12 Best 3DS Ports

Super Street Fighter IV came out on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in April 2010, and the 3D Edition reached the 3DS less than a year later as one of the console's launch games. It adds Dynamic Mode, an over-the-shoulder view that shows off the stereoscopic 3D. The touch screen holds icons for special moves, put there to help lapsed players get back into the series.

Players call it a solid port, a full fighting game you can carry around.

Devil Survivor 2 came out on the DS in Japan in July 2011 and in North America in February 2012. Atlus made Record Breaker, the expanded 3DS version of 2015, to answer fan criticism of the earlier Devil Survivor release on the 3DS and to restore cut content. It adds Miyako Hotsuin, who takes Yamato's place as the leader of JP's. Even the end of the world gets a director's cut. The first game had the same treatment in 2011 as Devil Survivor Overclocked.

Players file it with the turn-based strategy RPGs and warn that it is tougher than Fire Emblem.

Corpse Party started as a Japanese PC game in 2008, and its PSP version came out on August 12, 2010. Xseed Games and Marvelous Europe released it in North America and Europe under the plain title Corpse Party. The 3DS version came out in Japan on July 30, 2015, with a new extra chapter that the PSP and iOS versions never had.

Players recommend it to horror fans, with a warning about the gore.

Terry Cavanagh released VVVVVV on Windows and OS X on January 11, 2010. Nicalis brought it to the 3DS, where it came out in North America on December 29, 2011, and critics scored the 3DS version a little higher than the Windows one.

Players warn that it is hard, and they add that the checkpoints keep it fair.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker came out on the Wii U in 2014, and in 2018 it was re-released for the Switch and the 3DS with additional content. Nintendo's original plan had been a 3DS-only game, because its 3D effect would better show the dimensions of each level. Captain Toad cannot jump because of his heavy backpack: a four-year detour is about his pace. The graphics were lowered to make it run on the 3DS, and one reviewer still called it one of the best-looking games on the console.

Players call it a charming little puzzle game.

Snake Eater came out on the PS2 in late 2004 in North America and Japan, and the 3DS version followed on February 21, 2012 in North America. It uses the console's gyroscope to keep Snake balanced on bridges and tree branches, and the 3DS camera to make a custom camouflage pattern. The character models look better than on the PS2, but the frame rate falls far below the other versions of Snake Eater.

Players say it plays best with a second stick, from the Circle Pad Pro or the New 3DS.

Retro Studios made Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii, where it came out first in North America in November 2010. Monster Games ported it to the 3DS, released on May 24, 2013, with the Wii game as Original Mode and a New Mode that brings a handful of new items to make the game easier, extra health included.

Players point it at anyone who skipped the Wii version.

Xenoblade Chronicles came out on the Wii in Japan in 2010 and only reached North America in 2012, after a fan campaign called Operation Rainfall drew attention to it. Monster Games started the port for the original 3DS, but that console lacked the memory and power to run the game. Who needs a television for an RPG this size? Xenoblade Chronicles 3D came out in April 2015 for the New 3DS, with much of the on-screen information moved down to the touch screen.

Players keep reminding each other that it only runs on the New 3DS.

The Swedish studio Hörberg Productions first released Gunman Clive on Android on 2 April 2012. The 3DS version followed on 20 December 2012 in Europe and 3 January 2013 in North America, and by January 2015 more than 400,000 copies had sold, over eighty percent of them on the 3DS.

Players sell it as a cheap, short platformer that moves and shoots like Mega Man.

Cave Story was a freeware PC game from 2004, and Nicalis worked with its creator Daisuke Amaya to port it to WiiWare and DSiWare in 2010. The 3DS eShop version came out in the United States on 4 October 2012, separate from the retail 3DS game Cave Story 3D. It holds all the additional modes from the WiiWare version, and players can toggle the graphics between the classic style and the WiiWare one.

Players say to buy this one, not the polygon remake Cave Story 3D.

Tales of the Abyss came out on the PS2 in Japan in December 2005 and in North America in October 2006. The 3DS port followed in Japan in June 2011 and in Europe in November 2011, the first official release of the game there. Europe had waited almost six years, so it could forgive a few rough edges. One critic found the 3D a poor fit and wrote that the central new feature actively makes the game worse, but the port also lets players register combat skills on the bottom screen for quick access.

Players recommend it to anyone after a story-driven RPG.

Monster Hunter Tri came out on the Wii in 2009, reaching North America on April 20, 2010. Capcom's enhanced port came to the 3DS in Japan in December 2011 as Monster Hunter 3 (tri-) G, and to North America and Europe in March 2013 as Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, together with a Wii U version. It was the first game to support the Circle Pad Pro add-on, and it brings back the underwater combat that the Japan-only Monster Hunter Portable 3rd had left out.

Players who know both versions say the Wii U one is the better buy, because the 3DS one only plays locally.