Nintendo 3DS XL, Silver - Mario & Luigi Dream team Limited Edition

I have a few points I'd like to make about this system - as well as some accessories that I purchased - to assist you with your purchasing decisions. I love purchasing items on Amazon because I get to read such excellent product reviews from other customers. Some are overly glowing, some are much too harsh, but with all of the comments you can get a general idea for what you are getting before you buy.I bought the 3DS XL with Mario & Luigi Dream team built in. There are other bundles to choose from - Mario Kart, Pokemon X&Y, Zelda, others I'm sure - and each has it's own color and art design on the case along with the included game. I purchased the Silver bundle because I wanted the included game and it was not much more expensive than the standard console. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FXOP1JII promptly upgraded the included 4GB SD card to a 32GB SDHC SD card to increase my 'block' capacity. 32 might be overkill but I would recommend around 16 if you are going to download games. If not, then the included 4GB card should work, but a quick note on this topic: It is much more convenient to purchase and download titles from the Nintendo E-Shop than to purchase an actual game cartridge. All of your games built in versus needing to carry and switch out cartridges that can be lost or destroyed. In fact, you should only purchase cartridges for the following reasons: (1) you might want to resell your games individually at a later date (2) you would like to share the game with someone who also owns a DS console, or (3) you can purchase the cartridge for less than the cost of the game at the E-store. If you see a game for $40, that is likely the e-store price as well.Regarding games: This is why you would buy this gaming console. Most reviews I saw were parents or grandparents bragging about how well received this was as a christmas gift for a child. As ever, Nintendo has many games that appeal to the young and the old - but I am an adult male, and after playing my niece's console I bought one for myself (I also own a Wii and an XBox 360). I immediately downloaded: Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (the best reviewed game ever, for any gaming platform), Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Gamespot's best game of 2013 winner, again, for any gaming platform), and Super Mario 3D land (excellent reviews, great game). I also own Fire Emblem: Awakening (so far, awesome) and Mario Kart 7 (I love this series). And these very awesome, very well reviewed, and very affordable e-shop titles: Steamworld - Dig, Pushmo, Crashmo and Colors 3D. This is now an epic time killing device that will make cross country flights and train commutes seemingly shorter. Or even better, if you find yourself in a position (as I do) where the television viewing selection in this house is not to my liking, but I don't want to be off by myself being anti-social, I can just sit there and play Pushmo or something. If something comes up, all you have to do is close the system - that's it. No need to pause, or get to a point where you can stop. Just shut it and put it down. Also, strangely, if you leave the system on and walk around with it the built-in pedometer will track your steps and seemingly gives you points(?) for walking.... weird.Fair warning: the best gift that I ever received in my whole life was an original Nintendo NES for Christmas many, many years ago. We got one way after everyone else we knew in our neighborhood already had one, but since we waited ours came with Mario, Duck Hunt AND Track and Field with the PowerPad! It was so awesome... except for that stupid dog in Duck Hunt. And then we got Dragon Warrior for free included with some Nintendo magazine subscription or something and my bro and I were in heaven. Nothing will ever top getting a toy like that as a kid, so fair warning that I am forever biased towards Nintendo products. But this console encapsulates all of the things that make Nintendo great, and I understand why the children and grandchildren who received one of these from other reviewers as a gift were so freakin excited.

I love my new 3DS XL. I wasn't quite sure if I would be happy with a 3DS, but I thought I would give it a try since it would open a whole new library of games for me to try.The 3DS has a nice feels to it. It's a lot more comfortable than the original DS that I owned. I like the placement of the different controls. All of the keys are very responsive. The touch screen is also accurate and responsive. The 3D effect can be adjusted or turned off completely. My eyes can't get used to the 3D effect, so I keep it off for the most part. I find the 3D works best when I hold is just right, but if I move my face or the DS, I get a weird blurring effect that bothers my eyes. So far, I have found that the 3D effect is more of a gimmick than an essential part of this system.I am happy with the battery life. With the 3D turned off, it lasts several hours. The screen size is large enough that I can play games even after using a computer at work all day. I had shied away from the original 3DS due to the small screen size.This system comes pre-loaded with Mario and Luigi Dream Team, which I liked a lot. Dream Team is a casual game that can be saved at any point, so you can play for short bursts. I was surprised to find that it took me 60 hours (according to the game clock) to beat the game. I like to explore everything in games, so this game was perfect and was probably one of the longest games I have played.Overall, I am very happy I decided to purchase this 3DS XL. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys games. I'm looking forward to checking out more of the 3DS game library.

And having Mario and Luigi's Dream Team pre-installed? THE BEST! This game is absolutely the closest Nintendo has came to Mario RPG, my favorite game ever. The Mario and Luigi series was getting close, but it wasn't until the 3DS version that I was overly thrilled every time I played. I still miss being able to fight with peach, but just Mario and Luigi aren't too bad.As for the system.. It's sweet. They have a huge amount of digital content you can download. Including massive amounts of demos.There is a downside, which isn't bad enough to lose a star over, but it's something everyone should be aware of. If you're playing a game on a cartridge, there is currently NO WAY to save your game on the system to play on a different cartridge. For example, if you gamefly'd some sweet new games, played them for awhile, and sent them back. You'd be losing all your game data, because you can only save it to the cartridge. However, I hear that if you decide to buy the digital game, then it'll use the save data that you have on your cartridge.But over all it's a great system. Street pass is amazing. It makes me wanna take my 3DS EVERYWHERE. When I go on vacation.. i'm almost more excited about getting a bunch of street passes in the hotel than the rest of the vacation.Not only that, but every time I play it makes me wish I could buy more for my friends!