I would love to get one someday. I need to build my DS collection regardless. I want the Sega 3D classics stuff - and don’t forget about NES Remix.
Yeah, I know what you mean, but it’s not distracting or annoying, to me. I’m quite used to it.
Speaking of retro 2D graphics on the 3DS, I noticed one instance of pretty bad ‘rendering’, and that’s with The Angry Videogame Nerd Adventures. I assume it’s just a case of lazy port and brutal resize, since other games such as Shovel Knight and Cursed Castilla EX look fabulous on the system.
Actually this gives me a thought… I wonder if you can buy IPS screens to put in yourself?
I think my XL has one on the top but not on the bottom (MM N3DSXL). But I use my smaller N3DS for everyday playing anyway and I don’t think that has either in IPS.
You can run 3dsident to see what panels you have!
Homebrew? I usually just eyeball it for viewing angle 
I’m going to necro bump the hell out of this because I hit the 3ds jackpot today!
After bricking my New 3ds during a hardmod I’ve been on the lookout for one at a decent price and I finally found one and it turns out it has 2 IPS screens to boot!
3 Likes
Very nice. The best I’ve been able to do is one IPS screen on a newXL. It’s such a pain in the ass to search for.
It is definitely something that I envy.
Nice find, @Socksfelloff.
I have one with two TN screens that look great and appear perfectly calibrated (which is rare in itself) but there’s some slight ghosting in shovel knight when the screen scrolls that makes me want to play the game on my N3DSXL with its faster refreshing IPS screen.
Having the small form factor with IPS would be ideal. You hit the jackpot.
Usually it’s the other way around isn’t it ? I’m not sure about the panels used in the 3ds but usually TN panels are faster then IPS with the caveat of poor viewing angles and more washed out colors.
I feel great about this 3ds find though and it even had 11.2 which made hacking it a breeze. I ripped my leafgreen save off my cart and continued it today on my 3ds!
I picked up a N3DS XL because of this thread and - I gotta say - you guys are right. Got a hold of some SNES Games and a 3D Sega Collection. It’s a really nifty device for retro titles 
Sadly, my bottom screen isn’t an IPS so I didn’t come out successful in the 3DS screen lottery.
The Sega 3D stuff is brilliant. I adore what the 3DS does for those games.
1 Like
I love the system and the library, but it’s too uncomfortable to hold. Is there any way to play it with a controller?
Sort of
There’s a hardmod:
And Homebrew:
1 Like
You just sent me down a rabbit hole @Socksfelloff
You’re welcome !
I’m at work on mobile so I can’t watch the whole video but it looks like he’s using ntr streamer which I’ve heard caps out at around 45fps so it won’t work well with games that run at a higher frame rate then that.
I like grips myself. Any recommendations there?
Agreed with the sentiment in the opening post. 3DS’s rather bespoke hardware, pared with decent unit sales, meant that developers had no choice but to embrace those dual 240p displays, the second screen, and its lack of technological conformity with other systems at the time. Which led to some interesting looking games, some of which hold the last bastion for pixel-perfect pixel art (Fire Emblem unit sprites, Shovel Knight, Cursed Castilla).
Even ports were interesting. Take Puyo Puyo Tetris on 3DS, for instance. Sega completely rethought and remade the HUD and menus around the dual screens, and it looks fabulous. As does the 3D effect. Dragon Quest VIII is another interesting one. On iOS and Android the game was (badly) ported to Unity for ease of cross platform development. But because 3DS can’t run the game through Unity, it was rebuilt for the 3DS with far better results than the iOS/Android versions. I don’t think I need to mention the quality of those Sega 3D Classics here…
That the 3DS never received virtual boy 3D classics is a travesty - the games would appear so crisp and authentic on it!
While I consider the 3DS to be a disappointing followup to DS, much like the Vita and PSP, it is the last handheld to carry the torch of what handhelds have meant since the 8 bit-era: unique bespoke systems survived entirely by their unique libraries of games. It’s easy to see why Nintendo had to embrace conforming with other platforms with the Switch, since the handheld market declined throughout the 3DS’s existence.
Everyone who says this I show them my Monster Hunter Grip which was the biggest game changer of all time for me. I have big hands so your mileage may vary.
The triggers and the grip make the thing almost the most comfortable thing I own to play on. It’s ridiculously comfortable. Instantly skyrocketing the 3ds as my daily driver even though the Vita looked so much better.
2 Likes
Speaking of Monster Hunter, I find the C-Stick rather underrated. I think it’s perfect for what it’s designed for - camera control. And its small, thinkpad-nub size means it can be placed right next to the face buttons. Coming from the Vita’s sticks - which force your thumbs into weird positions - I was pleasantly surprised.