The Soapbox feature allows individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random bites.todayAndy Macdonald celebrates and recalls the console that showcased Nintendo’s singular creativity at its best…
With the 3DS days counting as an active platform, with the looming eShop closure, I brushed it off and grabbed some digital exclusives that are officially going the way of the Dodo soon. I decided to put it in. time travel. It’s always a strange feeling to see a console go ‘obsolete’. How these cutting-edge devices that we have invested years of intrigue, money and time in are suddenly usurped by ever-evolving technology. But my love for the 3DS is particularly strong, and my mind began to wander as I browsed storefronts for last-minute additions to my collection.
In 2013, I graduated from university and returned to my hometown. This is probably a story familiar to many. Suddenly, from the regulated nature of full-time studies, we find ourselves at the mercy of a relentlessly competitive job market, away from the comforts of friends and freedom, and losing that structure. can be difficult to accept, and after the first ten or so rejection letters from potential employers, life can start to feel a little directionless. , the days melt into one.
However, there was one new thing. It’s a shiny 3DS. During my years in academia, I mostly stayed out of my gaming habits. My last purchases were a GameCube and the original DS. But my last part-time colleague, who quit to go home and look for something in his field, insisted I try Nintendo’s latest handheld. Bowing to this one peer pressure, I gave myself up to the red XL version. rice field.
I got into Super Mario 3D Land, Luigi’s Mansion 2, Resident Evil: Revelations, Fire Emblem: Awakening, etc., and the 3DS became something of a light for my subsequent job search. It held me through its tough times in the same way that a slow-booting console held Nintendo while the Wii U struggled in the mid-2010s. Oddly enough, I was never into Animal Crossing.
It was also my first experience with augmented reality. Scanning the packaged AR card with the 3DS camera unlocks features such as mini-games. Even with modest technology at the time, the snooker-golf hybrid AR Shot proved to be an impressive ruse that carved hills and bunkers off kitchen counters. Face Raiders, on the other hand, allowed selfies to be scattered around the room as shootable targets. We may not have seen many of our college friends saved yet, but we were still able to lovingly blow up their ugly mugs. Felt like a fort.
However, I wasn’t just sitting at home playing video games. 3DS portability came with its own bespoke perks. It has a built-in pedometer, and when you carry it around, your steps are counted and converted into play coins, and you can earn bonuses in various titles. I walked miles with my shell buddy. Mainly for using coins in pseudo-social. Passing Square.
This app lives up to its name. When two people pass each other with the wireless function enabled, Mii avatars will appear in each other’s squares, and various activities such as exchanging panel pieces to complete 3D portraits, facing off against monsters, etc. can be used to participate in Passing QuestA growing army of fellow 3DS-toting vagabonds has always been an incentive to maintain an active lifestyle.
Despite this multifaceted positivity, I was never able to completely rid myself of my woes, and job issues were still looming large. One of them was writing. My relative success as a freelance music journalist contrasted with my lack of luck at Lady Employment, where I wrote several heartfelt articles for British rock magazines. In my experience, music journalism has barely penetrated. Chronistic; unrequited.
But now one of my rediscovered pastimes was massaging my literary muscles.
Around that time came Pokemon X and Y, the first edition of the series on the 3DS. This new realm of Kalos is vast, mysterious, and noticeably lacking official information after its release. Some of its mysteries remain to this day. Drawing on our existing knowledge of creature-catching adventures, on a whim, we wrote a short article for a gaming publication on how to competitively train Pokémon in this undeveloped land. We decided to pitch in. It was worth a look…
No, it really was. That humble online article opened the door for me, and within a few months I was writing a multi-page preview of the upcoming Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, remakes of the Game Boy Advance games I read in the same magazine over a decade ago. More freelance gigs followed, bringing me money and self-esteem when I needed it most. With renewed motivation, I finally got a job based on the written word.
Unemployment was an inexorably short time in the grand scheme of things, but I now look back on those dark days with a strange fondness. It is also thanks to the 3DS as an output vessel. There’s a good chance it will be the last in Nintendo’s long line of standalone handhelds, so it’s doubly sad to see it condemned to gaming history.
It pains me to download the rest of the eShop limited editions, but with its excellent catalog, communication features, and innovative novelties, the 3DS will always be remembered as the console that made my lonely world a little more three-dimensional.
