Topic: Best of the 3DS eShop: 2013 Releases (Part 1)

[Khushrenada]

The Usual Preamble

With the 3DS pretty much winding down and a lack of upcoming releases we have now arrived at the life cycle of a system where users start looking back in the catalogue of available games that were released and that they missed or forgot about when games were coming out regularly. For myself, I know that I didn't always pay as close attention to the eShop and its releases as I did physical releases. And while I have accumulated a few titles from it, I feel there are probably more I should take advantage of especially since Nintendo hasn't created any other source to purchase many of these titles.

While I could I slowly go through each title and try to track down reviews, I'd rather get the opinions of the NWR Forum users whose gaming tastes I trust a bit more. Plus, I figured this would be a chance to engage in our favorite practice of reminiscing about games we loved playing (and arguing about the worth / rank of a game. )

The main goal is simple. If you have personally played any of these titles, post which ones you have and which ones you highly recommend others should have on their 3DS, which ones might be recommended for Kairon (or a deeper cut for a certain type of fan) and what you think should be skipped. (And sure, even if you haven't played them and have an opinion, I'm not going to argue against you from posting it). I've also included a poll for people to vote on the games being discusses that they think a person should acquire for their 3DS.



What Is Being Discussed?

I am trying to go through the eShop exclusives in chronological order at this point. Before, I had old Nintendo Power issues to use as a guide but at this point in time, Nintendo Power had just become defunct.  Some people were quick to try and fill in the void like Nintendo Force and NWR tried doing an online mag for a bit but I think those soon fizzled out. At this point, I'm just going by the release dates on Nintendo's website for eShop games.

There are about 119 games or so that came out for the eShop in 2013 if you are not including VC releases and certain applications. While I could try creating the Mega-est Mega Poll for them all, I'll be dividing up the 2013 releases in 4 parts. I debated doing 5 but it does seem like this point of the eShop review is what I felt around 7 years ago when I began paying less and less attention to it. Likewise, it seems the appetite for discussion on eShop releases is also dropping though that may come from the great disparity in quality found in these varous batches of games. But let us get into this batch and see what gems might be unearthed.

Thus, the list of titles up for discussion this time around is:


Unchained Blades
Gunman Clive
Reel Fishing 3D Paradise Mini
101 DinoPets3D
Wild Adventures: Ultimate Deer Hunt 3D
Tokyo Crash Mobs
Cocoto Alien Brick Breaker
Ikachan
Viking Invasion 2 - Tower Defense
Picdun 2: Witch's Curse
Mahjong Mysteries - Ancient Athena
Coaster Creator 3D
Nano Assault EX
ATV Wild Ride 3D
Kersploosh!
HarmoKnight
Dillon's Rolling Western: The Last Ranger
Soccer Up 3D
Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo
Witch & Hero
Crazy Construction
Gummy Bears Magical Medallion
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move
Swords & Soldiers 3D
Bowling Bonanza 3D
The Starship Damrey
Dress To Play: Magic Bubbles!
Groove Heaven
The "Denpa" Men 2: Beyond the Waves


Which games do you think are worthy of being added to one's collection and played? Are there any overlooked gems you might be aware of?

[Order.RSS]

Nano Assault EX is the expanded port of Nano Assault Neo right? If so, that's worth a play for fans of twin-stick shooters. Particularly relevant during the current Covid-19 pandemic, too.

You play as a little ship cruising around on the outsides of organic cells and there's nasty viruses looking to take over the healthy cell. Blow them to smithereens! Basically weaponised hand washing y'all.

I will say the bosses are kinda dull here, and the second screen features are negligible (you can kinda adjust the shape of your Options/drones, but that's it). On the whole I like Nano Assault better than Nano Stray on the DS, simply because those games felt very unforgiving.
Worth a shot imo. The cells might even give you some vague Mario Galaxy flashbacks, considering the way you traverse them.

[ejamer]

Nano Assault isn't mind-blowing, but it's good and quite a bit of fun. I agree with Seefosaurus' opinion here.

Swords & Soldiers is a fun and cute game... but this is a bad version. Not recommended on 3DS.

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is one that I did enjoy, on the other hand; a Mario-themed pipe mania remake that has a few extra features thrown in. It includes a couple of different stage types to play, including a really cool, super-huge DK level that is a real challenge. There are also some really lame mini-games, that are probably best avoided. Not for everyone, but I'm a big fan.

The Gunman Clive series is great. It's short, light, and fanciful. The price is also a bargain (despite the short length). However, it's been re-released a couple of times in different formats, so I'm not sure if this is the best place to get it - depends on what consoles you have I guess.

[pokepal148]

Gunman Clive is far from essential but it is cheap and well made. It actually has a reallyggood 3D effect and IMO this is a game that benefits more from the 3d effect from a presentation standpoint than it would from being in HD., so the 3DS is the definitive version.

[Khushrenada]

Here's all the NWR reviews for this subsection of releases. Enjoy the quantity now because they are going to get sparser as we move on through the 2013 eShop releases.

Unchained Blades gets a 5.
Gunman Clive gets a 9.
Reel Fishing 3D Paradise Mini is unrated.
101 DinoPets 3D gets a lowly 3.
Wild Adventures: Ultimate Deer Hunt 3D scores a 6.5.
Tokyo Crash Mobs gets a 7.5.
Cocoto Alien Brick Breaker is unrated.
Ikachan is ranked a 7.5.
Viking Invasion 2 - Tower Defense is unreviewed.
Picdun 2: Witch's Curse is rated a 7.
Mahjong Mysteries - Ancient Athena is unranked.
Coaster Creator 3D is awarded a 7.
Nano Assault EX scores an 8.5.
ATV Wild Ride 3D races to a 7.5.
Kersploosh! divides critics with a review of 7 and a review of 4.5.
HarmoKnight scores a 9.
Dillon's Rolling Western: The Last Ranger rolls up to an 8.5.
Soccer Up 3D goes down at a 4.5.
Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo also races to an 8.
Witch & Hero debuts with a 6.
Crazy Construction builds to a score of 8.
Gummy Bears Magical Medallion goes unreviewed.
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis On The Move marches to an 8.
Swords & Soldiers 3D has no review.
Bowling Bonanza 3D has no review.
The Starship Damrey cruises to a 7.
Dress To Play: Magic Bubbles! is left unrated.
Groove Heaven dances to a 7.
The "Denpa" Men 2: Beyond the Waves also lands at a 7.