Favourite Nintendo Handheld?

[Mayor Jack]

Was wondering what is the most popular nintendo handheld. It doesn't have to be the best one - just the handheld you enjoy the most or have the most memories with. Mine is the 3DS. It's very nostalgic for me and has lots of charm and personality - not to mention all the amazing games, special editions/design variations, virtual console games and DS backwards compatibility.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I truly miss the GameBoy Advance. It was the one system I remember owning that I used to play a lot as a kid during Road Trips.

 

[Croconaw]

I like the 3DS a lot but I wish the hinges were sturdier. They can break so easily. I used to think I was being a little rough but they become way too wobbly sometimes. I don’t think the hinges are made very well.

 

[Mayor Jack]

I like the 3DS a lot but I wish the hinges were sturdier. They can break so easily. I used to think I was being a little rough but they become way too wobbly sometimes. I don’t think the hinges are made very well.

I can see what you're saying with the hinges not being that great. Mine never broke but the top screen does shake a bit on both models that I've had.

 

[BakaRina]

I miss playing on the GameBoy Advance as I enjoyed playing Fire Emblem 7 and 8 on the handheld. I played those games so much; I could beat the games without even looking at the screen. I always wish that the games could be ported to the Switch so that I can play them again on the go.

 

[Croconaw]

I can see what you're saying with the hinges not being that great. Mine never broke but the top screen does shake a bit on both models that I've had.

Aside from that, though, it was a great system. I brought a DS with me when I was in school and used to play it on the bus and during breaks. I had a lot of fun memories with it, for sure. Wild World was my goto game.

 

[DaisyFan]

I would say DS, I played a lot of games in there and extremely nostalgic.

Honorable mentions are Game Boy Advance, 3DS, and Switch.

 

[KittenNoir]

My favourite is the 3DS I had that one and a 3DS XL I really miss the flip type of handheld console. I also love having a pen to use for certain games. I loved how you could play any game on it even my favourite DS games.

I like how it had a lot of features with other online players like street pass an so on. I like how you could customize the home screen, I liked the design of the home page and I enjoyed the 2 screens.

I also feel like I never had a problem finding a game to play where's I struggle to find games I like on the switch. I defiantly had a bigger game collection for my 3DS than I do my switch.

 

[Mayor Jack]

My favourite is the 3DS I had that one and a 3DS XL I really miss the flip type of handheld console. I also love having a pen to use for certain games. I loved how you could play any game on it even my favourite DS games.

I like how it had a lot of features with other online players like street pass an so on. I like how you could customize the home screen, I liked the design of the home page and I enjoyed the 2 screens.

I also feel like I never had a problem finding a game to play where's I struggle to find games I like on the switch. I defiantly had a bigger game collection for my 3DS than I do my switch.

Yes! I feel like the switch has lost all of the charm old nintendo systems used to have. Even the animations that play on the top screen when you insert a cartridge are so neat! I play my 3DS all the time still.

 

[KittenNoir]

Yes! I feel like the switch has lost all of the charm old nintendo systems used to have. Even the animations that play on the top screen when you insert a cartridge are so neat! I play my 3DS all the time still.

Yeah I thought I was crazy and did not know how to describe how I liked the 3DS more for some reason. I want to get back into playing on that console so bad I literally just messaged my mum and asked her to find all my games so I can pick them up tomorrow. So many games I didn't finish cause I was too young I am so excited to go back into playing.

 

[skarmoury]

DS hands down; GBA comes a close second though. I mainly like the DS because I had an extensive game library, and the second screen touch screen gimmick was so fun. A few games where I loved utilizing the touch screen were the spin-off Pokemon Ranger series, Cooking Mama, Warioware: Touched, Pokemon Dash, and Mario Party DS.

GBA has this really fun library and games were relatively not as expensive back then (or at least, from what I remember) so it definitely comes a close second to DS. GBA brings me so much nostagia of my childhood, and until now I still find myself enjoying some GBA games. I love the pixel-y style of the GBA era, and the gameplay of a lot of games still has me hooked to this console.

While I consider it maybe 4th (with Switch being my 3rd) honestly, it's a shame I didn't enjoy the 3DS era as much as I did the DS era. At least for Pokemon, the series lost its charm for me once they started catering the graphics towards a less pixel-y and more 3D style. I never liked or even used the 3D gimmick of the 3DS; it just gave me headaches and it felt like a waste. I did enjoy Mario Kart 7 and New Leaf, very revolutionary games, but a combination of growing up and not being able to afford games anymore made my experience with the 3DS era less fun compared to DS. (Also, I'm very sad that they didn't make any more Pokemon Ranger games on the 3DS, that series was definitely 100% underrated.)

 

[Mayor Jack]

DS hands down; GBA comes a close second though. I mainly like the DS because I had an extensive game library, and the second screen touch screen gimmick was so fun. A few games where I loved utilizing the touch screen were the spin-off Pokemon Ranger series, Cooking Mama, Warioware: Touched, Pokemon Dash, and Mario Party DS.

GBA has this really fun library and games were relatively not as expensive back then (or at least, from what I remember) so it definitely comes a close second to DS. GBA brings me so much nostagia of my childhood, and until now I still find myself enjoying some GBA games. I love the pixel-y style of the GBA era, and the gameplay of a lot of games still has me hooked to this console.

While I consider it maybe 4th (with Switch being my 3rd) honestly, it's a shame I didn't enjoy the 3DS era as much as I did the DS era. At least for Pokemon, the series lost its charm for me once they started catering the graphics towards a less pixel-y and more 3D style. I never liked or even used the 3D gimmick of the 3DS; it just gave me headaches and it felt like a waste. I did enjoy Mario Kart 7 and New Leaf, very revolutionary games, but a combination of growing up and not being able to afford games anymore made my experience with the 3DS era less fun compared to DS. (Also, I'm very sad that they didn't make any more Pokemon Ranger games on the 3DS, that series was definitely 100% underrated.)

DS would be second to me I think. It was just a bit before I started playing games though so not as nostalgic. I only really used the 3D on the 3DS when games were better with it on because it did give me a headache the longer I looked at it. Super Mario 3D Land and both of the main Kirby games of 3DS are games I remember using the 3D for.

 

[Alienfish]

Gameboy Advance, specifically the SP version. GBA had a lot of great games (so did both Gameboy and Color) but, man futuristic lit screen so you could play anywhere. And it had a charger!

 

[Zinnia.]

I really love the 3ds, but a the GBA sp comes in at a close second. I have a ton of memories with it, and it had a good selection of games too. (I also like all the colors it came in) I also prefer the some of the gba ports of SNES games like the donkey kong country trilogy since they added things like hero modes, much more convenient save systems, and wack new sound effects.

yup, that's official audio lol

 

[Holla]

Gotta hand it to the DS. Grew up with it as my first console and played as much GBA on it as I did DS. Yay for backwards compatibility. I’m even playing it currently (Chrono Trigger and Pokémon gen 4 & 5). The 3DS is a close second as It was my go to console as a teen. Switch is good too (as I mostly play it handheld) but I find most older games seem to be better polished. Many modern games have the “push out what you’ve got now, you can fix/add to it later mentality” and most of the time it’s not completely fixed even after they no longer receive any updates. Don’t get me wrong, some modern games are amazing but the overall polish on the average game is lacking.

 

[Halloqueen]

It's a bit of a toss-up between the DS and the 3DS as they each have their own unique features that make them appealing.

The DS, or at least the DS Lite, has a Game Boy Advance cartridge slot in addition to the regular DS cartridge slot, so the backward compatibility is great and enables one to play GBA games without need of a GBA. That GBA cartridge slot thus also, obviously, enables transfer of Pokémon from the third generation games into the fourth generation games, which I've used a lot. The DS also has an alarm function that I was disappointed that the 3DS didn't include.

The 3DS, meanwhile, has a great library of its own and also allows you to play the DS's library of games as well. It's the first Nintendo console where I was able to play online with people and do things like start trading Pokémon in the Generation 5 and 6 games, buy items and play with friends in Animal Crossing New Leaf, etc. The 3DS eShop is great and it's disappointing that it's going away next Spring, not only because I still love the 3DS and play it to this day, but because access to a lot of games is going to be lost to the masses. The Virtual Console style of having a wide selection of games from older consoles that you can buy individually that is/was present on the 3DS and Wii U (and the Wii before its Shop's closure years ago) is far more preferable to me than the scummy Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass system they have going on nowadays. Only used the 3D function on a handful of occasions, neat but not a major factor or anything. Oh, and 3DS themes are cool too.

I'd probably have to give the edge to the 3DS personally, but they're quite close.

---

As for the others?

Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance were all great for their times but I don't really feel like playing the systems themselves in the modern day. Same probably applies to the Game & Watch but I never really interacted with that.

Never played the Virtual Boy, but I don't hate it outright like a lot of people do. Innsmouth no Yakata seems like an interesting little horror game, and as a fan of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series, I think Jack Bros. is pretty neat.

As for the Switch, I'm mixed. There are a lot of good games I've spent a lot of time playing on the Switch, but there are issues. I already mentioned my disappointment with the lack of the Virtual Console that was present on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. Nintendo feels more moneygrubby with the Switch than they had been with the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS and it feels like you ultimately pay more and get less as a consumer. That, in combination with the seemingly crappy quality control for things like the JoyCon control sticks leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I do appreciate the Switch for the ability to play it on the television via the dock, as I prefer playing on big screens instead of handheld, and I've personally only ever played the Switch docked.

 

[~Kilza~]

I have 5 of those handhelds: GBC, GBA, DS, 3DS and Switch. However, as I use my Switch primarily as a console rather than a handheld, I cannot vote for it as a handheld.

Between the remaining four, GBC is 4th and GBA is 3rd, as neither has a backlit screen (or, in the GBA's case, the original version didn't), which absolutely sucks to be without nowadays. So it's between the DS and 3DS for me. It's a tough one, since I do enjoy both of them, and while I'd say the 3DS is the better of the two from a hardware perspective (the DS Lite hinges always breaking on me was a pain) and what it offers outside of games, the DS would have to be my favorite. Part of it has to do with the game library, where I'm able to play both DS and GBA games on it, and I'd personally take the GBA's library over the 3DS' library since there are a lot more GBA games that I love. I also did like the DS games that took advantage of being able to have games in the GBA slot (the Gen 4 Pokemon games and Pal Park being the main example of this). The other part of it has to do with nostalgia. I put in a bunch of hours into my original DS and my two DS Lites, whereas I didn't put as much time into my 3DS, so I have a lot more fond memories playing the DS.

 

[Kamex]

The DS is my favorite for its backwards compatibility with the GBA and I like that you can transfer your Pokemon to DS games in Gen 4. The stylus and touch screen were really cool features that I loved as well. In addition, I have fond memories playing PictoChat and sending messages to others via the DS. I really enjoyed Flipnote Studio on the DSi and making my own flipnotes because it was one of my first experiences drawing in a digital format. Watching other flipnotes on Flipnote Hatena was fun and I liked the creativity of the posts. It was just a very nostalgic console overall.

The 3DS is my second favorite console for its large selection of amazing games. I love the 3D camera and the graphics that feel very immersive when playing certain games, but it's nice that you can turn off the 3D slider on the system if you want to. I also love the ports for older games like Pokemon Crystal. Its backwards compatibility with the DS is nice too. Another thing I like is that the 3DS has longer battery life than the DS.

The Switch is good too except for the Joy-Con Controllers that break easily. I normally play the system on the TV, but it's nice that you have the option to play it in handheld mode as well. If we get another Nintendo console in the future, I hope it's portable like the Switch.

 

[BluebearL]

The DS.

It brought in the dual screen handheld and an insanely big catalogue of both first and third party games. There was a game for pretty much every beloved franchise, movie, hobby, character- etc. Pictochat was amazing, as were the DSi camera functions (at least to kid me lol). The audio game thing and flip note were just so cool. My first ever console I ever got to myself was the Nintendo DSI. So nostalgic and of course, led to the 3ds. I think the DS had the most charm out of all of the Nintendo handhelds. The 3ds is my close second favourite.

 

[Beanz]

i voted for the 3Ds, i have never played on any of the systems listed before it. the switch is great, but the 3Ds just had something about it that made it the best console ever imo