10 Games All Nintendo 3DS Players Need

Make this generation's best handheld even better with these excellent titles.
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10 Games All Nintendo 3DS Players Need

Like Laurel and Hardy, Dre and Snoop, and Burton and Depp, Nintendo and handheld gaming is a pair that works quite well together. Nintendo 3DS, like its predecessors, is a massively successful portable video games system that boasts an impressive array of high-quality titles. If you don't own a Nintendo 3DS system, you're missing out on some of the best titles available today.

Despite the flack that Nintendo gets for its hardware decisions, the company still produces excellent software that almost always winds up at or near the top of the year-end best-of lists. You know, software that ships in a finished, nearly bug-free state, unlike Halo: The Master Chief Collection and the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight.

Speaking of Nintendo hardware, there are a few versions of the 3DS on which you can play these excellent games. There is the original Nintendo 3DS, the larger 3DS XL, and more powerful New 3DS XL, systems that use 3D technology to give games the illusion of visual depth. Nintendo also offers a lower-priced Nintendo 2DS, a child-friendly system that resembles a Fisher Price toy and lacks 3D capability. You can play 3DS games (and original Nintendo DS games) on all three handhelds.

This guide features 10 of the best games (listed in alphabetical order) you can play on Nintendo 3DS today, including titles from the action, racing, beat 'em up, and strategy genres. There are even a few third-party titles on this list, proving the power of the 3DS to attract developers who don't mind competing with games starring Link, Mario, Kirby, and Yoshi.

If you think we overlooked a great Nintendo 3DS game that should be on this list, let us know in the comment section.

(For more, check out the games every Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One Player Needs.)

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  • 1 3D Out Run

    $5.99
    Out Run, Yu Suzuki's beloved 1986 arcade racer, zooms onto the 3DS with numerous additions that make the iconic title even better. M2, a development team with an incredible knack for breathing new life into retro video game ports, added a ton of new features, including an adjustable difficulty, car customization options, new music, and a blazing 60 frames-per-second gameplay. This is the definitive Out Run.

  • 2 3D Streets of Rage 2

    $5.99
    The 16-bit era's greatest belt-scroller receives a modern makeover courtesy of the port wizards at M2. 3D Streets of Rage 2 contains all of the big battles you remember (and big beats from composer Yuzo Koshiro), but now with impressive stereoscopic 3D visual effects and 60-frames-per-second gameplay. The new Rage Relay lets you knuckle up against street punks, using all four characters in any chosen order.

  • 3 Fire Emblem: Awakening

    Fire Emblem: Awakening emphasizes strategy more so than the obsessive, carefree grinding. It uses an Advance Wars-like grid to move units across maps to beat enemies and accomplish objectives. Different units have different classes, and almost everyone in your army is a named character with a unique art style, voice, personality, and story. One wrong move can lead to disaster, and like every other game in the series this is because when your units die, they die for good. Fight bravely and carefully!

  • 4 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

    The best Zelda title since Capcom's Oracle games, A Link Between Worlds takes Link back to the world of A Link to the Past. Don't expect a total retread, though: the delightfully devious dungeons are completely different from that SNES classic, and they can be tackled in any order. Items like the Hookshot are now rented from a shop, and you can lose them if Link dies. The game is so charming, well-designed, and fast-paced (it runs at 60fps even with 3D effects turned on) that it's impossible to put down, especially when a more difficult Hero Mode unlocks after beating it the first time. A Link Between Worlds is not to be missed.

  • 5 Mario Kart 7

    The latest portable installment in Nintendo's long-running Mario Kart franchise brings Mushroom Kingdom racing into the third dimension with new courses and abilities. You can now race over tracks that cut through mountains, deserts, and cities, with the ability to deploy wings to glide over a track shortcut, or propellers when under water. Mario Kart 7 supports both SpotPass and StreetPass features, and you can compete in local wireless matches or online over a broadband Internet connection.

  • 6 Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

    Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the most refined, massive, and addictive entry in Capcom's now-popular-in-the-West series. You play as a hyper-stylized version of a Neolithic warrior who—you guessed it—hunts monsters and carves their hides to make new weapons and armor. You can also train feline-like partners called Palicoes and hunt beasts with friends using the 3DS's local and—finally—online co-op capabilities. Two new weapons, an Insect Glaive and Charge Blade, new behemoths, and a steady stream of free DLC quests, items, and costumes, will keep you and your hunting party busy for hundreds of hours.

  • 7 Pokémon X/Y

    The Game Freak-developed Pokémon X/Y doesn't radically change the Pokémon formula, but it doesn't really have to do so. Pokémon's accessible turn-based RPG mechanics are as fun as ever, and the slick 3D graphical overhaul is a treat. There aren't many surprises, and the addition of Fairy-type critters doesn't change the mechanics in any noticeable way. But Pokémon is still one of the best games on the 2DS/3DS.

  • 8 Shin Megami Tensei IV

    You'll notice 3DS games give you a lot of bang for your buck, and this Atlus RPG is a prime example. A rare numbered sequel to the long-running series, the fourth game focuses on a group of fish-out-of-water samurai searching for a renegade in the demon-infested streets of post-apocalyptic Tokyo. If you think that sounds weird, how about a battle system that revolves around befriending and cross-breeding the demons you fight? Tons of quests, challenging boss fights, and moral quandaries (will you follow the path of Law, Chaos, or Neutral?) await.

  • 9 Super Mario 3D Land

    PETA may hate the game, but Super Mario 3D Land is one of the best games on the 3DS platform. It builds upon the roaming Mario platforming mechanic by adding features both new and familiar. The game's 3D visuals make it easier for players to judge the depths and distances, and Mario can don his Tanooki suit, which gives him a tail for hovering, jumping, or attacking. New foes include tailed Goombas and Piranha Plant that can spit ink to obscure your view.

  • 10 Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

    Not every fighting game needs to be a carefully tweaked competition; sometimes you just want to experience fun characters hitting each other. Super Smash Bros. proves you can have both. This video game all-star tournament fighter packs dozens of characters from Nintendo's history, plus Pac-Man, Mega Man, and Sonic the Hedgehog, into a customizable battle that can be as crazy or balanced as you want. Whether you want to hone your favorite character into a fine weapon for use on the competitive scene or just want to watch Mario punch Sonic, this game has what you need.