Well, it seems that Japan is fully a “handheld console” place these days. It doesn’t surprise me that they get the last of the 3DS hardware allocation.
Wii U and 3DS eShops shutting down March 2023 - List the games you recommend to download before then
That’s good to know that even though they stopped manufacturing new units they are still sending out brand new ones to retailers.
When I went to Japan during 3DS era I really did get the impression that it was largely a phenomenon like the DS was, the integration with IC cards too for paying on the eShop was sort of nuts in a way. And even post 3DS I remember seeing a lot of 3DSes used out and about, but that’s probably almost died down completely. Easy to forget that publishers like Level-5 were also in a completely different place back then having made national hits like Yokai Watch. The Switch saw similar with Momotaro Dentetsu but that’s a very un-handheld game!
Yep, you’ll still be able to buy stuff using the website if you link a Nintendo Account, or top up that way. Here in Europe they discontinued credit card support on the eShop over a couple of years ago so it’s business as usual.
I’ve sort of drifted away from paying attention to 3DS and Wii U eShop stuff over the past year, so I’m not sure what I can recommend that we don’t know about other than stuff like Hudson Soft’s Necromancer sequel which I haven’t gotten around to picking up.
But if it helps anyone I can list the stuff I did get over the years which I’d recommend.
Factually true. Until Switch overtook it a week ago, it was Japan’s #2 selling system of all time, only behind DS.
I can see the 3DS being the last Japan-centric system we’ll ever see now that we’ve moved to a globalised market. I remember being surprised that Nintendo released a third wave of StreetPass games in the tail end of 2016, since the 3DS had largely fizzled out here in Europe but that really just highlights where things were.
Nintendo, and many other third party developers, were still comfortable making first party titles for Japan first and then bringing them over (if it happens) later. Those days are largely dead now, of course. There are some exceptions, like Buddy Mission Bond and the remakes of Famicom Tantei Club but they have been exceedingly rare. This sort of region specific development has moved on to mobage titles I think?
So, the eShop closes in three weeks and I’ve long since downloaded any games of interest as I’m sure most of you have too…
But what about 3DS themes? I just used the default theme on the OG unit I picked up in launch year and likewise on a New one that I upgraded to. Thought it was worth browsing the ‘theme shop’ (separate from the eShop, so I’ve learned) and most of them weren’t doing it for me…
Until I came across this Hanafuda one towards the very end of the list:
So nice! The artwork scrolls:
The music is cool too, surprisingly uptempo, especially compared to the super mellow ambient sounds of the default theme.
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It’s a nice theme! Goes well with my Hanafuda face plates.
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been reading rumours today that apparently Wii U’s that haven’t been used for a long time suffer from “Nand decay” and are dying slow deaths. quite scary if true
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@harborline_765 had mentioned this to me the other day. Worrying.
Time to backup those saves.
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I wish the NAND dumping we can already do would also have the choice to make a single bin file you could easily flash to the NAND in one go by removing it and putting into a universal programmer instead of the current dumps only being useful for flashing it while still soldered in place.
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Any noteworthy Game Gear titles on 3DS worth checking out? That’s one part of the 3DS Virtual Console lineup I never got around to.
Shoot. I forgot about those too…
I do recall people saying Vampire: Master of Darkness is one. Shining Force, GG Shinobi, the Sonic games…
Here’s the list.
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Thanks, will check that list out. 
I used to own carts for the Sonic games which I played the heck outta back in the day so am good there, will likely get Shining Force for sure as I borrowed it from a friend back in the ‘90s and recall it being good from my somewhat brief time with it.
I dug out my Wii U for the first time in a year to check on it - still going strong, thankfully. But because it’s a launch day model (8GB basic) with the Samsung flash it’s susceptible. It’s due to dodgy firmware on Samsung’s side, apparently, and while Samsung did release a patch it never made it into the Wii U’s system updates. Later Wii Us used different flash chips from other suppliers like Toshiba, which shouldn’t be affected.
I’m left wondering what the quickest way is to salvage my Wii Mode save data off the system, since those save files date back to 2006. I did a system transfer on Wii U launch day so there’s almost fifteen years of saves on there, as I retired my Wii U last year.
Just a heads-up for anyone with a Japanese 3DS, many publishers are holding firesales on their entire libraries at the moment. 300 yen for every single Capcom game except a couple which happen to be the ones that were remastered on HD consoles. Sega and Marvelous doing the same as well. Level-5 should have one next week if their participation in previous sales is any indication.
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Just went through my 3DSes over the weekend and picked up some last remnants, here’s a slightly scrappy list of recommendations as we approach the closure of the eShop in 1-2 days!
3DS download software
Kokuga - from Ikaruga/Radiant Silvergun dev. Tank based shooter with beautiful presentation
Airport Hero Osaka-kix (rare english port of japan-only air traffic control simulation game. Osaka version is only one with story mode)
A-Train 3D (bespoke 3DS version of Artdink’s long running A-Train railway simulator game)
Sega and Arika/Nintendo 3D Classics
Tank troopers
Hana Samurai (Sakura Samurai in US) - from Grounding, ex Shenmue staff worked on this
Steel Diver Sub Wars
Speedthru: Potzol’s Puzzle - cool racing game where you rotate 3D tetris pieces to fit through gaps
Fish On 3D
Mario Vs DK: Minis on the Move - directed by the Sonic co-creator iirc. Fun take on pipe dream
Freakyforms
BoxBoy
Mammote Knight
Pocket Card Jockey
Fallblox/Crashmo - best of the three. Great puzzle game that requires spatial awareness skills
Crimson Shroud - last original game Matsuno worked on after FFXII and FF Tactics. Cool Dungeons and Dragons style RPG.
Aeroporter - Yoot Saito madness where you manage airport baggage belts
Harmoknight - rhythm action platformer from Game Freak
Nintendo Pocket Football Club/Calciobit - EU/JP only football management game
Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball - my favourite first party 3DS game. JP/US only.
Accel Knights 2
DSiWare
Sujin Taisen (Number Battle in North America)
Trailblaze Puzzle Incinerator
Nintendo Touch Golf (sequel to T&E Soft’s last golf game on DS)
Metal Torrent - Arika developed shmup, uses same engine as Ketsui DS
Wakugumi
Bomberman Blitz
Reflect Missile - from Q Games
16 Shot Hudson Shooting Watch
Pinball Pulse The Ancients Beckon (by Metroid Prime Pinball devs, realistic simulation)
3D SPACE TANK - sequel to X on Game Boy, beautiful graphics.
Art Style Series
Sagittarius-A-Star (Japan only)
Link ‘n’ Launch - Intelligent Systems action puzzle game
Kappa’s Tale - haven’t played this but it’s developed by Brownie Brown (Mother 3)
Virtual Console GB:
Trip World - Sunsoft game that goes for hundreds now. Had impact from the designer of GIMMICK on NES/Famicom
Donkey Kong - one of the best video game remakes ever made. Reimagining of arcade DK.
Kid Icarus II - forgotten sequel worth playing. More Metroid-like exploration.
Revenge of the Gator
Balloon Kid - overlooked sequel to Balloon Kid. Has a story mode with side scrolling stages. Hip Tanaka soundtrack.
Avenging Spirit - must play Jaleco sidescroller where you possess enemies to control them. Better than the arcade game IMO
Lock’n Chase
Tumble Pop
Burger Time DX (if it’s on there)
Fortified Zone (sequel is on JP eShop)
CATRAP
Gargoyle’s Quest
Mole Mania
Virtual Console NES:
Summer Carnival '92 RECCA
The Famicom lineup is much more interesting on JP 3DS: List of Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS (Japan) - Wikipedia
Virtual Console Game Gear:
Sonic Triple Trouble - play with overclock mode on.
GG Shinobi
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I realized I was missing at least four of the DLC challenge course packs for New Super Mario Bros 2, so I got those along with the 3D Classics Kirby’s Adventure and 3D Kid Icarus (already have the others except for 3D Urban Champion, which can quite frankly fade away). Last week I got Shining Force Sword of Hajya, otherwise there didn’t seem to be much else on Game Gear that really stood out to me.
Also got Dragon Quest Wars on DSi Ware. It’s a card battling, tactical grid RPG using little squads of DQ monsters. The online modes are no longer available of course since it used the old Nintendo Wifi Connection service but the offline play is supposed to be good, plus it’s only $4.99. Was developed by Intelligent Systems and Tose.
I didn’t feel the need to bother with any last minute purchases on my Wii U as it’s already stuffed with all the major titles I want between both the Wii U shop itself and my Wii Virtual Console library, that and the fact I actually still use my 3DS occasionally as opposed to my Wii U. But I’ll probably take my Wii U out of storage in the near future and fire it up now and then to ensure it doesn’t fall prey to that NAND memory rot issue some have been reporting (last time I used it before storing it away was Nov/Dec 2021 so now I’m kinda worried).
That said, if anyone is looking for any sleeper GBA VC recommendations for their Wii U, Klonoa Empire of Dreams is a really fun action puzzle platformer.
Anyways, really dumb that Nintendo is doing this. At least Sony actually listened to fans’ complaints and backed down from their original decision and kept the PS3 and PSP related PSN stores open. Nintendo? Nah, why let people keep buying our stuff in a variety of ways?
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I don’t know if it’s still up but the free Xenoblade Chronicled X dlc that improves performance is a good shout. there’s 4 of them I believe
Everything has been preserved at this point. So whilst the store closure is unfortunate and perhaps short-sighted, it’s not the end of the road.
I’m also not sure how I feel with people throwing loads of money at Nintendo on this, essentially rewarding them for closing the store.
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yeah I wasn’t sure if things like DLC etc was still preserved tbf. I already took uh alternative measures for the closure, but I was worried if there would be things that would be truly lost to time
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