The Nintendo 3DS was the last in the company's long history of dedicated handheld video game consoles. Building on the dual-screen design of the Nintendo DS, the device offered various new features like full analogue controls, improved cameras, 3D functionality and more.
From February 2011 to March 2019, Nintendo published a multitude of beloved titles for the system, contributing to its reputation as a contender for the title of the "best handheld console of all time".
However, while many of Nintendo's video games for 3DS made good use of the hardware, some concepts that would’ve been a perfect fit were never realized by the company. Accordingly, in this list, we at EarlyGame want to present 10 ideas for Nintendo 3DS games that should’ve been made, but never were. | © Nintendo
While we did finally get a great WarioWare game on the system with WarioWare Gold in 2018, that title was mostly a compilation of microgames from previous entries. The franchise had up to that point always served as a very creative way to showcase the potential of Nintendo's new hardware gimmicks, be it touch controls on DS or motion controls on Wii. The early 3DS, however, sorely lacked a similar title to justify its stereoscopic 3D gimmick. Having players make split-second decisions in new microgames like "City Orientation: Which Alley Goes Deeper?", "Basketball: Pass To The Nearest Player" or "Counting Bugs: How Many Stand Out Against Tree Bark Of The Same Color?" could've remedied this. | © Nintendo
Nintendo has often claimed that their hesitation to revisit their iconic breakneck futuristic racing franchise stems from a lack of fresh ideas. Well, here’s one: An F-Zero where players race on two versions of the same track simultaneously (for instance, a past and future version) and must time-shift their machine between the top and bottom screens to dodge hazards or find shortcuts, while the general track layout remains the same. One could easily imagine a past version of Sand Ocean, back when it was lush with vegetation, so racers wouldn't have to fight desert winds disrupting their controls, but fallen trees on the track would occasionally force a sudden shift back to the future version. | © Nintendo, AI-generated
When Nintendo's popular caricature boxing franchise made its grand return with the Nintendo Wii reboot in 2009, it was just as challenging as ever, tasking the players with controlling Little Mac from an over-his-shoulder view on his mission to defeat various menacing opponents. When having to dodge punches or – in the case of bosses like Bald Bull – ramming attacks, relying on your depth perception is key, something which is usually easier in real life than in a video game you view on a two-dimensional screen. An obvious exception to this are stereoscopic 3D screens, where better conveying depth is the whole appeal – something Nintendo completely failed to capitalize on by missing this opportunity. | © Nintendo
In the early days of the 3DS, Nintendo published six remakes of classic NES-era titles, which – while looking like the originals at first glance – used stereoscopic 3D so players could more easily differentiate between background and foreground details. Not among these (sadly!) was the first The Legend of Zelda, which is nowadays infamous for requiring players to walk into or attack seemingly arbitrary walls and background elements to progress. Just think: How cool would it be if, say, a rock that needs to be blown up stood out from the others when viewed in 3D (being an "active" sprite). Not to mention that the microphone features exclusive to the original Japanese release could be restored thanks to the 3DS' built-in mic. | © Nintendo
The Kirby franchise saw plenty of releases on the 3DS, standouts being the mainline titles Kirby: Triple Deluxe (2014) and Kirby: Planet Robobot (2016). Beyond their main campaigns, both included smaller sub-games that were later re-released on the 3DS eShop with added content (examples incluce as Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe (2014) and Kirby's Blowout Blast (2017)). Following the eShop's foreseeable shutdown, these expanded versions are no longer legally playable. Given that the mainline Kirby games dropped to around $20 each near the end of the console’s life, a $60 "Ultimate Bundle" of both titles, replacing the sub-games with their enhanced eShop versions, would've been incredible to preserve them. | © Nintendo
Nintendo's series of compilation titles of their old Game & Watch games were a constant in their Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance release schedule, featuring both reconstructions of the original titles as well as new "modern" reimaginings with Mario characters. However, since many of the later Game & Watch games made use of two screens, their Game & Watch Gallery re-releases on the single-screen Game Boys could never be completely faithful. The Nintendo 3DS, however, would've presented the perfect opportunity for a successor to Game & Watch Gallery 4 (2002), which could've included the perfect classic and modern versions of all their dual-screen classics. | © Nintendo
The Nintendo DS entries of The Legend of Zelda are often seen as weaker spots in the series, especially Phantom Hourglass (2007), though Spirit Tracks (2009) already showed that Nintendo was learning when to lean on touchscreen controls and when to hold back. These games carried a unique charm missing from 3DS Zelda entries. Most of all, though, we'd have loved to see the trifecta of vehicular transit completed: From boats on the sea (Phantom Hourglass), to trains on land (Spirit Tracks), to planes in the sky (new adventure). Picture the cockpit displayed on the bottom screen, with the top showing a stereoscopic 3D view of Link soaring through the skies, battling aerial foes – essentially a cel-shaded fusion of Pilotwings Resort (2011) and the Loftwing segments of Skyward Sword (2011). | © AI-generated
Yes, nobody was asking for this, but think about it: Nintendo was eager to show off the augmented reality functionality of the 3DS' cameras with pre-installed titles like AR Games and Face Raiders. The latter had you spinning around your room, system in hand, to blast alien faces – despite Nintendo already having an IP designed to show off aiming gimmicks with Duck Hunt (1984). A simple overlay over the camera feed could've simulated fields and forests, with players relying on audio cues – highlighting the system’s new surround sound – to aim at and "stun" ducks in a $5–$10 eShop game. For added variety, modes inspired by Wild Gunman (1984) and Hogan’s Alley (1984) could have been included too. | © Nintendo
Okay, this one seems fairly obvious. The Virtual Boy used stereoscopic 3D, the 3DS used stereoscopic 3D, Nintendo released a bunch of emulated handheld ROMs on the 3DS eShop, so this would've been the perfect match. But no, instead, VB titles were only first rerelased on Nintendo Switch, requiring players to purchase special 3D accessories since that console did not have the feature built in. We even know that Nintendo was approached with an offer for a full-color remake of Virtual Boy Wario Land on 3DS, but rejected it for unknown reasons. We even have a fan-developed VB emulator for 3DS, proving that something like this would've been very much feasible. | © Nintendo
Probably the first thing that comes to many people's mind when talking about "missed opportunities on 3DS": Pokémon X & Y (2013) were the only mainline Pokémon games to never be elaborated upon in their generation, be it via sequels, DLC or third editions. Especially the latter would've been desperately needed to not only include the new Mega evolutions introcued in Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby (2014), but also add new difficulty options, tie up loose ends like the story of Zygarde and the mysterious locked door, make unused content like Eternal Flower Floette accessible, add more to the thin post-game (likely Southern Kalos) and so much more... | © Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, GCPM
While many of Nintendo's video games for 3DS made good use of the hardware, some concepts that would’ve been a perfect fit were never realized by the company. Accordingly, in this list, we at EarlyGame want to present 10 ideas for Nintendo 3DS games that should’ve been made, but never were.
