Nintendo 3DS - Midnight Purple

This review is from someone who has only owned a GBA and a regular DS in her life, in terms of portable consoles.Starting easy with the color: It's a deep, glimmering purple. Very, very attractive color.Onto the system itself. I am beyond impressed with this technology. Maybe it's just me but it's honestly the coolest thing I've ever seen, and I don't think people are as impressed as they probably should be! I show people when I have it on me and they can never say anything less than "Whoaaaaaa."Approaching issues now."The battery life is short": Yes, less than three hours with the high settings. It's pathetic for a portable console. But honestly, there are fixes for every qualm you could have with this. Don't bother upgrading to a 3DS XL unless other aspects of it entice you besides the battery; for maybe fifteen dollars (EDIT Feb. 2013: the price has even gone down to ten dollars), just buy something called the Nyko PowerPak+. Look it up right here on Amazon. It replaces the stock battery and doubles your battery life, and also adds a nice grip to the console. Takes maybe two minutes to screw on to the console. It adds weight as well, but like I said, I owned a regular DS which was pretty heavy and I never really saw a problem with a console that isn't a feather. I like the feel of durability. I own the thing and it rocks.Also, though ~3 hours is a little iffy, how long is it really practical to spend sitting on your 3DS? You don't need 9 hours in your typical day, so perhaps a shorter battery life will convince people to take a break and let it charge."The 3D effect gives people headaches": I spend a few hours a day on the games. I spent quite a few hours at first adjusting my settings and trying out the included extras. I didn't get a headache and my eyes are fine. It might take some adjusting at first, because who looks at 3D effect screens all day? But in the end, if this gives you a headache and you're a typical person, it's time to take a break for a while.Getting the 3DS at the proper distance from your face to get the best effect takes some getting used to.(My biggest issue-) "DS games will be stretched out": Yes, they will. This was actually my make-or-break factor. The game will be stretched to look slightly pixelated to fit the resolution of this new console. It's just enough where it's noticeable. However, I don't suspect that this will hinder gameplay, nor do I suspect it will be too big of an annoyance once you get used to it. If you simply can't handle it, holding (Start+Select) when tapping your game at the home page will make your game screen small so it isn't pixealted. Keep in mind that it will be very small. Maybe it's just me but I found it tiny; I'd rather have the stretched game.There is no slot for GBA games. I was a little miffed (since I'm a sucker for my old Pokemon versions) but it's not like I didn't expect it. Still have my old Advance so it's all good.For the record, I purchased this system over the XL; they were both released when I was in the market for one. I've even tested the XL numerous times at the store after to see if I had possibly made a bad decision, being that the XL gets such rave reviews as being the better system.But after serious consideration, I've decided to keep this system, and here's why:- Portability. It's much smaller and lighter, even with the Nyko battery, which is what I was used to with the original blue Nintendo DS.- Battery life (+Nyko). Since the Nyko is made for this console, the battery life is even longer than that "improved" life of the XL. For someone like me, who often plays with low settings, this is good- I'm also forgetful, so if I forget / don't have time to charge this, chances are I'm in the clear anyway. The battery life really goes and goes with that.- Color. There are far more attractive color options (skins aside) for the original model, and I'm happy with the purple. Yes, this glossy finish picks up more fingerprints; if this bothers you, I suggest buying one of the Nerf or clear cases, or bringing a screen wipe with you.- Sound. I've heard that the XL has a low sound quality, and the original is quiet enough at max as it is (and though I don't mind that, I still wouldn't like it any quieter).- Finally, the most important part: screen resolution. I would rather play on a smaller screen with a nice, sharp image than on a huge one with a pixelated image. This was the make-or-break factor between the two for me. Though the big screens are easier to see to some extent, I had a harder time reading the text on the XL after using the original for as long as I did.Of course, you might feel differently! Most people aren't bothered by the pixelation and will recommend the XL as the superior system without contest. I personally suggest that you take into account what is important to you regarding the differences between the two, try them both in real life, and make a decision then.All in all, people have some big issues with little things about the original 3DS we have here, most of which are fixable, all of which are wholly insignificant. If you're worried about anything with this console, just take the advice and don't let that bother you. It's definitely worth getting. There are games coming out at this point in time that you really want to have this console for, such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Pokemon X and Y. Far too cool and fun to pass up over a $10 extra battery. Cheers.

Wow! This is definitely the most impressive handheld gaming console I have ever had, coming from someone who has played since the days of Game Boy Color!The library of games is growing and growing, so there's really no excuse not to get one of these. I now own a 3DS and a 3DS XL [the XL definitely has the superior screen]. The 3DS itself is capable of playing DS games, as well as the 3DS ones designed for it, which means there is really no shortage of games to discover. Not to mention, you can easily buy retro and indie titles off of Nintendo's E-Shop as well as demos or full downloads of current games.I personally do not use the 3D slider on mine, as I find it hard to see 3D [whether in movies or gaming], possibly attributed to an astigmatism, but that doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the system. I can use it a bit in games that only utilize it for adding depth [ie 3D Classics Kirby's Adventure] and that alone is so amazing to me.It comes preloaded with a couple of fun things, such as StreetPass [which I always enjoy] and Face Raiders. StreetPass has 2 "games" with it at start, "Find Mii" and a puzzle piece collector game. From a later update you can buy other games to add on to this. Just keep your 3DS in your pocket and you'll "find" people [their avatars, aka 'Miis'], who can share puzzle pieces with you or help you with the dungeons in Find Mii. Find Mii helps you collect hats for your avatar to personalize your Mii.Only real complaint is how hard it is to add friends through Nintendo's network - you need to add someone's friend code [3 strings of 4 numbers] and they need to add your code back to even begin interacting, and there isn't a lot to interact with on a base level.Overall, I am extremely happy with this handheld and it is certainly my favorite.

Let me say that I am not an experienced gamer. I gave this product 5 stars for fun, portability, educational, entertaining, and functionality. My 9 year old daughter wanted a 3ds after owning a Nintendo DSi so I bought her the 3ds for Christmas. We loved the dsi and this gaming console does so much more! It has a sleeker design and man, oh man....it's in 3D!! You can turn 3D off which is awesome, and the system comes with a lot of activities and games already built in. It was shipped quickly and arrived in awesome condition. Battery life seems better than the DSi. The price is very reasonable. I also plan on purchasing a PSP, but for right now...this is perfect. I do plan on getting online with this unit for downloading games, but I haven't yet, so I cannot comment on the use of internet with this device. Other than that, the games I am considering purchasing for my daughter are Nintendogs, Mario Brothers, Mario Kart, Epic Mickey, and a few educational games I found for the DSi which will play on the 3DS. I am very happy with all of Nintendo's products and if you are considering this unit, I say, go for it!!