15 Essential Games for Nintendo 3DS

Photo: Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons.

Developed during the height of the 2008 3D craze, the 3DS wasn't Nintendo's first attempt at a stereovision console, but it was the most successful. Consumer interest in stereoscopic 3D waned pretty soon after the 3DS launched in 2011, leaving it as the craze's last holdout.

In the interests of the ballooning costs of SD cards, each game's file size is listed next to the 💾 diskette icon. In general, if you're shopping for SD cards to put into your jailbroken New 3DS XL, I would recommend a 64 gigabyte card with a speed class of 10.

Availability: hShop.
While most of these games can be loaded into a jailbroken 3DS as *.CIA files, larger games (4+ GB) will need to be downloaded from hShop.

Nintendo has discontinued every DLC service and halted every product line having to do with the DS family of systems. Moreover, it does not currently produce a game system that is capable of running DS or 3DS games, either in physical or ephemeral form. Thus, the entire library of Nintendo DS games falls squarely under abandonware. That means, of course, that any DS and 3DS ROMs you find on No-Intro can be downloaded and played in broad daylight. Of course, to actually use those ROMs on a physical 3DS, you'll need to jailbreak your system first. It's a simple process that doesn't take too much time can be done on any model of 3DS with any firmware revision, and carries such a miniscule chance of bricking your system that we can just call it zero. Details about that can be found at 3ds.hacks.guide, and my personal experience with itis chronicled here.

1		Super Mario 3D Land  November 2011, Nintendo EAD 💾 537 MB The Tanooki Suit from Super Mario Bros. 3 makes a comeback in this game, conferring the ability to slow Mario's descent while jumping. Luigi is in this game, but you have to rescue him from Dry Bowser's castle after completing the mainline game. Admittedly, this doesn't take very long. Even with the requirement of collecting Star Medals to proceed to the final bout, it'll only take an inexperienced player about 3 days of normie-length game sessions to rescue the Princess. But, being long is not a prerequisite for being good.

2		The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D  June 2011, GREZZO 💾 537 MB As it sounds, Nintendo's greatest N64 game has been given a significant graphics overhaul. Nearly all the original art assets have been redrawn, incorporating more polygons, higher-definition texturing, and various extra embellishments. Apart from the stereovision 3D and all the various quality-of-life improvements, it's still Ocarina of Time. The sound has not been touched, nor has most of the game engine, except for ironing out a few bugs.

3		The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds  November 2013, Nintendo EAD 💾 1.1 GB Link's first 3DS outing that wasn't a remake of something takes him, ironically, into 2 dimensions. In order to solve the series' trademark puzzles, Link must become a sentient work of grafitti and walk on the walls. He also must travel between Hyrule and its opposite, appropriately named Lorule, to foil the plans of the evil sorcerer, Yuga.

4		New Super Mario Bros. 2  August 2012, Nintendo SPD 💾 537 MB Actually the 3rd game to be called that, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is, as Reggie Fils-Aimé put it at E3 2012, all about the gold. The game now keeps track of how many coins you've collected across all levels and does absolutely nothing with that data. The Super Leaf makes a return from Super Mario 3D Land, applying raccoon features to Mario and fox features to Luigi, rather than bestowing the Tanooki and kitsune onesies from that game.

5		Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D  May 2013, Monster Games 💾 4.3 GB (hShop required!) A 3DS port of the similarly-titled Wii game, the first thing you're likely to notice, downloading it, is that it's very large. Much larger than your average 3DS game. So large, in fact, that well-used 3DS consoles at the time were unable to download it from the eShop until the player jettisoned some of their other games. I don't usually recommend this, but it might be more economical to track down a physical copy of the game, as installing the CIA to your SD card is going to eat up a lot of your storage space; especially considering the next item...

6		Pokémon Sun / Moon  November 2016, Game Freak 💾 4.3 GB (hShop required!) While the 3DS seems to have been the system to reboot your old games on, hence Alpha Sapphire / Omega Ruby, Sun / Moon was not a remake. It is set on the tropical archipelago of Alola. The difference between Sun / Moon and the next year's "HD remake" of Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon is mostly superficial, though the Ultra version does feature 5 new Pokémon that the standard Sun / Moon does not. As with much of the rest of the franchise, videogame collectors have managed to inflate the value of these games from their original launch prices, so it's substantially less economical to find physical copies, relative to Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. If it comes down to it, get AS/OR in CIA format and a physical copy of DKCR3D. You're going to want to put something in the cartridge slot anyway, because pocket lint affects us all.

7		Pokémon Alpha Sapphire / Omega Ruby  November 2014, Game Freak 💾 4.3 GB (hShop required!) In amongst all the piles of N64 game remakes is a 3D high-def remake of the Game Boy Advance game, Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire. If you're familiar with the GBA original, you'll find that, with the exception of the 3D graphics and some miscellaneous esoteric stuff, the game is mostly the same.

8		Terraria  December 2015, Codeglue 💾 134 MB Somewhat like 2D Minecraft, Terraria is similarly about mining resources out of the game world to craft houses and items with. While I would not recommend this version of the game for people who are familiar with the PC version, my first introduction to Terraria was on 3DS, which I feel gave me a unique perspective; it doesn't feel stunted or difficult to me, it just feels like a game. It has all the immediacy of Doom with the creativity of Animal Crossing or The Sims, with the added bonus of your player characters not being locked into a single game world. The game has 3 available slots each for player characters and game worlds, so if you'd prefer to use all 3 game worlds with a single character (ie. have access to 3 times as many resources) you can do that. Just make sure to leave your coins at home so you won't lose them when you get swarmed by Slimes in the caverns.

9		StarFox 64 3D  September 2011, Q-Games 💾 1.1 GB Relative to Nintendo 64 reboots, here's another one. LylatWars—finally able to be properly called StarFox 64—got substantially more attention than Rayman 2. Unlike even Ocarina of Time, which, despite its enhanced graphics, still used Nintendo 64 audio samples; StarFox 64 3D's sound got upscaled along with the rest of the game. Rather than using Roland and Best Service CD-DA samples, the music is streamed from pre-defined audio tracks, performed by Logic Pro. Also, Nintendo wanted to show off the 3DS's gyroscope, so it is possible to control your Arwing using it (provided you fancy bobbing up and down and looking a complete fool); but the traditional controls are still functional. I guess they learnt their lesson, releasing so many games on Wii with motion controls only.

10		Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions  October 2017, AlphaDream 💾 1.1 GB With all this talk of 3D remakes of N64 games, AlphaDream took the opportunity to make a remastered (if 2D) version of their earlier Game Boy Advance game. Rather than mess about with trying to make a 2D game work in 3D, the spritework has been enhanced with more animation steps and higher definition. As the title suggests, it introduces a new side-story, Minions' Quest, wherein a troupe of Goombas, tired of being ordered about by the Koopas, set off on their own quest to prove they aren't simple cannon-fodder and search for Bowser, themselves.

11		Fire Emblem: Awakening  February 2013, Intelligent Systems 💾 2.1 GB In amongst all the various other things Super Smash Bros. Melee did for western pop culture, it also introduced Fire Emblem to non-Japanese audiences for the first time. Awakening was the first game in the series to be released for Nintendo 3DS; though it did away with the traditional "permadeath" game mechanic, allowing players to resurrect dead player-characters. Taking place 2 canon millennia after the game with Marth in it, Awakening involves a character called "Marth", but who isn't really. It's a story of time travel and predestination paradoxes worthy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with a slightly simplified battle system that no longer permanently kills characters, as Nintendo were concerned that this would make it unappealing to newcomers while they were trying to reach the widest audience possible with the 3DS. The game isn't harmed by this, and turned out to be in the top 40 3DS games sold.

12		Mario Kart 7  October 2012, Nintendo SPD / Retro Studios 💾 1.1 GB It's kind of hard to tell how well Mario Kart 7 sold. Like all the other "Best Sellers" released by Nintendo, it was actually sold as a pack-in with certain special edition consoles. For a Mario Kart game, it introduces some innovative features, like using the console's gyroscope as a steering wheel, driving underwater, and using a hang-glider to glide through the air. Also, you collect coins in Grand Prix mode to unlock new kart features, but you still need to beat Grand Prix on certain engine classes to unlock new characters. For some reason, Waluigi was left out of this game, which may be a deal-breaker for some. Also, the music is not very good; Nagata and Terui failed to capture the trademark Mario earworm with this one. Fortunately, a number of classic tracks from the Super NES onwards make reappearances, retaining their original themes in high-definition streamed audio.

13		Animal Crossing: New Leaf   June 2013, Nintendo EAD 💾 1.1 GB For the same reason as the previous game, it's hard to tell how well New Leaf actually performed, as it, too, was a pack-in at certain points during the 3DS support cycle. The hook for this game is, your character is mistaken for the town's new mayor, and so you serve an administrative function with fan-favourite, Isabelle, by your side. While it was once possible to visit other players' towns using the Nintendo Network, that service was shut down in April 2024. Pretendo Network is working on a way around that, so stay tuned. Nintendo sure made a lot of games for this platform reliant on a technology it had no intention of maintaining, didn't it?

14		Luigi's Mansion 2 / Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon  March 2013, Next Level 💾 1.1 GB I'm sure Luigi would have preferred to celebrate his 30th anniversary in a less terrifying manner, but this was certainly his best-received game in the Year of Luigi. The others were hampered by the somewhat unpopular Wii U and accusations of Nintendo simply imitating fan-made ROM hacks. Luigi's Mansion 2 was a sequel to the similarly-named 2001 GameCube title. While Shigeru Miyamoto served an advisory role during development, the game was otherwise completely made by the Canadian company, Next Level. While Kazumi Totaka's voice clips as E. Gadd from Luigi's Mansion were retained, Totaka himself provided no music or audio direction for the project. The only other person on the development staff of the original game who returned for this one was Charles Martinet as the voice of Luigi. Still, it was successful enough to figure in the Top 10 3DS games, and a follow-up game, also by Next Level, in Luigi's Mansion 3 was made for Switch several years later.

15		Monster Hunter: Generations  July 2016, Capcom 💾 2.1 GB The 2nd 3DS Monster Hunter game that was not a port of something, Generations differs from past installments in its new Hunting Arts feature, which must be charged up during a hunt before being used. Though not technically part of the main canon, Generations performed better on 3DS than the mainline Monster Hunter 4.

While these 15 games are definitely essential, there were a few that didn't quite make the cut.

A		The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D  February 2015, GREZZO 💾 1.1 GB Okay, one more N64 reboot. Since Ocarina of Time got a 3D overhaul, it would make sense for Majora's Mask to get one, too. Apart from 3D tinkering, some minor adjustments to gameplay balance and side-quests were made, as well; such as Link not being able to nick Link-goro's room at the Stock Pot Inn while in human form (I guess they thought that made Anju look stupid). Also, the ability to save your game from the Owl Statues without first hitting them with your sword. I'm still not too sure why they thought that would be a good idea at all.

B		Yo-Kai Watch  November 2015, Level 5 💾 1.1 GB The first installment in the popular series, the game follows primary school kid, Nate Adams, who goes on a ghost hunt with the help of his enchanted wristwatch and his ghost friend, Whisper. Its sequel, Yo-Kai Watch 2, performed a great deal better in sales in the west, but it's one of those games where it helps to know the first bit before proceeding to the 2nd and 3rd bits.

C		Tomodachi Life  June 2014, Nintendo SPD 💾 537 MB The sequel to the Japan-only Nintendo DS game, Tomodachi Collection, Tomodachi Life is sort of a cross between Animal Crossing and a roleplaying game. You never take direct control over any of the characters, you only interact with them as sort of the game's neighbourly god figure. Even though you create (or choose from the Mii Channel) a Mii that's meant to look like you, it isn't you because you interact with them the same way you interact with everyone else. Unlike Animal Crossing, which self-populates, it's up to you to create or select new Miis to bring to your island. This game is an honourable mention only, instead of being on the main list, chiefly for 2 reasons. First, any LGBT+ alignment is impossible because the game will force heterosexual relationships on your villagers, forbidding homosexuals, asexuals, and aromantics. While you can technically make transgender-looking villagers, the game strictly enforces binary personal pronouns. Second, the squelchy speech synthesiser that the villagers use to talk with is kind of hard to listen to for extended periods.

D		Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS  December 2016, Nintendo EPD 💾 1.4 GB After years of fan-made mods to the 2D Super Mario series, Nintendo finally snapped and went, "Fine, if you all are so smart, then YOU make the damn game!" Experience the game that lives on in Tumblr memes and ragequit videos by making your own impossible meme-worthy levels and sharing them over Pretendo Network. Play through the single-player challenge modes to unlock more items you can use to build with, then go nuts! Make levels that are logical with a clear progression, or make levels that are so dramatically unhinged that it would make Nintendo of America Quality Assurance admit that videogames were a mistake.

E		Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns  February 2017, Marvelous 💾 1.1 GB Ever hear of Harvest Moon? This is that. Always known in Japan as Bokujou Monogatari, it started going by Story of Seasons in western markets in 2014 when Marvelous ended their business relationship with Natsume... ah, who cares? As a member of the original Harvest Moon line, the story and gameplay are quite similar here; the player makes a character, they move onto a farm, and start chatting up the local heartthrobs. As the screenshot indicates, Trio of Towns has some unlockable stuff from Nintendo franchises.

MAIN MENU | HOMEPAGE