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IGN Lists Their Top 25 Nintendo 3DS Games

Online gaming publication IGN has decided to list what they deem to be the best Nintendo 3DS games available right now. The top five are rather unsurprising, but there’s some extremely solid games featured within the list. Here’s their top 25 games on Nintendo 3DS.

25. StreetPass Games
24. Professor Layton: Miracle Mask
23. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
22. Cave Story 3D
21. Virtue’s Last Reward
20. Kid Icarus Uprising
19. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
18. Shin Megami Tensei 4
17. Resident Evil Revelations
16. Star Fox 64
15. Pushmo
14. SteamWorld Dig
13. Etrian Odyssey 4
12. New Super Mario Bros 2
11. Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon
10. Bravely Default
9. Mario Golf
8. Mario Kart 7
7. Shovel Knight
6. Zelda OoT 3D
5. Pokemon X & Y
4. Animal Crossing
3. Fire Emblem
2. Super Mario 3D Land
1. Zelda Link Between Worlds

160 thoughts on “IGN Lists Their Top 25 Nintendo 3DS Games”

      1. Yes! The only issues with the game are the controls and once you get used to them, you don’t forget at all. I love the online too, its been going downhill though. Occasionally you find a good match but its full of still players and novice players. Its rare to actually find a challenge online now.

  1. I’m as big a Zelda fan as anyone, but get for real. ALBW should have been no higher than 5. Bravely Default, FE Awakening, Super Mario 3DL, and Animal Crossing NL was to me more enjoyable.

    1. I think ALBW is definitely top 3 material. I would put Bravely Default, Etrian Odyssey 4 and most importantly Kid Icarus much higher.

      I think OOT should not have even made top 20. Seriously. For real. It had its time and it was bloody fantastic, an absolute milestone. However, the 3DS version was shit, and not even nearly what it should’ve been.

      Personal top 5:
      1) Fire Emblem Awakening
      2) LoZ: ALBW
      3) Kid Icarus
      4) Super Mario 3D Land
      5) Bravely Default

  2. sherlockwillfightbilbo

    I can dig that list. The only problem I see is Star Fox 64 being higher than Kid Icarus. That’s just nostalgia and petty controller complaints BS.
    Every 3DS game I own is on that list except for Tomodachi Life (Direct was so misleading) and Layton vs. Wright.

    1. What was misleading about the direct? I haven’t played it and probably won’t but would like to know. No trolling, honest question.

      1. SherlockWillFightBilbo

        The Direct showed off pretty much every funny and awesome thing in the game. It made it look like it was a solid simulator with quirky stuff too. It’s actually just a bunch of quirky stuff. Except the charm wears off almost immediately after you start playing. It turns into the game devs trying too hard to be random. Random doesn’t always equal funny, and the whole game was random. Again, it was funny in the Direct, and if you haven’t seen the Direct, it’ll be funny when you play it for the first time. But after that first instant, the game is pretty meh.

        There’s nothing to do. At all. There’s no real reward for taking care of the Miis. In fact, you don’t even NEED to. It’s not like their house is on fire and you need to save them. There’s 10,000 times more things to do in Sims 2 than in Tomodachi Life. Definitely don’t get it.

          1. All he said is true, as I was fooled from Directs. I praised the game for a little while before giving it a 3 on CN. Its just an overpriced dollhouse with dolls you can’t even control. Stay as far away as possible from this game people.

            On a side note Sims 4 is out, but aside from that I really want Animal Crossing Wii U. =.=

              1. Don’t EVER buy Sims 4. I can’t believe I spent my money on that game. They stripped away so many things from Sims 3 that made the series brilliant. EA just completely screwed up this one. If you want a solid Sim game, go for Sims 3

              2. I have heard that but its just a series I buy, maybe not at launch, but eventually. It’s the same with the NSMB series, we may know its not the best Nintendo series, but we buy it anyway.

                1. Sigh. Well, if you want to buy it then I guess it’s up to you. But don’t say we didn’t warn you. Lol I understand though. For some reason, girls seem to love that series. XD

                  1. Yeah, you’re right, but I know what I’m getting into. I’ve been hooked since Sims 2, and I’ve always liked to build first and worry about Sims 2nd. Its also fun to build stories within your towns and watch the Sims develop. The Sims is a VERY expensive dollhouse though.

                    1. Not really. Unless you plan on getting a ton of expansion packs. Lol. But they really do increase the replay value of the game a lot! I might get back into Sims, but it kinda got boring to me. Lol.

            1. SherlockWillFightBilbo

              | Its just an overpriced dollhouse with dolls you can’t even control.

              This is such an accurate analogy.

            2. I’ve never been big on sims, I don’t play many simulators really, glad I can knock another off my small list. Animal Crossing U would be great, I got New Leaf but haven’t even opened it yet and probably won’t cause I spend most of my time on my U. Too many good games coming out to go back at the moment, even though I hear very good things about New Leaf. I’ve always been console first, handheld if I had nothing big on a console at that time.

    2. Having a problem with the controls isn’t a petty complaint, though. It’s a video game, after all. If the controls suck for someone, then they aren’t going to give it a good position on a list.

      1. sherlockwillfightbilbo

        A controller complaint isn’t always petty, but in this case it is. The game was amazing and yet got 7/10s because reviewers couldn’t deal with the 3DS. Everything else about the game was superb and yet all they could focus on were the controls.

        It got less than a Star Fox remake. I’m not saying Kid Icarus should be top 5, but at least higher than Fox.

        1. Well controls can make or break a game for any & everyone, so they have every right to take off points for having bad controls. Not everyone one of us has the time and/or patience to get familiar with controls that were already shoddy to begin with.

  3. New super Mario bros 2 is garbage. Such a short and easy game especially after 3d land had difficulty and an insane amount of stages. Kirby triple deluxe is easy but at least has way more content, really good levels new powers, multiplayer player with one cartridge, etc and is not even on the list. A link between worlds isn’t my personal favorite but wow it’s such an amazing game and I actually hope they make a sequel to it or just bring back to painting mechanic again. They can do so much more with it.

      1. They gave the game a fucking 6/10 for being too childish and easy, yet they praise the likes of Super Mario 3D Land (which on the same damn level)

          1. You’re right, at least Kirby had some form of replay value with the extra minigames while 3D Land had little to no content after all levels.

          2. No! IGN is IGNmazing! Kirby deserves 6/10 because of how hard it is! I remember when we had easy games like Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2!!

                1. I speak in adult conversations. I personally feel that Uprising is under-rated. It should’ve been number 7 or something.

                  1. Lol he’s just some guy that goes around in the comment section changing his name so it sounds similar to the person he’s talking to. I find it kinda cute he calls himself “FilledAppleK” when he talks to me. XD

                    1. @thestrangablog
                      Im sorry, but I find it fun commenting like this! :) Uuuummm… I mean hello friends :D

            1. You’re entitled to your opinion, but do you seriously enjoy it more than 64? I just can’t fathom that lol. If you do, I’m glad you enjoy it so much but I could never say it’s better than either galaxy, 3D World, or 64. Or Sunshine. That’s just my opinion. I respect your opinion, but it almost seems like a troll opinion lol. I mean no disrespect by that, just a joke lol.

              1. Because the level design is very good, good music,nice eastereggs, many things to found in the level and the game make so much fun. But I hope the next game isnt an “3d” Game like 3d World or Land.

                1. I can respect that, and yea some of the easter eggs were awesome like the Zelda themed level with the top down view, I can’t argue that.

      1. I hope you feel the same about 3d fail world. That game was even worse than 3d land, the controls didn’t feel or work tight with the analogue stick, the controls were made for the slider pad, and come on, that was the next big installment to 3d mario. yeah fuck off nintendo you fail.

        1. I never had much issue with the controls, but I might have used the D-Pad. It’s been so long I can’t even remember lol. That makes sense what you say though with the slider, being a not-full-3D game, I don’t like the slider much though cause….my finger slides off it every so often lol. Wish it had a better grip. Like if the slider had the engravings that the GameCube joystick has, I would probably like that more. I enjoyed both games, but 3D world seems more like a tide-me-over. I think they had stated they were already working on another 3D Mario. I just hope it’s full 3D and blows us away…and doesn’t come out for at least a year or two to give the plumber a break.

          1. Yeah the controls for 3d land were built for the slider, so you could do quick movements for the crappy 8 directions, in 3d worlds the analogue stick couldn’t make the crappy movements feel natural.

            3d world was the first 3d mario title i didn’t like and it felt like a kick in the balls to be a console mario game.

            1. It’s like 12 or 13 episodes of live action smash brothers. One long continuous story, pretty much the length of a movie. It’s pretty hilarious and some of the costumes are funny as hell.

              1. Maybe i’ll watch it if it’s funny, that’s if i want to make the effort to try lmao. I’ll keep note and one day if i’m super bored i might sit down and try to watch it, maybe i’ll like it.

                1. Yea it’s pretty long so I don’t blame you. My friend and I saw it back in like 08 randomly and ended up staying up all night. It gets better and better, the sonic and snake costumes are hilarious, but I won’t ruin anything in case you do.

                    1. Are you getting the 3DS or Wii U version? I’m getting both, bit will probably be playing the U version the bulk of the time once it’s out and I’ve 100% the 3DS version. It’s cool they are giving the soundtrack for people who buy both, I didn’t expect anything and was already getting both. Gonna have to squeeze in time for hyrule warriors and both bayonetta’s lol. Do you have brawl? I’m working a double today but I am off tomorrow so I can play online if you’re down. As painful as that is lol. Lag ruins the hell out of it, as does the lack of options. Well friend mode might have more options, but I haven’t played it in a while myself. I played last year for a bit but stopped cause I kept fighting the same three people over and over in random matches, I guess cause nobody plays anymore much, and one of the guys would fight me, and I would be beating him, but whenever he knocked me near the other guys, they would attack me, not him though, and they took turns making sure I wouldn’t win and attack all at once when I was winning.

                      1. I’m going to get the wii u version, my brother will get the 3ds version. No i got rid of brawl years ago because i think it sucks compared to the other smash’s. I got 30$ for the thing and then like 6 months later it dropped to 30$ lmao, i knew that was going to happen so i got rid of it.

                        1. Yea it’s definitely my least favorite, it’s the only online one unfortunately at the moment. I had two copies of melee but I don’t know what happened to either, so I can’t play that, and I don’t have a 64 anymore sadly, so I can only play the virtual console wii version, which is good but the classic controller and classic controller pro suck. There’s things I love better about the 64 like the throws, and things I love better about melee like the air dodges and charging the smash attacks and having the side special moves and such, but there’s nothing off the top of my head that I can think of besides the sloppy online that brawl brought to the table.

                          1. Yeah i love the feel of the flying in the air of 64, the level designs and everything shine on 64 too. Then melee is just overall the best. Brawl was sloppy, unoriginal and sucked, quantity is not better than quality.

                                1. Yea although they always had less than playstation, but now the droughts are just terrible. They say it’s cause they underestimated making HD games, I hope that’s the case and they start rolling out more hits more often. Next system I hope they bring back the nintendo power once spoken of lol so that 3rd parties will help fill the gap. Even if they do though, that doesn’t mean I want Nintendo to stop pumping out more stuff on their own or lower the quality lol.

                          1. I wish they’ve made a prequel that feature the newcomers and Assist Trophies from Smash Wii U & 3DS. Just show me what a live action Pac-Man and Takamaru would look like! DX

                  1. ign did this a year ago sickr, i realized they reposted it but i mean cmon, a year old top 25 of a different site and editors opinion? what kinda news is that, not tryin to hate yo but make your own top 25 or somethin

                    1. sherlockwillfightbilbo

                      They said last year when they posted the 2013 list that they would do it every year to see how the list changes annually. They released it before Pokemon and Zelda came out. Now we see where those two games rank.

                      IGN’s a popular and well-respected gaming website. Sickr would post if it was Eurogamer or Polygon, etc. too.

                    1. Yeah i’ve noticed most nintendo 1st party games suck on the 3ds compared to older installments, even worse than wii u. That’s why i haven’t gave them much of a chance because they look like trash, most that i played are lame rehashed nothing new or worse than previous installment garbage (paper mario, luigis mansion, mario and luigi, yoshi and more) so that’s why kirby aint on the list.

                      The 3ds is home of the worst nintendo 1st party games, mostly.

                      1. Yeah, those assholes gave it a 6/10 for being too easy and childish (which is bullshit since 3D Land was easy by Mario standards and lacked replay value unlike Triple Deluxe).

                        1. So far, I’ve played through the first world and a half of the next world in Kirby Triple D, and I thought it was pretty good. (considering the last Kirby game I’ve bought was Super Star Ultra for the DS)

                    1. sherlockwillfightbilbo

                      At first I reacted the EXACT same way as you, but then I realized that Azran Legacy’s story wasn’t as good as Miracle Mask’s. I can’t say anything about Layton vs Wright because I’ve only just started :/

                      1. I think Azran Legacy was a better game overall. But Miracle Mask wrapped up the story better. The end part of Azran Legacy felt rushed. I love PLvsPWAA. How are you enjoying it?

                        1. sherlockwillfightbilbo

                          I felt like Azran Legacy was rushed, too, but also, it felt way too similar to Miyazaki’s “Castle In the Sky.” On the other hand, Miracle Mask was so stupid in its villain’s reveal. We all knew it was Randall right away, and the game acted like there was no way we would see it coming.

                          Layton vs. Wright is…meh. There’s way too much talking and not enough gameplay. The game is also a tiny bit too linear for me. The game tells me exactly where to go, how many hint coins each area has, etc. etc. I’m at the witch trial right now, though, which is only chapter 2 I believe. Hopefully the game gets a lot better!

                        2. SherlockWillFightBilbo

                          Miracle Mask’s villain storyline was also so similar to Naruto’s. And yeah, I know lots of people on this site hate Naruto but IDC.

                  2. I’d put kid icarus up higher. Let’s be real the game is awesome and the controls are fine once you’re used to them. I guess a lot of people still rage quit huh? Lol. NSMB2 should be lower and why is 3d Land above Fire Emblem? Hugs! (yeah this list was done before)

                  3. Complaining about other’s taste in video games? Nice one. Ha.

                    I think the list is great. Dem streetpass games tho. So much more fun than I thought! Tho I agree NSMB2 is trash. But so are the rest of Ninty’s side scrolling Mario platformers.

                    1. You’re not including the originals and Super Mario World in that are you? I’ll give you the New series, but not the classics.

                  4. My personal top 5:
                    1. Fire Emblem: Awakening
                    2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
                    3. Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate
                    4. Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan
                    5. Super Mario 3D Land
                    This list will likely change once Shin Megami Tensei IV releases in Europe and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS in a months time.

                    1. It’s not for me. Anyone who is new to the series would give the game perfect score. But some people who play 4 or 5 previous FE titles may not love it as much as you do. They may enjoy it a lot, but it’s not the best thing the 3ds has to them.

                      1. I’ve played the previous ones as well. All hardcore amazing games. But the main thing here is about the best games on the 3ds! If you compare fire emblem to the other games on the 3ds, it really stands out. I’ve put like 60 hours into that game, more than any other 3ds game.

                  5. I would rate Fire Emblem Awakening aka FE 13 lower (not even in top 5). I enjoy it, but it’s not as excellent as people say. It’s not even my favorite Fire Emblem game

                      1. I respect your taste too. And hey, I also like Dark Souls a lot. Have you played Demon Souls and Darks Souls 2? They’re all great games

                  6. My top 5:
                    (Note: I have not played FE Awakening YET!) (same with Brave. Def.)

                    5: ALBW

                    4: Animal Crossing NL

                    3: Pokemon X or Y

                    2: Tomodachi Life (I freaking love this game xD)

                    1: Kid Icarus: Uprusing

                  7. Pingback: Ign lists their top 25 nintendo 3ds games

                    1. SherlockWillFightBilbo

                      It should, unless the UK uses a differently shaped Ethernet cable. It’s an adapter; it just connects two things together that normally couldn’t. The other end is a USB and all Wii Us have 2.0 USBs.

                      1. Awesome thanks, I had one that I use at my job but didn’t use it for a while and someone lost it or threw it out, and Nintendo.com doesn’t sell it anymore, and I called Nintendo last night and they don’t sell it either anymore. I’ll grab the one on ebay.

                    1. Uh… WHAT are you doing? You’re not supposed to be saying good things about Nintendo. You should be trolling right now! Jk. Amazing games list though. Lol. :)

                  8. Retards. Seriously, no Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies!? That’s my favourite game in the series, and easily among the top 10 3DS games! How does crap like those clean ass tile set new Mario games (I’m not hatin on Mario, I love him, but the 3DS versions have been lackluster at best), the Streetpass games, and the rushed as all hell Pokemon X/Y beat PWAA:DD and Kirby Triple Deluxe!? Plus, OOT and Starfox 64 are both remakes… if they were judging the games on how truly good they were, OOT 3D would be at the top, but it being a remake, like, gimps it? WTF is up with that?

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