Why the Nintendo 3DS Will Always Have a Place in My Heart
Some consoles are fast, some are modern — and some simply have character. For me, the Nintendo 3DS clearly belongs in that last group. A personal love letter to one handheld, to Pokémon, Mario, Animal Crossing, and to my favourite game of all time.
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There are consoles you talk about in specifications: resolution, frame rate, processing power. And there are consoles you talk about in feelings. For me, the Nintendo 3DS is the best proof that those two things aren't the same. On paper it was left behind long ago — and yet I keep picking it up.
Whenever I try to explain why, I rarely end up at numbers. I end up at that little click when the thing closes. At the moment you flip it open and two screens light up at once. At the stylus sitting in its slot as if it were part of the deal. The 3DS feels less like a device and more like an object with a personality of its own. 💖
A handheld with personality
The clamshell design is the heart of it for me. Closed, the 3DS is a compact little thing that gives nothing away. Open, it suddenly becomes two worlds: the game up top, and a map, inventory, menu or touch controls below. That split sounds trivial, but it completely changes how playing feels — you never have to look away from the action to check something.
Then there's the stylus. I love that a console even bothers to include an accessory you physically pick up and put back. It makes using the machine tactile, almost craft-like. And the protection you get from folding it shut is a detail I still haven't found on any phone: you close it, the game goes to sleep, the screens are safe.
It's exactly that combination — clamshell hinge, two screens, stylus, unmistakable shape — that makes the 3DS a handheld I'd recognise without seeing the logo. It looks like something. It doesn't try to disappear; it has its own form, its own idea, and its own way of being used.
Pokémon, Mario and Animal Crossing
When I think about the 3DS, four names come first: Pokémon, Mario, Animal Crossing and Zelda. The first three represent three completely different ways of spending time with this handheld.
Pokémon
Pokémon is, to me, the concept that fits a handheld perfectly: collect, train, make progress — always in small steps. You can lose hours in it or dip in for a moment, and both work. A big part of why I associate the series so strongly with the 3DS is that it feels just as good on the move as it does at home.
Mario
Mario is the reason I keep marvelling at how the 3DS handles control. Jumping, timing, knowing a level — it's immediate and direct, and it doesn't accept excuses. What I love is that these games never feel complicated and still hold an enormous amount of nuance. A few minutes of Mario on a small screen is still one of the purest forms of video game for me.
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing is the exact opposite — which is why I love it. No pressure, no high score, just a place you come back to. On a handheld you open and close again, that idea works even better for me than on a big console. It's playing as a way to unwind rather than to be challenged, and the 3DS is exactly the right size for it.
Those three series show how broad this handheld really is: collecting, precision and calm, all on the same machine that fits in a jacket pocket.
Zelda — and why Ocarina of Time 3D is my favourite game ever
And then there's Zelda. Zelda isn't just another series on the 3DS for me — Zelda is the reason this console holds a special emotional place. I've always played Zelda on the 3DS. That series and this handheld belong together in my head, and I couldn't think of one without the other.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is, for me, the best game of all time. Not "one of the best" — genuinely the best. What fascinates me most about it is the sense of adventure: the way the world feels bigger than whatever you can currently see, and the way it rewards walking in a direction simply because it looks interesting.
The dungeons are the heart of it. Each one is its own little place with its own logic, its own rhythm, and that deeply satisfying moment where you finally understand how a room works. I like that you never have to be faster than the game — only more attentive.
And the music. I don't think any other soundtrack has that effect on me, where a single theme starting is enough to tell me exactly where I am. Music isn't accompaniment in this game, it's part of the world — and on a handheld you hold close to you, that lands even harder.
„Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS is the game I measure every other game against.“
That is explicitly my personal opinion — favourite games are wonderful to argue about, and for me that's part of the fun.
A console with character
I think the 3DS is a really good handheld console — but "good" doesn't quite cover it. What makes it special to me is character. It has a clear shape, a clear idea of how you're meant to use it, and it doesn't try to be everything at once. That's exactly why playing on it feels different from playing on a device that also handles your messages, calendar and camera.
On top of that there's the sheer variety of models and designs. Different sizes, different colours, different shells — you can genuinely pick a machine that suits you. To me that's part of the charm: the 3DS isn't one device, it's a whole family of them, and every one of them feels a little different in your hands.
What this has to do with Konsoly
You can probably tell from this text that Konsoly didn't come out of a market analysis but out of pure enthusiasm for gaming hardware. I simply love it when a console looks and works well enough again that you actually want to flip it open. 🧰
That's why this isn't only about availability but about models, designs and refurbishing: looking at what a machine needs, cleaning it, testing it and passing it on so someone else can go on adventures with it. When somebody holds their first — or their next — 3DS and hears that click as it closes, that's the moment all of this makes sense to me.
My personal conclusion
The Nintendo 3DS isn't the fastest or the most modern console you can own — and that's completely fine. For me it's the handheld with the most character: two screens, a clamshell hinge, a stylus, an enormous range of games, and with Ocarina of Time 3D my favourite game of all time.
If you're thinking about getting back into it: it's worth it. Not because of the specifications, but because of the very particular way playing feels on this machine.
And now: just one more dungeon. Promise. ✨