Haven't done a blog here in a long time. Anywho...
So, I just got my Monster Hunter 4 edition New 3DS in the mail yesterday. After spending quite some time transferring my data from my 3DS XL to the New 3DS, I played it for about an hour or so last night before going to bed. I have to say, the "Super Stable 3D" is much better than the the old 3D, but it's not without its own quirks. If you're holding the system a bit too close to your face, you can cause the 3D to go out of whack by just looking at the upper left corner of the screen. The New 3DS not only tracks your head, but it tracks your pupils as well, so at a close range, if your pupils wander too much, it could interrupt the 3D. Also, when you put the system down or look away and return to the screen, it can spasm for a second or two before it stabilizes.
Next, the auto-brightness is horrible. When you turn the New 3DS on for the first time, that feature is on by default. It kept dimming, and brightening and dimming and dimming some more and brightening again. It honestly couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to do. I wasn't even moving the New 3DS or getting in the way of the light source at all. As soon as I could, I went into the options and turned it off.
Before I turned the system on, I did take a screwdriver and undo the back cover just to see how much of a hassle it was, and it's really not that bad, BUT, it never should have even been that way to begin with. It's bad design no matter how you look it. When you loosen the screws (they stay attached to the cover), the cover doesn't simply slide off. You have to get your fingernails in the corners and pop it off and then wiggle it free until all the catches let go. It can be just a little tricky putting it back on as well, but since the cover only has two screws which fasten it to the top of the backside, the bottom of the backside isn't 100 percent secure. You can pull the backcover away slightly by getting your fingernail under it; it's an invitation for dust and lint.
The addition of the ZL and ZR shoulder buttons don't feel natural to me. I can just see it now. I'm supposed to hit ZL or ZR and I hit L or R by mistake, because the way I hold my machine is by resting my index fingers along those areas. I also play my 3DS lying down a lot, and the majority of the system's weight rests on the first knuckles of my third fingers. Now, since they moved the cartridge slot to the bottom left of the new 3DS, it's not a smooth feeling on my finger anymore, making it a bit less comfortable. Also, the stylus is a bit shorter, but enough that I can tell it's not the same stylus I'm used to.
The BIGGEST issue I have, the issue that spurred me to sit up and write this blog, is the position of the power button. This is what pissed me off so much that I almost threw my new 200 dollar piece of tech. The power button is placed on the BOTTOM of the New 3DS, and rests just a couple millimeters from my right third finger. I was playing Animal Crossing for about three hours this morning, after not playing it for months, so you know I was doing a LOT of work on my town. All of a sudden, I get this message saying that my software's closed, and a list of what the thing can do in sleep mode, and that's when it occurred to me. I ACCIDENTALLY BUMPED THE FUCKING POWER BUTTON! Ok, two things: what the HELL is the power button doing on the BOTTOM of the 3DS, and why the **** can't you just put the machine into sleep without having to close the god damned software?!
Oh sure, the New 3DS has better 3D and a faster processor and Amiibo support and blah blah blah, but a few design quirks and a MAJOR design flaw is making me think I would have been happier with my old 3DS XL. This honestly feels like an intern engineer's final exam project who slept through the section of the class on common sense design principles. To top off the three hours of Animal Crossing work LOST, I have to hear Resetti's ass bitch at me for not saving the game! Fucking hell, Nintendo!
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