Ever considered buying a handheld for just one game?

Because I am now ....

Do you need it on the go? Because if not, it would be cheaper to just get a PS2 and the Metal Gear Solid Collection.

No TV. And that would also get me Ocarina of Time and (hopefully) Majoras Mask later on.

Be aware that most people go "ooh" and "ahh" at the 3D effect for about half an hour, then switch it off and never turn it on again, because it's bloody annoying. So as central platform features go, it's not something most people feel happy they paid for.

I don't really care about the 3D (and I wouldn't buy it if you couldn't shut it of), I'm in it for the game*. I actually have a rom on my HD but never got bothered with emulators and all the hassle.

Nintendo is usually very solid when it comes to handelds, and I greatly enjoyed my original DS. But I gave that away, after there were no more games that cought my interest.

Edit: Make that games, OOT looks really tasty too :-).

I got mine for Christmas and truth be told, the 3D effect really is impressive. It's not a pop-out 3D though, it's Pop-In 3D. It gives you sense of depth and distance. Example being, the system comes with puzzles to fill out. You start with one piece of one puzzle, and earn more by trading with other users.

One of those is New Super Mario Brothers. It resembles a pop-up book actually. Yellow toad on a yoshi that slurps it's tongue out, Mario up in the air, Luigi on yoshi further in the background from the yellow yoshi, 3 brick blocks with a mushroom going back and forth on it. In 2D, everything looks like it's on the same plane, same scale. The only way you'd know that everyone wasn't on the same plane was the yoshi sticking his tongue out, or by turning the camera to realize that there's some distance between the characters. In 3D, you can tell easily what's closer and what's further back from your perspective, and by how much.

I have two games right now: OoT, and Blazblue. Blazblue has pop-in backgrounds with sprite characters. OoT resembles a pop-out game more though. Either way, the effect really isn't something to scoff at. Of course, big downside as you've heard is battery. It takes twice the processing power to handle the 3D effect, so if you want to make the most of your battery life, reduce the brightness on your 3DS (easily done from the home menu), turn off the wireless (done with a springy switch on the right side) and obviously, set it in 2D mode. A full charge with 3D and no wireless will get you about 4 hours, no 3D gets you about 6. A closed 3DS that you keep turned on but in sleep mode, wireless on, will last 2 1/2 days before the battery drains out.

I've also by accident dropped it on the floor as I was playing it in bed and falling asleep. The fall didn't damage the casing any, or the hinge. The underside seems to be a polished and coated piece of aluminum, while the top almost seems like it's made of treated acrylic glass (which is more like plastic anyway in usage), so for the most part slight falls won't give it much trouble. That's not saying you should drop it anyway. I'm paranoid about new electronics being damaged, so I carry it around with me in the foam sleeve it was packaged in to keep it from scratching when I take it to school with me.

Perhaps. Myself, I'll never be happy settling for a mono display again. It'd be like giving up color.

Never tried the 3DS. It looks neat but I don't care for autostereoscopic displays. I need to be able to move my head around or I get cramps.

Solid handheld that is slowly building a really solid software catalog. The first party stuff is great, and Super Mario 3D Land is excellent both as a platformer as well as in its use of 3D. There are actually certain sections where not having the 3D on makes it very difficult to complete sections. Anyone who dismisses the 3D functionality as a gimmick hasn't spent enough time with the 3DS.

Bought one when it was released but if I had to re-buy a Nintendo console I would without hesitation re-buy... a NDS.

The 3D is a gimmick, even with 3D disabled and battery like is much shorter than my DSi XL, and except maybe the latest Resident Evil which is not bad (for a recent RE games) I play a lot more with my DSi than with the 3DS.

with nintendo they bring out a handful of good games out which basically is just a sequel from a good serie like mario kart, zelda, animal crossing, etc. then you get a truckload of crap games with barbie and other girl stuff games about ponies and makeup

It's like that with every console though. The only reason we nag about it more for Nintendo consoles is that they're cheaper to produce games on than the others, ergo more cheap ass developers make cheap ass games for cheap ass bastards for a cheap ass cost with less cheap ass loss.... This post doesn't have enough ass in it, someone help me out with it.

i got a 3ds for christmas and have been loving it myself, i was looking forward to metal gear 3d but after trying the demo that came on the eshop i lost my faith in it, the game seems to be very sluggish now, so i may go for the hd collection instead

But usually those done by nintendo are rock solid.

Had a 3DS since October. It's a decent system, but only now are the games beginning to look good. If you do get it, I highly recommend getting Resident Evil: Revelations and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy.

The eShop games aren't worth purchasing, save for the Nintendo published ones (Dillon's Rolling Western is pretty damn awesome) and anything by WayForward (Shantae and Mighty Switch Force!).