The Nintendo 3DS is the handheld that proudly said, “Why stop at one screen when you can have two—and why stop at flat reality when you can make everyone’s eyes cross just a little bit?”
It’s the only system where you can play Mario in 3D, turn the 3D off because your vision is now legally classified as “uncertain,” and then still feel like a wizard because the top screen is basically a tiny hologram without needing those movie-theater glasses that smell like popcorn sadness.
The 3DS also came with a camera that took photos in 3D—perfect for capturing memories you would look at once and go, “Neat,” before never opening that app again. And let’s not forget StreetPass, the magical feature that convinced you to carry the console around like a Tamagotchi, hoping—praying—you’d meet another human being with their 3DS on. When you finally did, it felt like spotting Bigfoot, except Bigfoot was wearing a Mario hat.
In short: the 3DS is a portable nostalgia machine, equal parts innovative and “why does this have a pedometer?”—and we love it for every weird little choice it made.