An ode to the 3DS

What game comes to mind when you read the words "Nintendo 3DS"? Do you see Mario and his iconic mustache? Link and the Master Sword? Could it be Pikachu next to a pokeball? No matter what game comes to mind, it is generally agreed that the Nintendo 3DS was a great addition to the Nintendo line of consoles. I received mine back in 2012, and I remember specifically playing Paper Mario: Sticker Star, a game that is pretty divisive among the player base. I can see why since you can only make a move if you have a sticker in your sticker book, such as a boot for Mario to jump on an enemy's head. This lead to frustration in the last battle against Bowser for me personally, but it is still a great experience because of its puzzle solving elements that are required to move on, but I digress. I'm here to talk about the console itself, not Paper Mario. Instead I want to discuss how the 3DS had the potential to assist in healthy activity.

You may have noticed my screenshot above, with my personal Mii, the green, glowing guy in the middle. This was taken from the game Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the 5th game in the Mario and Sonic Olympic Games franchise. Starting with the 2008 Bejing Olympic Games, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games was created, featuring a roster of characters from both Mario and Sonic franchises. Characters such as the title names: Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, and also some of their pals, Luigi, Mario's brother, and Yoshi, one of his adventuring pals. Sonic also has some of his friends and rivals coming along for the ride, namely Miles "Tails" Prower, Sonic's mechanic buddy who frequently pilots the Tornado, a biplane they use to fly from place to place, and Amy Rose, Sonic's number one fan. Many characters have been added in to later titles, who were not there in the first game, but that's to be expected when the franchise grows. Fans of the games want other characters added for extra variety, or because that character is their favorite. Regardless, the 2016 Rio Olympics also got a release, and it was a prominent title in my library of 3DS games. I played the heck out of adventure mode, loving that Golf was added as an Olympic sport that you can compete in.

However, in the entry that took the cast to Rio de Janeiro, there was another mode that took advantage of the 3DS's built-in pedometer: the Pocket Marathon Mode. In this mode, you set off with your Mii around three different courses, each one longer than the last. The idea is you put your 3DS into sleep mode, or close the system where the screens are touching, and then put it into your pocket and go for a walk. The 3DS has a built in pedometer to count your steps, each step being used to simulate your Mii walking 1 meter. The maximum number of steps you can walk in one go before you are forced to use the steps to advance your Mii is 99,999 steps, used to have your Mii run 99,999 meters. Your step counter is then reset to zero, and you need to accumulate more steps by walking. Hitting certain milestones in the marathon also nets you in-game rewards, such as apples to trade with the Yoshi who runs the shop to get more items and gear for your Mii character to boost their performance in different events based on what you have them wear.

The health benefit a player can get from this game is pretty cool. It is a game where you can put your system in your pocket, go for a walk, and use that exercise to progress the game. This bridges the gap between the digital and physical world since your progress in real life also helps you in the game. I know personally that I was much more active when I first got this game, and this is not the first time Nintendo has encouraged exercise while playing their games.

Back in 2006, Nintendo released the Wii, the original platform where we saw the Miis, our own virtual characters we could customize as we wanted. This console was one of my first, and I enjoyed so many hours of Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports Bowling. The console had a plethora of cardio games that could help you work in exercise, such as Dance, Dance Revolution and Just Dance to name a few. The 3DS also played on this idea of exercise with the pedometer I mentioned, counting your steps and giving you Play Coins, which was a virtual currency you could accumulate and use in their games, which they put into most of their games when they made them. Steps were a great way for players to get active, and because you got Play Coins it was rewarding. The 3DS was a great addition to the Nintendo family of consoles, with other notable features like a 3D slider, to make the games pop out at you, a gyroscope for motion aiming with your system, and a plethora of games to suit all kinds of gamers worldwide. Which is why it was a shame to hear they would be discontinuing support and online services for the 3DS and Wii U in 2023. We had a good 10 years with this console, and while they still work, it takes more effort to play them online with your friends, and while there are ways to do so, I cannot mention them here for reasons that would get me in trouble with Nintendo. So I must say that while we had it, the 3DS was a great handheld console, and the things that we did, and can still do, made some great memories for those of us who experienced them.