Skip to main content

Nintendo 3DS launch title review roundup

nintendo-3dsEven if the Nintendo 3DS had the ability to pay your taxes, clean your house and make dinner for you, the system would still only be as good as the games released for it. Well, ok, being able to pay your taxes would be pretty cool, but the 3DS can’t, so the success of the hardware is going to be determined by the games that have been released for it.

Nintendo is foreseeing a long and profitable life for its newest handheld system. It is, after all, the successor to the best-selling video game system in the history of the planet Earth, so you can expect an avalanche of new titles for the system over the coming months and years.

Of course, patience is for suckers. When a new gadget is released we want it now, and are willing to stand in line for hours to get it. The Nintendo 3DS is no exception. But with a device like the 3DS, simply grabbing the system and taunting all of those behind you still waiting in line—though no doubt good clean fun—is only part of the shopping process.

The 3DS itself is a device with promise, but you can’t stream Netflix on promise, nor can you browse the internet (both of which are features the 3DS has promised, but neither are available yet). So now more than ever, the 3DS will be reliant on the launch day games to justify its existence (and price). And that is where our launch day roundup comes in.

Check out our Nintendo 3DS review, and click below for a look at each title.

Check out all our reviews of the Nintendo 3DS launch titles:

Editors' Recommendations

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Nintendo’s Wii Shop Channel and DSi shops are back online
Nintendo 3DS close-up.

After months of service outages, Nintendo's Wii Shop Channel and DSi Shop are back online.

Nintendo's two virtual marketplace services went down in March of this year. In a statement to Kotaku on the outage, Nintendo acknowledged the downtime but had nothing to report other than that the shops were undergoing maintenance and that it would provide updates on them at a later date. It seems it completely skipped the update and simply put both back online instead.

Read more
Kirby and the Forgotten Land: All secret mission objectives
Three Waddle Dees escape a cage in Kirby and the Forgotten Lands.

The Waddle Dees are captured, and only Kirby can save them! Kirby and the Forgotten Land brings Kirby to a new world -- and dimension -- in this 3D adventure through a bright and colorful environment, but with an implied dark history. The adventure itself is all about rescuing the cute and cuddly Waddle Dees to repopulate Waddle Dee Town, which opens up tons of options and new things to do for Kirby between the normal platforming stages. However, more than half of the objectives in each level are hidden from you, but without completing them you can't free every Waddle Dee.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land has six major areas, and plenty of levels within them all. That alone adds up to a big chunk of content, but there's almost no chance anyone will be able to fully complete every stage on their first try thanks to the secret missions. These missions are unique to each level, and are not revealed to the player until they beat a stage at least once, meaning you will, at minimum, have to go back a second time to do these extra missions, if not more. However, if you follow this guide and know ahead of time what all the secret mission objectives are for each stage in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, you can restore Waddle Dee town to glory in no time.

Read more
Kirby and the Forgotten Land: All copy abilities explained
Kirby in his ranger form in the snow.

Kirby is a jack of all trades. No matter what powers an enemy has, Kirby can copy them and use them for himself just as well if not better. This has been the little round ball of joy's signature move for decades now, and over the years he's utilized dozens of powers on his various adventures. Each new ability he copies gives him a new way to attack and interact with the world, as well as a stylish change in appearance. Part of the fun of any new Kirby game is discovering all the brand new copy abilities there will be, and that has never been more true than with Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

For the series' first attempt at unleashing the pink puffball with an endless appetite in a full 3D environment, Kirby and the Forgotten Land had a major challenge in adapting the purely 2D combat of the past to fit the new perspective. Copy abilities in particular needed to be completely retooled to work, while also being fun, creative, and exciting to use in new ways. While the arsenal Kirby has access to this time around might not seem like a lot, each copy ability is far deeper than they've ever been. For a full breakdown of all the new tricks up Kirby's sleeve, here are all the copy abilities explained in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Read more