitive, but for this console I still think it's more suitable. It has been made more responsive, but the coating on the screen, or the resistive layer, still detracts slightly from the quality of the display.

 

Battery life is impressive. Turning the 3D on doesn't use more power than when it is off, and with wireless off and brightness on 3/5 with power saver off I can get about 6-7 hours of gameplay from it before it starts to run out of charge. The annoying thing is Nintendo don't provide the charger with the console so you have to buy one yourself - a bit of a silly move as the charger is proprietary so you need one to use it. Shipping it with the console would have made things easier.

 

SOFTWARE

 

Nintendo have vastly improved on the software on the original DS here. You can hotswap games with the device on, a light form of multitasking is available in that you can return to the menu during a game and take notes, you can turn wireless communication on or off and the menu is much more nicely laid out. It's similar to the Wii's interface. Included is software for sound recording, creating Miis (which can be transferred from a Wii if you want to), taking photos (with the 3D camera) and some virtual reality minigames. The camera software includes some editing features such as doodling and stamps, which kids will love and is fun for 5 minutes. The rear cameras can take 3D pictures and they do look somewhat surreal, but impressive. However with a VGA resolution you'll by no means become the greatest photographer alive with it.

 

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3D

 

I'm gonna say this straight up - after using it for two weeks, I love playing games on the 3DS. And as suspected, the reason why I love it so much is the 3D.

 

At first, it was REALLY trippy and I actually didn't like it. Having to focus on different areas of the screen didn't feel normal. But now I've got used it for a bit and it's got to the point where I prefer to play on my DS instead of my PC when given the choice, because the 3D feels so natural. In my opinion, I think it looks better than 3D films. The 3D only allows things to go into the screen, not out of it, but personally I like it that way. You do have to hold the device facing straight at your eyes to maintain the effect, but you don't have to hold it up to do so - I've played games in bed with the 3D on and it's still fine. Turning the screen a bit does make looking at it really trippy. You can really notice the 3D effect if you hold the 3DS in the correct spot and close one eye, look at the image on the screen, then do the same with the other. It's really cool how it works. Playing Animal Crossing, you can easily see the stars in the sky are distant and it makes the screen feel almost like a portal to another world. HUDs and text boxes look really cool, hovering above what's going on "inside" the screen. It feels like you're actually looking at an object instead of graphics on a screen.

 

I really do believe this is the console's selling feature. For people who are more educated in hardware, you can really appreciate the effect the 3D has on games and using the device. For kids, this isn't really a product they would appreciate, and a 2DS may be better suited for them.

 

CONCLUSION

 

I would really recommend the 3DS XL to anyone looking for a solid portable gaming experience. The 3D effect is brilliant, however with a low resolution it doesn't look as amazing as it potentially could. The selection of games is getting better and is currently quite strong, and I'll be able to keep this for as long as I kept my DS Lite and still enjoy playing games on it. The only thing about it is the price... For about £30 more you can buy a Wii U. If it was the same price as the original 3DS then I would give it a 9/10. but because I think it should cost a little less, I'm going to have to give it 8/10. This is really what the original 3DS should have been.

| My first build: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/117400-my-very-first-build/ | Build for my friend's 18th: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/168660-pc-for-my-friends-18th-with-pictures-complete/ |


ATH-M50X Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/165934-review-audio-technica-ath-m50-x/ | Nintendo 3DS XL Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/179711-nintendo-3ds-xl-review/ | Game Capture Guide: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/186547-ultimate-guide-to-recording-your-gameplay/


Case: Corsair 200R CPU: i5 4670K @ 3.4GHz RAM: Corsair 8GB 1600MHz C9 Mobo: GIGABYTE Z87-HD3 GPU: MSI R9 290 Cooler: Hyper 212 EVO PSU: EVGA 750W Storage: 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD Display: Dell U2212HM OS: Windows 8

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Yes, can't wait for smash bro's....Pokémon was awesome also but most excited about smash bros.

CPU: i7-4770k @4.8ghz---Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth z97---Ram 32gb Corsair Vengeance---GPU: 2 EVGA GTX 980 4gb way sli---Case: Corsair 600T White---Storage: 500gb 850 Pro & WD Black 4tb---PSU: Corsair RM1000

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Here in the US we can purchase refurbished 3DS XL models for USD $135.

I've been wanting to pick one up for a while since Persona Q is coming, plus there's a ton of other RPGs on the system. This review helped a ton, thx

Git Gud.

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Here in the US we can purchase refurbished 3DS XL models for USD $135.

I've been wanting to pick one up for a while since Persona Q is coming, plus there's a ton of other RPGs on the system. This review helped a ton, thx

Glad I could help!

| My first build: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/117400-my-very-first-build/ | Build for my friend's 18th: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/168660-pc-for-my-friends-18th-with-pictures-complete/ |


ATH-M50X Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/165934-review-audio-technica-ath-m50-x/ | Nintendo 3DS XL Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/179711-nintendo-3ds-xl-review/ | Game Capture Guide: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/186547-ultimate-guide-to-recording-your-gameplay/


Case: Corsair 200R CPU: i5 4670K @ 3.4GHz RAM: Corsair 8GB 1600MHz C9 Mobo: GIGABYTE Z87-HD3 GPU: MSI R9 290 Cooler: Hyper 212 EVO PSU: EVGA 750W Storage: 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD Display: Dell U2212HM OS: Windows 8

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do you find gaming on 3DS a little lagging like gaming on 25-30 fps?.

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do you find gaming on 3DS a little lagging like gaming on 25-30 fps?.

The complete opposite actually. Most of the games I've played run at 60fps!

| My first build: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/117400-my-very-first-build/ | Build for my friend's 18th: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/168660-pc-for-my-friends-18th-with-pictures-complete/ |


ATH-M50X Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/165934-review-audio-technica-ath-m50-x/ | Nintendo 3DS XL Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/179711-nintendo-3ds-xl-review/ | Game Capture Guide: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/186547-ultimate-guide-to-recording-your-gameplay/


Case: Corsair 200R CPU: i5 4670K @ 3.4GHz RAM: Corsair 8GB 1600MHz C9 Mobo: GIGABYTE Z87-HD3 GPU: MSI R9 290 Cooler: Hyper 212 EVO PSU: EVGA 750W Storage: 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD Display: Dell U2212HM OS: Windows 8

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The complete opposite actually. Most of the games I've played run at 60fps!

 

I thought I read somewhere that using the 3D can cause a framerate drop. Maybe that was back before launch, before people actually got the thing. Total BS maybe?

 

Anyways, doesn't affect me much because I've tried using the 3D on these in the stores and I can't get it to work for me. No worries though, at least it's not a forced feature.

Git Gud.

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Nice review! Very in depth and informative :)

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Nice review! Very in depth and informative :)

Thank you :)

| My first build: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/117400-my-very-first-build/ | Build for my friend's 18th: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/168660-pc-for-my-friends-18th-with-pictures-complete/ |


ATH-M50X Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/165934-review-audio-technica-ath-m50-x/ | Nintendo 3DS XL Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/179711-nintendo-3ds-xl-review/ | Game Capture Guide: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/186547-ultimate-guide-to-recording-your-gameplay/


Case: Corsair 200R CPU: i5 4670K @ 3.4GHz RAM: Corsair 8GB 1600MHz C9 Mobo: GIGABYTE Z87-HD3 GPU: MSI R9 290 Cooler: Hyper 212 EVO PSU: EVGA 750W Storage: 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD Display: Dell U2212HM OS: Windows 8

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I feel like you could have covered a few more things (namely mic/speaker quality, which I find to be exceptional), but this is, all in all, a great review. +1.

My apologies, give me two seconds and I'll update it!

| My first build: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/117400-my-very-first-build/ | Build for my friend's 18th: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/168660-pc-for-my-friends-18th-with-pictures-complete/ |


ATH-M50X Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/165934-review-audio-technica-ath-m50-x/ | Nintendo 3DS XL Review: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/179711-nintendo-3ds-xl-review/ | Game Capture Guide: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/186547-ultimate-guide-to-recording-your-gameplay/


Case: Corsair 200R CPU: i5 4670K @ 3.4GHz RAM: Corsair 8GB 1600MHz C9 Mobo: GIGABYTE Z87-HD3 GPU: MSI R9 290 Cooler: Hyper 212 EVO PSU: EVGA 750W Storage: 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD Display: Dell U2212HM OS: Windows 8

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