Secret Best 3DS Games

MDS-02

whatsarobot if you smoke a proverbial bowl, squint your eyes, and imagine that the depth of the world goes as far as the fictional sword art online game universe, your mind might catch on it. My breakthrough with that game was when my house had no power for two days due to heavy snow and all I could do is run down the power on all of my handhelds so I finally just paid attention. Mainlining the story (which serves as a quick world tour) for a bit as 1-3 lives is worth doing to open up stuff, there is a lot of dialogue but if you can take the cuteness and messaging as sincere, you can get there. A big part of the overall thesis is “What’s the rush? Just do what you want with your time and be kind to others.” It’s not trying to be an RPG (until it is) so attempting to free yourself from any sense of “I need to be leveling and getting the best gear” and recognizing that the game is specifically built to allow you to just be one life all the way through the main questline will potentially support your getting over the hump. It is shockingly generous with content at the far end, and the intent of the creators really seemed to be to create a pleasant playworld. I’m more than happy to give supporting words - I honestly believe there is a pretty unique spark at Fantasy Life’s core.

whatsarobot

MDS-02 yeah i actually started up a new file last night based on your recommendation! i chose the tailor life, and i’m having a good time so far! it’s way too talky up front, but the localization is pretty good (i tried playing it in Japanese before and didn’t enjoy the writing as much) if extremely lightweight.

i’m really interested in seeing that late game stuff where it all comes together, so can i ask you to clarify something? are you recommending that i stick with the tailor life for as long as the game lets me, and then switch to a new life? or just kind of start mixing and matching whenever i get the urge? please tell me your ideal way to experience this game.

Miiversification

whatsarobot vibes, I can guarantee, were much better in SMT IV. Soundtracks for both slap.

◉◉maru

whatsarobot If I may jump in, you are absolutely encouraged to mix and match your lives as quickly as possible, as some lives/jobs have synergies between them and make each job progress faster. Typically combat classes unlock new areas for gathering classes which unlock better materials for crafting classes which improve the gear of combat classes.

MDS-02

◉◉maru whatsarobot yup, that’s right. My only addition is to NOT unlock all of the lives in one go, as you end up spinning your wheels too much. I’d say get at least one of each type unlocked, play up to the second town, then unlock remaining gathering and the crafting class matched with your combat class’s weapon. (Blacksmith for paladin/merc, carpenter for mage/archer)

On the localization - yeah ultimately it’s fluff, but it really has a lot of attentiveness paid to the rhythm which is where there is value. There are places and ways the game explicitly leans into that theme as well - if you’re in a rush to finish or achieve something, you’ll ultimately miss the point of life. None of the mechanics ultimately matter (it’s a game), so just do what feels nice, and when you start to feel like you aren’t enjoying what’s going on, forcing it isn’t worth it.
It’s the kind of game where one npc in one town will refer to a brother who went off to become a baker and then you later can meet that baker and there’s like one more line of linking dialogue. There isn’t “substance” there in a mechanical sense, but I have come to appreciate those elements more as brushstrokes to try to paint the setting to life.

(Pardon the verboseness, part of this is stuff I also need to remind myself as I’m in some career/life path choicemaking phase at the moment)

RubySunrise

MDS-02 This sounds like something I’d really enjoy. I’m sick and will likely be sick for at least a few days. I’ve been too busy lately to game at all, but I’m installing Fantasy Life on my 3ds as I type. I’m excited to try it out. Thanks for bringing it up again! This thread sure is real long… I’ve got an intimidating spreadsheet of all the games I want to look into. The timing of the reappearance of Fantasy Life seems serendipitous so I’m going for it.

andrewelmore

oh man i think my wife would love Fantasy Life. Heck, it’s gotten expensive though.

coffeentacos

andrewelmore

Neko

coreywilliams this game is crack.

leah

i’ll throw in a mention of automaton lung - eerie, cool little 3d action/platformer. it came out earlier this year, it’s short, it has a very good soundtrack and a lot of vibes.

IsopodBod

I’m playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destines which like, talk about a game that looks great with that 3D slider turned all the heck up. It has these multi-layered, diorama-esque backgrounds that look so cool and the character animations are expressive and zany and sometimes play with the 3D effect in a fun way as well.

It’s just genuinely a good Ace Attorney game too. I’m in the middle of the 5th case right now, but all of the cases have been really solid and have had great characters especially. If anything, the main prosecutor Simon Blackquill doesn’t resonate as much with me as Edgeworth or Godot, but his backstory and the concept for his character is still unique and interesting so far.

whatsarobot

IsopodBod 100% with you on the 3D slider being stuck in the “up” position for all those Ace Attorneys. the sumptuous visuals in Spirit of Justice are forever burned into my memory in a way that i’m sure science can prove wouldn’t have happened if they were in 2D.

IsopodBod

I’m officially back on my bullshit (playing 3DS games) and ready to report on some odds and ends I’ve been playing sporadically for the last couple months.

Mighty Switch Force 1 + 2: Not the most interesting or exciting games on the system, but I enjoyed these as chillout games to pop in and play a couple stages before bed. The platforming feels good and the stages are fun and breezy. The second one basically doubles the amount of mechanics and adds some extra challenging collectibles for the true mighty-switch-heads. Plus you don’t have to play as a cop in the sequel, so that’s another bonus.

Pushmo: Everyone says this game is good and yeah, I think it’s solid. Just on a fundamental level, it’s cool to work out how to solve each puzzle and then move your little guy through it. I guess that’s not exactly novel in and of itself, but it feels like an essential part of the experience. I would compare it to Mr. Driller where you need that player character to make the gameplay work. It’s not something like Tetris or Puyo Puyo or Dr. Mario where it works to just manipulate the puzzle pieces on their own. Like any good puzzle game, you learn the common tricks and techniques to solve each puzzle as you go. It takes awhile for the difficulty to ramp up and even when it does it’s kind of inconsistent. The flipside though, is that there are a ton of stages. Even taking taking out all of the tutorial and easy levels, I found a lot of challenging stuff to dig into too.

7th Dragon III Code VFD: I’ve had this game downloaded on my system for a little over a year and just played through the first 3 hours or so. I love turn based games and I’m having a great time. The classes I picked for my starting party are Agent, God Hand, and Duelist. They all have quirks that feel unique from typical RPG classes and it feels like there’s a big emphasis on setting up moves to deal big damage over multiple turns. The only thing I’m not vibing with yet is that the game gives you points to upgrade your moves, HP, MP, etc., but it’s a lot of options and I find it a little bit overwhelming. Besides that, it’s really rewarding to push to the next part of a dungeon, the next checkpoint, or the next boss. The last time I felt that kind of motivation to keep playing an RPG was with Dragon Quest XI, so I’m excited to get further into 7th Dragon and see where it goes!

« Previous Page