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IGN Lists Their Top Twenty Five Nintendo 3DS Games

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Online gaming publication IGN has provided a handy list of their top twenty-five games for the Nintendo 3DS. The site has looked at all the games available for the platform and has decided to rank them. There’s a few omissions including Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros, but the list isn’t too bad. Do you agree with IGN’s top twenty-five Nintendo 3DS games?

25. Kingdom Hearts 3D
24. Mighty Switch Force
23. Gunman Clive
22. Colors! 3D
21. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
20. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
19. Paper Mario Sticker Star
18. Star Fox 64 3D
17. Virtue’s Last Reward
16. Crashmo
15. Kid Icarus: Uprising
14. Shin Megami Tensei IV
13. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
12. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
11. Resident Evil Revelations
10. Mario Kart 7
9. Steamworld Dig
8. Etrian Odyssey IV
7. New Super Mario Bros. 2
6. Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon
5. Pushmo
4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
3. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
2. Fire Emblem: Awakening
1. Super Mario 3D Land

203 thoughts on “IGN Lists Their Top Twenty Five Nintendo 3DS Games”

        1. Many games did not make it. Usually when is Nintendo games that are resent they are not added to list so they don’t give free advertising.

    1. So they can say that the kh we have is not good enough. I love that game and was the reason I facepalmed so hard when square enix said they are not making a wiiu version.

      1. Got bored after 10hours the gameplay is awesome but too repetitive. And i didn’t really care about the story. So slow and cliché.

    2. IKR? what the fuck is Gunman clive doing on the list? I love me some Gunman clive right…. but take that shit off the list and take Colors 3D off also it’s an art app, hardly a game…

      Get Tales of Abyss on there asap. NSMB2 is not better than the likes of Revelations , Kid icarus , Mario Kart 7…. no way.

  1. Super Mario 3D Land beat Fire Emblem Awakening, Kid Icarus: Uprising and Crashmo… And Colors3D is on there and that’s an art tool, not a game. A good art tool nonetheless, but still. Oh IGN, how I love you.

        1. Was that you that remembered they said the 3DS was doomed? :)

          IGN used to be good, specially with regard to reviews. But nowadays they are on the wrong track.

          1. They have teach how not to be a biased journalist if the opportunity arise. They could have said so much good things about the vita but they decided to go the hits way and now they are one of the laughing things of the industry.

          1. I think he tried to mean that, no matter what, nothing with the Nintendo tag on it will be good enough for IGN.

            I do agree with that, since the IGN agenda is clearly to spread their anti-Nintendo propaganda, and praise everything Sony and Microsoft do.

            I used to like them, actually. But their hatred positions on Nintendo made me so sick of going there.

                    1. I think he don’t mind. If he is the only anonymous here he is having fun agreeing and disagreeing with the comments here. Then I’m goin to get that out of the way. Sry anon for not making it clear.

        2. Well it is like a Gameboy Player for Nintendo Gamecube except it is a Vita Player without the console attachment. But to be fair, most Vita games do not support Vita TV which is strange in my book.

          1. For me what vita TV Swiss to me is that Sony gave up on the system. They could at least have showed a killer app game for it first or at the end of the announcement.

    1. off topic, but I think we’re overdue for a handheld Metroid game. I hope one is announced soon. A prime style game would kick ass on 3DS it could have similar controlls to Gamecube prime to make up for one stick.

    1. Dammit, Awakening should be number 1? or Dammit, it shouldn’t be that high up on the list?- If it’s the first one, then I agree wholeheartedly! 💋

        1. Well I feel as if the 3d is almost its on series. 64, Sunshine, and the galaxies are they’re own thing, and the 3d series is off doing something different. I don’t suspect
          that they’re gonna consider leaving the wii u without delivering from the 3d roots.

          1. Huum, I kind of agree with you, but… I’m afraid to happen the same what happened to Star Fox during the Wii lifespan… All of us awaited for something that has never happened…

      1. I’ve played Awakening, and I loved it to pieces. Its got an amazing story and amazing game play. But to me, and an opinion is an opinion, I find more satisfaction in platforming. Nothing tops an amazing platformer, which 3d land was.

      1. I wasn’t a fan either, which has me worried about 3D world, but 3D world looks a bit better… 3D world might be my last Mario until they totally overhaul the formula.

        1. I watched people playing 3D World for almost half an hour. No chance of fall in love with a half-assed game like that.

          And, I agree completely: Nintendo has to overhaul the formula and completely change it. But it only would turn into true if Takashi Tezuka left the Mario team, or if he changed both his mind and way, which I doubt.

          1. I was just abt. to type that. I also hated M3DL. It felt like a half-assed, rushed, clusterfuck of unoriginal boring shit. The only thing I liked were the Special copypasted levels, since they’re the only ones that offered some sort of challenge.

          2. Tanooki Suit’ s a joke. You need a scarf now to become statue & U can only flutter? Who the hell came up with this? They should’ve just released another SMB3 port w/updated, pop-up graphichs, new worlds & story if this was their idea of a finished game.

            1. The Biggest Nintendrone Suckass Kissass Washrag Tool Sheep Competition

              why duont u both leave mario 3d alone!! jus leave it alone!

              if u dount like it then sell or dun buy it but leave peeple that like it be

              iam glad it make to top #1 yes nintendomination baby whoo!

    1. I enjoyed Super Mario 3D Land more than newest games from “New Super Mario Bros”-series. I actually already pre-ordered Super Mario 3D World few months ago so when it’s out i can have some nice time playing it with friends.

      I’m quite sure Nintendo will also make atleast one game like Galaxy or Super Mario 64 in next few years but i think they propably want to have a little bit more time and practice with HD graphics before making that.

              1. I really don’t think so. No need to segregate. I think it’s time that the gaming community stops treating indies like lower class games. There are a lot of indies out there that are amazing, even better than so-called “AAA” franchises.

                1. I have always said that digital are Indies even if they come from Microsoft so when I say Indies what I realy meant is digital only. I even said that pushmo is a Indie.

            1. Let me change what I mean is one for digital only games and the other for retails then one big one with all together in the position of my liking.

    1. Sticker star is a very good game, the structure and level design are impressive.

      Just no leveling and no purpose to play.

      Well, i lost my game after 15h of play. (can’t find that f*cking card). I was at 3 quarters of the game.

    1. Eh, not really.

      I’m a *huge* fan of Kingdom Hearts – played every game since the first game launched in North America (and currently playing KH HD on my PS3), and I would agree that Kingdom Hearts Dream. Drop. Distance. is not a top 5 3DS game.

      I don’t know if I would put it at number 25, but it’s still not that high among of the best 3DS games to be #5 either – that is, looking at it from a critic’s position of a game and its mechanics, gameplay, story, controls, etc.

      In the end though, it shouldn’t matter what a list formulated by someone else’s opinion says. If you like the game that much, sweet, make your own list and share it. No need to hate on someone else’s view because they’re a unique individual, with unique likes and dislikes.

      1. Except when Colors! 3D–a painting program application–is included as a game on a top games list, one would think they lose credit for that.

        BTW, I personally think Swap Note should’ve been the #1 best game on the 3DS [sarcasm].

    1. I didn’t finish Sticker Star… I found it so boring… Hope I’m wrong so that I can resume it soon. But… I highly doubt that Sticker Star is a good game…

      1. It is actually an OK game, as long as you swallow the fact that its not like the first 2 paper Mario’s then u will start to appreciate it for what it is.

                    1. Hope you find a way to grag one for you soon.

                      By the way, now I’m wondering if Paper Mario was not available for 3DS as well…

      2. Hey, Erich80!

        The thing I like about Sticker Star is that it had fresh, new feels to it. The game combines the elements of 2D Mario game (World map), 3D Mario games (the open-ish worlds), and rpg elements.

        I love the music in that game. Can that be something we can all agree on? I didn’t see Sticker Star as an RPG game anyway.

        Now the things I didn’t like about it. With No partners aside, the things I didn’t like about it is the fact that the Bosses are so EASY.

        The only chalenging boss fight was the Tower Power Pokey Boss for good reasons. Everything else, you can just beat it in just two moves.

        The story. That was the thing I was most dissapointed about. That was the whole reason why I desided to play the game. Heck even Kamek is a better antagonist than Bowser WHO DOESN’T EVEN TALK ONCE! At least the music was good. All in all, the story was quite… Paper Thin!!!

        Finnaly, this is a problem I felt persionlally in that game. Didn’t you feel… lonely?? And no, not the lack of partners, it’s the fact that the only other characters are toads. I can see why you found the game boring and I don’t dissagree.

        So finally. (In my opinion)

        Is Paper Mrio Sticker Star a good game: Yes
        Is it a good Paper Mario game: Hell no…

        That’s how I feel about this game.

          1. Every one understood what you mean. I feal the same way a bit about lord of shadows even though I hate it regardless.

        1. Hey, Anubis! How is it going?

          Thank you very much for your time pointing out Sticker Star strengths and weaknesses.

          I agree with you in almost every statement you made. Besides that, I believe that the addition of Experience Points would enrich the gaming experience a lot. But, as I said before, I need to resume playing Sticker Star and make more supported conclusions, but I’ve been planning to beat DKCR, Luigi’s Mansion and The Lord of The Rings before that!

          1. Everything is great here! Thanks for asking :D

            And you are very welcome.
            As for Sticker Star take your time. Take your time and relax. That’s the best way to experience a game whether you’re a fan of it or not. And I hope you will enjoy DKCR, Luigi’s mansion and the Lord of the rings as well :)

            1. I’ve beaten DCKR on Wii, but not 100%… Now I’m trying to accomplish that on the 3DS version and also unblock the additional levels… Let’s see, then!

        1. I mean all the games also where is project x zone, tales of the abyss,metal gear, street figther, dead or alive and tekken.

    1. I….didn’t like Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. Please don’t hate me, but I find it DREADFULLY BORING! I’ve had the game for months now and I can’t bring myself to complete the second
      mission. I got bored of it so fast… kinda disappointed, cause I loved the original. :/

      Mario Kart 7 is really great though!!💋

      1. No need to hate anyone here!

        Sometimes I get screwed by the trolling here, but we all can get over it. But all of us are here to discuss video games, and thankfully we have different tastes and backgrounds.

        Concerning Dark Moon… Oh, well, for me it’s the best original game I’ve played on my 3DS – of course, I’ve been loving to play Star Fox 64, OoT and DKCR.

        What didn’t you like in it, specifically?

        1. It’s really weird actually.. I can’t figure out exactly what I don’t like about it. I have really FORCED myself to try and like it, because I feel like I “should.” I think it might have to do with the fact that I am significantly older now then when I played the first Luigi’s Mansion… maybe I am growing out of some of Nintendo’s games.. I really hope I’m not!! D:

          Some obvious things I can point out are, missions and a lot of the ghosts. I feel restricted in an area despite the fact you are suppose to feel more free having more than one mansion to explore. I can’t go into the house and discover everything for myself. I have to get “told” what to do by E. Gadd. Also, the ghosts are super boring looking. I can understand using the plain green ghosts at a couple times, but they use them a LOT and I feel like most ghosts are just recycled. I haven’t met a ghost that makes me think “Woah! Awesome design!” Then again, I haven’t even played past the first mansion! Or even the second mission. So maybe I’m too quick to judge, but either way I got bored of the game almost as soon as I turned it on. :/ 💋

      2. Really? I kept seeing it included in all these *Top 3DS Games* list, I was actually planning on buying it, but now I’m not too sure. I also played the original one on the GC. How’s Dark Moon more boring in your experience?

        1. I can see why the game is rated so high, but at the same time I think the game may be slightly overrated just because it has “Luigi” in it. I guess from my reply to erich80 I’ve realized something else about my playthrough. I mentioned to him that I thought a lot of the ghosts were bland and after a couple minutes realized that my favorite part of Luigi’s Mansion the original were the boss battles you had with the Ghosts that lived in the house. They were really interesting characters like the one in the shower and the fat ghost eating all the food!! And the baby boss battle was my favorite! Cause he shrunk you down to the size of a doll :P

          But, I know I played up to one of the bosses in Dark Moon.. It was the one in the library of the first mansion (not too far in the game) and the boss looked like a generic ghost that you would find in the rooms before leading up to the fight. I was expecting an elaborate design, but it was so plain. I think that was the last straw for me. It finally convinced me that I wasn’t having fun no matter how hard I tried. 💋

    1. Cause it’s a travesty of a game. Not just as a Paper Mario game, but as a Mario game in general.

      The fact that Mario needs a sticker just to do a simple jump was a horrible idea, and it causes backtracking more than any other game I’ve played (including TTYD).

      There’s no humor, the characters are bland, the puzzles are hit-or-miss, Bowser isn’t funny, Peach is back to being useless, the worlds are bland. It looks like IS barely put even a shred of effort into it.

    2. idiots that cant stand change yet praise Nintendo for innovating. Sticker Star is not as great as PM64 or TTYD, but its definitely a solid RPG. I didnt like it at first but sucked it up and kept playing it, and honestly, I enjoyed it. SPM is another story. Bleh.

  2. Kid Icarus should be much higher and New Super Mario Bros 2 much lower.

    But I can agree about Fire Emblem and SM3DL being Top 2. Awakening is awesome and playing SM3DL demo at a store kiosk is what made me decide to buy a 3DS.

    We’ll see Pokemon X/Y, A Link Between Worlds, and Super Smash Bros demolish this list, though.

  3. Really glad to see SteamWorld Dig on there. it is a truly fantastic game! if you loved Super Metroid (i know, sounds weird) you will love this game! it is well worth the price!

    Sticker Star is really good. I love all the paper mario games. I gave up on this one for a while though due to the fact that my kids deleted my game about 5 times after getting about 4-6 hours into the game each time…

  4. thats nice and all but it would be nice if the wii u wasnt a swiffer. where are those unanounnced games nintendo??

    iwata: please understand that…… dk gone. no dk country tropicl freeze…. instead i have tropical dinner *bows* i apologize.

  5. Virtue’s Last Reward : 45hrs, amazing writing, scenario, dubs, puzzles and… 17th behind RE:Revelations, Pushmo and Crashmo ? Nah, get ya shit together IGN.
    OoT is definitely first though.

    1. The good thing about this list is that I can use it has a sniping list for 3ds games. Each and everyone deserves to be bought.

  6. Missing:

    -Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
    -Project X Zone
    -Heroes of Ruin
    -Mario Tennis Open

    I’m happy with number 1 though. And more than happy to see Awakening over the rest. NSMB 2 should be way lower though.

      1. It takes a lot of time to put together these things. I’m sure the editor had other work to do.

        Plus, most gamers don’t even take the time to read it all. Sad but true. 50 would have been overkill in the format that they wrote the article.

        I think 25 is a good number if one must make a list.

    1. They explained why M&L: Dream Team was missing and I heard Heroes of Ruin and Project X Zone were not very good to mediocre games…. I agree with Mario Tennis Open!!! That game’s fun! :D 💋

  7. What the hell is Paper Mario: Sticker Star doing ahead of Kingdom Hearts 3D?

    On that note, Kingdom Hearts 3D deserves to be in the Top 10.

    1. Also on that note, Animal Crossing continues to be the most overrated franchise I’ve ever seen, even more than Call of Duty.

      1. Like everything in life they are two sides to everything has for me I don’t like animal crossing but I can see why people love it same with call of duty and Madden.

      2. What? Animal Crossing overrated but then you tell me that Kingdom hearts should be in the top 10?

        fuckin’ overrated franchise… -_-

      3. Well this Animal Crossing version is a lot better than any other Animal Crossing I play in my life except for the fact that Gamecube version got NES but that it. Most Animal Crossing games show no improvement but this version have proved me wrong.

    1. Because WiiU doesn’t have enough games to make a list. :p

      Sorry! Negative Nancy me!! Couldn’t help it. I did play a bit of WiiU tonight.
      D&D and The Cave. Tomorrow I’ll be doing a lot of 3DS gaming though.

  8. Its an ok list but my top 5 would be 1. Resident Evil:Revelations, 2.VVVVVV, 3. Kid Icarus Uprising 4. Colors! 3D 5. Dead or Alive Dimensions. These are based on play time, and just overall enjoyment. I have had the most fun with these 5.

    1. I love the variety in everyones responses. Especially yours. The 3DS has SOOO many great games that everyone’s top 5’s are different. Like for instance, the only game in both mine and your top 5, is KI:Uprising. 💋

  9. I’m surprised Star Fox is on the list. I never got that game so I must be missing out…anyway, I guess my top five would be 1. Fire Emblem: Awakening 2. Shin Megami Tensei IV 3. Animal Crossing: New Leaf 4. Kid Icarus: Uprising 5. Legend of Zelda: Orarina of Time.

    Shin Megami Tensei IV blew my mind away… I have never played Megami Tensei before, but man oh man has SMTIV made me want to play all the original games. Such a good game. I was hooked the second Instarted playing and Instill haven’t beaten it yet!! It’s such a LONG game! Love it.
    But, Fire Emblem beats it in my book :P

    Also, I am surprised Mario Tennis: Open wasn’t on the list. I thought that game was pretty good. I liked it a lot and played it quite often. 💋

    1. The Biggest Nintendrone Suckass Kissass Washrag Tool Sheep Competition

      u leave sticker star alone! leave it alone! i liketed the gaem so it means it is good game

      theese haters i tell u… yae i dun like ign either but be glad one of our gaems made it too thea top

      geezus man everytime nintendo do gud the fans r bitching bout sumthing.. is like every1 against them r sumthing or are jellouse

  10. Best system ever (my opinion)

    Nintendo needs to release that output cable or 3DS player so people could play these awesome games on big screen, similiar way like im gonna play Vita games at some point unlike you meaningles shits who complain and complain about systems because you are still livin with mummys money and can have only 1 system lol. Then you start these plastic box wars to justify your DECISION AND PURCHASE, if you all are happy with that one system then dont start shit talkin other systems because it proves that you arent happy with it. Heck there was few Microsoft ips like Ages of Empire on DS and you all are always complainin how MS behind the scenes pays other devs to destroy Nintendo, GET REAL!

    This message is targeted for FANBOYS from all 3 companies.

  11. AI don’t Get it wherever I look I always see
    Super Mario 3d land at no 1…. I don’t see why people like it so much I bought I played it and loved it but it’s nothing compared to the other great games like LOZ ocarina of time or fire emblem

    P.S. Mario and Luigi deserve to be in that list that games AWESOME

  12. I’m going to find whoever claimed Mario 3D land is a better game than Fire Emblem Awakening and pull their ear for a few seconds.

  13. The Troll to End All Trolls

    3D World Number 1? Don’t get me wrong, it was a fun little time waster, but got boring. Not enough content to keep me going. Too much reliance on “retro” crap. I really think they marked it as number one because it’s Mario…. freaking Mario….

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