Nintendo 3DS: The Best Retro Gaming Buy of 2024 

I've had every DS / 3DS model since launch and to day I still play my DSi XL every day and my 'new' 3DS very often. Since I'm playing primarily DS games right now I'm playing the DSi XL as DS games look better on it.

"Retro Gaming"... Dear god, time flies.

I used to have 3ds xl when it first came out, when I sold mine I hella miss it soooo much I regret selling mine, so in 2023 I finally got found one and i am so happy to have 3ds xl back again and miss playing some of my old Nintendo games and I finally got to play some games that I never play on 3ds like Metroid Prime Samus Return I’m so happy just finished the game I freaking love it so I love keeping my old retro games now and I also have my old Psvita 2000 love it both this handheld are good Treasure to me

I got a "new" Nintendo 3DS XL from someone at my school for only 5$ since it was in cosmetically bad condition and he just wanted to get rid of it. It was originally black, but after replacing the outside top shell, outside bottom shell, and battery cover with red ones. So I basically made my own "custom" "new" Nintendo 3DS XL that is red on the exterior and black on the interior. I also had to replace the micro SD card slot and speakers due to the micro SD card slot being dented down and the speakers being busted, but it wasn't difficult to do the repairs and I spent 30$ to buy the parts. So I basically bought it for just 35$ after I repaired it, which was less than a quarter than what those go for on eBay! Probably one of my best purchases ever and I'm very happy with it!

I never played it but recently I found out old 3ds that my sibling bought as a teenager and almost never played. I am not a big fan of the game choices(most are more "family-oriented") but there are a few exception. One of them was Resident Evil Revelations and it blew my mind how good this game is. It could easily pass as a modern game. Also after playing on it for a little bit I am surprised no other company adopted dual screen(and even Nintendo abandoned it in their latest console). It's really a game changer when it come to user experience. All games should be played on dual screen.

Glad I picked up my 2ds xl, came with 3 games and oem carry case for $100. I recently bought the Black Friday Mario new 3Ds. Such a nice little console. If you find a deal, pick them up!

I was always a nerd as a kid and was obsessed with every aspect of gaming specifically nintendo, I had a DSi most of my time but recently i got my hands on a 3ds and I homebrewed it and have been pushing it to its limits, its just fun.

Feels weird to say my childhood handheld is now retro gaming! Ive never really quit playing it since i ever got my first one back in 2011/2012.

I really don’t miss this console. I played a lot of things back in the day I squeezed all the juice it had and moved on. Nice version tho, it’s beautiful.

A link between worlds and the mario and luigi rpg games are my favorite. I was actually kinda skeptical of a link between worlds at first, but it quickly surpassed a link to the past for me. The puzzles were so good. I do wish that the bosses were a little harder. And they should have put a boss gauntlet in the coliseum. Huge missed opportunity. You should definitely get the mario and luigi games. They are so so good. Also, I'd hate to arm wrestle you my man.

i still play on my aqua blue 3ds.

Do not have people mod your 3ds. Its very simple to do by yourself

Nintendo Physical Games hold so much value. It's like putting your money on investment and in time it has monetary and nostalgic value. Can't say about Playstation not xbox, their games aged like milk.

The right hinge on the Old 3DS XL is prone to breaking the surrounding plastic (necessitating a partial reshell), only way to partially stop it is to buy a hinged case off Aliexpress or something.

You can still get the eShop exclusive if you mod it, you can still play the cartridges and the digitals only

bought a regular 3ds. it ended up shutting down on me and then i ended up getting a refund but i ended up upgrading to a galaxy 3ds xl and modded the whole thing and im thriving on it

I just got my “New” 3DS XL for $180 on amazon and it’s in really good condition! I missed out on the 3DS era so im playing its great library

I used to have DS Lite EU back in 2009 then broke repaired once and died from comatose condition on 2016 later Owning o3DS JPN converted english later sold it on 70% the price and Now I own N3DS XL Samus happiness more than Vita.

It's important to know that the n3ds never reached its full potential. There is a huge community that is currently working on porting games like Sonic adventure 1 and there are already games like diablo, ctgp7, The Majoras Mask patch that fixes alot of the stupid jank that the remake changed from the original. Pretendo is putting in work and deserves all the support theyre getting and more. Spotpass and basically the entire Nintendo ecosystem is back in full swing. Support and use these programs as they will only continue to grow if used. Nintendo has given up on this hardware and would prefer it go into a landfill as ewaste. Don't let that happen.

I just bought a New 3DS XL with top and bottom IPS mint condition modded for £215😊

For Ds games I would just get an R4 card. Doesn’t require you to mod your system. You just throw it in there and it’s got the entire Ds library.

The short answer is: It depends. I have a used old 3DS XL. The NES special edition. It packs a ton of great handheld games. The long answer is: It's better to buy a cheaper more preferable console for me than to buy a nearly 500$ Switch OLED that don't get me wrong, does the same things, but it just doesn't feel right. I think it's up to preference for what you want since Nintendo has always made their consoles for anyone. As shown in the 3DS lineup. It goes from the original 3DS for novices who just want to play a little game once in a while on the go, then it goes to the New Nintendo 3DS XL for people who have bigger hands, and like the better resolution so they can play more enhanced for longer. The 3DS is perfect for people, and not for other people.

I'm saving up rn, I'm sad I didn't save up for it sooner

I'm waiting to get one for my birthday I actually had a 2DS when I was nine but being a dumbass 9 year old I broke it like 3 days after getting it I dropped that thing so many times it broke

My handheld growing up was the gba then the dsi and I got a 2ds but the one I had broke and 3ds that broke and another 2ds that the screen has black dead pixels here or there the 2ds says it’s kid friendly it really not breaks easily trust me As for ds recommendation the few that I played and enjoyed a lot was kingdom hearts 365/2 for ds, yugioh 5ds world championship 2009 -2011

I got a 2ds in january for 50 euros and it came with 3 games!

I have a new 3ds sat about doing nothing I really should homebrewnit

That's the benefit of Nintendo prohibiting almost all of their franchise to other consoles, you cannot play their games to other consoles.

240p screen in 2024. I can't call that best of anything.

"this is still the best device to play 3ds games" well no fuckin shit

hack it