Gadgetory

about a week ago in Japan and about a week from now in the US will be seeing the release of the Nintendo new 2d s XL that's a very long name okay so normally I skip over this part of an unboxing or trying to glance over it but actually want to emphasize this it has a power cable now the reason why this is important is for some reason the new 3ds and the new 3ds XL did not include power cables I think the assumption being that Nintendo thought everyone was going to upgrade it's only 9 10 bucks to get power cable separately anyways the point is it's honestly kind of annoying so the fact is the new tds comes with one thank you and then of course we have the new two DS XL now well this does have the 2d s name in it it's actually really just a revision of the new 3ds XL the big difference being aside from aesthetics the fact that it lacks the 3d feature there's also a lot lighter than 3ds XL I mean probably because they remove the 3d function but like you really notice it right away I've used a 3d excel before and it's much heftier yeah so there we have the inside so this is clearly a new PS design let's actually break down all the different stuff in the name means for people that haven't kept up with every single revision in tendo's done to the system so starting with new at a certain point and tend to started making new 3ds which is a very confusing name but it is a very different system it is more powerful so it's able to support certain games so the old 3d esses cannot it has additional buttons like this stick right here and these two shoulder buttons on the inside and has a built-in NFC reader so you can actually scan amiibos directly on it rather than having to buy an adapter now as for the 2d s part like we've already talked about it supports 2d gameplay only no 3d like the 3d s is do although honestly that's a function that's been dying off more and more with every game release as for excel well that's just known in fact it is the larger overall design giving bigger screens for more viewability and more importantly really if you're an adult it is a much more comfortable grip compared to the smaller designs which can very easily give you hand cramps if you're over the age of like 13 now like I said earlier the main thing that makes this one different from the 3ds XL is the exclusion of 3d functions but there's actually more to it than that there's a lot of changes to the actual physical design of the system well it does look a little our first glance aside from having this little border design and a little grating here which actually really liked the look of this is a just better looking system to me once again I always load systems that have a 2-tone approach not just one single color but one thing that's immediately kind of weird is the fact that it actually is a flap here for revealing the DS card normally it's just an open thing that you just put in right away they have to open this flap here which reveals not only where you put the DF cartridge but more importantly also the micro SD something that was really really annoying about the new 3d F and new 3d excel is that the micro SD slot was behind the back plate so I mean we have the audio file right here Oh stylus which is really tiny why is this so small okay no honestly I think this is a solid upgrade over the new 3ds XL my only complaint really being the stubby little stylus everything else is perfectly fine I mean yeah it doesn't support 3d in games but that doesn't really matter so cue games actually make full use of it in an interesting way and it just honestly it ended up being more of a gimmick than something actually functional and this thing beats the 3dsxl out in every other way I mean just the design of it not having stupid little designs like having the SD card hidden behind the back plate it's just a solid upgrade at a lower price but that's not the real question the real question is in 2017 when the switch exists is it really worth grabbing the 6th version of a system that came out back in 2011 maybe obviously there are situations where upgrading to a system like this just does not make sense for instance if you already own a new 3dsxl or even just a new 3ds this isn't going to offer you anything interestingly different for paying $150 all over again for a new system aside from being probably the best-looking out of the group however if you never owned a 3ds before this is honestly the best and really final time you should be grabbing one and even if you own one of the original systems it's actually kind of worth spending a hundred fifty bucks to upgrade to this I mean there's a number of games straight up require a new system to work such as you know blades 3d there are other games that don't necessarily require it but honestly run really terribly without it Hyrule warriors and they're also a full catalog of SMEs Virtual Console games that can only be played on new 3ds systems ever since the switch was released though there's been this ongoing question of which exact systems is it replacing is it only replacing the Wii U is it replacement to 3ds is it both and honestly I think by this point it's pretty clear that it's only replacing the Wii U I mean really let's look at what these two systems have in common they're portable systems released by Nintendo that is it I mean the experiences from them are very different the switch is much more traditional gaming that can be done at home or on the go well the 3d F line is offering games that offer this dual screen and touchscreen experience that is unique to it now of course you can make the argument well the way you also had two screens the way you also had a touchscreen interface why is the switch succeeds that and not the 3ds and the answer is well it really didn't make use of its touchscreen in an interesting or meaningful way made evidence by the fact that all the biggest games from the Wii U have been making their way to the switch if the question is is it worth grabbing a 2d SXL when the switch exists the answer is yes if your question is which one should I grab first that's little murkier do you want to spend 300 bucks and get the new hotness with all the new games coming out in it go for the switch do you want to spend half that much money to get a system that has a library full of games six years in the making go over the 2d s either way it's a great decision and honestly it's worth grabbing both