Top 10 WORST Nintendo 3DS Games

After the animated film of the same name nailed its video game references so well, you would have thought any tie-in would be a straightforward accompaniment. Evidently however, all the creative effort went into the film and this ugly, generic platformer squandered the potential its source material presented, insulting fans by not even letting you play as Vannelope following the movie’s attempts to subvert gender stereotypes in gaming, Remember her glitch ability? The developers apparently didn’t. Incredibly, the free of charge flash games that came out shortly after the full title provide a similar level of polish and enjoyability, Yet we were subject to this embarrassingly short and obviously unfinished cash-in before that. Thanks Disney.

WayForward Technologies had released a well-received side-scroller based on Pendleton Ward’s creation just a year before the release of this lifeless dungeon crawler, leaving players bemused why they decided on such a departure in gameplay. The show is beloved by kids and adults alike for its oddball world and characters, many of whom return in awfully designed versions of themselves. There is the occasional hint of humor from Finn or Jake, but those signs of life are emphatically swamped by dark, repetitive dungeons that, without co-op, you have to explore alone. It’s even been watered down compared to its release on other systems – most notably in the lack of fully voiced dialogue – making it just one more terrible TV tie-in.

Gameloft’s Asphalt series has always been derivative of other superior street-racers and this shameless port from the mobile game does nothing to prove it has anything to offer the genre. By ramming an excess of content down your throat it tries to distract you from dramatic graphical slowdown and inability to deliver over-the-top racing action. If you sit in park the game looks ok, but try to execute a high-speed overtake and you’ll often have another vehicle materialize in your way as the game pathetically tries to find a higher gear. As a launch title for the console it can be afforded a little leeway, but it still should never have received the 3DS green light in the first place.

A central part of any RollerCoaster Tycoon game is, well, building rollercoasters, a feature that is nearly impossible in the series’ fourth entry due to a woefully unresponsive touch interface. Some have even said it feels like a free trial version of a full game, lacking in the sort of depth that is expected in the most basic of management simulations. Almost 15 years have gone by since the original came out yet this one is worse in nearly every conceivable way, aside from some pleasant graphical touches. Just like a poorly constructed coaster, those same graphics have the tendency to crash and burn, sometimes entirely breaking your game or, if you’re lucky, only severely hindering your ability to play.

It may be marginally better than its sibling on the Wii U but, in true Sonic fashion, this platformer is still a cringeworthy, contrived mess of a game. The emphasis on exploration isn’t abysmal at first – although the puzzles won’t challenge a toddler – yet it’s just not what a Sonic game should be, only gaining speed in sections ripping off Temple Run. The unbearable dialogue and incoherent story is very modern day Sonic however, and any early promise is quickly extinguished as the game manufactures longevity by forcing you to repeat certain stages. Unbelievably, the game somehow got a sequel with Sonic Boom Fire & Ice 2 years later. Sega who is running your company?

If the game you’re developing somehow manages to make robot brawling excruciatingly boring, you should probably go back to the drawing board or just give up entirely. Such was the case for this kid-oriented anime tie-in that must have been deliberately aiming for a Metacritic score below 30. As a result of trying nothing creative whatsoever, the graphics run pretty smooth in each identical bout where, get this, you have to stand still to launch an attack. The one thing you can give it credit for, the hefty customization options, are entirely cosmetic, as programming any gameplay variation would have meant potentially missing the boat on the series’ popularity. Even for kids, the lack of endeavor is insulting.

For some reason this cringeworthy live action former arcade title keeps getting ported: the 3DS version is one of nine platforms to give the light gun shooter another lease of life but it may also be the most pointless. The notoriously bad FMV sequences aren’t even in 3D, nor have they been improved since its lifespan in the arcade 22 years prior. The controls aren’t THAT awful – that’s being generous – and it only serves as a 15-minute slice of nostalgia for a time when we really had no clue what we were doing in video games. Perhaps we’re just being harsh and this interactive Western has been waiting for VR to reach its true potential…

As you embark upon this beat ‘em up adventure you can scan your face into your favorite Ranger, fulfilling dreams you might have had since you were a kid. Once the maddening gameplay begins however, you’ll instantly regret subjecting your virtual counterpart to such a tortuous existence. If the lag or forced Ranger swapping don’t drive you to the brink of insanity, then the broken “advice and encouragement” from your team will do the job. If you can turn your ears off to that din of looping soundbites you might think you’d be rewarded with a sliver of ridiculous carnage. But no, this is Megaforce and just like the season of the show it was based on; fun is off the table.

Oh to be a fly on the wall of Behaviour Interactive’s design meetings when coming up with ideas for this follow-up to Revenge of the Fallen. How the decision to prevent the Transformers from transforming into fully fledged robots snuck through the net is a mystery even Mark Wahlberg won’t be able to solve. The movies are an easy target for criticism but at least they give you the metallic havoc you want; this one however, bizarrely constrains Optimus Prime and co to their vehicle forms. Even as a vehicular combat title there’s little positive to report, as the sloppily executed controls make each copy paste mission as disorienting as one of Michael Bay’s movies.

Before we reveal our top pick, let’s take a look at some dishonorable mentions.


“Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D” (2011)

“Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters” (2011)

“Swords & Darkness” (2015)

It’s rather insulting how such a legendary PC title could have a port done this badly almost 2 decades later. Despite what the box art initially told you, 3D features were absent and no touch screen functionality had been added. Thus clicking on the right object is even a challenge due to the cursor always auto-centering. Also any immersion the original possessed is destroyed in this iteration, due to the already dated still images looking even worse under the terrible compression, not to mention how easy it is for your save file to get corrupted. With the inclusion of far better versions out there, You might say the 3DS port completely “Myst” the mark…

Do you agree with our list? Which 3DS games did you rapidly return to the store? For more top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.