Of course, the Wii U is also affected by this decision (and we can never be sorry enough for Xenoblade Chronicles X, still trapped), but the affect here takes precedence over reason. Unlike the Switch, which sees the proliferation of fluorescent shades of its Joy-Con as the one and only way to assert its style, the 3DS was the last representative of a certain way of conceiving the hardware by Nintendo. This applies as much to its farandole of collector’s editions, colors and even different iterations (which, in the latter case, stems from pure and hard commercial opportunism) as it does to seemingly innocuous finds. One thinks of the badges or the decorative plates of the New 3DS, which offered players the possibility of shaping the console in their image – like charms for cellphones, in a way – and leaving room for the oddity, the experimentation. So many notions that today seem lost in the monstrous success of his successor; much more robust in its proposal, but paradoxically more tenuous in its audacity.
After a DS offer below, the catalog first party from Nintendo on 3DS had risen to another level, abandoning certain risky ports and other accidents of course for solid releases – at the sacrifice of essential functionalities to the dual screen or the touchpad. In the absence of being able to rely on alternative methods of play, games like Super Mario 3D Land Or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D rather played the safety card for the first, platformer solid on its supports, and indulgence for the other, doubling nostalgia – and fluidity, at the same time. The years passed and the quality of the titles improved in parallel: 2012 saw Kid Icarus Uprising make the most of the capabilities of the hardware for a shoot nervous of another kind, forming a strong contrast with the relaxing atmosphere of the very complete Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The following year saw the emergence of one of Zelda’s best 2D episodes with A Link Between Worldsa skilful reflection of the precepts of license, while Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS unsurprisingly became the killer app nomadic pugilists multiplayer.
Middle earth
But is it still necessary to dwell on the importance of these hits in the commercial impact of the 3DS? Not really. In truth, the real treasures of the console are in its eShop, fertile ground of the middleware, the only viable alternative for many studios with limited ambitions which, unable to afford the rhinestones and glitter of home consoles, redoubled their creativity on a platform with lower development costs. It would have been hard to see the excellent derby-solitaire game Pocket Card Jockey to be exported outside the mobile elsewhere than on 3DS, for example, or to imagine a medium more appropriate to the methodical reflection of Picross e of Jupiter. Conceivable with the pad or the keyboard-mouse, of course, but far from being natural… And filling in boxes on Switch, it really doesn’t have the same charm.
It is with this in mind that the Level-5 Guild program was inscribed in 2012, which saw the publisher collaborate with several renowned game designers in the development of experiences only marketed on the 3DS eShop. From this half-dozen author games, we especially remember two very different titles from each other. First of all Crimson Shroud by Yasumi Matsuno, a tribute to tabletop role-playing games with figurines and mandatory dice rolls, which has the distinction of being one of the rare projects where the director was not fired halfway through development. Then, in a completely different genre, Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale also signs an ode, that of innocent adolescence, in the Japanese countryside of the 70s. It is no coincidence since we find Kaz Ayabe, illustrious creator of Boku no Natsuyasumi, at the controls of this little adventure as long as a summer afternoon and just as warm.
Exceptions remain, however, and some large publishers have still gone through the eShop box to offer their strongest licenses – mainly for the sake of economy. It seems crazy today (well, not so much), but for the release of Shin Megami Tensei IV here, Atlus has simply ignored a physical version – unlike the North American market. Let’s put that on the brand’s lack of influence before Persona 5 turned, but to be able to try out one of the studio’s best RPGs, you will inevitably have to fall back on its digital version. 10 years (!) after the release of the third episode on PS2, SMT4 is placed far, very far from the city atmosphere of the license to stage a medieval-inspired setting and retains gameplay that is still just as engaging and effective. Capcom has also gone all-digital with the last two installments in its series. Ace Attorney which will be, from Monday, the sole prerogative of the iOS and Android stores.
SEGA and M2, unity is strength
At a time when retro on Switch is confined to compilations or subscriptions, diving back into the catalog of the virtual console of the 3DS is enough to make you dizzy. In addition to a substantial offer that logically highlighted portable console toy libraries such as the Game Boy or the Game Gear, the integration of the 3D screen offered the ideal vehicle for more top of the line, if they had to be summed up in a single term. It is in this niche that the M2 studio has distinguished itself with the range of SEGA 3D Classics, increased ports focusing particularly on depth effects. The work of adapting these games is simply remarkable – it only takes a few minutes to break some punk In 3D Streets of Rage to see the 3D go from the status of gimmick to that of a real commercial argument. The same goes for the controlled chaos of 3D Gunstar Heroes or, in a completely different genre, the scrolling of 3D Space Harrier which makes sense on the portable console.
Come on, a few final recommendations before the last whistle. The puzzle-platformers triptych Pushmo, Crashmo And Stretchmo reminds us how far the inventiveness of Intelligent Systems can go, far too under-exploited today. Born on XBLA, the license Protect Me Knight! d’Ancient has since come a long way, until offering an opus relatively recently on Switch. But his second episode Gotta Protectors (that of maturity) is still a safe bet in the genre of chaotic and stupid tower-defense – preferably on an XL model, pixel art small size requires. Finally, if we tend to forget that he has not retired, it was of course on 3DS that the talented Hiroshi Iuchi (Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga) gave us his last original achievement with kokugaan explosive tank shooter playable with 4 participants.