Hands-on review: Nintendo 3DS XL (2014)

While Nintendo's Wii U home console has struggled – delivering agonisingly long waits between first party titles and weaker versions of third party ones – the Nintendo 3DS handheld has long been the dominant force in the portable market, leaving Sony's PS Vita and its PSP predecessors choking on its dust.The latest incarnation of Nintendo's compact gaming powerhouse – somehow both straightforwardly and confusingly named the New Nintendo 3DS XL – introduces a number of subtle upgrades, making it the best portable gaming system Nintendo has ever produced, but still leaving room for improvement. Whether these upgrades will make it an essential purchase if you own the, er, "old" Nintendo 3DS XL depends on a few things. Things like how much of an annoyance you find carrying around the Circle Pad Pro accessory, and if you think the new console's small C-stick is a suitable substitute for the Pro's full-sized circle pad. Then there's the question of whether you need the added processing power – set to be first employed by a port of Xenoblade Chronicles, a JRPG with very niche appeal, but with more games promised.And finally there's the question of how likely you are to use the console's NFC feature to play with Nintendo's Skylanders and Disney Infinity-aping "Amiibo" figurines.C-stick it to meOf these considerations, arguably the most controversial is the New 3DS XL's introduction of a second directional stick (the C-stick) just above the console's four face buttons. Not controversial because of its inclusion here, but because of its absence from earlier consoles. This is something we can't help feeling should have been in place from the very first 3DS. Ever since Nintendo introduced titles like Resident Evil: Revelations and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D in early 2012, gamers have been asked to buy the Circle Pad Pro (or the Circle Pad Pro XL variation) accessory in order to access the second directional pad required to play these games properly. Since the launch of the original 3DS, Nintendo has released both the 3DS XL and the 2DS, but it's only now, with the New Nintendo 3DS XL that the Big N has decided to add a second directional stick. It's long overdue, but welcome nonetheless.More disappointing is the fact that instead of a second full-sized circle pad, the console features a small stick that feels both less satisfying and less accurate than the Circle Pad Pro. While playing Resident Evil: Revelations the stick felt slow and inaccurate, but we suspect that has as much to do with the software as the hardware – Resi does offer a very particular brand of frustrating survival horror after all.To counter this we also tested the console with Nintendo's new Super Smash Bros. title. The chaotic action of the game made it tricky to properly gauge the C-stick's effectiveness – it really is a frenzied hurricane of a game – but we can say that due to its lack of give, the very firm C-stick can feel less responsive than you would hope.It's entirely possible we'll warm to the C-stick once we've spent more time with it. At this stage it feels inferior to the Circle Pad Pro's offering, but we've had years to get used to the feel of two circle pads. It will take more than a couple of hours to retrain our brains and thumbs.Of course, none of this would be an issue if the New 3DS XL gave you the option of using your Circle Pad Pro XL. Sadly it does not.Press my buttonsAccompanying the C-stick in the New 3DS XL's bag of tricks is the addition of ZL and ZR buttons, sitting inside the 3DS' long-standing L and R bumpers. At first their placement seemed odd – we'd have expected them to sit below the bumpers, like the triggers on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One controllers – but we found it quite comfortable, with the buttons proving easy to hit without accidentally brushing the bumpers. How much these buttons will be put to use by future titles remains to be seen, but their addition could force 3DS owners to make the upgrade.If not that, it will be the new console's additional processing grunt, which we're told will see games released for the New 3DS XL that won't run on older consoles. We didn't notice any benefit while playing Super Smash Bros. or Resident Evil: Revelations (curious that Nintendo used a game that's two and a half years old to show off its new hardware) but that's actually a good thing. After all, these games really shouldn't offer an inferior experience on the consoles for which they were designed.Something you won't be able to enjoy on your older 3DS is the joy of Nintendo's amiibo, which uses the console's NFC functionality to take collectable figurines and place playable versions of those characters in games across the 3DS and Wii U consoles. We didn't get a chance to try this out during our brief time with the New 3DS XL, but parents' wallets should be warned that their youngsters might be about to develop a collecting compulsion.The one area where the New 3DS XL truly shines is in the viewing angle department. Older 3DS consoles had a very restrictive sweet spot that meant you had to keep your console very still in order to enjoy its 3D graphics. Stray even a fraction from the dead centre of the console and the screen would go blurry, resulting in tired eyes, and in some cases a slightly queasy feeling. The 3DS XL's screen is a dramatic improvement. While its dimensions remain unchanged (even a slight upscale would have helped make this an essential purchase), its viewing angles are far superior thanks to the introduction of subtle face tracking. The experience is more forgiving than on older consoles, and our eyes weren't strained in the way they have been after past sessions.Kind of a new lookOverall, Nintendo has given the New 3DS XL a subtle redesign, keeping the console's dimensions and general look the same, but with a few subtle tweaks in the details. The cartridge slot is now located at the console's front on the left side, with the stylus located at the front on the right. The port for the charging cable now sits in the centre at the back and the face buttons are now colour coded red, yellow, blue and green, rather than the grey of old. The power button has been moved from the right of the screen to the front of the console, while the Start and Select buttons have been moved from below the screen to sit on its right.The storage cards have also been shrunk from SD to MicroSD, with capacities of up to 32GB accepted. The new slot is hidden underneath the back cover, and you'll need a small Philips head screwdriver to change it over.The new incarnation of the XL console is launching in the functional, if uninspiring, colors of Metallic Blue and Metallic Black. The glossy finishes have a more premium look than the matte of the original 3DS XL, but they do get covered in fingerprints very quickly and are a little conservative. We wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo has something more outlandish up its sleeve – purple, anyone?The New 3DS XL will launch on November 21 in Australia, coming in at the same price point as the original 3DS XL of AUD$249.95 (we imagine pricing in the UK and US will follow suit, matching that of the original 3DS XL in those territories).Early VerdictIf it sounds like we have slightly limited enthusiasm for the New 3DS XL, it's only because this great – and it really is great – handheld could have been even better. And knowing Nintendo, there's every possibility our imaginary console will become a reality at some point in the future. As it stands, this is still the best handheld Nintendo has ever produced (yes, even better than your hallowed Game Boy). If you're in the market for a portable gaming system you could do a lot worse.

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