3DS Catch-all

Importing is more effort than I'm up for, much less case modding.

I wonder if the transplanted Japanese unit with a North American case would be of any value? If it were you could sell it back to someone in Japan. Maybe the Pink one would have some value, as a limited edition itself.

OK, I shouldn't be thinking about this that much.

gamerparent wrote:

Some people have been known to import them, and then transplant the case to their north american unit... just thought I'd put that idea out there... :)

Now, that is some of the best filthy enabling that I have ever seen! Good show!

spider_j wrote:
gamerparent wrote:

Some people have been known to import them, and then transplant the case to their north american unit... just thought I'd put that idea out there... :)

Now, that is some of the best filthy enabling that I have ever seen! Good show!

I live to serve.

That's really pretty. Too bad it's an XL.

Friendly reminder: today is the last day for the discount on bit.trip Saga. It's down to $9.99 from $14.99. If you don't know, it's a collection of six games originally developed for the Wii that feature a nice blend of old school minimalist graphics; nice electronic music; and a focus on easy to learn, difficult to master gameplay mechanics. I haven't dug into all of them yet, but I've enjoyed what I've played.

Tomorrow's deal is Crashmo for $5.99. I'm just going to go ahead and start warming up my enabling engine now so that you've all got your wallets out tomorrow.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

That's really pretty. Too bad it's an XL.

Do you prefer the original 3DS? I've found that the XL makes the system playable - it feels so much nicer.

AndrewA wrote:

Do you prefer the original 3DS?

I do. The XL is bigger than I like, although I do like the sleeker look of the clamshell. I have a similar problem with the Vita; it feels gigantic.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

That's really pretty. Too bad it's an XL.

Still the master of clockin'. :p

People tell me the XL has much improved battery life, which is the main reason I'm probably leaning towards an XL. Actually it's not going to even be for me, but for my 10 yo, and it will most likely be the Pink one.

gamerparent wrote:

People tell me the XL has much improved battery life, which is the main reason I'm probably leaning towards an XL. Actually it's not going to even be for me, but for my 10 yo, and it will most likely be the Pink one.

I've repeatedly heard it's not any different.

I can't speak regarding XL to 3DS Slim, but the battery life on the XL is pretty bad. It won't make it 24 hours in stand-by on a single charge, where as I'm used to my Vita lasting days under the same circumstances. I know for a fact this is due to StreetPass burning my battery while it's in stand-by mode, so maybe it won't be an issue if you don't use that feature much.

The XL battery life is much better. Especially if wireless is turned off. I've owned both an XL and a regular 3DS and the difference is fairly noticeable. That said it's still pretty poor compared to the Vita.

It makes me wonder just how often things like StreetPass scan via local WiFi. Based on the anecdotal evidence of the WiFi light on the system, it looks like it's pretty often, maybe once every 5-10 seconds, which is a huge draw on the battery. Anybody have hard evidence of how often it scans, or know of any way to configure it?

Having spent a while with the XL playing Fire Emblem, I'm glad I have both. It's considerably easier to lose the 3D effect on the XL due to the larger screens.

Speaking of the 3D.... does anyone still bother turning it on when playing games? I find myself keeping it off permanently, regardless of what game I have in.

AndrewA wrote:

Speaking of the 3D.... does anyone still bother turning it on when playing games? I find myself keeping it off permanently, regardless of what game I have in.

I used it for about an hour with Fire Emblem. It gave the game a pretty "pop-up book" effect. Then I turned it off and haven't turned it on since. As with most 3DS games.

I had to disable it on a system level because it was a migraine trigger.

I use it whenever possible.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I had to disable it on a system level because it was a migraine trigger.

Where can you do that? I just keep the slider down, but that doesn't seem to turn it off.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I use it whenever possible.

Same. I still love it.

Minarchist wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

I had to disable it on a system level because it was a migraine trigger.

Where can you do that? I just keep the slider down, but that doesn't seem to turn it off.

It's in the parental controls. Once you've set it, you're given the option when you launch a game whether you want it in 2D or 3D if you want to check out the 3D in a game, but by default 3D is disabled in all software and in the OS.

Dyni wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

I use it whenever possible.

Same. I still love it.

I do, too, sadly.

AndrewA wrote:

Speaking of the 3D.... does anyone still bother turning it on when playing games? I find myself keeping it off permanently, regardless of what game I have in.

Depends on the game. Some examples:

3d Mode: Mario 3d Land, Paper Mario, Fire Emblem
2d Mode: New Super Mario 2, Harvest Moon, Unchained dungeon crawl thingy

Farscry wrote:

2d Mode: New Super Mario 2

There's a neat "depth of field" effect that occurs when you turn it on there. I thought that was cool but not something I felt like leaving on all the time.

Meh, I play them all the 3D as long as I'm somewhere that I can hold the system stable in the right spot.

All three of the ones I've played.

Yeah.

Course I've also been known to play PC games with shutter glasses for 3D as well.

AndrewA wrote:

Speaking of the 3D.... does anyone still bother turning it on when playing games? I find myself keeping it off permanently, regardless of what game I have in.

Always.

I don't feel "right" playing with the 3D off. The graphics seem more jagged, especially around the edges. I am fortunate enough to not have any side effects from it. (If it's any consolation, I'm completely deaf in one ear. Most of you get to enjoy headphones.)

I always try and always end up turning it off. It's too blurry in 3D, despite how cool it always looks.

My big issue with the 3D is that the effect gets mangled if you turn the system (or your head) a tiny bit as you play. It looks cool when it works, but I find that my inability to hold the thing perfectly still pisses me off quickly, and I end up shutting off the 3D.

Lost in the shuffle, there was a Japanese Nintendo Direct featuring third party 3DS games a little while ago.

The two highlights were a new Monster Hunter 4 trailer and a new Shin Megami Tensei IV trailer.

shoptroll wrote:
Farscry wrote:

2d Mode: New Super Mario 2

There's a neat "depth of field" effect that occurs when you turn it on there. I thought that was cool but not something I felt like leaving on all the time.

Oh, I liked it, it's just that the more active a game is, the more trouble I have holding the system steady enough to not disrupt the fairly narrow viewing angle it requires for the 3d to not "break", and when it does break, it really makes my eyes and bring uncomfortable. That makes keeping the 3d on for Mario 3d Land troublesome at times, but the difference that 3d makes for that game is so profound that I just deal with it. However, it also means I can only play for short sessions on that game in particular.