Alright, let's set the mood here with some excellent music.
Okay, and now our story begins:
So, a couple weeks ago I went with some friends to Cedar Point, an amusement park in Ohio that is home to some of the best roller coasters in the world. And of course I brought along my 3DS XL, so that I could tag folks using Street Pass. Well things were going well, until my friend and I went to a roller coaster by ourselves. Still having the 3DS XL on me, I decided it would be safer if I gave it to my friend, as he had velcro pockets. So we rode the roller coaster, and it was great!
But my 3DS XL fell out during the ride (never trust Velcro!).
To be honest, the biggest blow wasn't the money lost, but the time, effort, and eshop content lost with the 3DS XL. Remember, Nintendo does not have an actual account for a user, so all digital content is tied to the system. So when I lost my handheld, I lost everything non-retail. My ambassador games, my street pass data (all those puzzle pieces... 
), all those awesome SwapNotes, my DSiWare and eShop games... and most annoyingly of all: Fire Emblem: Awakening. I had over 250 hours of playtime on that game, and I had every Awakening character maxed out. All that time and effort... gone in an instant...
So when I returned home, bought a brand new 3DS XL, and I called up Nintendo, just to see if there was anything they could do. After all, while they don't have a user account for systems, they still have the Club Nintendo accounts that keep track of your purchases. So I could at least prove that I had some of these games on my system.
Well, I'm sure you guys have heard great things about Nintendo customer service, and every good thing you've heard was true. Losing my system should have meant that I would have lost everything, but they gave me back all 20 of the Ambassador Games and put $60 dollars on my eShop account (as they couldn't put the actual games I lost on the system). So if you have any recommendations of what eShop games I should purchase, lemme know!
So what does this all mean? Well, first of all, if I can buy retail... I'm going retail. I feel much more secure with a physical copy (so I rebought Fire Emblem at retail and just bought Animal Crossing: New Leaf retail as well). If you were my friend on the 3DS before... that account is gone. Delete that Smeags. He's lost and alone, sleepin' with the fishes. I've got a new 3DS XL with a new Friend Code!
2294-4255-5421 (Smeags)
And when we're friends... send me some SwapNotes with all the special stationary. I need the goods man.
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