Highlights
- The Nintendo 3DS has some great hidden gems, but finding a shooter on the console can be challenging.
- IronFall: Invasion may be one of the best multiplayer shooters on 3DS, but it's not very popular.
- Kid Icarus: Uprising might not be the best 3DS shooter, but it uses the dual-screen system innovatively.
There are plenty of great games on the Nintendo 3DS in any genre imaginable. Even outside of Nintendo’s classic action or platform adventure series, like The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario, the console has some great games to discover. There might still be some hidden gems stuck on the 3DS, but for some genres, like shooters, those gems might be a bit too hard to find.
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That is to say, it’s hard to come by a great Nintendo 3DS shooter without meaning to. One such game, Kid Icarus: Uprising, was a real hit. It was a long-awaited sequel to an almost forgotten NES game that still had its fans. However, the game itself, while one of the best shooters on the console, isn't the best game on 3DS. And even if it were, it would be the only shooter there.
5 IronFall: Invasion
A Straightforward Third-Person Shooter
- Platforms: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch
- Released: 2015-02-13
- Developer: VD-dev
- Genre: Third-Person Shooter
IronFall: Invasion is a third-person shooter with local single-player and online multiplayer modes. The game saw a noticeable amount of coverage before release, if nothing else, because it looked really good for Nintendo 3DS standards. Still, IronFall: Invasion never became very popular, even if it was one of the best (and few) multiplayer shooters on the system.
Critics of the time praised the online multiplayer arena mode, while almost everyone was disappointed by the campaign. Sadly, the heart of the game is in the online multiplayer, which has long since been dead. Even if it wasn’t, Nintendo is going to end support for online play in April, 2024, which will kill the servers of any online-only game on 3DS and WiiU.
4 Kid Icarus: Uprising
A Unique, Story-Driven Shooter
Kid Icarus: Uprising
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 3DS
- Released
- March 23, 2012
- Developer(s)
- Sora Ltd.
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
Kid Icarus: Uprising isn’t a traditional shooter, and it certainly isn’t at all like the classic Nintendo Entertainment System platformer Kid Icarus. The second and latest entry in this forgotten Nintendo property is a third-person shooter with space combat sections and a healthy dose of hack-and-slash dungeon delving.
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Kid Icarus: Uprising might not be the best shooter on the console, but it might be the one that best uses the 3DS dual-screen system. Most of the game takes place on the top screen, while the touchscreen shows character sprites during dialogue, marrying constant action with the strong writing and fun characters that make the title unique.
3 Metroid Prime: Federation Force
Metroid As A Co-Op FPS
- Platform: Nintendo 3DS
- Released: 2016-08-19
- Developer: Next Level Games
- Genre: First-Person Shooter
Metroid Prime: Federation Force used to be one of the most disliked games on the console. In 2016, when the game came out, Metroid fans had been waiting for a new installment for quite a while. It didn’t help that the previous game in the series was the infamous Metroid: Other M, and the fact that the other previous installment of Samus' story was a mini-game on Nintendo Land made matters worse. Still, with the right group, Federation Force can be a fun little diversion.
While initially criticized for its cartoony tone and meandering story, those elements make Metroid Prime: Federation Force a unique entry in the series and a fun co-op shooter on the 3DS. And besides, for a console so ill-suited for first-person shooters, Federation Force isn’t so bad. What’s going to make it a far less inviting proposition is the closure of the Nintendo 3DS servers, which will likely make online play on this title impossible, with the hopeful exception of a hypothetical fan project.
2 Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D
Classic Arena Modes From Resident Evil On 3DS
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D
- Platform(s)
- 3DS
- Released
- June 28, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Tose
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D was an early Nintendo 3DS title and a weird little shooter set in the world of Resident Evil. Like most stories in the Resident Evil series, especially before its soft reboot with the seventh installment, whether what happens in the game makes sense seems to be an afterthought. It’s not clear why almost every mainline protagonist (and some antagonists) are all here and working together, but it doesn’t seem to matter overly much in the grand scheme of things.
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The reality is that Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is a full game, although a very short one, based on the Mercenaries mode of Resident Evil 4. Multiplayer modes, as well as the classic single-player Mercenaries mode, make this game immensely replayable for any fan of this era of the Resident Evil series. That said, players should be aware that this entire game is an arcade arena and doesn’t have a proper Resident Evil-style campaign, so it may not appeal to every fan of the franchise.
1 Resident Evil: Revelations
A Great Addition To The 3DS Shooter List
Resident Evil: Revelations is a curious game. It was eventually released on PC and many living room consoles, but it was originally conceived for Nintendo’s portable device. It was one of the first games to use the Circle Pad Pro, an accessory that brings dual joysticks to the 3DS, allowing for modern third-person shooter controls. It was surprisingly technically competent for a late 3DS title. The difference between the original and the HD versions is significant, but they aren't two wholly different games.
Resident Evil: Revelations, unlike most of the Resident Evil games of this era, isn’t a dedicated shooter, but it does combine the survival horror and third-person shooter genres to great effect. The fourth and fifth installments that preceded heavily downplayed the survival elements, as did 2012’s Resident Evil 6 and Operation Raccoon City. Resident Evil: Revelations might not be a primarily action-focused shooter, but for many fans of the series, that was a relief. Resident Evil only occasionally created excellent shooters, but its survival games are still some of the most beloved entries in the genre.
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