The best 3DS games of each genre

The 3DS released 12 years ago. Since then there have been lots of different games released for it until it was discontinued three years ago in 2020. Here is a list of what I consider to be the best 3DS game released for each different video game genre. This list wasn't easy to decide because there are so many great games for the 3DS, but here's what I decided in the end.

Now, before I begin, I'll get a disclaimer out of the way: this list is just my own opinions and thoughts about the 3DS games.

The best Racing game: Mario Kart 7.

Of course it had to be Mario Kart 7. It was an easy decision to make to decide what I thought what the best racing game on the 3DS was.

Mario Kart 7 was released in 2011. It was the second 3DS game I bought for the system. It added so  many new features, such as the ability to customise your kart completely, the ability to drive underwater, gliders so that you could glide through the air. It also introduced a powerful item called 'Lucky 7' which gave a player a banana peel, green shell, red shell, mushroom, star, blooper, and a bomb.

I thought it had some of the best selection of tracks ever in a Mario Kart game, containing Wahu Island, Melody Motorway, Piranha Pipeway, Waluigi Pinball, Airship Fortrest, Coconut Mall, and many others. And the online play was solid and a lot of fun too.

The best 3D platformer: Super Mario: 3D Land.

This was the first 3DS game I ever played, as it was included as a bundle with my 3DS console. It's different from previous 3D Mario games, because you no longer collect stars, instead the goal of each level is to get to flagpole at the end of the level without the timer running out, while trying to collect 3 hidden medal coins. This 3D Mario game takes the gameplay and level designs from the 2D New Super Mario Bros series and turns them into 3D.

It's such a fun game which uses the 3D effect on the 3DS well in some levels. It was a cool addition to the game to make it a unique selling-point.

The best 2D platformer: New Super Mario Bros 2.

This is a classic 2D Mario game that main focus is on collecting as many coins as possible. There is even a challenge mode (coin rush) specifically where the goal is collect as many coins as possible in three randomly-selected levels. There is also a multiplayer mode where two people each with a 3DS can link up and play through the campain together.

Like all other games in the New Super Mario Bros series, it was a lot of fun, and included bonus levels to play once you finished the main story. There was also 3 giant hidden coins in each level that you could try and find.

The best RPG: Pokémon X/Y.

Now, there are three different main series generation Pokémon games on the 3DS. But I'll choose the best-selling Pokémon games for the 3DS. These were also the first Pokémon games I ever played.

These games introduced lots of new features to the series, which includedthe ability to customise your trainer's appearance and outfit. A new form of battling known as 'mega evoloution'.  And sky-battles, which let you have battles while gliding in the air. There was also the Pokémon-Aime feature that let you play minigames to help increase a Pokémon's battling stats. It was also the first 3D main game in the series. There was the ability to travel around in roller-skates on the game too. And an online mode known as 'Wonder Trade' was a new trading feature which allowed players to trade one of their Pokémon in exchange for a random one from another player, and neither play would know what they received until after the trade took place.

Now, the story was lacking a bit and not as well-thought out as other Pokémon games. It probably needed a sequel, or DLC, to finish the story off.  However, the soundtracks for these games is fantastic. My favourite soundtrack from the game is the Lumiose City theme.

The best fighting game: Super Smash Bros.

Of course Smash Bros would win this award on any Nintendo console. It was an easy decision to make. This was the fourth installment in the series and was released around the same time the Wii U version was released. This is a platform fighter game where you use various attacks and items to knock your opponents off a stage. Each attack causes your opponent's damage meter to increase, and end up getting knocked further back each time the meter increases.

This game added lots of new stages and characters to the series. There was DLC available, so you could extra stages and characters if you wanted to. There was the ability to connect your 3DS to the Wii U version of Smash Bros, so that you could use your 3DS as a controller. Sure, ti wasn't in HD like the Wii U version, but it was the first portable Super Smash Bros game. It was lots of fun to play and had different stages to the Wii U version to make it a unique version. I do think there shoul have been some more single-player modes added to the game, though, - as I felt it lacked those. But apart from that, it's a fantastic game.

The best Action/Adventure/Puzzle: The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past.

This Zelda game was released in 2013, and it's easily a good enough game to be best game of three different 3DS genres, in my opinion. And it's also a mixture of all three genres too.

The gameplay takes place from a top-down perspective. The soundtracks feature a mix of both new and old Zelda music. This Zelda game has some of the best puzzles in the series, in my opinion. And the wall-merging mechanic was well added to the game to create some new ways to solve dungeon puzzles.

Page created on 18/04/23.