Screenshots of the best Nintendo 3DS games

100 Best 3DS Games

These are the 100 3DS games players recommend most. We surveyed players: 94,280 recommendations from people asking what to play on the 3DS, with every game they named counted. A pick hundreds of players backed beats one person's favourite.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf takes #1, named about a third more often than The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds at #2. Tom Nook would like a word about the loan. Fire Emblem Awakening holds #3 by the thinnest margin on the list: players named The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D a little more often, but Awakening's picks got more backing, so Ocarina of Time 3D settles for #4.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is missing on purpose. Plenty of players recommend it on the 3DS, but it is a port of a Wii game that came out years earlier, so it stays off.

The best Nintendo 3DS games
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100. Stretchmo (2015)

Stretchmo gameplay on Nintendo 3DSStretchmo box art

Stretchmo (HikuDasu: Hippa Land in Japan, Fullblox in PAL regions) is a free-to-start entry in the Pushmo-series that introduces enemy characters and expanding platforms into the mix. Players have to purchase additional levels past the tutorial.

Stretchmo screenshot 1Stretchmo screenshot 2
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99. Pokémon Rumble World (2015)

Pokémon Rumble World gameplay on Nintendo 3DSPokémon Rumble World box art

Pokémon Rumble World is a freemium Nintendo 3DS game released in most regions on April 8, 2015. The game is free to download, but features in-game microtransactions. The game features all 719 species of Pokémon, as well as Mega Evolution and Primal Kyogre and Groudon. It is the fourth entry in the Pokémon Rumble series.

Pokémon Rumble World screenshot 1Pokémon Rumble World screenshot 2
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98. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (2011)

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy gameplay on Nintendo 3DSAce Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy box art

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy is a remake of Ace Combat 2.

It is a flight-sim/arcade fighter combat action game. The game is typically played in a third person, behind the aircraft, or first person, inside the cockpit view. It features series mainstays such as numerous selectable aircraft and the ability to purchase parts and weapons to customize the fighters. Where Assault Horizon Legacy sets itself apart from current console versions of Assault Horizon in that the gameplay is tipped more in favour of the arcade-style action of the early games in the series rather than focusing on flight-sim characteristics. Also different from the console versions of Assault Horizon is that this entry takes place in the fictional universe of the older games in the series, rather than in real-world locations.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy screenshot 1Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy screenshot 2
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97. Cave Story 3D (2011)

Cave Story 3D gameplay on Nintendo 3DSCave Story 3D box art

Having received tremendous acclaim in its previous releases on PC and WiiWare, Cave Story, an indie side scrolling 2D action game, now makes its way into an all new dimension with Cave Story 3D for Nintendo 3DS. At once both a throwback to classic 2D action platformers and also the potential future of the genre, Cave Story 3D blends tight controls, superb level design, and excellent story and presentation to deliver a memorable, addicting retro experience!

Cave Story 3D screenshot 1Cave Story 3D screenshot 2
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96. Sonic Generations (2011)

Sonic Generations gameplay on Nintendo 3DSSonic Generations box art

Celebrate 20 years of Sonic in an all new adventure that delivers a definitive experience to Sonic fans new and old!

Sonic Generations screenshot 1Sonic Generations screenshot 2
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95. Dillon's Rolling Western (2012)

Dillon's Rolling Western gameplay on Nintendo 3DSDillon's Rolling Western box art

As Dillon, the cowboy armadillo, it is your mission to roll around a stylized old west protecting frontier villages from the wild Grocks.

Dillon's Rolling Western screenshot 1Dillon's Rolling Western screenshot 2
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94. Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)

Dead or Alive: Dimensions gameplay on Nintendo 3DSDead or Alive: Dimensions box art

Dead or Alive: Dimensions is a fighting game developed for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the 5th game in the Dead or Alive series and the first to be released on a Nintendo system. Dimensions has 26 playable characters, more than any previous installment in the franchise had to offer, and uses a modified engine of Dead or Alive 4. The story of the game is a brief version of the stories of the previous four main Dead or Alive games. The 3DS's touch screen is used for executing special fighting moves for his or her character, while the top screen is used for displaying the fight.

Dead or Alive: Dimensions screenshot 1Dead or Alive: Dimensions screenshot 2
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93. HarmoKnight (2012)

HarmoKnight gameplay on Nintendo 3DSHarmoKnight box art

HarmoKnight is a rhythm platformer developed by Game Freak as a downloadable title for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released on the Nintendo eShop in Japan on September 5, 2012 and in Europe and North America on March 28, 2013.

HarmoKnight screenshot 1HarmoKnight screenshot 2
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92. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (2015)

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. gameplay on Nintendo 3DSCode Name: S.T.E.A.M. box art

Launch S.T.E.A.M., an elite team of steam-powered special-forces soldiers, to save the world from an alien menace. In this new blend of action and strategy, your commandos use steam power stored in special backpacks to move into position and fire an arsenal of distinct weapons. Pick your team members and load out, then use strategy to decide the best way to approach this steampunk-inspired battlefield.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. screenshot 1Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. screenshot 2
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91. Pilotwings Resort (2011)

Pilotwings Resort gameplay on Nintendo 3DSPilotwings Resort box art

Pilotwings Resort, an aerial adventure featuring airplanes, hang gliders and rocket belts. Players soar above tropical Wuhu Island in 3D as they complete missions or snap pictures.

Pilotwings Resort screenshot 1Pilotwings Resort screenshot 2

Every issue features one game worth playing, plus the latest retro news.

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