Top 10 Best Nintendo 3DS Games!

Once more, the plumber hero of the Mushroom Kingdom comes to a handheld system, with tricks new and old up his sleeves. “Super Mario 3D Land” opts for a blend of traditional side-scrolling sections and more open environments similar to “Super Mario Galaxy”, resulting in levels that tap into nostalgia while also being incredibly creative. The game also marked the return of power-ups like the Super Leaf and the P-Wing, which fit in nicely alongside the new Boomerang Flower, Statue Leaf and Invincibility Leaf power-ups. With a steady difficulty curve and a keen grasp of the series’ bright, colourful aesthetic, “3D Land” makes it clear that Mario and company are here to stay.

Fighting and negotiating terms, how can you go wrong? Released ten years after the previous numbered entry in the “Shin Megami Tensei” series, this title places players in the role of a samurai drawn into an ancient conflict between angels and demons. Though the dual settings are certainly compelling, the game’s greatest strengths lie in its preservation of the series’ Press Turn battle system and the complexities of its Demon Fusion and Recruitment mechanics. Negotiating with demons for their services, merging demons to get new powers, taking advantage of physical and emotional vulnerabilities – there’s a lot of tense encounters to be mined from this tried-and-true game design.

Rev up your engines, folks, it’s time to race. “Mario Kart 7”, at its base level, offers the familiar arcade-style kart and motorcycle racing of games past. What makes things refreshing and unique to the 3DS are the new gameplay features that add interesting wrinkles to play. Hang-gliders can now be attached to karts for gliding sections on courses, several levels feature underwater driving segments, and the player can now drive in first-person. And that’s before the kart customization, which allows for unprecedented player freedom in designing and utilizing their own style of karts. It’s good fun, no two ways about it.

Nintendo’s mascot crossover series just keeps finding new ways to surprise and impress us. While the circle pad may not be the most ideal control scheme, This iteration of Smash, represents the most diverse and inclusive line-up of characters to date – with the likes of Mega Man, Pac-Man, and other third-party characters showing up. The 3DS version of the fourth “Smash” game also includes a creative use of the 3DS’ Street Pass in its Street Smash mode, and its online functionality in general is a major step forward. Coupled with the addition of character builds and the energetic Trophy Rush mode, it’s clear that this is a title to cherish deeply.

Just because you’re the Mayor doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with the role, right? “New Leaf” explores this idea by having you serve as Major of a town, giving greater weight to the furniture-accumulation and explorative gameplay for which the series is known. Players get to partake in the usual activities – fishing, hunting for bugs – while also dabbling in management of Public Works projects, like building bridges and passing laws. Perhaps the biggest shock Nintendo gave us, was when they gave this game a major update, three years after its original release. The game was already an engaging year long experience, so for Nintendo to breathe new life into the game is all the more welcoming.

The sequel to the 2001 action-adventure game “Luigi’s Mansion”, this game proves there’s still plenty creative potential in the concept. “Dark Moon” expands the scope of the original, with Luigi’s quest to hunt down and capture ghosts not being limited to one mansion this time around. Instead, there are five distinct mansions – each with a distinctive theme – that are broken up into missions with specific objectives. Yet the same core gameplay loop of exploring playfully-crafted environments and battling colourful spectres as the charmingly fearful Luigi remains tight and polished as ever.

Just beating out X & Y to earn a spot on this list, Pokemon Sun & Moon takes the 18-year old progression formula that’s been with the series since its inception, and turns it on its head. Gone are the HM abilities in favor of a far more streamlined mounting system, along with the trainer gyms in favor of the more creative ‘Island Trials’. Not only that, but Sun & Moon offers arguably the best world map in the series to date, The Hawaiian inspired “Aloha Region” is brimming with it’s cultural identity, not just in its cities but also with unique variations of classic Pokemon. And finally, there’s Team Skull who … well … they’re special that’s for sure.

There’s no arguing with the quality present in “Monster Hunter Generations”, but it’s the earlier game “Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate” that we feel may be the best of the series to date. Per usual, “4U” sends players out into its world of varied terrains and hostile weather to hunt monsters of all shapes and sizes, crafting new armour and weapons along the way. However, with this game, we got a more focused storyline, along with the 2 new awesome weapons; the Charge Blade and Insect Glaive. With hundreds of hours worth of content to sink your teeth into for both single player and co-op play, Monster Hunter is a ‘must have’ for any Action RPG lover.

Epic yet personal, intense yet charming – the balancing act that is “Fire Emblem Awakening” is astounding to behold. Not only is Awakening the best strategy game on the 3DS, its also one of the best Turn Based Strategy games on any system. Telling the story of the Avatar, a tactician recovering from amnesia, “Awakening” toys with themes of fate and diverging timelines over the course of its campaign. Gameplay-wise, its blend of unit management and tactical role-playing remains tight and polished as ever, with the return of elements like permanent deaths and Support conversations being especially engaging. As an added bonus, the 3DS’ StreetPass allows for players to connect their game worlds, battling or befriending one another as they see fit.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

“Kid Icarus: Uprising” (2012)

“Resident Evil: Revelations” (2012)

“Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward” (2012)

Stepping into the future does not necessarily mean entirely turning away from the past. Case in point: “A Link Between Worlds” is one of the most lively and fun installments in the “Zelda” series to date. Acting both as a new story and as a successor to 1992’s “A Link to the Past”, this entry sees Link crossing between the realms of Hyrule and Lorule to once more save Princess Zelda. The new wall-merging mechanic works well as a bridge between narrative and story, to say nothing of the clever puzzles and elaborate dungeons it contributes to. The open-ended approach to completing said dungeons and the vibrancy of the game’s art design only further underline how wonderful this game is.

Do you agree with our list? What were your favourite 3DS games? For more multidimensional Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.