Remember the N-Gage? We certainly do. The mobile phone-meets-handheld device was the property of all the rich nerds in schools across the world, but we could just never quite convince our parents that it was a great idea to let us merge our communication device with that darn Gaming Boy we spent all our time on. Joke's on you, parents: now everyone has a phone that plays games.
We feel a little vindicated to find out that the N-Gage is only 17th on The Guardian's list of the top 20 handheld consoles of all time, far below the Nintendo Switch (which we obviously all own), the DS (which we... probably all own?) and the 3DS (which we should all own, since it's the best).
The ranking, written by former Guardian Games Editor Keith Stuart (noted Dreamcast fan), places the Nintendo Switch at pole position, despite being only the fourth best-selling handheld of all time, behind the PSP, the DS, and the Game Boy Advance.
The DS comes in just behind the Switch, and the 3DS takes third, with the Game Boy Advance and SP in fourth place, and the Game Boy in fifth. Not until 6th place does a non-Nintendo handheld get a look in: the PlayStation Vita.
The Guardian's reasoning for placing the Nintendo Switch in first place is simple: the fusion of handheld and home console combines the greatest parts of all of its past consoles into one.
"The Switch is essentially the culmination of everything Nintendo has tried to do with gaming since 1989. [...] The Switch is more than a piece of technology – at times it has felt like a friend."
Do you agree, or do you think the 3DS was robbed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
[source theguardian.com]
Comments 68
I hope nintendo sticks with the switch, they have to see the money they are making, if it ain't broke make it better.
Nahh, DS will forever be the greatest handheld of all time to me. Can’t have a Switch without the DS existing first.
Nah. I’d probably say 3DS just because it has the libraries of both it and the DS which is incredibly varied and there are more bespoke games that take advantage of the hardware. DS Lite is close too as that plays GBA games. The Switch is good but there’s something missing - that sense of wonder and imagination that I still get from games that look a bit rudimentary now like Phantom Hourglass.
I'd still find it pretty hard to argue against the Gameboy or DS but its certainly up there. I mean let's be fair, whichever Nintendo handheld you play you're going to have a great time with. Ultimately I'd actually go with the DS, largely because you have access to the GBA library as well plus the fact that you can put it in your pocket, making it much more portable than the Switch
@nessisonett I say 3d to, I just want nintendo to port the M&L games over but with alphadream dead idk if they could.
I, too, will vote for the 3DS if only for the incredible library. I had traded my New 3DS in toward my Switch and regretted it almost immediately. I recently got a refurbished New 2DS, called Nintendo and got my games back and it's all I've been playing.
I really like the Switch but I love the DS family of systems.
@nessisonett yeah I'm torn between 3DS and DS but I think there'd be more GBA games I'd miss than 3DS games
Nintendo's portable consoles are one of the reasons I still play video games. Without them I would have dropped the hobby years ago. Haven't owned an Xbox or PS since maybe 2010.
3DS is definitely my favourite. Portability, weight and battery life are too massive parts of being a handheld, all of which Switch falls short on. It's a great console but it's probably Nintendo's worst handheld.
While my Switch certainly gets plenty of love, my DS and 3DS systems also get some occasional use; I just played a little Professor Layton this past weekend. Excellent libraries for the both of them, especially considering the fact that the 3DS is backwards compatible with most DS games.
Hmm but it's cheating as it's also a TV console 🤔
For being pure handheld I'd say my top 3 would of been
1. 3ds
2. Ps vita
3. Ds
In term of games quality, Switch is better than 3DS and NDS.
But in term of game box design for collector, 3DS and NDS still have better box design than Switch.
NDS, 3DS and Switch are my Holy Trinity of Nintendo handhelds.
...Yeah, the 3DS was robbed.
The Switch is absolutely great and deserves a high ranking, but...the 3DS is really something you just don't get tired of, and its library is incredibly vast and varied. And considering how great the DS library was as well, and the fact that any 3DS or 2DS model can play all DS games too, I can't say there's much of a contest. And who could forget the 3D visuals? Perhaps it did eventually become little more than a novelty, but it's always fascinating to turn up that slider and be mindblown.
So yeah. Everyone should have a 3DS and everyone who doesn't is missing out.
(And to respond to the above comment that says people saying 3DS haven't played it in a while, I use my 3DS just as often if not more than my Switch.)
They've all played different roles at different stages of my life, so I think they're all great.
As long as the console has a good library of games then I'm happy
@TheLightSpirit I played my 3DS last night. The screen size is fine on my New 3DS XL and it’s a lot comfier to play in bed.
I'm inclined to say the same. TBH, I actually don't like the DS or 3DS nearly as much a the original game boy or game boy advance sp. The ds systems really hurt my hands. Like so much that basically stopped playing 3ds after a few years. Most importantly, the game boy's library is just so stacked. I could list at least 40 bangers off the top of my head right now.
There's something about that 2 button layout of the original, and the sheer entertainment value of playing a game on the go(back then at least). The switch is the only console since then that has really recaptured that feeling imo. Switch all the way
1. 3DS
2. Nintendo Switch
3. Microvision
4. Mattel Electronics Football II
I agree. The 3DS is still awesome with a slew of great games, but the Switch's library has since topped it in my eyes.
Same, I'd have to go with switch
I suppose that is arguably true.
The 3DS is the winner for me. In my opinion the Switch is a home console with handheld play on the side. Too big and not portable enough to truly own the title of best handheld. No taking away from its amazing library at only around half way through its lifespan though.
Switch and Game Boy for me.
I think the DS is overrated. So many games have potential, but they are ruined by tacked on touch screen controls.
The 3DS is the best handheld Nintendo has ever made followed by the GBA and the PSP sneaks onto the podium in third place.
The PSP is such an underrated system with tons of great games that felt like holding a PS2 in your hand.
I would rank the DS below the Game Boy/Color. All these years later, it's hard to come back to many DS games like Phantom Hourglass.
I don't rank the Switch as a handheld console, at least by the same standards as something like a 3DS or Game Boy.
To me, it's more of a hybrid console.
How can y’all think the 3DS was better than the Switch? 😂 If I’m reading your article correctly. But I agree, the Switch is the best and it’s only been around for a few years.
The 3DS is still the king.
While the Switch's versatility would probably have given it a win, shortcomings like the lack of activity log and replaceable batteries, means I cannot in good faith have it above 3DS as a handheld. 3DS is a magical box of tricks. So I declare it a draw!
@Highonda_H_S For me personally, I consider the Switch a hybrid console and not a pure handheld like the Game Boy.
So, I view it in its own separate category from handhelds, home consoles like the PS5 and Xbox, PC gaming, and mobile gaming.
To me, the Switch is the first system of its kind and different from any other gaming device on the market.
So in that regard, the 3DS is the best handheld system ever made and will likely never give up that title since it's the last mainstream handheld system built from the Game Boy' lineage and design ideas.
Loved the 3DS but the Switch all the way for me, a nice design that has moved away from the toy look, to a far more eye pleasing design, plus it's power which for a handheld is pretty good. The T.V connectivity is the icing on the cake for me, the hybrid design it the way to go for Nintendo.
Judging by library as opposed to technical capability, I think the DS is the handheld to beat. It had such a ridiculously broad range of titles. From "My Stop Smoking Coach" to "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars".
Unfortunately, with "smart" phones having taken over the world from 2009, a lot of the "broader" entries in the DS library would now be free-to-play garbage on mobile platforms. Ironically, even with the accessibility of the eShop having removed a lot of the barriers that DS developers had to contend with (with even the humblest of titles requiring a physical retail release), the DS library still manages to be more diverse than what is currently available in the Switch eShop.
And I really miss miniaturised adaptations of larger scale console releases that were so commonplace in earlier generations.
Either way, I love all Nintendo handhelds. I never had a Game Boy, but I really, really wanted a GBC as a kid, and I loved GB/GBC games much more so than GBA. The 3DS is a piece of magic that hasn't been replicated since. I loved gaming in 3D on the go, and am sad to see 3D lose favour with the masses. Each system has their place, and I love a small-scale GB/GBC/GBA title every bit as much as a AAA blockbuster on Switch.
The 3DS will probably always be my favorite Nintendo system. Amazing library, probably 50%+ of which is composed of exclusives designed for the hardware. Toss in the entire NDS back-catalog, tons of features like a detailed activity log, folder support, and themes, and Nintendo's second coolest gimmick of all time, and it's just a winner all-around.
With that said, the Switch is probably permanently second place for me. The hybrid functionality is a magic trick that never gets old and has fundamentally transformed my expectations regarding Nintendo consoles.
3DS is definitely the better handheld, I’d take the second screen over HD graphics all the way.
I adore the Switch and loved the GB, GBA and DS. Never owned a 3DS, for some odd reason. BUT... the Vita. It has a special place in my heart that goes unrivalled. It's for no objective reason, it was (is!) simply the right thing for me at the right time in my life. The endless hours I sank into JRPGs on that machine while rocking a baby to sleep at 2am. It kept me sane and reignited my love of JRPGs. A love that I now continue on the Switch and share with my son.
The list is upside down and inside out.
It should be: 3DS >= Switch > ds.
3DS just has a crazy amount of quality games. Switch does also, but it’s still in the market and will have more games. DS was okay it was the beginning of the handheld craze. It’s got some good games though.
I’d put the DS above the 3DS for pure nostalgia and... err 〜flails hands〜 magic. It’s where a lot of traditionally 2D series peaked (Pokemon HG/SS), where many new series started (Layton) or really found their niche (Phoenix Wright), and where we could experience the toasty under-the-blankets magic of other series for the first time (Animal Crossing).
2D pixel/based games could be the best versions of themselves while 3D polygonal games seemed amazing for just existing in a handheld at all.
Not much of a surprise, nobody expected the nGage to be the best handheld. The Switch has some of the best games of all time running on it, the best controls, a touch screen, the most horsepower and you can play it in a big screen for comfort.
In other news, the Earth has been ranked most hospitable planet for humans in the solar system.
Maybe it's because I mostly play Docked but I don't really think of the Switch as a handheld. It's just so big, I don't know...
To me the DS Lite was the perfect size handheld to carry about and most comfortable to hold while playing.
It's not a handheld though it's a hybrid. Its like calling the Prius the greatest electric car of all time.
3ds is king. Keep one in the car and one at home
Honestly I really do think the Switch is the greatest handheld of all time, the Switch Lite specifically, because everything about it feels like the ideal handheld to me. It's the perfect size, it has a wonderful shape that is very to the point with no gimmicks and great functionality, and it's capable to the point where it can play just about anything you would want to play.
My Runner up would easily be the Game Boy Advanced, specifically the GBA SP, as that was an amazing handheld for it's time, but the difference between that during it's heyday and the Switch shows off the big difference between these consoles. Back then the handheld version of a game had to be a unique game designed specifically to work on the handheld console. Even though the GBA was a very capable machine in it's time, it was sort of like using an enhanced SNES in the PS2 era. This meant ports and games in general had to work with a far more primitive design than what was the standard for the home consoles at the time. It wasn't until the Vita that we saw a real attempt at trying to bridge that gap between the home and handheld games, but even then the hardware just wasn't quite there to really make it work all the time.
The Switch is the first console where the difference between the handheld and home console versions is mostly cosmetic, where there is a wide variety of games that you can find among other home market platforms available for you to play on the go. There is really no such thing as a handheld specific game anymore thanks to the capabilities of the Switch, and because of that we have the biggest and most diverse library we could hope for on the platform. Like no matter what your interests are, there is a great deal of games that will appeal to you. I simply enjoy playing games on my Switch Lite, there is just something about simple right sized approach to a handheld that makes a lot of games really enjoyable.
3DS library > Switch library in my book.
Well yeah, it's easily the best handheld ever.
It's one of the first one with true consoles games ports, the 3DS and PS Vita had some ports, but it's not comparable to the Switch, also with all the different mods, Joy-Con (drift aside, it's a great concept).
Well that's a bit preemptive, it could be, but that's honestly yet to be seen. The Switch is good, damn good even.
But it hasn't been around long enough to be the best yet, i mean in terms of longevity, if we're counting till when this statement was made, the Switch falls far short.
The DS had a much bigger library of games and one could even make an argument for the 3DS library actually being better than the Switch.
Given more time then yeah i think this would be a fair statement to make but for now, i say the DS probably holds that distinction.
DS/3DS is tied with Nintendo best Handheld console, both consoles have a diverse and amazing line up of games, Switch shoun't be considered a Handheld console, but the first hybrid console,so if Nintendo or Sony/Microsoft release a hybrid console is better to compare Switch to this consoles, istead of a tradicional Handheld console like DS/3DS.
@Razer disagree. The Switch is 4 years old. The Switch already has a much better library than any portable ever.
You have great exclusives, the best game of all time in the opinion of many, ports of almost all classic big franchises from Gens 4-7, GTA is the only huge franchise still completely missing.
I don't think for example that the DS had that many good exclusives from Nintendo even for the time, I'll never be a fan o New SMB for example.
sorry but this is wrong, the Game Boy Advance is still the best handheld because not only had an F-zero game, it had three!!! But also three Zelda and three Metroid games (counting the NES Classics). Sorry but this is UNBEATABLE!!!
3DS will always be my fav handheld everrrr
For all its strengths the Switch is a terrible handheld. The battery lasts about 4 hours, the Joycons are shoddy-af and it's really really big. There isn't much reason to take it outside the house.
The 3DS on the other hand was a marvel. It offered a technology nobody has even come close to replicating, evolved well over its lifespan and thanks to clever features like Streetpass it managed to justify its existence in a market that at the time (in 2011) looked like phone gaming was the future of portables.
Given the unreliabilty of Switch controllers and the utterly dorky WiiU I would call the 3DS Nintendo's last great console. Well built, well engineered and had a fantastic software library.
@CartuneCartune
You can’t have DS without the Game & Watch. 😋
The Gameboy was where gaming began for me so will always hold a special place in my heart.
The Nintendo Switch 27 odd years later rekindled my love for gaming in a market saturated with amazing looking games with absolutely no soul.
Switch and only Switch. The only handheld which I had interest in buying and the only console which took me out of the PC gaming.
The 3DS is a good console, but you can't compare it to the Switch, guys. This one is way better in every way.
Imo, Switch would be the first (it has pretty much everything I've wanted from a Nintendo handheld), then the DS for all it involved, then the Gameboy (the first one!), then the PSP/3DS, I'm not sure. The GBA is also pretty good, it would come next, then the Vita (good console, bad library), and the last would be the Gamegear. I don't know if there are more.
In terms of the library, the Switch obviously the best ever. Although, I don't worry about being in the handheld category when it's a hybrid. In terms of a pure handheld, I'd say the DS. It was such a revolution and had an endless amount of great games. 3DS next then GBA, then Gameboy. Beyond that, I don't really rate anything, and never owned anything else.
I don't agree. Because the Switch is not a handheld. Comparing it to the DS, Game Boy, PSP or Game Gear systems is not a fair comparison. The Switch is a hybrid, a new category of game system. Saying the Switch is the best handheld is like saying an SUV is the best pickup truck or a motorcycle is the best bicycle... They share features but are not the same kind of thing.
The Switch is the best hybrid console. It's not the first device to make the attempt, but it is the first truly successful device to do it.
@CartuneCartune That's like saying bread is better than pizza because you can't have pizza without bread. But okay. By your logic the Game and Watch should be number 1, since that was Nintendo's first handheld.
I want to say the Gameboy and Gameboy Color are my favorite handhelds, but the Switch is probably my favorite right now. Along with my PS4, I play it almost constantly. I mean, I'm playing it right now. Just finished a round of Hades and now I'm jumping into Animal Crossing New Horizons for the evening before I call it a night. The library on the Switch is just incredible. indie games, 3rd parties, 1st party Nintendo games... Now I just need a Gameboy Online service on the Switch.
3DS for me especially when you take into account it has the DS library as well, that said the Switch is easily up there with the best consoles because of the Hybrid aspect. Really hope going forward Nintendo stick with the Hybrid nature as it sets them apart and gets me buying games i might have got on PS4 just because i can them on the go.
Too early to make such declarative statements. Let's wait for the dust to settle on the Switch before determining its greatness. Also, while I appreciate the cultural and technological impact the DS had on the gaming community at large, I actually think the 3DS is the better system. The software for the 3DS is top tier and it's backwards compatible with the DS so there's that.
In my opinion, the Switch is an OK but not great handheld. Which is to be kind of expected considering it's a hybrid so there's compromises between handheld and console. A lot of my favorite games are miserable to play with JoyCons and others require the JoyCons to be taken off. Many of my favorite games on the 3DS used touchscreen controls and while the Switch has a touchscreen, it's not used in any meaningful way because it would cripple the game when played in TV mode. When I fly (granted, it's been a while because of the pandemic) I still grab my 3DS, not my Switch. Not to mention, a handheld whose controllers wear out on a regular basis shouldn't even be considered for the honor of "greatest." So of the four portables I have I'd rank them:
1. 3DS
2. DS
3. Atari Lynx (it seemed like PFM in 1989 and it still works!)
4. Switch
The DS Lite is my current favorite Nintendo system due to its incredible library of games of all sorts of variety, and backwards compatibility with 3 Game Boy generations. The battery life is also stellar on that model, and it just has a simplicity to the interface/home screen that just relaxes me. I have even been using mine as an alarm clock since that is a feature!
3ds will always have that early charm nintendo i loved as a kid. id play face raiders, ar games, and streetpass all the time, enjoyed the charming home menu and UI, i even used miiverse a bunch. the switch has a much larger audience appeal but its also more grounded with its concepts and games. the 3ds will always feel more whimsical to me
The best of all time in the handheld world is the Nintendo Switch Lite.
the switch and 3ds are both good systems. Nobody mentioned that they both have good backward compatibility. the 3ds can play physical 3ds and ds cartridges but you can also play digital GB and GBC games as well
Nintendo scored big with its hybrid system.
sadly, I only play it on TV. to each their own I guess 🤷♂️
Switch, psp, GBA, vita, 3ds then Ds for me personally
I consider the Switch a handheld primarily. With that said, my favorite handheld as a platform is the GBA. It was the leap forward from the GB/GBC that I wanted, and I thought the library was very strong. As nice as the DS was in so many ways, the library was not as close to my taste as the GBA was.
I would find this hard to decide personally. They are all very equal to me. Maybe New 3DS XL ever so slightly the best but....
That’s like saying water is wet.
Obviously the Switch is number 1. Just the library alone sees to that.
Interesting list overall though. The number of Nintendo handhelds on the list and their consistent quality really illustrate that this is where Nintendo’s strengths lie. It isn’t gone systems, it’s portables. They get it right every time.
@Vsaxo27 same here ^^
My fav DS, GB, Switch, 3ds, GBA
Tap here to load 68 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...