Our middle three might not be the top, but they're some of the most-played 3DS games around.
#6 - Fire Emblem Awakening
This was a 3DS game that was essentially a celebration of everything Fire Emblem, with a story that called to mind the beloved hero Marth and DLC quests that brought back nearly every relevant character in the series ever. It also helped that Fire Emblem Awakening was as finely tuned as they come, with layers and layers of depth and a wide variety of options. Scott Thompson said in his review: “Fire Emblem Awakening confidently toes the line between servicing its roots and courting potential players. The battle system is as mathematically complex as ever, the added relationship system can suck up countless hours, and the final handful of missions is absolute hell for anyone playing on Classic Mode. Still, an olive branch is extended to newcomers, who can turn off the more imposing features while being met with helpful tutorials and impeccable production value.”
#5 - Kid Icarus: Uprising
While public opinion on Kid Icarus: Uprising might have turned a bit, as folks focus on the challenging controls, there’s still a handful of the staff here at NWR who remember how much we adored Sakurai’s 3DS masterpiece. With a bonkers-as-all-hell story and unique play style, Uprising brought back the adventures of Pit in a brave new manner. The controls might have a learning curve, but if it clicked for you, it was incredible, whether you were replaying missions for better weapons or duking it out with friends online, Kid Icarus: Uprising is one of the biggest 3DS games out there. As I said in my review, “The 21-year wait for a new Kid Icarus game was completely worth it, because this is one of the craziest and most original games released by Nintendo in a while.”
#4 - Animal Crossing: New Leaf
The Animal Crossing series has been beloved over the years, though all of the entries prior to New Leaf were very similar. For the first time in the series, it was majorly reinvented (in very interesting ways as we learned at GDC 2014) and it worked tremendously well. Old fans of the series were delighted. New fans of the series were amazed. New Leaf was a major sales success on the 3DS for a good reason: It is a fantastic game. Andy Goergen summed it up in his review: “Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a beast of a game, featuring hundreds of hours of open-ended gameplay. If you find the slow paced sprawling sort of play that Animal Crossing encourages to be your cup of tea, then New Leaf will give you all you could ever want and more. If nothing else, it's a great excuse to hear your animal friends spout out customized phrases to suit your style. ‘Hey, what's up Dookieface?’ Indeed.”