3 Nintendo 3DS Games Everyone Played In The 2010s

Is it too early to feel nostalgic about the Nintendo 3DS? We certainly don't think so. The handheld system had some truly amazing games, including memorable remakes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Dragon Quest 8, alongside new entries from long-running series like Mario Kart and Animal Crossing.

The 3DS' library was truly impressive, and thanks to backwards compatibility with the DS, it could play 1000s of games from a 10+ year span. The 3DS also happens to be one of Nintendo's most popular consoles ever, and by 2016, it certainly felt like pretty much everyone owned one (or its 2DS counterpart). And while there are a lot of 3DS games that were immensely popular, it feels like everyone was playing a few of these in the 2010s.

3 Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing: New Leaf became one of the best-selling 3DS games of all time, and it might've been the best-selling game in the series if New Horizons hadn't come along on Switch and completely captured global attention during the 2020 pandemic. Still, New Leaf is considered one of the best in the series, and it felt like everyone was playing this game on their 3DS when it was new.

New Leaf had a lot of content, and it offered players more freedom to customize their village than any Animal Crossing before it. Working for Brewster and constructing public works are just a few highlights from this entry. Being on a handheld system almost certainly helped give Animal Crossing: New Leaf a boost, and it's no wonder it's become one of the most popular games on 3DS after it launched in 2012. It's a ton of fun.

2 Pokémon X & Y

Pokémon X and Y arrived on Nintendo 3DS in 2013, and despite having a game-breaking save glitch in Lumiose City, these Gen 6 games became some of the best-selling games on the system. The Kalos region, inspired by France, introduced us to some iconic starters like Froakie and its final evolution, Greninja. It also introduced Fairy-types and gave us Sylveon, the last Eeveelution to date.

Pokémon X and Y were a step-up graphically and its Mega Evolution gimmick remains one of the most popular mechanics the 30-year series has ever seen. They also had the National Pokédex, which meant you could keep the good times rolling long after beating the game. Between the Gen 6 games, the ORAS remakes, and Gen 7's Sun and Moon, Pokémon had a truly amazing run on 3DS, but it still feels like X and Y were owned by pretty much everyone.

1 Mario Kart 7

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mario Kart 7 is the best-selling game on the Nintendo 3DS. I say "unsurprisingly" because there were bundles, along with the 2DS, that came with MK7. This may not be the best Mario Kart game of all time, but it's a solid entry that everyone with a 3DS seemed to have, so it was easy to play it with friends.

If you owned a 3DS (or 2DS), the odds are good that you played Mario Kart 7 either alone or with groups of friends who also had them. And because so many systems were later sold with Mario Kart 7 included, this quickly became the #1 game everyone owned. It's impossible to think of the Nintendo 3DS without thinking of Mario Kart 7.

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  Mario Kart 7

  Released December 1, 2011

  ESRB e

  Developer(s) Nintendo, Nintendo EAD, Retro Studios

  Publisher(s) Nintendo

  Engine havok engine

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  Pokemon X and Y

  Released October 12, 2023

  ESRB e

  Developer(s) Game Freak

  Engine Unreal Engine

  Multiplayer Online Multiplayer

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  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

  Released June 9, 2013

  ESRB E For Everyone due to Comic Mischief

  Developer(s) Nintendo EAD

  Publisher(s) Nintendo

  Engine unity

  Multiplayer Local Multiplayer