I’m a big fan of The Legend Of Zelda series. I wish I could say that I’ve been a fan from the beginning when the original was released on the NES in ’87, but it was 1998’s N64 release that introduced me and many others to this epic saga. I was 8 years old when Ocarina Of Time was released and I loved the game, though in my foolish youth I never finished it, and so when it was re-released with updated graphics for the 3DS in 2011 I bought it upon release. This purchase unleashed the Zelda fan hidden inside me, I immediately made it my life goal to play through them all, every entry in the series. To this day I’ve made a lot of progress, I’ve played some that were great and some that weren’t so great (Zelda: II, I’m looking at you) and while my favourite will probably always be Link’s Awakening there’s one more that I’ve been waiting to play, one that some would attack me in the street for calling myself a Zelda fan without playing, one that I tried to play at age 10 but failed so epically that I never returned: The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Regarded as the weirdest and creepiest entry in the series I felt it only right to purchase the beautiful special edition New 3DS XL in order to play this game the way it was intended with dual thumbstick control. So let’s have a look and see what came in the box.

 

 SKULL KID STATUE

As a pre-order bonus from Nintendo.co.uk you receive a free Skull Kid Statue along with your New 3DS. It arrived at the same time as the console and is noticeably well made. The figure is light but sturdy and does not feel fragile at all. Detail is featured throughout the design not just the mask with even the back of the head having darkened sections of orange. The Skull Kid stands on a Zelda plaque and looks terrific when displayed alongside the console.

The very first thing I noticed when unboxing my New 3DS XL was the console feels larger, it doesn’t necessarily look larger but it feels it, this may be due to the fact that the corners are not as rounded at the edges and the whole console has a flatter look to it.The golden finish to the console is a lot glossier than I expected, compared to the ‘Link Between Worlds’ Special Edition that had a much more subtle matte look to it. This time it’s a much more vibrant console and it looks great. The entire design is very detailed with Majora’s Mask being the piece that catches your eye, if looking closely you can see the image gets darker towards the right hand side of the mask, which just makes it look that bit more appealing.

This being the new version of the 3DS it has a few new features that sets it apart from the previous version of the console, although not as major an upgrade as the PS Vita was to the PSP, the changes do make a significant improvement.

C-Stick seen above the face buttons.

The most noticeable change is the addition of the C-Stick, a little nub above the ABXY buttons that is used as a second analogue stick. I expected this to either be touch sensitive, or to move slightly when you pressed it but it isn’t exactly touch sensitive as it requires force but it also doesn’t really move either, it’s quite stiff and yet I found it to be rather responsive. Now after using this in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate I’ve found it to be a feature that should have been there the whole time, it makes a subtle difference but one that is very welcome. A nice little touch I noticed is a small section of the hinge directly above the C-Stick has been carved out allowing that little bit more room for your thumb to use it comfortably. Although this new C-Stick is useful for moving the camera around in Majora’s Mask or Monster Hunter, I just can’t see it being responsive enough for shooting games, although it’s a welcome change it just isn’t as good as a second analogue stick.

One addition I entirely forgot was going to be a part of the update are the ZL and ZR buttons that have been placed alongside the existing L and R shoulder buttons.

Look at that beautiful gold finish! Oh and here you can see the new ZR button…

These work surprisingly well, when I first saw images of the placement of these new buttons I thought they looked awkward and would be difficult to press without accidentally pressing the L or R buttons. In practice I have found that they are not a problem at all and in fact they are placed in just the perfect position and raised just the right amount so that your fingertips rest comfortably on them and I haven’t once pressed the L or R buttons by mistake.

 The grey just seems cleaner.

When opened we find a few more subtle changes that all seem to make sense. The interior is a lighter grey than before which looks nice, and a few of the buttons and sliders have moved. Thankfully the volume slider is now located on the top section similar to the 3D slider, this is most welcome as I was always accidentally adjusting the volume with the palm of my hand before. The home button is now more responsive and the awkward start and select keys have been minimised and placed in a much smarter location, also the face buttons are now colour coded to resemble the original SNES controller, fun!

The new version is slightly larger than the original.

One of the major issues people had with the older model was the ability to use the glasses free 3D.  I, like many 3DS users barely used the effect that was so important to the console design that they based the name on it. Before now the 3D was great but if you moved your head even slightly the parallax effect would cause severe ghosting and if playing a particularly engrossing game this could cost you your life, (virtually of course). So rejoice in the fact that this issue is now one of the past! The New 3DS models have an additional face tracking camera that tracks your movement and adjusts the 3D accordingly so that you no longer have to hold the console at that exact angle to enjoy full glasses free 3D immersion. I tested this vigorously and found it to work well 99% of the time, it definitely works fine for general use, just no death metal head-banging whilst gaming with 3D turned on, it may not keep up.

The final change is in the processing power which has been given a little speed boost. Although nothing major the user interface is noticeably nippier with menus loading faster and the internet browser actually useable this time around. Although no games currently take full advantage of this, available games load faster and we’re surely soon to see plenty ‘Only For New 3DS’ games only playable on the new system. The single announced title so far being a port of the Wii game, Xenoblade Chronicles which is not compatible with the earlier versions of the 3DS.

 Xenoblade Chronicles is the first game to be a New 3DS exclusive.

The ‘New’ Nintendo 3DS XL is not a major upgrade, rather it’s more like getting the next smartphone, a bit faster and nicer with tweaks here and there but it pretty much does the same thing as it did before. Although slight, all the changes made are useful and well thought out, the immediate benefits are having the improved 3D effect and the second analogue stick for controlling the camera in Majora’s Mask, Monster Hunter and various existing games. The potential future benefits are the most interesting though. If Xenoblade Chronicles can be ported from the Wii to the 3DS will we see more classic Wii ports? Or, dare I say it? Will we have GameCube games ported for the new 3DS? I can safely say that I would be first in line to buy Super Mario Sunshine 3D.

For more of The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask be sure to check back soon for Trent Cannon’s full review!

 Too. Much. Beauty.

 

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