Hello again, friends. I’ve been having fun with this little series where I try to find games from other consoles that have been ported to the Switch, and with the port of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon right around the corner I’ve decided to focus on Nintendo 3DS titles this time. Yes, Wii U is sitting right there. Maybe next time. Despite the inherent challenges in bringing 3DS games to a console without two screens, a relatively large number made the hop. We’ve got ten of our favorites here in no particular order, and for fun we’ve also added five more we’d like to see. To the games!
Monster Hunter Stories ($29.99)
You’re going to see a lot of Capcom on this list, and I suspect it’s because the way it built its 3DS games made them easier to port than most. Monster Hunter Stories is the latest, and it’s a charming and enjoyable RPG based on the publisher’s extremely famous series of action games. While the game certainly has better performance on other platforms, this Switch version at least looks and runs a lot better than the very ambitious 3DS original. The price is nice, too!
Apollo Justice – Ace Attorney Trilogy ($49.99)
Okay, one of the games in this set was a Nintendo DS game rather than a 3DS game. But the other two are 3DS games, so I’m rounding up. The second Ace Attorney Trilogy is perhaps less agreeable than the first, and it’s clearly struggling with trying to respond to fan reactions on the fly, but there’s still a lot of good lawyering to be had here. Follow new protagonists along with original hero Phoenix Wright as they try to navigate the dark age of the law. A solid collection that does these games… justice. NO APOLOGIES!
Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold ($49.99)
It’s a little hard for me to separate this game from what it was here in Japan. This was supposed to be the next major multimedia hit from the company behind Inazuma Eleven and Yokai Watch, with games, NFC toys, an animated series, and more planned. And it belly-flopped hard. The toys were rotting bins here for ages. This was all the distant past by the time the game made its way to the West via the Switch, of course. There was no such push accompanying it. No, it was just a game, and you know what? It’s not too shabby at all. A bit mindless, but it’s an enjoyable grind.
Resident Evil Revelations ($19.99)
One of the higher-profile early third-party releases for the Nintendo 3DS, Resident Evil Revelations was also one of the more impressive-looking games on the system. Capcom seemed to be dissatisfied with the sales of the game on 3DS however, and it soon made its way to other platforms and found the success it deserved. That improved version is what we have here on Switch, and it’s still quite the game. Its sequel is also very good, but since that was never on the 3DS it is not allowed on this list. At any rate, despite Revelations being very much a spin-off, it plays and feels like a proper Resident Evil game. It goes on sale often, too.
Miitopia ($49.99)
There were a lot of Nintendo 3DS games that perhaps arrived a bit too late to land as well as they might have. Miitopia could be said to be one of those, arriving in Japan scant months before the Switch launch and a similar number of months after the launch in the West. This is basically Tomodachi Life made into a fantasy RPG, and it has that usual Mii charm fused with a decent casual RPG. As usual, half the fun is putting your friends, family, and anyone else you can make a Mii of into ridiculous situations. I feel like this slipped under the radar on the Switch too, so maybe that’s just its lot in life.
The Alliance Alive HD Remastered ($49.99)
A successor to The Legend of Legacy (also available on Nintendo Switch these days), The Alliance Alive sheds some of the quirkier aspects of that game in favor of making a more straightforward turn-based RPG. It still keeps some fragments of the SaGa inspiration driving the previous game, but it’s a lot gentler on the whole. A pleasant RPG to play through on the whole, particularly for those looking for something that doesn’t take a lot of fiddling or fussing.
Rune Factory 4 Special ($29.99)
Sure, the Story of Season games are a lot of fun, but you know what makes them even more interesting? Bolting them on to an action-RPG. That’s the idea behind the Rune Factory series, and this fourth installment proved to be one of the best of the bunch. You can find a few Rune Factory games on the Switch, and I think they’re all fun. Rune Factory 4 was my entry point to the series, however, and as such it has some special meaning to me. Share my nostalgia!
Shantae & the Pirate’s Curse ($19.99)
Yes, this was indeed a Nintendo 3DS game first. This is my favorite Shantae game, as it turns out. I think it hits the right balance between exploration and guiding the player, and it’s a change of pace from collecting genie powers. The story is also a lot of fun as basically any reason to put Shantae and Risky together more often is a good one. The whole Shantae series is basically available everywhere now, but if you’re only grabbing one this is the one you want.
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate ($39.99)
Another Monster Hunter game for good measure. This turned out to be a good opportunity for Capcom, as the 3DS was a bit too long in the tooth by the time the Ultimate version of Monster Hunter Generations would have been ready for Western release. Instead, this is how we got the improved version of one of the quirkier entries in the series. I would recommend Rise over this game, but there’s a certain flavor to Generations I cannot deny that makes it feel distinct from its peers. And hey, for a 3DS port it looks really good.
Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack ($39.99)
In some ways the successor to Inti Creates’ Mega Man Zero games, the Azure Striker Gunvolt series is fast, challenging, and stylish. The Striker Pack includes both of the games that originally hit the Nintendo 3DS, and it’s a great way to get your feet wet before you dive into the newer entries in the series. The sprites look really good on the Switch, too. Just make sure you get a controller with a decent dpad, because you’ll be giving it a real workout.
And… 5 Nintendo 3DS Games We’d Like to See on Switch
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Look, I don’t know if Kid Icarus: Uprising would find more success on the Switch or not, but I do know the game would almost certainly play a lot better than it did on the 3DS. This game screams for dual-stick controls, and pretty much everything else about the it is so well-done that it’s a shame that the core gameplay had to fight against the very controls of the system that hosted it. I think it would make a great choice for the Nintendo Switch or whatever its successor ends up being.
Bravely Default
I’ve enjoyed all three Bravely Default games, but for my money there is only one truly great game in the series, and that is this first one. Both traditional and fresh at the same time, it was the exact tonic many RPG fans needed in the wake of the, er, creative choices of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. There are one or two gimmicks to the game that might be difficult to translate without all of the 3DS’s special features, but I think the game could more or less make the trip intact. It would be nice to have this landmark title available more widely, and the Switch would be a good host for it.
Super Mario 3D Land
If you’ve been reading all of these articles I’ve been doing, you are probably noticing a theme. I want all the 3D Mario games on Switch, and we’re so close that I can practically smell it. Super Mario 3D Land isn’t the best 3D Mario, but the post-game content in particular has that spicy flavor that I appreciate. I’m not sure if it would be best served as a stand-alone release or with some other Mario games in a new All-Stars package, but either way I’d love to see it.
Metroid – Samus Returns
This was one of those games that hit in the Nintendo 3DS’s endgame period, and as such I don’t think it quite got the attention it deserved. Sure, it has a few issues with its over-reliance on counters and some overly-long boss battles, but if you enjoyed Metroid Dread then you’ll probably like this audition for it. I think it would scale up really nicely, and a port might give the team a chance to make some little changes to address some of the criticism.
Shin Megami Tensei IV
We have Shin Megami Tensei III and Shin Megami Tensei V on the Nintendo Switch, and if you’re willing to deal with the Japanese Nintendo Switch Online apps and can read Japanese, we have the first two games as well. The one we don’t have is Shin Megami Tensei IV, and if Atlus put it out on the Switch I’d be more than happy to add it to my collection. If Atlus is feeling extra generous, Apocalypse could be packed in with it for the ultimate Shin Megami Tensei IV release. Both are very cool games that deserve wider exposure.
And that’s the list, friends. Are there any Nintendo 3DS games you enjoy on the Switch? Any you would like to see? Feel free to sound off down in the comments and let us know what you’re thinking! It’s always interesting to hear the opinions of others on this kind of thing. As always, thanks for reading!