Get these Nintendo 3DS games before you can't: 3D Classics

3D on new games could be hit or miss. 3D on old games, though? Hell yeah.

Nintendo announced that, as of the end of March 2023, they will be shutting down the digital storefronts of their last generation handheld and home console, the 3DS and Wii U. And without plans to make the games on those shops available elsewhere. This means a massive chunk of video game history will be closed off to the rest of us; before that can happen, let’s figure out what you should seek out and add to your system memory on those platforms, via a series of posts on the subject.

Nintendo is ending support for the 3DS’ eShop in March of 2022, which means you have until then to scoop up what’s worth scooping up. And there is no shortage of quality on the shop, either, whether you’re talking about digital exclusives, revamped classics, Virtual Console entries worthy of your attention, and even the backwards-compatible DSiWare games. This time around, let’s look at those revamped classics.

There were a couple of different 3D Classics lines. The one actually called that, which had a few games from Nintendo’s NES era as well as some other titles from non-Nintendo companies, were produced in this 3D form by Arika, a developer you might known for their work on Tetris 99, Super Mario Bros. 35, Pac-Man 99, some Dr. Mario games, and the Endless Ocean series of Wii games. And, of course, their work in the fighting game scene, which would often involve Street Fighter. No surprise there, considering that one of the former Capcom employees who founded Arika in the 90s had a hand in Street Fighter II before leaving the company.

What you should gather from that lineup is that Arika is one of those developers that knows how to work on someone else’s IP, so it’s no surprise they handled the task of converting a bunch of NES and Famicom games into 3D well. Let’s kick things off here by focusing on the best of that bunch, before moving on to the other 3D classics line, which I promise is going to be far more exciting for a number of reasons.

3D Classics: Excitebike

Listen, if you don’t enjoy Excitebike’s whole deal, then the 3D version of it isn’t going to change that for you. I am a great lover of Excitebike, however, and the version on the 3DS is the definitive one for me. Arika developed a few Nintendo titles in this style, and they used the opportunity to not just recreate sprites and backgrounds that would now pop with the 3D slider turned up, giving these games a sense of visual depth they had not previously had, but they also worked on giving you something else to look at. 3D Classics: Excitebike is still just Excitebike, but now, the 3D effect allows for the stadium the races take place in to look pretty great. No longer do you have a flat set of bleachers that looks like it’s right up against the track, but now these races look like they take place inside of a massive arena. It’s a nifty effect that doesn’t change the gameplay whatsoever, but it’s fun to look at.

So, if you already know you like Excitebike, and just want to play the prettiest version of it, that’s what 3D Classics: Excitebike is. The colors and sprites, in general, are brighter and pop far more than they ever did on the original 1984 release, so it’s not just a neat new background effect, and you do have the option to remap controls however you’d like, which is helpful for, if nothing else, also serving as a replacement for a manual for a game that requires you master some skills it won’t teach you. I’ll at least concede that this isn’t going to turn anyone who has failed to be wowed by Excitebike in the past into a fan, but if you want to give it a chance, anyway, it’ll only cost you $6. Which is standard for this series, by the way.

3D Classics: Kid Icarus

Similarly, if you don’t have the patience for Kid Icarus’ admittedly brutal gameplay, then “Kid Icarus, but prettier” isn’t going to sell you on it, either. It’s still a vertically-oriented platformer where, should you miss a jump and plummet below, you will simply die. It is still pretty unforgiving in regards to your attack range and the damage foes can do to you.

Really, though, this game is so much nicer to look at. The original Kid Icarus was pretty bare bones in terms of backgrounds: lots of pitch black ones, with all of the color and art residing in the platforms and foes so R&D1 could use what power the NES had as effectively as possible. It’s not bad, by any means, it’s very of the time, but it also just sort of is: the enemy designs take center stage, graphically, because that’s what there was to look at. In the 3D Classics version of Kid Icarus, however, well, see for yourself in this comparison video:

Yes, yes, any excuse to post a song composed by Chip Tanaka, you got me. That song kicks ass, though, congratulations on having it in your head for the next week. And, as I was saying, the game looks stunningly different: it still manages to retain everything Kid Icarus was, visually, while adding in backgrounds that just weren’t possible on this particular 8-bit system. And the video honestly doesn’t do it justice, because the 3D effect makes everything in the foreground and the background look that much fuller, richer, brighter: say what you will about having to buy a giant 3D television to play 3D games on a console, but the 3DS really did just let you mess around with making things look better and fuller simply by turning up the 3D slider.

The 3D Classics: Kid Icarus doesn’t make the game less frustrating or difficult, but if you’re into that particular era of platformer and vibe, at least death in this version is accompanied by much prettier landscapes.

3D Classics: TwinBee

TwinBee never actually released on the NES, as it remained a Famicom exclusive. Well, this version of the game, anyway: TwinBee was an arcade game released in 1985, showed up on the Famicom and MSX, and has been ported to roughly 7,000 other platforms since. The 3DS edition is the first time you’ve been able to buy TwinBee by itself in North America, and it’s a killer version of the game, too. Here’s an example of a developer understanding exactly how 3D could breathe new life into a classic.

TwinBee is a cute-em-up, a very early version of the shoot-em-up subgenre, featuring bright colors and cute enemies. So all of that looks nice in 3D and all, but what really makes the 3D work for TwinBee is the way the gameplay works. TwinBee is one of the shmups from the 80s that utilized both air and ground attacks, which means there were enemies below your ship in addition to in the air with it. The 3D effect ensures those enemies — and even more importantly, the shots they take at you — are more noticeable than they’ve ever been, and how you need to approach them has never been clearer, either. You use a different weapon, a bomb, to attack ground foes, so being able to instantly recognize where an attack is coming from and what needs to be done to stop it helps you out, especially as the screen gets busier the deeper into the game you get. This version of TwinBee looks great, yes, but it also plays better thanks to the 3D effect.

3D Classics: Xevious

Xevious is another shoot-em-up that benefits from the 3D effect, thanks to enemies both in the air and on the ground, and it has been ported to so many platforms over the decades that it makes TwinBee’s availability look downright scarce. However, the 3D Classics version of Xevious is the superior NES version of the game to play, because it’s not really the NES version at all. Arika utilized the extra power of the 3DS to develop what looks a whole lot more like the original, more impressive arcade version of Xevious: the NES/Famicom edition of Xevious is fine and all, but it’s basically barren as far as backgrounds and art goes, which is a shame since Xevious’ focus on planets and landscapes over space helped give it as much separation from the competition at the time of its 1982 release as its gameplay had. Not so here: it not only has the enhancements of the 3D effects, but looks better and more detailed than the game ever was on the Famicom or NES, too.

That being said, Xevious isn’t quite as exhilarating today as it was in the early 80s, but if you’re a sicko who wants to experience a bit of history, and do so with a more impressive version of the game than the NES one, the 3D Classics iteration is for you.

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That’s all for the 3D Classics line. The 3D Classics: Kirby Adventure release is great, sure, but that has more to do with it being Kirby’s Adventure than it benefiting from being part of the series: it’s a little prettier, yes, for all the reasons the above are, but it doesn’t see the same kind of boost that the four selections above do. Certainly worth your $6, but not more than this mention here.

Now, Sega put out their own line of 3D classics, too: Sega 3D Classics. And there are far more of those than there are of everything else combined. Good thing, too, because Sega put emulation and port kings M2 up to the challenge of justifying the existence of these releases, and they delivered, again and again.

If you want the full breakdown of every version of these games and the exact ways they are different from the other versions of these classic arcade, Master System, and Genesis titles that are out there in both original and reworked forms, then Retronauts can give you that, to the point they also broke down the Japanese releases of these same 3D titles and how they sometimes differ from the North American versions. I’m just going to rundown my favorites of the bunch, though.

Sega 3D Classics Collection

We only received one of the compilations of Sega 3D Classics in North America, but it’s loaded. For $20 on the eShop (though, until the end of April 17, 2022, it’s on sale for just $7.99, less than a buck per included game) you get revamped 3D versions of the following:

Altered Beast (Genesis)
Fantasy Zone (Master System)
Fantasy Zone II W (2008 arcade remake)
Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (Master System)
Galaxy Force II (arcade)
Maze Hunter 3D (Master System)
Power Drift (arcade)
Puyo Puyo 2 (arcade)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
Thunder Blade (arcade)

That might seem like a lot of Fantasy Zone for one compilation, but here’s the thing: Fantasy Zone II W is an original title by M2, meant to be a long overdue apology from Sega for how they handled the development of the original Fantasy Zone II. Instead of creating that game for their more powerful arcade hardware, the System 16, it was made from the ground up for the 8-bit Sega Master System. In 2008, for a Playstation 2 compilation, M2 developed a new Fantasy Zone II — not a port on the more powerful, authentic arcade hardware, but a new version of the game on said hardware — that might just be the best Fantasy Zone release out there. Or was, until 3D Fantasy Zone II W arrived, and enhanced the experience even further. That’s one I’ll give a full, individual write-up to someday, and is worth the price of admission for the whole collection on its own.

Even games you’ve played a million times like Sonic the Hedgehog are excellent in this Sega 3D Classic form. There are options, for one — do you play with or without the charging spin that wasn’t introduced until Sonic 2? That’s up to you — and the art dazzles with the pop and depth that the 3D slider gives it. Games like the on-rails Galaxy Force II work better on the 3DS than they’ve worked anywhere besides their original arcade release, as the 3D effect actually makes it so you can better see what you need to shoot and where. And Power Drift is such an early precursor for the kart racing scene that you can see the individual graphical slabs of road when the game isn’t in motion: it’s fast, hectic, and fun, even without all of the bells and whistles Super Mario Kart would eventually add to the genre.

If you buy a single Sega 3D Classic title before the shop closes, make it this one. Especially since you can get the digital version for less than the physical one.

3D Space Harrier

Like with Galaxy Force II, Space Harrier benefits greatly from the 3D effects of the 3DS. Because of how you aim and fire in this game — the titular Harrier is flying around, blocking your view, and as everything is pseudo three-dimensions instead of actually three-dimensional, it can make seeing what’s on the horizon difficult, especially at the games high speeds — it’s never quite nailed the at-home conversion despite multiple attempts to do so. Not to say the previous ports of Space Harrier were bad ones or anything, but the arcade machine worked a certain way, and replicating that with a regular controller and the power of the Master System at home has proven difficult.

The 3DS, though, was up to the challenge, and has what is the definitive version of the game other than actually sitting down in the original’s deluxe hydraulic motion simulator cabinet. I have copies of Space Harrier sitting around because of one compilation or another, but the 3DS version is the one I go back to when I get the itch to fly around and shoot at dragons with a cannon while wearing sunglasses.

What’s also nice about this release — and the Sega 3D Classics line in general — is that there are so many ways to customize your experience. It goes beyond being able to invert or remap controls: you can also change the difficulty along a pretty wide range, give yourself more or less time in the games where that’s a consideration, and, where appropriate, choose which version of the game you’re playing. Sega and M2 meant for these to be definitive, must-own editions of games that have existed for decades already and have possibly been purchased by you before, and they accomplished that goal.

Which is why I can also recommend titles like…

3D Gunstar Heroes; 3D Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master; 3D Streets of Rage 2

It’s a combination of the customization and the enhanced graphical experience that makes it so that each of these games you’ve played or bought a bunch of times before are worth having in yet another form. Did I need another copy of Gunstar Heroes? Absolutely not: I have it on Genesis compilation discs, the Genesis Mini, my Xbox 360, the Wii Virtual Console. Guess what, though? Those are all just the same game as always, or maybe with achievements attached. The 3D version doesn’t force you to commit to being able to run-and-gun or stand in place and aim, like the original, it includes both the international and Japanese release of the game, it lets you remap the controls, it includes options for the screen mode (Normal or Classic), and even lets you choose how the 3D effect will be implemented, either through a “Fall-in” or “Pop-out” style. You have your choice of soundtracks, too: do you want the Mega Drive or Mega Drive 2’s programmable sound chip emulation while you play? How could I possibly resist spending a few bucks to get this version of an all-time great?

So, yeah, if you couldn’t possibly understand why you might want to grab yet another release of a Genesis classic — whichever Genesis classic — your answer is above. M2 made it worth doing so, in the same way that the Sega Ages releases tend to be much more worth the money than purchases of the straight-up originals they’re re-releases of.

3D Super Hang-On, 3D OutRun

These don’t see quite the same benefit as Galaxy Force II or Space Harrier, in terms of better seeing objects off in the distance, but there is some benefit there with the 3D tech, and they also have the same kind of customization and options for difficulty and gameplay that the other arcade games in this series contain. Do you find that OutRun is just a tad too unforgiving with its time, or the number of vehicles in the road you need to avoid crashing into? You can tweak that! Same goes for Super Hang-On. I’ve spent more time with the 3D versions of both of these games than I ever did console ports of the originals, and being able to better set myself up for success that I could then carry over into the “real” versions of the games is a not insignificant part of that.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of the 3D Sega Classics line. If you think you’d be into After Burner II, then get that, too. The level of care and thoughtfulness that went into producing this line is to the credit of Sega and M2, of course, but it’s also mystifying that no other long-time developer with arcade titles and a history of third- and fourth-generation 2D classics didn’t bother to do the same. Konami and Namco and Nintendo dipped their toes in, sure, but Sega screamed, “Look at me!” before diving in, and you gotta admit, that dive was impressive as hell.

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Previous entries in Get these Nintendo 3DS games before you can’t:

Digital Exclusives, Pt. 1

Digital Exclusives, Pt. 2

DSiWare, Pt. 1

DSiWare, Pt. 2

DSiWare, Pt. 3

Virtual Console, Pt. 1

Virtual Console, Pt. 2

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