In September 2020, after nearly a decade of availability and over 75 million units sold, the Nintendo 3DS was officially discontinued. Yet the legacy of the3DSlives on, even now. Some of the best rated games were available on the Nintendo 3DS, and while many of those games are no longer readily available, it’s still interesting to revisit them. That’s why a newly released list covering the top 30 best-selling games on the Nintendo 3DS is particularly exciting.
The list comes from the Japanese outlet Famitsu, which did aretrospective on the 3DSand included this list. One notable aspect of the list is that it only includes sales data for physical releases. Digital sales were not included, as they aren’t (or weren’t) publicly shared. Keep in mind that many of these games are years old by now and that digital sales may not have changed the rankings significantly. Regardless, it’s a list rich in nostalgia.
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Number one on the list is the combined sales of bothPokemon XandPokemon Y, the first of three major pairedPokemonreleases for the Nintendo 3DS.Pokemon XandPokemon Ysaw the mainPokemonseries brought into three dimensions for the very first time, as previous games had maintained a purely isometric camera angle. ManyPokemonfans will fondly recall walking into Lumiose City and making the loop around Prism Tower for the first time.
Rounding out the top five are several games from major franchises that remain popular on Nintendo hardware to this day. In order, the next four games areAnimal Crossing: New Leaf,Pokemon SunandPokemon Moon,Monster Hunter 4, andYo-Kai Watch 2: Bony SpiritsandYo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls.Animal Crossingwas one of the most popular games of 2020,Pokemon’s now seeing annual releases,Monster Hunterhas a Nintendo Switch exclusiveout soon, andYo-Kai Watch 4++arrives on the Switch in 2021.
Just looking through the lists, it’s exciting to see so many series that are being continued on the Switch today.Super Smash Bros.,Dragon Quest,Super Mario Maker, andLuigi’s Mansionare just a few examples. While third-party games are rarer than first-party games, success stories from a generation ago continue to have long-term success.
11.Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS- 2,613,529
25.Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS- 1,196,045
29.Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry’s Wonderland 3D- 921,310
30.Kirby Triple Deluxe- 851,295
There are also some series that haven’t continued.Tomodachi Lifewas a surreal experience thatlives on spiritually inMiitopia.Monster Striketook some ofPuzzle & Dragons' audience, but hasn’t come back since. And then there are assorted Nintendo series that won’t be continued, but will be re-released down the line at full price. The Nintendo 3DS is gone, but the Nintendo Switch continues its legacy.
MORE:A History of the Nintendo 3DS
