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3DS XL First Impressions/Previews

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Hollywood Duo said:
Yeah, I can confirm unless they are dicks at the gamestop you go to they will do this for you. In fact the manager brought it up to me when I was buying my XL. I bought it yesterday morning did the transfer then took it back in the afternoon and got $100 credit on the original purchase. Pretty smart move on their part I think.
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My gamestop didn't let me do this. The manager was a frumpy girl.
 
Mileena said:
How is Revelaitons on XL? Does it look pixely? 2D (superior) mode plz.
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The game suffers from dithering that is not present on the original system. The game does benefit from a larger view port, however. I also stick with 2D for the game, though, as the AA is quite nice and the 3D effect suffers from severe crosstalk for me.
 
dark10x said:
The game suffers from dithering that is not present on the original system. The game does benefit from a larger view port, however. I also stick with 2D for the game, though, as the AA is quite nice and the 3D effect suffers from severe crosstalk for me.
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Revelations has a pretty meh IQ to begin with. I haven't played it much on the XL yet and it's been a while since I played it on my old 3DS, but wasn't there dithering on the original 3DS as well? I'm pretty sure there was.
 
Georgious said:
Awesome - I will do this. Thank you!
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Just confirming this as fact... if you get any blowback from a Gamestop employee, they're just not familiar. I picked up my 3DS XL yesterday (I paid for it normally, aka full price), did the system transfer process last night, and then stopped in this morning and did the trade in of my old 3DS. So buy the XL, do the transfer, and then come back in with both units (within 7 days) with your receipt. They gave me $100 in cash just now so it worked like it should.

Just let them know what you're doing beforehand to make sure you're dealing with managers/full-timers that know about this and not a bunch of newbie part timers.
 
Glass Joe said:
Just confirming this as fact... if you get any blowback from a Gamestop employee, they're just not familiar. I picked up my 3DS XL yesterday (I paid for it normally, aka full price), did the system transfer process last night, and then stopped in this morning and did the trade in of my old 3DS. So buy the XL, do the transfer, and then come back in with both units (within 7 days) with your receipt. They gave me $100 in cash just now so it worked like it should.

Just let them know what you're doing beforehand to make sure you're dealing with managers/full-timers that know about this and not a bunch of newbie part timers.
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That's excellent - thanks for the update. Appreciate it
 
What is the Ambassador program all about and why are people so concerned over it? (i.e. buying used OG 3DS's off eBay to transfer the ambassador status, etc)
 
Vinlaen said:
What is the Ambassador program all about and why are people so concerned over it? (i.e. buying used OG 3DS's off eBay to transfer the ambassador status, etc)
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10 NES games and 10 GBA games, that early adopters who bought the original 3DS before the new pricepoint ($169), received as a gift. These games are also exclusive to the ambassadors and not on the e-shop.
 
I really didn't like the fact that the 3DS XL was only coming out in bright, seemingly ugly colors at launch.

Well, no longer. The blue really is gorgeous in person. Pictures don't do it justice. It has a wonderful metallic quality to it...almost like a quality automobile paint. I have yet to see the red.
 
TheExodu5 said:
I really didn't like the fact that the 3DS XL was only coming out in bright, seemingly ugly colors at launched.

Well, no longer. The blue really is gorgeous in person. Pictures don't do it justice. It has a wonderful metallic quality to it...almost like a quality automobile paint. I have yet to see the red.
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Yep. I'm with you 100%. It looks absolutely glorious in person.
 
For some reason I'm having a tough time finding this as well...

What are the best 3DS games so far? (not mediocre, but the best released, so far)

Right now I'm looking at Kid Icarus, Super Mario 3D, New Super Mario Brothers 2. Behind that is Ghost Recon and Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy...

I don't have a lot of money to spend so I'm just looking for like 3 or 4 of the "best" games.
 
Vinlaen said:
For some reason I'm having a tough time finding this as well...

What are the best 3DS games so far? (not mediocre, but the best released, so far)

Right now I'm looking at Kid Icarus, Super Mario 3D, New Super Mario Brothers 2. Behind that is Ghost Recon and Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy...

I don't have a lot of money to spend so I'm just looking for like 3 or 4 of the "best" games.
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Kid Icarus for sure I'd say. Super Mario 3D Land and MK7 are also good (MK7 especially if you have wifi/online). For the fourth game I guess just go with another game that interests you the most.
 
Seda said:
Should I bother with screen protectors?

I never bothered with my DSlite and I played that A LOT.
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I do just to be safe rather then sorry in the end. If you have any games where you will be using the touch screen a lot then I would. Otherwise as long as you have a screen wipe or something similar I wouldn't.
 
Well, the first Blue XL I purchased had a some dust under both screens! Also, the SD card was intermittently not being read. Back to Best Buy with you!

Returned to store... They let me exchange it and open the new one on the spot... Bad scratching on the upper screen. Really Nintendo, straight out the box?

So they let me open another one... Their last one...

Very light and tiny scratches in the same place, but otherwise perfect, so I took that baby home.

Bad news: Nintendo has horrible quality control and possible packaging, leading to broken systems right out of the box. Will the top screen start scratching itself again? Time will tell.

Good news: A good XL rocks. All 3 sets of screens I got to see look great. (properly) warm, not piss yellow, and upper and lower matching pretty closely in color temp and brightness. And all 3 had great buttons, hinges, and generally felt sturdy.
 
Ok, did a coin rush in NSMB2 and a race in Mario Kart 7 (The games I have with me today). The slightly more pixelated graphics are more than worth it to be able to see what's going on easier. My old man eyes can't take those small screens anymore.
 
I've never used screen protectors on my systems (DS Lite, DSi, 3DS) and the lower screens are still great. Evidently I don't apply as much force as others (and yes, I've played EBA *spinners* but still didn't cause any damage)
 
Drago said:
Meh... I really don't know how I feel about the blue

In natural outside lighting, it's deep blue and beautiful, and goes lovely with the black. Gorgeous.

In in-house lighting, it looks aqua and green. Blech.

I will probably switch the plates to Silver or Black once I have the chance :/
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That's because your "in house" and incandescent lighting is warm/yellow:

Yellow + blue = green.

I think the blue is the best blue they could have possibly chosen. It looks so, so good. Better than boring silver, to me at least.
 
dark10x said:
The game suffers from dithering that is not present on the original system. The game does benefit from a larger view port, however. I also stick with 2D for the game, though, as the AA is quite nice and the 3D effect suffers from severe crosstalk for me.
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Shit, now I just don't know if I wanna drop full price on it. It should be $25 by now.
 
Vinlaen said:
For some reason I'm having a tough time finding this as well...

What are the best 3DS games so far? (not mediocre, but the best released, so far)

Right now I'm looking at Kid Icarus, Super Mario 3D, New Super Mario Brothers 2. Behind that is Ghost Recon and Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy...

I don't have a lot of money to spend so I'm just looking for like 3 or 4 of the "best" games.
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Kid Icarus
Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7
Resident Evil: Revelations
 
I finally played with it a bit at a mall.

Great all around and I will buy it soon.

I'm glad though that I don't care about 3D (I get dizzy). I found it difficult to see it.

My only gripe is it's weight. Quite heavy imo.
 
The bigger screens are nice, and I love the feel of the system and the color blue in comparison to the Aqua Blue 3DS. I also love the new 3D Slider and the two locking screen positions.

HURRY UP YOU PIKMIN

USE TEAMWORK
 
dark10x said:
The OG 3DS did not have a high DPI, though. The XL is lower for certain, but the 3DS certainly wasn't impressive in that regard. The dithering I'm seeing is only apparent on the XL, however. It is something that should be obvious on the 3DS even with the higher DPI.

It's visible in other games as well.

It's not a severe problem and it doesn't majorly detract from the experience, but it is something I've noticed. To me, the screen simply looks cheaper this time around.

It's a shame they didn't slide an OLED display in there as, on top of the visual gains, it would also have lowered power consumption.
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Whoa, wait a sec, the dithering in Revelations is only there on the XL? I figured that's just MT Framework Mobile rendering at sub 32-bit color. That's pretty awful if true. Thought the XL's only drawback were the poor speakers. You're absolutely sure it's not visible at all on the OG 3ds?
 
Well after a day with this and a few new games I have to say there is no way I could ever go back to the OG 3DS. This thing is so much better for me, comfy, the screens are easy to see and for me at least the 3d was better once I got used to holding it differently. Also I love the red since it reminds me of my Dsi XL too.

The only thing I'm on the fence right now is screen protectors. I never used them for any handheld device before including my DS's but I'm wondering about getting one for the bottom screen now since I just picked up Theatrythem and I'll be using the touch screen alot.
 
jarosh said:
Whoa, wait a sec, the dithering in Revelations is only there on the XL? I figured that's just MT Framework Mobile rendering at sub 32-bit color. That's pretty awful if true. Thought the XL's only drawback were the poor speakers. You're absolutely sure it's not visible at all on the OG 3ds?
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I'm not 100% sure, actually. I'm second guessing myself here and need to look closer.

When I return home this evening I'll take a very close look at both of them and get back to you.
 
Just picked up the Blue XL with MarioKart, 3DLand, and NSMB2. So far it's been an enjoyable experience as I never played the 3DS before. However, the hinge is crazy annoying and wobbly.
 
mug said:
Just picked up the Blue XL with MarioKart, 3DLand, and NSMB2. So far it's been an enjoyable experience as I never played the 3DS before. However, the hinge is crazy annoying and wobbly.
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My hinge isn't wobbly at all. It's pretty stiff even when it's not locked into the 2 viewing positions.
 
mug said:
Just picked up the Blue XL with MarioKart, 3DLand, and NSMB2. So far it's been an enjoyable experience as I never played the 3DS before. However, the hinge is crazy annoying and wobbly.
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It's supposed to have a little "give". If you use it normally with the 3D on, it shouldn't matter as you need to hold it steady to get the effect.
 
mug said:
Just picked up the Blue XL with MarioKart, 3DLand, and NSMB2. So far it's been an enjoyable experience as I never played the 3DS before. However, the hinge is crazy annoying and wobbly.
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I must say my new Blue XL has very very little wobble. My Aqua OG 3ds on the otherhand was annoyingly wobbly.
 
Gunsmithx said:
Well after a day with this and a few new games I have to say there is no way I could ever go back to the OG 3DS. This thing is so much better for me, comfy, the screens are easy to see and for me at least the 3d was better once I got used to holding it differently. Also I love the red since it reminds me of my Dsi XL too.

The only thing I'm on the fence right now is screen protectors. I never used them for any handheld device before including my DS's but I'm wondering about getting one for the bottom screen now since I just picked up Theatrythem and I'll be using the touch screen alot.
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I would recommend it. I've been playing Theatrhythm religiously ever since it came out, and it can be murder on your touch screen, especially once you start playing Ultimate Scores.

mug said:
Just picked up the Blue XL with MarioKart, 3DLand, and NSMB2. So far it's been an enjoyable experience as I never played the 3DS before. However, the hinge is crazy annoying and wobbly.
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The hinge on my blue XL isn't wobbly in the slightest. Strange. There seems to be quite a bit of variation between units in terms of hinge wobbliness.
 
Zelda OoT looks wonderful on the XL, but I can't seem to use the 3D effect anymore. Hurts my eyes even when it's low and I hold the unit quite far.
 
zoukka said:
Zelda OoT looks wonderful on the XL, but I can't seem to use the 3D effect anymore. Hurts my eyes even when it's low and I hold the unit quite far.
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I went from being able to use 3DS easily in all my games on the OG to not being able to use it at all in any game. Not because it hurts my eyes, but because there appears to be no reliable sweetspot anymore. I move a little, and it's gone. So disappointed in that aspect of the XL. The best I can get is holding it at arm's length, but there's no way in hell I'm playing handheld games at arm's length.
 
A0wfw8eCQAE7TNi.jpg:large
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Love it. Feels so much better in the hands.
 
mug said:
Just picked up the Blue XL with MarioKart, 3DLand, and NSMB2. So far it's been an enjoyable experience as I never played the 3DS before. However, the hinge is crazy annoying and wobbly.
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No where close to the original 3DS in terms of that.

I actually find it not be wobbly at all. The build quality of the XL is a lot better.
 
Hey, has anyone tried Resident Evil Revelations on the XL? I'm assuming that I'll want to wait for some kind of XL Circle Pad Pro.

Is that game as unplayable as Icarus was without it? I really don't want a game that I have to use on a table with a stand.
 
Baconsammy said:
I went from being able to use 3DS easily in all my games on the OG to not being able to use it at all in any game. Not because it hurts my eyes, but because there appears to be no reliable sweetspot anymore. I move a little, and it's gone. So disappointed in that aspect of the XL. The best I can get is holding it at arm's length, but there's no way in hell I'm playing handheld games at arm's length.
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Same. I think the XL is fantastic, but I'm disappointed that the "sweet spot" seems to be much harder to find after the initial hands on reports seemed to imply it was actually a much improved aspect. Oh well, the pros definitely outweigh that con.
 
Baconsammy said:
I went from being able to use 3DS easily in all my games on the OG to not being able to use it at all in any game. Not because it hurts my eyes, but because there appears to be no reliable sweetspot anymore. I move a little, and it's gone. So disappointed in that aspect of the XL. The best I can get is holding it at arm's length, but there's no way in hell I'm playing handheld games at arm's length.
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The most incredible thing about the system is how different everyone's opinion is. Some can't use the 3D at all because of sweet spot/sore eyes, some say it's way better than the 3DS and now they can use it at full, etc.
 
Mercutio said:
Hey, has anyone tried Resident Evil Revelations on the XL? I'm assuming that I'll want to wait for some kind of XL Circle Pad Pro.

Is that game as unplayable as Icarus was without it? I really don't want a game that I have to use on a table with a stand.
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I've got it for my XL. I never had the previous 3DS so have no real comparison, but I have no trouble playing it without a CPP.

The fact that you can't shoot and move at the same time makes it a bit more accessible, I suppose. Only played it for an hour or 2 as Oot, Mario Kart etc are getting more of my time, but I can honestly say I have had no issues playing it.
 
JCizzle said:
Same. I think the XL is fantastic, but I'm disappointed that the "sweet spot" seems to be much harder to find after the initial hands on reports seemed to imply it was actually a much improved aspect. Oh well, the pros definitely outweigh that con.
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Huh, I've actually found the sweet spot a bit easier to find and use on the XL than it was on the 3DS I borrowed from a friend for several months.
 
Mercutio said:
Hey, has anyone tried Resident Evil Revelations on the XL? I'm assuming that I'll want to wait for some kind of XL Circle Pad Pro.

Is that game as unplayable as Icarus was without it? I really don't want a game that I have to use on a table with a stand.
Click to expand...

40 hours played in revelations on a regular 3DS with no CPP. without a CPP it plays just like RE4, classic RE "tank" controls. IE you can't move and shoot simultaneously other than the ability to back up/move forward while aiming.

I honestly cant imagine playing resident evil with a CPP and being able to run and gun, seems almost blasphemous as a longtime fan of the series.
 
For me, the sweet spot is easier to find and I can move the system around a bit more without losing the effect completely. 3D also looks better, on all the games.

Guess I have nicer eyes ;P
 
VICI0US said:
40 hours played in revelations on a regular 3DS with no CPP. without a CPP it plays just like RE4, classic RE "tank" controls. IE you can't move and shoot simultaneously other than the ability to back up/move forward while aiming.

I honestly cant imagine playing resident evil with a CPP and being able to run and gun, seems almost blasphemous as a longtime fan of the series.
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Oh! That's how I'd want to play anyway. Hahah. Guess I'll get it with no fears!
 
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