With today’s announcement of the Galaxy Styled New 3DS XL, I wanted to take a look back through what must be more than 75-100 different designs throughout the life of 3DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS and New 3DS XL and pick out the 5 best designs over the last 5 years. It was tricky, but I think that any gamer would be more than happy to have any of these designs in their console collection. [divider] [/divider]
This incredibly beautiful console launched in NA, Europe, Japan and Australia in December 2011 to celebrate the release of Ocarina Of Time 3D. It was Cosmo Black with a golden Royal Crest. The bundle sold out incredibly fast and fetches a pretty penny. This was the first of many Zelda themed 3DS designs to hit shelves, each just as popular as the one that came before it. This particular design will always hold a place in the hearts of Zelda fans. [divider] [/divider]
Technically three different designs, but all equally stunning in their own respect. There was only 1000 of each created and given away in a competition across both Europe and Australia at the start of 2012. Club Nintendo members had to register two games from a popular list in order to enter the competition that was drawn at random. In my opinion, these are some of the nicest designs, and definitely among the rarest. It’s one of the only times that Toad has been given the spotlight, and it’s super sad to see this not made available in a wider fashion.[divider] [/divider]
Definitely, the cutest 3DS ever released. Originally made available August 2012 in Japan, the Pikachu yellow and white 3DS XL was available to pre-order exclusively at the Pokemon Center in Japan. It later made its way to Europe and North America in very small quantities but never made its way to Australia. Pikachu has graced console designs going all the way back the Gameboy Colour.[divider] [/divider]
Released only in Japan, The Year of Luigi 3DS was released during 2013, which just happened to be the Year of Nintendo’s unsung Hero, Luigi. The console also included a copy of Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, which was also released in the same year to celebrate The Year of Luigi. It’s about time that Luigi had his time to shine, but it’s super sad that Australia didn’t get the chance to carry him around in their backpack. [divider] [/divider]
Arguably, the console that I’d like to get my hands on the most. Themed like a Nintendo Entertainment System, this console released exclusively in Gamestop stores in North America. It has yet to see a release outside of this region, which is strange considering the broad appeal of the NES. It was followed up this year by the SNES NEW 3DS XL, which unfortunately didn’t make its way to Australia either.