Yes! Don't forget you also get GameBoy Color and GameBoy games. IMO this massive library (N3DS, 3DS, DSi, DS, GBA, GBC, GB, SNES, NES) has at least 10 "must play before death" games in them (for people that care a lot about videogames, anyway).
Of course all of this can also be achieved on a PC with a simple 10$ amazon controller and free emulators, if you're comfortable pirating games.
Edit: You're right, that was rude of me lmao. This is an UNORDERED LIST:
1. Super Mario Bros 3
2. The Legend of Zelda (1986)
3. Super Metroid (1994)
4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
5. Super Castlevania
6. Pokemon: Silver/Gold
7. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
8. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (tecccchnically an n64 game though) (Majora's Mask would make this list if the DS version wasn't a butchered shadow of the original)
9. Metroid: Fusion
10. Like... ANY of the billion Final Fantasies available between NES and N3DS
So many questions. Like, do you really need pokemon to live?
And why specifically Super Castlevania, which is regarded as kind of a garbage castlevania (the player sprite is bigger so you get less of a heads up on whats ahead, and it's not part of the "metrovania" pantheon).
Why Fusion and Super Metroid?
Does the original LoZ hold up as well as say Link's Awakening?
Why are there only 3 companies represented on this list? Did Capcom run over your pet dog?
> Does the original LoZ hold up as well as say Link's Awakening?
If you're only going to play one LoZ, play A Link to the Past. (I think "play the 3rd game" is pretty good advice for a lot of Nintendo series.) ALttP is when they figured out the formula; I played it after I played most of the others, and after playing it every other LoZ (at least the 2D ones) all kinda felt like a copy of ALttP, like they're each just remaking a different aspect of it (and adding in their own little gimmick).
The original LoZ holds up, but is a very different game than the later games. The world is empty for you, there are no towns, just wilderness; it's being a kid exploring the woods behind your house, pretending you're alone in the world. The loss of sword beams when you take damage made me feel that taking damage is getting hurt, rather than just some meter in the corner of the screen that I need to keep up; more so than any other game.
I think there's a number of people upset it doesn't have any sequence breaks, is super linear, and much of the exploration is of the "guess and check" variety. https://youtu.be/FsZ9Bb4IW5s?t=1315
It could be nostalgia or me remembering incorrectly, but Super Metroid felt like a shift to more story telling and environmental setting. When I first played it as a kid, in a dark room it was a bit scary. I felt as the character more than any other game I had played prior.
I do respect Jeremy Parish. But as a huge Castlevania fan myself I find that list pretty surprising. Obviously there is a lot of subjectivity in something like this. But I would argue Super Castlevania is better than many of the games he put above it.
And to be totally fair, it's true SC is clunky and dated in several regards (it was a very early SNES title and it shows...) So maybe Jeremy dings it on those aspects more than others do. But I would argue it makes up for a lot of that in atmosphere, style and uniqueness.
Here's my rough list of games that you can play on a 3DS that are not necessarily 3DS games that I think are "must play" type games. Does not include all games that should be on the list.
1. LoZ: Ocarina of Time
2. Super Mario 64 (ds version)
3. Donkey Kong Country Returns
4. LoZ: A Link To The Past
5. Shin Megami Tensei: IV (maybe not "must", but you should give it a shot)
6. Earthbound
7. Super Mario World
Pretty please, play the Wii version of this! You can use Dolphin if you want.
The 3DS port halved the framerate from 60 fps to 30 fps, and it makes a big difference! At 30 fps, the game is much too difficult—unless you play on the "adjusted" difficulty they added, and I'm pretty sure I know why they adjusted it.
Also, while I'm here I'm going to add on Kid Icarus: Uprising. I know the controls were divisive, but if you can adapt, it's a really unique and well-done action adventure. From the creator of Smash Brothers!
There were also 3 great Castlevania's, 3 great Sonic Advanced, 2 or 3 Fire Emblems, I enjoyed the 3 Dragon Ball Z RPGs, I enjoyed the newer Pokemon Emerald and throwback FireRed (QoL improvements). Final Fantasy 6 is available.
Really, a flash cart was very much a worthwhile investment (and a larger capacity battery) for my gameboy micro. Would recommend EZ-Flash IV.
I’ve played a GBA and a DS game on emulator and this is far from the real experience, especially for the DS one. The new 3DS, DS lite and GBA SP are such nice hardware it’s part of the experience.
I wasn't big into RPGs growing up, and I didn't even have a Super Nintendo, but I bought a Mini SNES last year and gave it a shot...I was floored at how enjoyable the game is. I got pretty deep into it but life and work and everything got in the way, and now it's been so long that I want to go back to it but would be completely lost...but I'm looking forward to starting over again when I've got some free time to dig into it again.
Of course all of this can also be achieved on a PC with a simple 10$ amazon controller and free emulators, if you're comfortable pirating games.