Nintendo may have stopped supporting the 3DS, but fans have done their best to keep this handheld alive. The modding scene for this console has grown in spades, resulting in many gamers keeping their 3DS despite its lack of relevance.
How much has the modding scene of this dead Nintendo system grown? Gamers can now stream Marvel Rivals on the handheld, showing how much the community loves this system.
It’s not a perfect experience. This is done through streaming, so players will need a good internet connection to make Rivals work on the 3DS. Because the left and right analogs of this system can’t be clicked for the characters’ finishing moves, this is now done by pressing them on the touch screen.
That is still very impressive, though. Even if this is “only” done through streaming, the fact that this modern shooter can be played at all on this handheld from 2011 is incredible. You don’t see this shooter getting streamed on a PS3 or Xbox 360, which are more powerful than the 2011 Nintendo handheld.
Streaming a superhero shooter isn’t the only thing possible with a modded 3DS. Believe it or not, fans with the system can play PS1 games on it through emulation. Plenty of gaming handhelds can emulate the PS1, thanks to Anbernic, but it’s still really cool seeing the system play games it was never meant to run.
Modders have also used the 3DS to emulate games on Nintendo’s failed Virtual Boy. The work done for this emulator is incredible, as it not only runs these games but does so in 3D. Fans wanted Nintendo to port these Virtual Boy games to 3DS, but the company is ashamed of that console, so it never happened. The fans did it themselves, and many would argue that a 3DS runs Virtual Boy games better than this failed console.
Native ports have also been made for the handheld, so fans can now play games like Super Mario 64 in 3D. It’s quite a sight to see, especially since the 3DS never had a fully 3D platformer like Mario 64. Sure, there was Super Mario 3D Land, but that was more of a 2.5D game than anything else, albeit an excellent one.
As fans can see, there are plenty of reasons to pick up a 3DS, even if you aren’t nostalgic for the handheld. This system can play plenty of classic games from Nintendo’s older systems, some of which are native thanks to eShop ports. It’s also worth noting that owning a 3DS is better than emulating its games on different systems.
We hope the 3DS modding scene continues for years to come. The feeling of using your old console to play something different is exhilarating in ways we can’t properly explain.