This article is about a subject in the real world. Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series.

The Nintendo 3DS is a handheld video game system released by Nintendo. The 3DS is the successor of the Nintendo DS and is notable for fully integrating stereoscopic 3D graphics.

To do this, the system uses a technique known as autostereoscopic 3D, which involves rendering two separate images, one for each eye. This allows the top screen to present a sense of depth while also allowing the effect to be adjustable. Note that the bottom screen is not a 3D screen and is instead a touchscreen interface similar to that found on the preceding Nintendo DS.

The 3DS is also backward-compatible with the entire backlog of DS games. All Sonic the Hedgehog games released on the DS can also be played on the 3DS. The cards for the 3DS have a bump on the right side in order to avoid them being inserted into a Nintendo DS system.

With the release of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal in November 2014, a Sonic Boom puzzle was added to the Puzzle Swap game found in the pre-loaded StreetPass Mii Plaza application.

Nintendo officially ended production of the Nintendo 3DS in 2020,^[5] with the eShop closing on 27 March 2023.^[6]

Sonic games[]

Sonic Generations	Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games	Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: Bonus Edition	Sonic Lost World	Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal	Sega 3D Classics Collection	Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice	Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives 3: Final Stage (JP)

Virtual Console[]

The Nintendo 3DS allows players to download old games onto their system via the eShop's Virtual Console service, similar to the corresponding service on the Wii and Wii U. Like the console version, the 3DS version includes games from non-Nintendo systems. Several Sega Game Gear games are available internationally.

Game Gear games on the Virtual Console come with more features than other Virtual Console games. In addition to Restore Points (save states), users can select whether the display fits the screen as a square, stretches to fill the screen, or is surrounded by a detailed, 3D Game Gear border. The latter comes in three colors: red, blue, or black. Screen blurring is an option that emulates the original screen if chosen. Even game performance can be altered between "original" and "special" (original accurately emulates slowdown and special fixes the slowdown issues of the original games).

In addition, there is also a library of Sega 3D Classics on the eShop. These games are emulations of arcade, Sega Mega Drive and Master System titles. These games support 3D, have save states, can add screen blurring, and the games with multiplayer have local multiplayer via wireless.

The Virtual Console titles are no longer available for purchase due to the Nintendo eShop's closure on 27 March 2023.

Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)	Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)	Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble
Sonic Drift 2	Sonic Blast	Sonic Labyrinth
Tails Adventure	Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (8-bit)	3D Sonic the Hedgehog
3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2

3DS themes[]

In 2014, Nintendo updated the 3DS to include different themes for the system's HOME Menu. Many themes based on the Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Boom series were available for purchase on the 3DS' Theme Shop; some themes were free. They were all removed after the closure of the Theme Shop on 27 March 2023.^[6]

Theme	Price	Release date	Bundle	Bundle price
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal Sonic Toon: Sonic and Friends (JP)	Free	JP 10 December 2014[7] INT 11 November 2014[8]	N/A
Sonic the Hedgehog Theme	$1.99 USD	JP 10 December 2014[7] INT 28 November 2014	Sonic Bundle[9]	$5.99 USD
Amy Rose Theme	$1.99 USD
Shadow the Hedgehog Theme	$1.99 USD
Chao Theme	$1.99 USD
Sonic Series: 25th Anniversary	Free	JP 27 October 2016[10] INT 22 September 2016[11]	N/A
Sonic Series: Boom Style	$1.99 USD	JP 28 September 2016[12] INT 22 September 2016[11]	Sonic Bundle #2[12]	$4.99 USD
Sonic Series: Sonic Style	$1.99 USD
Sonic Series: Classic Style	$1.99 USD
Sonic Series: Cute Style	$1.99 USD	JP 19 October 2016[13] INT 13 October 2016	Sonic Bundle #3[12]	$4.99 USD
Sonic Series: Shadow Style	$1.99
Sonic Series: Silver Style	$1.99
Sega 3D Reprint Archives 2 Package Illustration	¥200	JP 22 December 2016	Package Illustration	¥500
Sega 3D Reprint Archives 3 Package Illustration	¥200

amiibo[]

Starting with the release of the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL systems from 2014-2015, 3DS titles began gradually adding amiibo support by means of an NFC reader built into the Touch Screen. Older 3DS models (3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS) without built-in NFC capabilities requires the use of an NFC Reader/Writer accessory released in late 2015 that lines up with the infrared ports of those systems.^[14]

Revisions[]

Nintendo 2DS[]

On 12 October 2013 in North America and PAL regions, the Nintendo 2DS was released. The 2DS is a budget model that is fully compatible with all 3DS and DS games but does not include the ability to display games in 3D. It still features all the functionality of 3DS and can be put to sleep using a slider that replicates closing the clamshell on a standard 3DS. Wi-Fi can still be turned off, though it's done via controls in the software rather than with a physical switch. In addition, the system only features a single mono speaker, unlike the dual stereo speakers on other models. When it was released a red model and a blue model were sold at $129.99 USD alongside the 3DS and 3DS XL.^[15]

New Nintendo 3DS (XL)[]

In late 2014/early 2015, the 3DS received a hardware upgrade in the form of the "New Nintendo 3DS", an iterative update comparable to the Nintendo DSi and DSi XL. Improvements on the original model include slightly larger screens, faster quad-core CPU, doubled RAM, and extra buttons to match the Circle Pad Pro accessory (a second analog nub and ZL/ZR buttons). Other new features include built-in amiibo support on the touch screen and an eye-tracking 3D feature that allows the console to adjust stereoscopic output based on the user's position. Much like the 2DS, the New 3DS and New 3DS XL lacks a wireless switch and can only be toggled in the HOME Menu. Several games can only be played on the New 3DS due to its upgraded hardware, although this does not include any Sonic games.

Like the original console, the New 3DS is also produced in regular and XL variants. The regular model features interchangeable face plates similar to the Game Boy Micro, and received a limited release in NTSC regions.

New Nintendo 2DS XL[]

In mid-2017, Nintendo released a new revision of the Nintendo 2DS, dubbed the New Nintendo 2DS XL. Unlike the original 2DS, the New 2DS XL features a clamshell design much like the rest of the DS and 3DS family systems. The system still retains many of the features of the New 3DS and New 3DS XL (barring the eye-tracking 3D feature), like the increased processing power, analog nub, and the ZL/ZR buttons. The Game Card slot is still located on the bottom-left of the system much like the New 3DS and New 3DS XL systems, but the microSD card slot has also been re-located there and the system now boasts a cover for the slots, much like the Nintendo Switch's Game Card slot. This would be the final system released in the Nintendo 3DS family and the last one to be in production leading up to the system's overall discontinuation.

Trivia[]

• The Nintendo 3DS was the first portable console to receive a 3D Sonic game, this being Sonic Lost World. The game also marks the handheld debut of the ability to play as Super Sonic in levels, and the first predominantly-underwater 3D levels in the series.
• Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is the only Sonic title released on the Nintendo 3DS to support any New Nintendo 3DS enhancements; it allows for C-sticking with the analog nub.
  • The Circle Pad Pro is not supported with the 3DS version due to lack of required processing power on the original 3DS models.^[16]
• If a user holds the Select or Start button while booting up a DS or DSi game, the game will be displayed in its original resolution.^[17]
• The Nintendo 3DS is the second and final Nintendo handheld to be region locked, with the Nintendo DSi being their first region locked handheld (only applies to DSi-exclusive software).
  • Backwards compatible Nintendo DS games are still region free, since the Nintendo DS is not region locked.^[18]

References[]

External links[]

• Nintendo 3DS at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia