I didn’t realize there were alternate hardware options available. I have the custom firmware installed on mine, but I had two of them crap out of me in the past so it’s crossed my mind that if that happened again the resale market for them might force this one to be my last.
Some ds and 3ds games tried to shoehorn in touchscreen usage, which was annoying because there’s no shame in a good game not making use of the stylus. With that said, the ones that made good use of both screens were spectacular. Shoutout to Yo-Kai Watch 3.
WoW is objectively huge, but they made it feel tiny by putting fast travel options everywhere. I would guess that any two points in the world are no more than 5m from each other if routed perfectly.
I want there to exist one MMO where you “live” in a city, and traveling to another city is actually so inconvenient that you only do it if you have to. Not because I want to make the trek, but because I want there to be a world just large enough that any one person has usually seen only ~1%, but the playerbase in entirety has seen >50%. I don’t know if any such game exists.
There are space games with procedural large scale galaxies to the point that the entire playerbase can only ever hope to see ~15% of the systems, but that’s why I put the >50% qualifier in there. That’s TOO big. Anyone can generate an effectively infinite procedural world, I want a large world.
When I had originally conceived of this, it was in the context of a pokemon MMO. You would have your home town, and as a trainer, or researcher, or rocket member, etc, you’d travel at a real-time pace akin to the show.
Alternative IP that it could work with are dragonball (imagine the playerbase on a months long search to find/fight over the dragonballs so they could awaken the dragon and make a wish to the devs), or Avatar (each player would have a chance to spawn in as a random bender. One player at any given time is the Avatar. Events happen to strengthen some benders and weaken others. Players make war and peace at will).
There would obviously be challenges in running these types of experiences, but currently it feels like the cost of standing up an MMO is so much that no one ever does anything interesting. Instead they just copy WoW.
I guess Light No Fire has a good chance of becoming such a game. It’s gonna be No Mans Sky, but on one earth sized fantasy planet. I don’t think it will have large cities though. 🤔
I don’t consider NMS to be an MMO. If everyone went to the same location, at best, you’d most likely only see a handful of players you’re instanced with (up to 32 from what a cursory search gives me). That’s kinda the sad state of what passes for an MMO these days, but I don’t accept it. That’s not even a full raid group in WoW.
But yeah, you could squint and say that that otherwise effectively produces the experience I’m asking for. I am looking forward to LNF for sure.
traveling to another city is actually so inconvenient that you only do it if you have to
They don’t work. Vanguard did it way back when, with their three continent world. Each one had enough content to get from lvl 1 to lvl 50, the max, and your starting race determined your starting location. It could take up to an hour to get to friends. Even on the same continent, with a mount (before they added flying mounts), it could take a half hour of running to cross the map… and players complained so vociferously that they were forced to add fast travel options.
I don’t think that means it didn’t work, I think that just means it’s not for everyone. I’m a firm believer that, “given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game”. Small indie games take firm stances on their gameplay all the time, not every game is for everyone, and that’s ok, that’s how you get unique and interesting gameplay experiences. But that’s easy for and indie game to do because making an indie game is cheap.
MMOs have the unfortunate reality that they’re architecturally complex, and expensive to operate, and thus need to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible to justify their existence to investors. They don’t have the luxury of making the experience they want, which is why they all end up just copying WoW’s enshittified gameplay, but with less polish.
My hope is that this indie revolution we’re in expands to “large scale” multiplayer games. Not so massive that it’s prohibitively expensive to run, but not so small that it’s a ghost town. I think that’s when we’ll start to see interesting MMO experiences again.
GLaDOS’ constant mockery of your person, your ability to navigate tests, and general spite pretty much make both games. It all even manages to provide a lot of world-building without lore-dumping. 10/10, would get roasted again.
I so love the DS and 3DS and want these new devices like the Thor to succeed, but the one thing I would see them improve before being called true successors is stylus compatibility.
I don’t know how touchscreen tech works, but the plastic tipped stylus for the DS just feels so much better than the rubber tipped ones meant for modern screens
Different touch detection methods. The squishy DS screens work by physically making contact. Glass phone screens work by detecting electrical capacitance differences.
Modern touch screens work well enough to not really require styluses to feel good though. So modern styluses feeling annoying isn’t as big of an issue for most uses.
I loved my 3DS. And yeah it’s actually pocket sized, unlike the Switch or Steam Deck. I’m still not sure about the choice of the 3D screen instead of just making it higher resolution lol. The 3D effect was cool but kind of a gimmick.
Like most, it never really interested me. I just liked the clamshell self-protecting design. The 3D slider was firmly set to the ‘off’ position for me!
Metroid: Samus Returns (I’m obsessed with Metroid)
But I’m also playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the very first time on the AYN Thor at the moment. I’ve never stuck with it, and I’m enjoying it so much. What a game! I’d have expected the ancient age would make it less of a game, but nope. It’s perfect!
There’s so many more, but that’s a nice little cross-section of GREAT games :)
Not OP, but I haven’t seen it recommended in this thread yet: the Monster Hunter games for 3DS are really good. Specifically 4 Ultimate is considered by fans of the games to be among the very best the series has to offer. Added verticality to the previously very flat games, lots of new moves for existing weapons that make them actually viable options, amazing new monster designs and areas etc etc. Huge recommendation. The story is also actually quite passable and engaging compared to previous entries.
If you’ve played Monster Hunter back in the PSP days, Generations might be up your alley since it’s kind of like a best-of title of most main-line MH games prior. Really beautiful homage to the roots of the franchise
I say density, though Elite Dangerous puts a spin on how large the map should be.
In Elite Dangerous, most of the galaxy is unexplored. The Bubble (human inhabited area) is fully explored, which steadily dwindles as you go to about 1k ly outside the Bubble. Out there, you’re basically on your own.
When you explore and map unexplored areas, you actually get some money depending on the quality of your finds. If you find some Earth-like planets, for instance, you can get a lot of money from exploring. There is also an inexhaustible supply of systems to explore, so there’s no need to worry about running out.
One thing I’ll add, since reviewing the AYN Thor, I have been playing a LOT of 3DS games. Upscaled and looking so beautiful. I just love the games they made for this console. I wish the Switch had more…pocketability? But seeing how the size increased for the S2, I don’t expect that will come about again :(
I have a feeling that a Switch 2 Lite is on the horizon, Nintendo loves a console variant. Not that the S1 lite is pocketable, but maybe they will shrink it more this time. I went down a somewhat similar path, only for me it was GBA and emulation on my Steam Deck that really made me realize I missed having pocket games that are real games and not mobile bullshit. I modded my old GBA with a modern screen and battery and it’s been my goto device for portable games. The OG DS dropped as I was graduating highschool and going into college, and the 3DS completely passed me by. I keep thinking about getting a used one but their prices are still a little high for me.
I’d recommend keeping an eye on something like Buyee (or one of several others that do the same thing!). Keep an eye on Mercari on there, sort by ‘newly listed’ and you’ll get a deal. I’ve bought a lot of Nintendo consoles using that method, and have got some amazing deals!
My magic 8 ball says they’ll release an oled refresh to up the price $50-100 and not much else before switch 3, which is still many years away for either to happen.
As-is the thing has sold a ton despite no new games existing really.
As-is the thing has sold a ton despite no new games existing really.
Their numbers were announced, it’s sold 10.36m units so far, but these stats were from before the new Pokemon game was released. So…I’d hazard far more than this!
I just realized my Z-fold with controller case could make a truly excellent DS emulator.
Anyone know if there’s an emulator out there that supports folding phones in landscape mode as a DS, similar to the way YouTube will split the video and the controls when partway folded in landscape more?
If you have a split game controller, I recommend using that over touchscreen controls. And using a controller like this plays better with a vertically aligned foldable phone (clamshell) rather than the pseudo-tablet sideways foldables, as you fully recreate the original physical controller layout
I actually also have a Razr+. My employer pays me a stipend to have a second phone so thay when I eventually leave I don’t have a bunch of contractors calling my personal number.
So the term you want to look for is telescoping controller, when you’ll use it with a foldable.
Something like this one would be perfect with a Razr for DS emulation (but beware you have to check minimum supported width too for a clamshell foldable);
I think not being dockable killed it for most people, that and it not being a pocket system. I think if either of those changes the for the better it would sell well. If it doesn’t fit in my pocket I might as well get the big one that docks so I can play on the TV when I’m in the mood.
@jodanlime I always wondered why Nintendo never just did the whole thing that SONY did where the PSP could connect up to a PS3 and that sort of thing. I felt sure they would do that with the Switch when it came out, but they didn't.
I can't entirely agree that that was a defining factor that would make or break it though. The GB, GBC, GBA, NDS, and 3DS all were not dockable and they were all insanely successful for a really long time. The thing is, truly portable gaming is different. Each has its own purpose and use-case and allows for different gaming experiences. The Switch gave us full-scale games with full-scale graphics (within limits) and the full console experience in handheld, but the 3DS was small, light, and easily played hours and hours on end even lying down.
If it was actually pocketable I would have bought a second switch for on the go. But it’s not small enough for that, and it drops functionality from the slightly larger model. If either changed I think it would have sold better.
The Gameboy Advance could connect to a GameCube and Wii (both as a controller and to link games), GBC and N64 had the transfer pak
IMHO that was the best era of games, besides the NDS. I absolutely want the return of mobile + stationary modes in games, especially local multiplayer games. The GBA could for example show private game state to its player when used as a controller for a GameCube game! And you could bring your characters to your friend’s games without needing an Amiibo, you just linked your consoles together.
Exactly this, I’ve modded out 3DS and sold them for a while as a fun project. But it wasn’t until I got the Thor that I could really get into the games. I’m 16 hours deep into my first time playing Pokemon Y and looking forward to the dragon quest titles
I’ve never really been into any Pokemon games before, but I am getting closer to wanting to try sink into one! How beautiful is the upscaling for 3DS games on the Thor?! The games just sparkle. I have gotten slightly distracted by Metroid Prime 2 though…
It’s beautiful, yeah, I’m definitely one of the buy and sell devices people and I have a hard time seeing me give this one up. The only other consistent has been the ROG Ally with SteamOS and a 4tb ssd. But the buttons, screen, pocket-ability and clamshell have made this a prime handheld and that’s before even talking about how well the dual screen works
Leave Pokémon behind, play some Shin Megami Tensei, thank me later.
There’s a pipeline of former Pokémon fans thinking “Huh, these games have kind of gone to crap, I wish I had this same monster-collector style game but with a real plot and interesting characters” and then SMTIV falls from the sky like manna from heaven unto them.
I don’t think IV is actually the best SMT game, I think that honor goes to Nocturne - which is available on the Switch - but SMTIV is a good showing of the series that is available for 3DS. If you have the option, pick up SMTIV-Apocalypse, it’s an expanded “GOTY-style” re-release of IV, but the base game is also fine.
Hey I was that weirdo that down voted this, and I assure you it was by accident and I changed it now. I actually never got the chance to play Apocalypse and hot damn, I had no idea it was a whole sequel, I thought it was an expanded release in the same vein as a bunch of the Persona games have (P3->FES, P4->Golden, P5->Royal).
So, amending my statement, play SMTIV and then play Apoc.
Also, excuse me, I have some shopping I need to do.
Switch games emulated on the Retroid Pocket 5 have been amazing. A pocketable console with full Switch 1 games and an amazing screen. It’s been such a good purchase.
It’s been able to play everything I throw at it. There can be minor slow down initially while it’s compiling shaders sometimes. The Retroid Pocket 6 is open for pre-orders now and that’s going to easily be able to play all Switch and many modern PC game too. Worth having a look out anyone is interested, especially now that Steam games work with cloud save game sync. The Steam Deck could hardly be taken anywhere with how bulky it is. The RP5 for this much gaming power into the jeans pocket.
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