Category: Retro

Finally, a 2DS!

August 13, 2026

Several years into the lifetime of the Nintendo 3DS, they released a new version called the Nintendo 2DS. Apparently marketed at children (for whom the size of the 3DS was a liability) it was a lower cost and more robust version of the console that would play all games but lack the stereoscopic 3D feature. It also dropped the clamshell form-factor and became flat:

It launched (in the USA, Europe and Australia) in 2013 at $130, then the price was cut in 2015 to $100, then again the next year to only $80. I had multiple different 3DS versions during these years, and when the 2DS reached its lowest price the (exceptionally good) New 2DS XL was imminent. So I never purchased a 2DS, something I’d regretted for a decade.

About five years ago I wanted to remedy this situation, so kept my eyes peeled in retro game stores and during trips to Japan. I didn’t just want one, I wanted one in good condition. Even more so, I wanted one boxed, which proved to be a mighty challenge. And then during my trip this past summer, I purchased this:

The system wasn’t actually launched in Japan until 2016 – three years after the USA. The above is a boxed example of the final colour released in Japan – translucent black – which came out in 2018 at a price of ¥9980. I bought it at a Suruga-ya in Osaka for ¥39000 ($245), or 391% of the launch price!

I was apprehensive about this purchase not because of the price – it was the only boxed version I’d seen in five years – but because they wouldn’t let me inspect before buying. I had to do my very best to charm the manager into letting me check the quality of the screen before buying, and he only relented because I was ‘polite’ (he said so!) and the store wasn’t too busy!

I had nothing to worry about. Not only is the system pristine, but it may have also been brand new since the bag containing the system was still sealed when he opened it.

I had never held a 2DS, so I was surprised how comfortable and lightweight it is. I never used the 3D feature of the 3DS, so I don’t miss it at all, and looking back I think the only reason I never bought one of these was because I feared the screen would more easily be damaged. That was me being a fool!

The 3DS is infamously region-locked, and buying this now gives me the opportunity to purchase and play Japanese 3DS games. I didn’t find anything I wanted in the few remaining days after I purchased the system, but I’ll surely pick up a few on my next visit. The above is me using the system to play a Japanese DS game, which of course work on this system.

It has all the normal features of other 3DS systems, including two cameras, a microphone, internet support, backup memory etc. In short, it’s a fully functional 3DS albeit with a new form factor and no stereo screens.

I’m extremely happy I finally completed my DS collection (this is my sixth DS), and that I now have a way to play Japanese 3DS games. Another grail checked off the list 🙂

Eight Antiques

May 25, 2026

Today we drove from Katoomba to Dubbo via Orange, and the total trip took about 6 hours (including charging stop) and I took nary a photo! So instead, today I’ll showcase a few interesting items I saw at antique shops these past two days…

Typewriters are a surprisingly common items at antique shops here, but this one in particular caught my eye due to the Kmart badge on it. The tag identifies it as a ‘Nakajima’ brand device from the 1970s and says it’s been restored and tested. In other words, you could write a book with it!

I know even without opening the box that this would have the thinnest of gameplay and contain fragile paper game pieces and a near-generic board. But licensed games like this one always catch my eye, and remind me of how undemanding we were as fans back in the ancient age.

Even though this was a common style back in the early 1980s, this one reminded me a lot of the devices that Bernard and I had as kids. This one appeared to be in extraordinary condition, but it didn’t say whether it actually worked or not.

I’ve never seen a Commodore 64 game for sale at an antique (or retro game) store in the USA, so it’s always a treat to see them here. But $75 for this? It was part of a larger collection of (mostly PC) Microprose games, all of which seemed overpriced.

I was tempted by these Japanese phone cards, but the store was a bit fancy and they didn’t have a price so I moved on. Years ago when I went to the stamp show while I was here there were also Japanese phone card vendors so it seems collecting these this was a (niche I’m sure) hobby in Australia at some point.

The store had three different sets of these, all labeled at $150 and the red one described as ‘incomplete’. The price was outrageous for the condition, but I would have liked to see inside regardless. Perhaps I should have asked?

I don’t remember ever seeing anything like this when I was young. Like most of the world, Australia no longer broadcasts analogue TV signals so this would be useless for TV viewing, but it very likely has an RF connector on the back so could work as a portable monitor for a retro game system. As a child, something like this would have been the dream!

This is the English version of a Japanese fantasy board game from 1986. The game asks players to survive a haunted house and apparently plays like a simplified version of Talisman. It has a beautiful big board, hundreds of tokens and cards and a large plastic spinner with an evil face on it.

The copy at the antique store wasn’t in perfect condition, and the spinner was extremely dirty, but had I seen this in America I would have been tempted even without knowing it was complete. Since the store hadn’t been able to verify that yet, it wasn’t yet priced or on sale.

My Collection: 3DS

May 5, 2026

In February 2011, Nintendo released the followup to their DS console. Called the 3DS, it featured the gimmick of 3D play without glasses. This actually worked, and once again Nintendo had released an unexpected and unusual handheld console.

At the time of release, the DS was still going strong and I had a big backlog of games to play. While the 3DS was better in almost every way, in one aspect it was a step back: Nintendo chose to ‘region lock’ the handheld, which meant you could only play games purchased in the country you bought the system. For someone like me, who had for years bought GBA and DS games while visiting Japan, this was irritating, and it was a while before I purchased one.

My first unit was the Zelda one shown in the top right of the above photo. The other photos show the other four units I would eventually buy: the ‘new’ 3DS, the 3DS XL and (in the center) the ‘2DS XL’. The different versions over the years added new controls, increased the screen size, added processor power, improved the 3D effect and – ultimately – removed the 3D effect. This last iteration – the ‘New 2DS XL’ – is in my opinion the best handheld ever made.

As you can see the system includes analogue controls, a touchscreen and more buttons than any previous handheld. It has a dedicated OS based around online connectivity, and a 3DS online store made this the first handheld you could theoretically build a digital-only library on. The 3D effect varied between games, but even when well done it was tiring to use and I (and I suspect most players) usually turned it off.

Cartridges were essentially the same as for the DS, although the technology was a bit different inside. One change was the system no longer played GBA cartridges, but it was fully compatible with DS games although the increased screen resolution meant they had to be letterboxed.

Aside from Switch, the 3DS is the only console on which I haven’t sold my collection, which runs to 104 games today. This is somewhat small compared to what I had for everything else, and the region lock is a cause of this. But the quality of 3DS games was extremely high, especially for the sorts of games I enjoy, and I still have very fond memories of the system.

The previous photo was all my normal boxed games, and the above shows a selection of my ‘collectors’ versions. These became increasingly common on the system, and I have dozens of them.

Most of these were packaged with a soundtrack or tiny artbook or some other tchotchke, and very rarely cost more than the $30 or so a 3DS game cost in those days. Most of these have appreciated now, but I don’t plan on ever selling mine.

The Etrian Odyssey series continued onto the 3DS with remakes and new takes and I purchased, played – and loved – them all. I have since bought the remakes of the first trilogy for Switch (all of which were good), but one day I plan on replaying some of these later games as well.

Monster Rancher had several great installments on the 3DS, and Generations in particular was wonderful and I played it for over 700 hours! I’d probably rank it as the second best ever MH game.

The 3DS had a version of Puzzle & Dragons, although localization decisions made it much difficult than it should have been (I still haven’t ever beaten the hard mode). Fantasy Life is an incredibly good action RPG that has the distinction of being the first Nintendo handheld game with paid DLC (which I purchased). And Xenoblade Chronicles 3D – which is of course wonderful – is the only game released that required a ‘New 3DS’ to play.

Here’s two sealed games I found in my collection. Both of them I owned and played on other systems, so I doubt these will ever be opened. I checked, and neither of them are especially valuable today.

This one is pricey, and at ~$300 is easily the most valuable 3DS game in my collection. This was a Nintendo series that didn’t succeed in the USA, and not only did they print extremely small quantities of this sequel, but they were very poorly distributed. I found it in a budget bin a year or two after release, and snapped it up for about $10.

One unfortunate aspect of the console was that some cartridges no longer work due to manufacturing errors. I own two of these and when I put them in the console today they are just dead. Back in the day Nintendo offered replacements but I had beaten the games and put them away so mine hadn’t failed yet. These days they cartridges are basically junk, and some think this fate may eventually come to many other 3DS games as well. I hope not.

Aside from a Japanese game I bought last year (and can never play), my last 3DS game purchased was a Pokemon game in mid 2019. By then sales had dwindled, and within a year many stores had stopped carrying the console. The rumoured replacement eventually became the Switch, and the days of a small dedicated handheld – which began with the Game Boy 30 years prior – ended with the 3DS. It remains one of my favourite consoles amongst all those I’ve owned.

Robot Claw