C/D: Nintendo 3DS was the better "Nintendo box" than Wii U that generation

[TheMisterManGuy]

h2ohno said:

Pretty much everyone acknowledges that the 3DS had more good games. I would add the caveat that the top 10 Wii U games are largely superior to the top 10 3ds games: Both 2D and 3D Mario were better on Wii U. Breath of the Wild vs A Link Between Worlds, Mario Kart 8 vs 7, Bayonetta 2 vs nothing, Splatoon vs nothing, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze vs a port of Returns, Xenoblade X vs a downgraded port of the first game that couldn't be played on most systems anyway, Rayman Legends vs an inferior port of Origins, Pikmin 3 vs Hey Pikmin, and Super Mario Maker vs a port that took out the most important part of the whole game. In all of those cases the Wii U comes out on top The only one where the 3DS version is arguably better is Smash, and that's because Smash Run is far superior to Smash Tour and the stages are better. The Wii U version still has the beautifulHD visuals, 9-player matches, and more content overall.

The 3DS really shines in the depth of its library. Fire Emblem got the sublime Awakening, Fates, and a great remake of one of the original games. Samus Returns was great. Kid Icarus Uprising was worth the painful controls. It got Monster Hunter 4 and Generations and not just a port of the Wii game. It got Dragon Quest 7 and 8, as well as the Bravely Default games. It got 2 great Kirby games instead of a spinoff that forces the player to choose between the graphics and the controls. Resident Evil Revelations was originally an exclusive. It got Lugi's Mansion 2 and a port of Luigi's Mansion 1. It got the Zero Escape games, Shin Megami Tensei 4 and Apocalypse. These may not be as good as Mario 3D World and Breath of the Wild, but there was still much more quality games overall to play on 3DS compared to the Wii U. The top 50 games favors the 3DS, and that matters a lot more than the top 10.

I don't think anybody would argue that the Wii U counterparts of franchises were better. What I was arguing is that from the perspective of a non Nintendo diehard (like kids, or gamers who just wanted Nintendo games) that didn't matter. 3DS had basically every core Nintendo franchise and the games were console quality enough that most people didn't care. And it had the majority of the same features and controls as the Wii U.

In previous generations, Nintendo's home console and handheld were distinct enough that you could justify owing both. But the 3DS broke that, and was the first time a Nintendo handheld could sufficiently replace a Nintendo home console for a lot of people.