A trip down lonely lane:
You ever had the feeling you experienced something "the wrong way"? Or that you just saw something in a light that was so out of the ordinary you even consider that maybe everybody else is lying?
Today, March 27 of 2023, Nintendo officially closes the 3DS eShop and having revisited my console to grab some games before the end, I thought it would be nice to share a little story.
Setting the stage:
Picture this: You are twelve, facebook is still the cool place to be online, and you just discovered you love video games, more especifically, you love Zelda. You just played Ocarina of Time on an N64 emulator on your crappy family computer and the trailer of new Wind Waker HD is pure eye candy.
I want a piece of that Nintendo fun - You say to yourself. You start to browse online and you discover two things:
The first one is the value of money. With how devalued the currency of your country is, you simply cannot ask your parents to purchase a Wii U for you.
And the second is that the Nintendo 3DS is fucking cool (And a lot cheaper than a Wii U).
Does the 3D effect really work? - Your parents are concerned, your dad is a TV nerd, and every 3D television required glasses.
Of course! - You reply, confident in Nintendo's marketing - They wouldn't lie about that, it's Nintendo!
You never owned a Nintendo piece of hardware before other than an old (and very used) little Game Boy Advance your mom got you for your birthday because you are a retro nerd. But you are a dreamer! And a victim of aggressive marketing too, but most importantly, a dreamer.
After a long time insisting, they agree, and after waiting a few days it finally arrives right at your doorstep, an unassuming little box, containing what is going to be the ultimate gaming machine! Flame red, with a glossy finish, a work of art.
And does the 3D work? - Your dad wants to know, he is skeptical, you turn that slider up with caution and, my god, work it does, and it is incredible!
The first few days were pretty dull, if you analyzed them with the brain of a hardened gamer of course, but little me was more than happy to just play with the Miis, browse the internet, and download countless demos from the eShop to see what was out there to be discovered.
But the first pitfall arrives: The financial risk I took was calculated, but man, I was bad at math. I didn't realize how expensive games were in my country. Crap! I can't really say I have a gaming console if I can't game on it! After bargaining a while, I got to choose one game. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.
The more you know...
The years went by, I had beaten Ocarina of Time more times than I can remember, I walked with my 3DS everywhere, here's some context for those who didn't have one, it has a fun little gimmick, it can count your steps and every 100 steps it gives you a coin that you can spend inside some Nintendo games. But that wasn't the only reason I turned it into my walking partner, what I was truly aiming for was the StreetPass, basically if you ever passed anywhere near another person with a 3DS the consoles would light a green LED and say hi to each other and we could add each other to our friends list.
Nintendo was all about the fun features, and I was a small salesman, desperate to persuade my friends into joining me so we could play together and borrow each other's games for maximum savings.
But I could never get trough. One of them bought a PC, other two got an Xbox One. Maybe it was Nintendo's fault, or maybe I was a terrible marketer, but I was the only one in that club.
And in 2016, things took a big turn, Nintendo was cooking! The so called NX, which we all now know as the Switch, was revealed, and from that point on I knew that my little portable was about to enter its last days.
A brazilian word named 'Saudade':
In 2020 I charged my 3DS again, the last time I used it was in 2017, and during this interval I got a thing called money, and I decided to purchase some games to make it up for younger me. I got Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Monster Hunter 3 and some other small titles that looked fun.
But truth be told I never experienced those great days of when the 3DS was at its peak, maybe it just wasn't all that popular where I lived. I never once saw the green light of StreetPass, never got to visit a friend on Animal Crossing, and gave up on the Mii games since there is only so much you can do on an empty plaza.
Since buying it in 2013 I didn't get a single friend on my 3DS. That list was, and still is today, empty.
And yet, despite everything, I love this console, and I hold my memories of it very dear. I cannot miss a friend I never had, but I can cherish a game I finished dozens of times, because it was the only one my parents could afford for me at the time.
Seeing people online show how fun it was to go for a walk with their 3DS and get home with a green light and many new friends, how many titles they have on their shelves is a peek at a life I never had with my Nintendo, but I refuse to call my experiences incomplete or unfullfilling.
I will be forever grateful for the fun I had and will never forget the joy it was unboxing that thing and jumping in excitement with how awesome the 3D effects were, making miis for me and my parents and in the end laughing at how goofy some of them ended up looking, and taking selfies with that weak camera with my friends.
Gone but not forgotten:
So yeah, this console is oficially dead, but my memories of it will live on. Thank you Nintendo for making this fun little piece of hardware. I also want to thank my parents for giving me this gift and joining in on the fun with their not so geeky but very caring way.
And thank you for reading all this! I hope it all made sense, and I hope I didn't sound too gloomy, all is fine and I had my fun! But what about you? Did you also have a 3DS? Do you also have good memories of it? And, did you impusively grab any titles in 2023? I know I did, and I know my story ends here. Hope to...
See ya in the near future!
