The highest-ranked Nintendo 3DS game on Metacritic is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, which got a 94. That's great and all, but we want this list to consist of original games, aka no remakes or ports will be involved. We also want to make sure and only highlight one game per series to make the article more diverse.
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Except for Ocarina of Time, we were actually able to go straight down the list for the top five. The worst part was a little trickier. Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle got a 26, but honestly who even knows what that is? The same goes for similarly ranked games. So we handpicked five that are at least more familiar and were still in the red.
10 Best: Pushmo (90)
Pushmo is a charming little puzzle game released as a digital exclusive. As the name might suggest, yes, the object of the game is to indeed push. Pushing and pulling crates, or entire backdrops will allow the titular hero to traverse obstacles in small and increasingly difficult puzzles.
Thankfully there is no time limit or some unseen adversary throwing blocks at the player akin to Tetris. Take a load off and check this relaxed puzzler out.
9 Worst: Chibi-Robo Photo Finder (49)
Chibi-Robo began as a super quirky platformer of sorts on the GameCube. Chibi-Robo was essentially a mini robot butler. At night, when everyone went to bed, he was tasked with tidying things up. Collect trash, dispose of it in a receptacle, and traverse some platforms and so forth.
It’s always been more cute and interesting as a concept rather than being fun as a full-on Nintendo classic. This is all to say most are decent, but this spinoff was anything but. It just lacked the charm besides also being repetitive.
8 Best: Super Mario 3D Land (90)
Super Mario 3D Land is the perfect demo for what the handheld is capable of. The button controls are tight, as one would expect from a Mario game. On top of that, the 3D actually helps with the gameplay. It’s not like it can’t be enjoyed in 2D, but seeing certain platforms in 3D helps out with managing distances.
Plus the levels are compact and easy to get through within a short amount of time, lending itself to be played in quick bursts while on commute. Finally, who could deny the awesomeness that is the Tanooki?
7 Worst: Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land (48)
Mordecai and Rigby were always playing video games in Regular Show so it was only natural that they get a game of their own. Being trapped in a video game sounds like a pretty typical episode idea.
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Unfortunately, it’s a very basic platformer that borrows heavily from the greats like Mario and Sonic without thinking for itself. The levels are also pretty bland and repetitive in design.
6 Best: Shovel Knight (90)
Shovel Knight is essentially on every system known to man now, but when it launched in 2014, the 3DS was one of the main platforms alongside the Wii U and PC editions. And boy did those flat pixel backgrounds pop out and look gorgeous in 3D.
There is a reason why this game has gone on to so many systems, not to mention getting giant DLC packs and the titular hero guest-starring in dozens of other indie games like Yooka-Laylee and Bloodstained. Shovel Knight defines the indie scene in this decade and for that matter out shadows many AAA games.
5 Worst: Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (47)
To coincide with the release of the console version, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Shattered Crystal launched on 3DS. Unlike the Wii U game, this one got a sequel calledFire and Ice, which was better so at least Sega learned some lessons.
Both of the initial outings were another story altogether. This one can at least be thankful that it isn’t as buggy as its console counterpart, but that’s all the praise we can really give Shattered Crystal.
4 Best: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (91)
Technically one could call Four Swords Adventures on GameCube a sequel to A Link to the Past. However, it was more aesthetically the same and only marginally so. A Link Between Worlds was a straight-up sequel or even more like a remake as many of the locations were the same albeit tweaked ever so slightly.
Remake, new game, whatever. It doesn’t matter because this game is fantastic! Turning Link into a flat, 2D drawing was such a cool idea to work a game around. It was also just great being back in this version of Hyrule again.
3 Worst: Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains (46)
The Attack on Titan anime is practically like one of the best video games of all time, Shadow of the Colossus, except a lot more fierce and bloody. So, of course, the first game, Humanity in Chains, looked awesome.
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Putting it on 3DS was not a good fit though as the controls were troublesome, to be polite. Thankfully the next game, Attack on Titan from Omega Force, was a lot better and actually captured the feel of the show.
2 Best: Fire Emblem: Awakening (92)
It is only natural that Fire Emblem: Awakening is the best-reviewed game on the 3DS. Well, besides that aforementioned remake. While the series had a cult following, it didn’t find full success in the West until this game. The reasons are many, but the biggest was the ability to turn off the permadeath mechanic.
It can be daunting for a casual audience. Even for hardcore fans, it can be needlessly time-consuming. That along with a world map, DLC, friend options, time babies, and so much more made this series rise up from the ashes like a phoenix.
1 Worst: Power Rangers Megaforce (30)
Wow, what a surprise. A licensed based Power Rangers game is bad. Still, thirty is pretty amazing in a bad way. One has to really not try to get a score like that. It’s not like this franchise hasn’t received good games before. All three Super Nintendo games are awesome.
Megaforce, well, feels like a phone game ported to the 3DS without anyone tweaking the graphics or controls for it. Even the most hardcore Power Rangers fans would snap this cartridge in two.
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