Well, I've had the 3DS for a little over a week now (I got it 2 days after launch) and it's AWESOME! To start at the beginning, though, I should tell you how I felt about it BEFORE I got it!
I was really excited about it being 3D, but I was also really excited just for the sake of there being a new DS! But, while I was excited about the 3D gaming ability of the system, I was also somewhat worried about whether I would be one of the unlucky ones that could not see the 3D in it. I even had a headache for like half an hour after trying it out at target, but I realized that the 3d slider had been all the way up. I'm happy to say that when I got my own I turned it almost all the way off and it only bothered my eyes a little. Now, after over a week of owning it I have the 3D up a little and it hardly bothers my eyes at all! So you might not want to be hasty when you judge 3D bad for your eyes; just start small and let your eyes get used to it before turning it up a little.
But even if I couldn't see the 3D I would still want the 3DS because as a Nintendo fan I wanted to be in on all the Nintendo exclusive games (Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Mario, Bomberman, Wuhu Island). Also their are a lot more features that you won't be getting anywhere else (yet) which I will talk about later.
One of the other features that made me want it was the analog circle (located above the d-pad). In fact, while I was trying to get Yoshi to face the direction I wanted him to in Super Mario 64 DS (an awesome game) I thought
"why didn't they somehow put a joystick on this thing? They should have!" That was on the original DS. Finally after three more generations of the DS Nintendo has corrected the problem and you have the equivalent of a joystick on your 3DS!
Now I will talk about the 3D feature and the problems surrounding it. The 3D Screen seems to be the main new feature, but some people (I hear) cannot see the "3Dness" or it causes dizziness, headaches or eye strain. I have not heard of any permanent damage but some people just don't seem to be able to handle the 3D. Of course, you can always just turn off the 3D with the 3D depth slider. While some may say that if you can't utilize the 3D feature you may as well skip the 3DS entirely, I would have to disagree with them because (as I said earlier) there are other exclusive features.
Now, to go through some of the other features and what I like/dislike about them.
- The Mii Maker: It's awesome! I really like the idea of have miis on a portable system as well as the wii. As for the extra accurate mii settings that help you make it look more like you, well, I didn't really notice that much improvement.
- Streetpass: A neat way to get more Miis for the mii compatible games and to meet other 3DS owners in a detached sort of way. If your 3DS is on or in sleep mode (on but closed) and someone else's is nearby and also is on, then your ds will exchange miis and a short impersonal message with the other one. Not something I've experienced yet, I'm afraid, because I live in a small town. Hopefully it'll get easier to use this feature as more people buy the 3DS
- 3D Camera: YES! This feature is awesome, as long as you can see 3D, of course. Even though the cameras are pretty low res, the pictures look like you're actually looking at the subject through a window! But if it's a really bright day, then your picture will likely be overexposed if you're taking pictures outside. The camera is also pretty sensitive to lack of light.
- 3DS Sound: On the 3DS the sound app will allow you to make sounds (not something I use it for much) and play with them or your music (also not something I do very much) but it lets you listen to mp3 music files as well as AAC which makes loading music onto the DS much easier. This is definitely a cool feature and the surround sound is very good quality, but it is not loud enough to listen to if people are making much noise nearby.
- AR Cards: Also pretty neat if you can see 3D, but really fun even with the 3D turned off.
- Face Raiders: another game that works fine in 3d or not. Funny flying morphed versions of your face (and other people's if you have pictures of them) will attack you and you have to shoot them down. You wanna stand up to play this game; there are enemies all around you!
- Activity Log: You can keep track of your steps and what games you've been playing with this app.
- Play Coins: For every 100 steps counted on your 3DS's pedometer feature (activated by keeping the system in sleep mode) you get 1 play coin, you can earn up to 10 a day and use them to buy in-game bonuses and stuff for the RPG type game where you try to rescue your mii.
All of these features are ready for you to enjoy right away after opening your 3DS, I don't have any 3DS games yet, but will soon own Pilotwings Resort. I plan to review it too. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section! If I can't answer the question, I will try to find the answer or refer you to someone who can. God Bless you!
