3DS worth it for Pokemon?

IRL_Sinister

Hi,

Looking to probably get a 3DS for Christmas to primarily play about an hour a day to and from work on the train, and the occasional bit before bed/weekend mornings. The biggest attraction of the console, for me, is the currently exclusive new Pokemon generation which seems very cool and I really like the 3D concept.

Initially, that would be the game I'm focusing on. I'm also a huge fan or strategy and RPG games (final fantasy, Mario, etc).

Would the 3DS be worth it? The price tag is about 200 beans in smyths, with the game being a further 45. Pretty significant amount of money.

My questions:

1) is the new generation of Pokemon worth the money?
2) will be console keep my attention for long enough to warrant the money?
3) are emulators available on the PC because I know GBA's etc are.
4) what are some of the other large titles available on the console?

Thanks.

Banjo

1) IF (you like pokemon) THEN (yes) ELSE (no)
2) IF (you like great games and are not put off by kid-friendly presentation) THEN (yes) ELSE (no)
3) IF (you want to get banned) THEN (ask) ELSE (stop)
4) What do you like to play?
For me the big titles that eat up my game playing time are :

• Pokemon - the new graphics are luscious, if you don't like the hilariously bad new pokemon it's fine, the game gives you plenty of old faves from the get-go to build your team. Training is both harder (no Audinos ) and easier (SuperTraining makes precision EV training a snap), trading is quicker and more accessable (no more running to the GTS or Pokécenter. as long as you're not in a fight or a conversation, you can launch it! Same goes for battling. You can see your friends online as soon as they connect while you're playing, as well as anyone you've battled or traded with before and any random stranger who happens to be online at the same time as you. Berries have been centralised. Basically it's a lot of good improvements in a very pretty package.
• Animal Crossing - the Seinfeld of gaming. It's a game about nothing, and it's so cute and compelling... actually it's a game about how the banking system creates a voluntary system of indentured servitude to the currency markets and one mans struggle to break out of the cycle of debt and repayment, all against a backdrop of pastoral beauty with an undercurrent of sexual tension as he wrestles with his unnatural attraction to an anthropomorphic wolf/bear/dog girl.
• Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - kind of an MMO without having to be online all the time - you can grind as much as you want, socialise as much as you want. It's not a balls to the wall action game (although when it explodes into life as it frequently does it's epic - Boss fight after Boss fight after Boss fight), the fighting feels very sluggish if you've never played MH before, but that's intentional. It's a game about skill, not buffs, not artificial progress granted to anyone who plays it long enough, not pre-order-DLC advantages. Those who play well are rewarded, those who don't are rewarded with death and ignomy.
• Luigi's Mansion 2 - an adorable cross between Ghost Busters and How Clean Is Your House? So much love has been poured into the presentation of this game that it spills out of the screen, making it impossible to resist. A child of 4 can play it - I know, I've watched them - but if you want to master the game and find all the secrets you'd want to be at least 7 or 8
• Fire Emblem : Awakening - a surprisingly retro-looking turn-based strategy game that incorporates a bizarre but compelling dating mechanic and rich class tree system with perma-death to make every single battle as tense as a 13 year old boy watching a Rhianna video with his parents. The plot is pretty interesting too.
• MarioKart 7 - If you have to ask, I don't think I can explain adequately.
• Super Mario 3D World - Ditto!
• Ghost Recon - In a world where Fire Emblem doesn't exist, this is a great if highly linear turn based strategy game. In retrospect the lack of unit customisation, permadeath, relationship building or mind-bending gene-pool possibilities, it's not as good as it was at the time, but still a very solid title worthy of your consideration, especially given it costs peanuts
  

IRL_Sinister

Banjo wrote: »

1) IF (you like pokemon) THEN (yes) ELSE (no)
2) IF (you like great games and are not put off by kid-friendly presentation) THEN (yes) ELSE (no)
3) IF (you want to get banned) THEN (ask) ELSE (stop)
4) What do you like to play?
For me the big titles that eat up my game playing time are :

• Pokemon - the new graphics are luscious, if you don't like the hilariously bad new pokemon it's fine, the game gives you plenty of old faves from the get-go to build your team. Training is both harder (no Audinos ) and easier (SuperTraining makes precision EV training a snap), trading is quicker and more accessable (no more running to the GTS or Pokécenter. as long as you're not in a fight or a conversation, you can launch it! Same goes for battling. You can see your friends online as soon as they connect while you're playing, as well as anyone you've battled or traded with before and any random stranger who happens to be online at the same time as you. Berries have been centralised. Basically it's a lot of good improvements in a very pretty package.
• Animal Crossing - the Seinfeld of gaming. It's a game about nothing, and it's so cute and compelling... actually it's a game about how the banking system creates a voluntary system of indentured servitude to the currency markets and one mans struggle to break out of the cycle of debt and repayment, all against a backdrop of pastoral beauty with an undercurrent of sexual tension as he wrestles with his unnatural attraction to an anthropomorphic wolf/bear/dog girl.
• Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - kind of an MMO without having to be online all the time - you can grind as much as you want, socialise as much as you want. It's not a balls to the wall action game (although when it explodes into life as it frequently does it's epic - Boss fight after Boss fight after Boss fight), the fighting feels very sluggish if you've never played MH before, but that's intentional. It's a game about skill, not buffs, not artificial progress granted to anyone who plays it long enough, not pre-order-DLC advantages. Those who play well are rewarded, those who don't are rewarded with death and ignomy.
• Luigi's Mansion 2 - an adorable cross between Ghost Busters and How Clean Is Your House? So much love has been poured into the presentation of this game that it spills out of the screen, making it impossible to resist. A child of 4 can play it - I know, I've watched them - but if you want to master the game and find all the secrets you'd want to be at least 7 or 8
• Fire Emblem : Awakening - a surprisingly retro-looking turn-based strategy game that incorporates a bizarre but compelling dating mechanic and rich class tree system with perma-death to make every single battle as tense as a 13 year old boy watching a Rhianna video with his parents. The plot is pretty interesting too.
• MarioKart 7 - If you have to ask, I don't think I can explain adequately.
• Super Mario 3D World - Ditto!
• Ghost Recon - In a world where Fire Emblem doesn't exist, this is a great if highly linear turn based strategy game. In retrospect the lack of unit customisation, permadeath, relationship building or mind-bending gene-pool possibilities, it's not as good as it was at the time, but still a very solid title worthy of your consideration, especially given it costs peanuts
  

How does the Internet and "friends" work? Pretty standard wifi connection?

Banjo

Well, the internet is a big cloud in the sky full of pictures of boobs, cats and an angry chiaroscuro man saying "Fuuuuuuuuu" that gets into your house on the phone cables.
Friends are people who need something from you and will buy you coffee or give you a hand shandy to make sure they get it. Is that what you're asking?

WiFi supports WEP, WPA and WPA 2. Far less hit and miss than the DS from my experience.

Registering Friends on the 3DS is done either by a local link or by entering the Friend Code while you are online. Once both parties have registered the number they go from Provisional status to Friend status and will show up in any games that have an online function. No more per-game friend codes.

megaten

If you like rpg's a 3ds is absolutely worth the money.

IRL_Sinister

Alright so I've been reading as many reviews as I can and everyone seems to be in high spirits with the game.

A huge feature for me is the online system which is getting glowing praise from all the critics. I'd love to bring online multi-player into Pokemon but is it really successful in this series and is it easy to use? Let's say after you beat the E4 (or equivalent in X & Y) does multiplayer really start to come into force as you begin to try and gather more Pokemon? Is battling, be it for fun or competitively, active?

I have no experience and if I so go ahead and commit to the game of like to know about the online environment as it is definitely a prospect that excites me in the franchise!




Edit: turns out my brother owns one and he doesn't use it because he's getting the new Xbox. Christmas came early and 200 beans saved. Will ask him for any help now. Cheers.