Thinking of buying a 3DS.

[Ihsatakar]

Though you could look at the Etrian Odyssey games if you're into difficult old-school dungeon crawler RPGs. I believe there are a number of Shin Megami Tensei games too which I think usually get positive reception, but I've never played any myself.

I clicked on this thread to post this and found you had beaten me to it.

EO games are great fun, while being challenging and giving you an incredible amount of freedom in designing your party. Plus, they frequently go on e-shop sale for pretty low prices (~$10)

[Mugshot]

Love the Fire Emblem games. Also enjoyed Stella Glow which is similar to Fire Emblem.

[Shuster]

Not sure if this is what you want summarized as well.

Pros

Library is incredibly better than the Vita's unless you're really into the perverted weeb stuff (the Vita excels at that)
3D is great when you can align your head and depending on the game.
Can play DS games, even in a 1:1 ratio (it's just like having a DS) just by holding a specific button when launching them, they won't be emulated either as the 3DS hardware is just a much more powerful DS.
Folds in half so you don't have to worry about the screens.
Mods might not like this comment, but you can get a flashcart to play all the DS games. (I don't condone 3DS flashcarts meant for playing 3DS games)
New 3DS will result in many games having a better framerate.

Cons

Max decibel level is quite low in my opinion, even with headphones, whereas the PSP/Vita could be very loud if you wanted them to be.
Nearly all the main Nintendo franchises were casualized (stupid easy).
Depressingly low resolution.
Must be a fan of the Nintendo franchises.
Hinged console.


Things to be aware of.

I think the first 'wave' of New 3DS XL's used IPS screens for the top screen, but recent ones have used TN screens (what you're used to)

Most of the great games have already been listed here, but google games for the 3DS, there are plenty of them.

Well that helps a lot!

The New 3DS XL is the one I am planning to get.

I don't know anything about Flashcarts but I hope there is no risk of using them.

Thanks for the help!

[Fincayra]

3ds is worth it simply for the Virtual Console.

[Shuster]

You should sell it to me for $20 :P

Or to me! I'm the one looking to buy it already!

[Super Kami Dende]

3DS are well worth it.

The main issue I have with 3DS though is the Physical copies of games tend to never go down in price by much. New releases are $60-$70 AUD and all other games that have been out for years are $50AUD. They tend to not get much cheaper.

[Shuster]

I don't have many games for the 3DS myself (just Monster Hunter 4, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, and Etrian Odyssey 4), so I don't have many game recommendations myself. Though you could look at the Etrian Odyssey games if you're into difficult old-school dungeon crawler RPGs. I believe there are a number of Shin Megami Tensei games too which I think usually get positive reception, but I've never played any myself.

I'd second what Baconeggcheese suggested; consider getting a larger microSDHC card and digital games. By default the New 3DS XL only has a 4gb microSDHC card. I got a 32gb one for barely $10 CDN, and you can probably get even larger sizes for cheap too. (For reference I think Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate took over 2gb, but that's likely one of the larger games on the system.) Not only so that you don't have to manage/carry games, but also you can take more advantage of Nintendo's eShop offers. A lot of games frequently go on sale (you can see them online at http://www.nintendo.com/games/sales-and-deals and following the link to view more games on sale), sometimes for huge discounts. Games that might be normally 39.99 may sometimes drop to 29.99 or 19.99 or possibly even less... Sales change each week.

I'll probably do that, once I get enough games!

Games are much more expensive here, around 60$ each for the more known ones. (Pokemon etc.)

So might try the online shop thing!

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3DS are well worth it.

The main issue I have with 3DS though is the Physical copies of games tend to never go down in price by much. New releases are $60-$70 AUD and all other games that have been out for years are $50AUD. They tend to not get much cheaper.

Exactly what I just wrote about. Prices here are really expensive for 3DS games.

[poser765]

A suggestion to consider as well, it saves data to a microsd which can be upgraded so that you don't have to buy physical copies of games. You have to look up which specific ones are compatible with the system but I went ahead and bought one of the larger ones and I already have something like 6 games stored in it without needing to carry or keep track of physical cartridges which is amazing. If you do decide to go that route I'd say to get it sooner than later as data is at least partially stored from physical games on the microsd so you'll lose certain data for games if you swap it after you've already played on an old one.

I HIGHLY recommend getting a bigger SD card as well from the get go. With that said though, if you have the 3DS and a computer hooked up to the same network you can actually transfer the data off of the SD card in the 3DS onto the computer, then back into the NEW SD card in the 3DS. It was a pretty easy and straight forward process.

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When the "New" Nintendo thing came out last year I think. My ex was excited and she got one and convinced me to get one. I played with it for maybe all of 3 hours and now it just collects dust. It's a cool little gadget if you like those kinds of games, but I often find myself in situations where I have a better system (my PC) to game with, or I just read the news on my phone. Different strokes for different folks.

One of the potentially down sides (that was just pointed out above me) of the system is it AND the games really hold onto their price. Put that shit on craigslist and you can probably still get a rather large percentage of your initial cost back out of it.

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Exactly what I just wrote about. Prices here are really expensive for 3DS games.

The silver lining to the expensive games is what you can actual get out of them play time wise. There are a lot of games, especially RPGs which you mentioned you are into, are games you can EASILY rack up hundreds of hours. So more often than not you aren't spending 60 bucks for an 18 hour experience.

Just something to keep in mind.

[Shuster]

I HIGHLY recommend getting a bigger SD card as well from the get go. With that said though, if you have the 3DS and a computer hooked up to the same network you can actually transfer the data off of the SD card in the 3DS onto the computer, then back into the NEW SD card in the 3DS. It was a pretty easy and straight forward process.

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One of the potentially down sides (that was just pointed out above me) of the system is it AND the games really hold onto their price. Put that shit on craigslist and you can probably still get a rather large percentage of your initial cost back out of it.

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The silver lining to the expensive games is what you can actual get out of them play time wise. There are a lot of games, especially RPGs which you mentioned you are into, are games you can EASILY rack up hundreds of hours. So more often than not you aren't spending 60 bucks for an 18 hour experience.

Just something to keep in mind.

That's good to know, I might get an SD card earlier than I expected then!

That's true, meaning I won't have to buy many games at once.

Not being from America though means I don't have the option for Craigslist.

[Usagi Senshi]

The 3DS and even the DS before that are the things I've spent most of my gaming time on in the past 10+ years (Save WoW, D3, and FFXIV). Lots of great games especially if you're a platformer and rpg fan, and even more on the eshop for you to discover and enjoy.

3D gimmick wore off a long time ago for me however and I'll only use it on certain games (Like Kirby or a random title) for random slight changes for kicks.

[Shuster]

The 3DS and even the DS before that are the things I've spent most of my gaming time on in the past 10+ years (Save WoW, D3, and FFXIV). Lots of great games especially if you're a platformer and rpg fan, and even more on the eshop for you to discover and enjoy.

3D gimmick wore off a long time ago for me however and I'll only use it on certain games (Like Kirby or a random title) for random slight changes for kicks.

I like the 3D part! It's not the reason I want it though so that's fine.

I didn't expect this many people replying here after I wake up, bit impossible for me to reply to everyone.

So thanks to all of you for the help!

[johnhoftb]

One other game I didn't see brought up (although I did skim) was Mario Kart 7.

[namecraft]

One other game I didn't see brought up (although I did skim) was Mario Kart 7.

I've practicing this game for years now

still my lil brother and sister beat me in their first try...

[Shuster]

One other game I didn't see brought up (although I did skim) was Mario Kart 7.

Mario Kart is a great game if you have friends.

I don't.

[Zakaryy]

I think I can recommend Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
It looks like a very childish game, and it technically is. But, it's very fun to play with people.

It's also fun to play alone - it's a life simulator, you're the mayor in a town full of animals.

[Shuster]

I think I can recommend Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
It looks like a very childish game, and it technically is. But, it's very fun to play with people.

It's also fun to play alone - it's a life simulator, you're the mayor in a town full of animals.

Saw gameplay of it before. While it looks really cute, I don't think it's for me. But thanks!

[Lucetia]

Or to me! I'm the one looking to buy it already!

But I've been looking since they come out. I'm just cheap lol

[Zakaryy]

Saw gameplay of it before. While it looks really cute, I don't think it's for me. But thanks!

That's what I thought :P it's addictive though.
I haven't been on it in some time, but, I'm pretty sure it's still quite popular.

[kaamila]

I was thinking the same thing. In the end I ended up getting the PS Vita. It may be "dead" in the US, but it's thriving in Asia. In fact, if it wasn't for constant releases of JRPGs, it would be dead. And there are SO many really good JRPGs too. But I've also enjoyed the non JRPGs, like fifa, gravity rush, god of war 1 and 2 remastered, hot shot golf, little big planet, oddworld: new and tasty, borderlands 2, digimon cyber sleuth, although thats an rpg. plus the games themselves are alot cheaper than DS games which was 1 of the reasons it turned me away from it.

[Asmekiel]

Two of my most favourite game franchises are on the DS, that being Professor Layton and Ace Attorney. They both involve a lot of reading and puzzle solving so if you are fine with that I would highly suggest you check them out. If you are not familiar with the games, go buy yourself Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright. You get to play two types of games in one, its a great game for newbies to the franchises and its overall an interesting story.

Slight thread hijack since I bought a New 3DS on release that's been gathering dust since then... If I want to play Layton (one of the reasons I actually bought the 3DS), which game to start with?

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But I've been looking since they come out. I'm just cheap lol

Hah, I have the limited gold edition