3DS and Pilotwings Resort Hands-On Impressions!

The Nintendo 3DS is less than 2 weeks away from release here in America, and the excitement is palpable. Nintendo is on the PR war path, hiring a security escort in a black SUV to deliver a 3DS unit to Kevin Cassidy of GoNintendo, then strapping 3DS's to a bunch of female models in matching white pantsuits and having them strut into the Gametrailers offices and present the nearest white male with a 3DS. These are just two of probably HUNDREDS of outlets getting their review systems.

Every one of these hundreds of gaming outlets has also done an "Unboxing" video. Now, don't get me wrong... There is nothing inherently wrong with "unboxing" videos. The problem is, though, that the contents of GoNintendo's 3DS box WILL DIFFER IN NO WAY from the contents of Gametrailers 3DS box, so if you've seen one "unboxing" you've seen them all.

That's where your good friend BitNick comes to the rescue! Rather than watching YET ANOTHER person unpack their 3DS and talk about how they're going to play games on it later, I wanted to give you some actual footage of the system in action!

This would require some ingenuity, I knew. I am, by no measure, popular enough to receive a 3DS demo unit of my very own, but armed only with my intrepid spirit, and directions from the bespectacled guy at the entrance of the Best Buy, I have tracked down a 3DS, played with it, and taken video evidence of my exploits!
Our first video is a quick walkthrough of the menus and features on Pilotwings Resort, the game in the demo unit:

TRANSCRIPT
"Hey guys! This is Nick with 'The 8-Bit Variety Show' giving you a quick look at the menus in the Pilotwings Resort demo version." 

"You choose a guest... Choose your mode - Mission Flight, Free Flight, Options... Your MEMBER CARD! Whichoosiatswitcha (exact transcription.. Even I don't know what I said there), I'm wondering exactly what that means." 

"Oh! It's like a little card that tells all the stuff that you've done. That's pretty cool. OK! We'll back out of "Member Card" there..." 

"Options! Let's see what options are available... We have music, effects, setting, etcetera..."
*I touch settings* "The touch screen is actually pretty good. I was worried about that from some of the pictures (I meant videos) I've seen where people were just poking at it and never getting anything done." 

"OK. Change your flight controls... Let's choose "Free Flight." Planes, Rocket Belts, Hang Gliders... Pretty cool!" Well, that's your basic idea of what it looks like. You can set up times and everything like that... Hope you've enjoyed that!" 

"This is Nick with 'The 8-Bit Variety Show'! See you guys soon!"

First, allow me to apologize for the camera work. I wasn't expecting to find a 3DS demo unit when I did, so these videos are taken with my phone. That doesn't account for the shaky-cam, but I'm pretending it does to feel better about it.

Second, I like the "Member Card" idea... Perhaps it will be used in some Streetpass functionality?

As you can see, the user interface is clean, and responsive. I didn't expect anything less than that from Nintendo, but it's nice to have my faith rewarded. Also, try as I might, I couldn't access anything other than the Pilotwings Resort menu system. The "Home" button was deactivated to keep people like me from poking our noses where they don't belong.

Also, one of the areas I was most worried about, the "Circle Pad", felt quite responsive and intuitive. To find this out for myself was a huge relief.

TRANSCRIPT OF DIALOGUE:
" It looks like these are the controls for the airplane... Tips! Try to follow the orange guide balls..." (I know the screen says dots... I don't know why I said guide balls in the video.) 

"Fly through a trigger ring to..." *incomprehensible mumbling to convince you I'm reading the tips*

"OK! Doable... Doable. By the way, the 3D does look fantastic. They really... Well, I'm astonished." 

"Let's give this a quick whirl!" 

"Sorry, I'm just doing this with one hand, so... it's a little more difficult. It really does control really well. With me doing this with one hand, as you can see, I'm switching between buttons, giving myself throttle and whatnot." 

"Check out a hard bank! Alright, let's crash. I'm going to crash into.... that mountain right there. Get aimed at it, and... HIT THE GAS!" *'Sproing' sound as my Mii ejects from his plane, narrowly escaping what must have been one of the most harrowing experiences of his life. 

Me: "Heh heh heh ha ha! Well, that was pretty fantastic. Hope you guys have enjoyed taking a quick look at the Nintendo 3DS, and Pilotwings as well! This is Nick for The 8-Bit Variety Show!"

Having watched this video after the fact, one major item sticks out to me: Why, when set loose upon the wild blue yonder... when the manacles of gravity no longer burdened me... when I could fly anywhere in the world, having finally broken into the domain where once only winged things held sway... Why was killing myself the first idea that occurred to me?

Well, my probable mental illness aside, I hope that you've enjoyed  this quick video walkthrough of the 3DS and Pilotwings Resort! Thanks for reading!

If you'd like to ask any questions, leave comments, or present tribute to my bravery, do so! I will reply/obtain your home address so I can send a signed photo in the comments!



-BitNick

EDIT: Here's a more polished Youtube version of the videos above. Thanks for watching!