Before I get my hands on a Nintendo 3DS...

Original post HERE: 13 Mar 2011
Discrepancy due to failure to export/import blog

I really need to show you guys a couple of things that got me so hyped up to get a Nintendo 3DS, I mean it's so cool! With a stereoscopic display, the graphics on the top panel is supposed to in 3D, giving you a feel of space and depth into your gaming. Best of all, you don't have to wear 3D glasses or any kind of heavy junk on your nose to experience it. I mean I don't know how that exactly works, but it's  just awesome. The picture you see on the left however, has the 3D effect turned off in order for an external camera to take a better photo.

The 3DS also comes with a analog stick, or circular pad they call, which they should have came up with long ago, a motion sensor and gyroscope that can react to the motion and tilt of the system, while the player twists his or her body according to the game... ... and bystanders can stare curiously. It also houses two outer cameras to create 3D photography, and most importantly, it's backward compatible, so you do not need to chuck away all your DS or DSi games like when the DS succeeded the Gameboy Advance. To check out more, click here to visit the official Nintendo 3DS site.

As I have said in my previous post, I was really into retro-gaming recently; playing everything from the Legend of Zelda™ series, Metroid™ series, Mario™ series, Megaman™ series, Final Fantasy™ series, and much much more. Man, it was like a mad rush, but it was totally fun. One of my favourite has got to be the Legend of Zelda™ series, which I played from the classic 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System [NES] version all the way, till now, I'm still stuck at 2005 The Minish Cap™ for the Gameboy Advance. I don't have a Wii or Nintendo DS [yet] so I think I'll stay there for a while.

Anyway, the picture you saw earlier was from the game Legend of Zelda™ - Ocarina of Time™ 3D, which is essentially a remake of the same Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64 cartidge platform in 1998. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest Zelda game in the series of action RPG. Following will be a screenshot from the original Ocarina Time and versus a closer look at the new 3DS version. Check it out!

The Original Nintendo 64, Legend of Zelda™ - Ocarina of Time™

The Nintendo 3DS Remake of Legend of Zelda™ - Ocarina of Time™ 3D

As you can clearly see, there are many many changes. It's a serious overhaul! The main character Link, now has fingers for instance. This time, you can really feel that he has features smoothened out on his face, and no longer like a blank head with eyes and mouth drawn on it. His hair, oh his hair [beautiful], is texturized and doesn't look like Pinochio's wooden bangs anymore. His tunic, belts and straps look much more real, with a bit of pop instead of a flat jpeg file wrapped around a polygon. Anyway, I have a handful more of comparision screenshots for your viewing pleasure.

Pictures above are extracted from Zelda Dungeon, my preferred walkthrough source when I scale my series of Zelda games. You may also click here to see their post of the Ocarina of Time.

If the Zelda series isn't your cup of tea, there are other great game that are available. I'm sure there will be more to come. Ready for more pictures? Below are some of my favourites.

Nintendogs™ + cats
Available March 27

It's probably more of a girl's game some might say, but I love animals, especially dogs and cats. This could be entertaining for a little bit since I'm not allowed to get a real pet for until I get my own apartment. Tonnes of cuteness as you virtually play with your puppies and kittens, and they in return show you their love by responding to you through the camera and lick you through your 3D screen! Awww...

Kid Icarus™: UprisingComing 2011

Kid Icarus first made its debut back in 1987. It's a side-scroller, greek mythology shooter kind of game during then, which was quite successful and well loved by most players. However, after making a mediocre sequel "Of Myths & Monsters" for the Gameboy [Non color dot matrix] 3 years later, Nintendo seemed to have abandoned all Kid Icarus projects, despite being on the top of the wish list for most gamers. This year, Pit, the main character finally makes a glorious comeback, in 3D! Engage in ground combat & aerial shooting action against mythical creatures, like those monoeyes you see in the picture. Did I mention Pit looks great and carries an awesome bow?

Super Monkey Ball™ 3D
Available March 27

Get into some monkey business with AiAi and his friends rolling around in what seems to be bubble gum balls, or bubbles, or whatever. Collect bananas as fast as you can, or race friends in the Monkey Race, or even get into a maniac melee in Monkey Fight. Hours of fun with many many mini games!

The Sims™3
Available March 27

From the creators of the world's most popular life simulator franchise, The Sims 3 is now maximized for a fully 3D world. Everyone knows what the Sims are. What more can I say?

Other titles include Super Street Fighter IV, Asphalt, Lego Star Wars III - The Clone Wars, Dead or Alive Dimensions, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011, Madden NFL Football, Ridge Racer, Resident Evil - The Mercenaries, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon - Shadow Wars, and more to come. Click here to visit the Nintendo 3DS games site. 

According to Nintendo's offical site, the 3DS release date in North America is March 27, for US$249. However, some of my resourceful friends here in Singapore has already gotten their hands on it. I wonder how, perhaps they got a pre-order Japanese set. Anyway, I'm not sure if there's a release for the Asia market, but I'm sure and dealers here would be business-minded enough to get import sets shortly after. Only problem is, due to Singapore's "unique" market, it might cost over S$400 even though US$249 through the exchange rate of 1.2684 would be equivalent to only S$315.

Well I can't wait to play. It is however disappointing that the 3DS only has 2 colors, Cosmo Black and the [eeky] Aqua Blue at its launch. Black is totally fine with me but my dear Roseate would only settle for a baby pink edition, so we'll have to wait till Nintendo releases more color variants. I'm sure they will eventually. Meanwhile, it's not too early to plan for Christmas 2011!