Summary
There are plenty of great games on the Nintendo 3DS in any genre imaginable. Even outside of Nintendo’s classic action or platform adventure series, likeThe Legend of ZeldaorSuper Mario, the console has some great games to discover. There might still be somehidden gems stuck on the 3DS, but for some genres, like shooters, those gems might be a bit too hard to find.
That is to say, it’s hard to come by a great Nintendo 3DS shooter without meaning to. One such game,Kid Icarus: Uprising, was a real hit. It was a long-awaited sequel to an almost forgotten NES game that still had its fans. However, the game itself, while one of the best shooters on the console, isn’tthe best game on 3DS. And even if it were, it would be the only shooter there.
5IronFall: Invasion
A Straightforward Third-Person Shooter
IronFall: Invasionis a third-person shooter with local single-player and online multiplayer modes. The game saw a noticeable amount of coverage before release, if nothing else, because it looked really good for Nintendo 3DS standards. Still,IronFall: Invasionnever became very popular, even if it was one of thebest (and few) multiplayer shooterson the system.
Critics of the time praised the online multiplayer arena mode, while almost everyone was disappointed by the campaign. Sadly, the heart of the game is in the online multiplayer, which has long since been dead. Even if it wasn’t, Nintendo is going toend support for online playin April, 2024, which will kill the servers of any online-only game on 3DS and WiiU.
Kid Icarus: Uprisingisn’t a traditional shooter, and it certainly isn’t at all like the classic Nintendo Entertainment System platformerKid Icarus. The second and latest entry in this forgotten Nintendo property is a third-person shooter with space combat sections and a healthy dose of hack-and-slash dungeon delving.
Kid Icarus: Uprisingmight not be the best shooter on the console, but it might be the one that best uses the 3DS dual-screen system. Most of the game takes place on the top screen, while the touchscreen shows character sprites during dialogue, marrying constant action with the strong writing and fun characters that make the title unique.
3Metroid Prime: Federation Force
Metroid As A Co-Op FPS
Metroid Prime: Federation Forceused to be one of themost disliked games on the console. In 2016, when the game came out,Metroidfans had been waiting for a new installment for quite a while. It didn’t help that the previous game in the series was the infamousMetroid: Other M, and the fact that the other previous installment of Samus' story was a mini-game on Nintendo Land made matters worse. Still, with the right group,Federation Forcecan be a fun little diversion.
While initially criticized for its cartoony tone and meandering story, those elements makeMetroid Prime: Federation Forcea unique entry in the series and a funco-op shooter on the 3DS. And besides, for a console so ill-suited for first-person shooters,Federation Forceisn’t so bad. What’s going to make it a far less inviting proposition is the closure of the Nintendo 3DS servers, which will likely make online play on this title impossible, with the hopeful exception of a hypothetical fan project.
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3Dwas an early Nintendo 3DS title and a weird little shooter set in the world ofResident Evil. Like moststories in theResident Evilseries, especially before its soft reboot with the seventh installment, whether what happens in the game makes sense seems to be an afterthought. It’s not clear why almost every mainline protagonist (and some antagonists) are all here and working together, but it doesn’t seem to matter overly much in the grand scheme of things.
The reality is thatResident Evil: The Mercenaries 3Dis a full game, although a very short one, based on the Mercenaries mode ofResident Evil 4. Multiplayer modes, as well as the classic single-player Mercenaries mode, make this game immensely replayable for any fan of this era of theResident Evilseries. That said, players should be aware that this entire game is an arcade arena and doesn’t have a properResident Evil-style campaign, so it may not appeal to every fan of the franchise.
Resident Evil: Revelationsis a curious game. It waseventually released on PCand many living room consoles, but it was originally conceived for Nintendo’s portable device. It was one of the first games to use the Circle Pad Pro, an accessory that brings dual joysticks to the 3DS, allowing for modern third-person shooter controls. It was surprisingly technically competent for a late 3DS title. The difference between the original and the HD versions is significant, but they aren’t two wholly different games.
Resident Evil: Revelations, unlike most of theResident Evilgames of this era, isn’t a dedicated shooter, but it does combine the survival horror and third-person shooter genres to great effect. The fourth and fifth installments that preceded heavily downplayed the survival elements, as did 2012’sResident Evil 6andOperation Raccoon City.Resident Evil: Revelationsmight not be a primarily action-focused shooter, but for many fans of the series, that was a relief.Resident Evilonly occasionally created excellent shooters, but its survival games are still some of the most beloved entries in the genre.
