The Nintendo 3DS, one of the most joyous little machines to ever grace the games industry, is dead — or perhaps it’s more accurate to say it will be killed very slowly over the next year until it draws its final breath in late March 2023. It is, at the time of writing, fighting for its life. Out of respect for its vigilance, we’ve decided to eulogise it early by collecting 20 3DS games every Nintendo fan needs to download before its ticker winds down to zero.
We’re not saying these are the best games on 3DS, nor are we exclusively referring to titles that are only available on this platform. We’re not claiming these are definitive handheld editions of certain games either, nor that said certain games were always destined for handheld living.
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Instead, each entry on this list is influenced by all four of those metrics, as well as a rigorous scientific protocol developed specifically for this collection that, unfortunately, is strictly confidential. Sorry, but secret science is secret for a reason. This is basically an Illuminati-approved 3DS shopping list.
Here are 20 3DS games you need to add to your library as soon as possible — as in, get up, grab your 3DS, and download them in real time as you’re scrolling through the list. We promise you won’t regret it unless you are a person of unfortunately poor taste.