Amazon.com: Customer reviews: New Nintendo 2DS XL

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2021

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

I got mine for about $370 from seller Delaware as New quality, and thought it would only be the console. Well, it came with Mario Kart 7 preinstalled even though I was trying to avoid it since I have a physical copy, but the system gladly ignored the download version once I had transferred over data from my old 2DS and it saw that I had a cartridge for the game. From seller Delaware, buying New meant a North-American region locked system (what I needed!) new in an unopened box, with Mario Kart 7 included in the deal. (Your mileage may vary with other sellers and this last point).

Regarding the New 2DS XL as a system and its overall product design, I have some things of my own to say as someone who once owned a Pink DS Lite and later the original 2DS:

- I understand where people are coming from regarding how the system’s closing hinge feels, but I feel like I can adapt to it well. There’s a point in opening where there’s slight resistance before the system is “open flat”, but that serves a purpose from the other direction: once the system is open flat, that resistance point keeps it there against gravity or awkward angles, so you won’t deal with a DS slowly sagging shut if you happen to be lying in bed or otherwise laying down. Compared to my old DS Lite, it does have its pros and cons, but I think I prefer it over the hinge from my childhood. My biggest struggle was that I was used to the quickness of the sleep switch on my old 2DS when I needed to briefly look away from the game, and I need to retrain my instincts to use a game’s built-in “pause” instead. Though, considering the much better portability of this “foldable” system compared to my old 2DS, needing to change my habits for this is well worth it.

- I can see why people are complaining about the speakers being largely blocked by their palms when holding the system, but I also think some people may just… grip the system differently than others. With how I grip it, the corners of the console rest more against the center of my palm rather than being surrounded completely. If I accidentally muffle the sound with my hands, it’s rarely and barely.

- The complaints about the size of the built-in stylus are fully justified. This thing is tiny and I would rather use the spare styluses I’ve had since the days of my DS lite. When using it for a touchscreen-navigation-based game like Wind Waker or Spore Creatures DS, my hand ends up so close to the screen I can barely see half of it! Some cases I’ve seen for the system come with an XL stylus about the size of a real-life pen, and I might recommend looking at those instead.

- The bigger screen is amazing. I never knew what I was missing for all these years! Even my old DS games scale up to fill the screen as much as they can while still keeping aspect ratio, and I swear it brings them new life in a way. Playing D-Pad based games from the old DS days with the circle pad also feels amazing, though I have yet to play any games that require the C-Stick exclusive to the New systems.

- Although I still have to get used to the process of opening it and stop feeling like I’m about to damage it, having the SD card and game cartridges lock in BEHIND a closed sort of “flap” is ingenious. There were a few times as a kid or even an adult where I accidentally bumped the edge of the game cartridge that was being used by my DS Lite or 2DS at the time, and lost a fair bit of game progress as it ejected. (I swear I didn’t mean to, Resetti!) With this setup, there’s no chance of that.

- I think my personal complaint with the system is an odd one - while my palm doesn’t cover the speakers much, it DOES tend to cover the lights on the system’s edge, including the power light that turns red to warn you of low battery. I wish that either a) there was a specific light on the upper pane of the system that would turn on and shine red when the battery got low, so you were guaranteed to see it (like my old 2DS), or b) those lights were located at one end of the hinge, like the old DS Lite and similar systems.

2 people found this helpful

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Randy

Found a new one!

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2024

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

This was purchased to replace one that lost upper screen function. Feel lucky to find a new one.

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isai quintanilla

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

Brand new system just as advertised!

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Jon Thysell

Perfect way to access the entire DS ecosystem without 3D

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2017

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

I had was a DS Lite back in the day, on which I played probably more of the available catalog (NDS and GBA) than I have on any other console. After a couple years it ended up in a drawer, and eventually I gave it to a friend whose DS had broken. I felt I'd gotten more than my money's worth on the system and I'd moved on to other things.

I skipped the entire 3DS generation - I'm one of those people who gets sick if I watch a 3D movie for too long, so as the 3D effect was an early driver of the system, I just passed. When the 2DS came out I was interested - the form factor looked nice to play - despite loving the DS Lite I wasn't 100% a fan of the clam shell design, but I also didn't like that it wasn't going to fit into my pockets. Couldn't have it both ways.

When the New 2DS XL was announced, it was the first time in a long time that I wanted a new console on day one. Normally I wait a long while before picking up a new system, waiting for reviews, etc, to see if the platform has a future that excites me. But as we're probably getting closer to the end of the 3DS era, I looked at it from a different perspective, looking back at ecosystem already available.

I've recently begun getting back into portable consoles, and I like having access to as many generations as possible. I'd sold my GBA when I bought the DS Lite back in the day, but I was craving some classic Game Boy action, so I splurged on a custom, backlit modded, GBA so I could play GB/GBC/GBA games from my childhood. I've been steadily collecting and playing though all of the games that I didn't get to as a kid.

What sold me on the New 2DS XL was perfect combination of ecosystem and hardware. I love the look and feel of it. I like that it's thinner than normal 3DSs. I love that I'm not wasting any power on the 3D I'll never use. Most importantly, I love having a single device that bridges the entire ecosystem of portable Nintendo games post Game Boy. DS/DSi/3DS/N3DS - I have access to all of them. There aren't a lot of games that need or are enhanced by the "New" processor, but I like not having to sacrifice that along with the 3D.

I go back and forth on the screen size - sometimes I'm very grateful for the XL, sometimes I wish the system could be a little more pocketable like my GBA. I also don't like that the battery isn't easily replaceable - as I'm planning on having just one system, and playing from a large backcatalog over a long time, I accept that I'm probably going to have to replace the battery a few years from now. In fact, the only thing that stopped me from literally buying the console on day one was my wait for a teardown video to see what replacing the battery would look like. It looks like a little hassle, but easily in my comfort zone.

Ultimately, I've never owned an NES, SNES, or N64 - but I love that I still have access to ports of their best games via my GBA and now my 2DS. I love that I can finally go back and replay some of the DS games I enjoyed, and also try the games I passed the first time around. I'm also really loving the 3DS catalog - I'm buying everything digital because these days I avoid carts if I can - and I find it very hard to not take advantage of the sales and rewards in the eShop to build up my 3DS library.

I'm not sure about the value to people who are already invested in the 3DS ecosystem and already have a console - but for me, the New 2DS XL is perfect.

31 people found this helpful

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G Jay

An almost perfect system

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2023

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

The New 2DS XL is the last and final model of the 3DS line of systems after all that has gone on with it.

It has all of the midlife hardware upgrades with button layout of the New 3DS, but without the 3D.

It is the only system within the line to have a dust cover for both the cart and SD card slots. All the ones that came before it only had the dust cover for the SD card slot, but none for the cart itself. Something as simple as a dust cover was a welcome addition to prevent stuff from getting into an empty cart port and destroying it due to a design oversight.

Now Nintendo moved on over to the MicroSD card for New 3DS onwards, so the New 2DS XL only accepts MicroSD cards up to 32GBs, if ya are planning to do stuff with it. The benefit of this system over the New 3DS is that you don't have to have a screwdriver to open a back plate to access your SD card slot as both slots can now be accessed from the bottom left side of the system.

All the things associated with the New 2DS XL is everything the original 3DS should have been at launch, but due to many design oversights, were not ironed out until towards the end of the system's life cycle, which is a tragedy. If the original 3DS had the spare X bumpers, the right circle pad and built-in Amiibo reader at launch, there wouldn't have had to be so many different iterations of the system before Nintendo got it right.

Unfortunately, if ya need to service something that broke or has stopped working, you will need a triwing screwdriver to open it up. -_-

I don't know what Nintendo was smoking towards the end of the 3DS's life cycle, but it seems they swung back over to the anti-repair end of things with those triwing screws.

Nintendo has used triwing screws on their systems before to discourage people from modding their systems. But it also is a jerk to get those special tools that can't be bought at the corner store, if ya need to fix your device, for when Nintendo has ended 1st party support for it.

The New 2DS XL is the best workhorse model of the New 3DS midlife upgrades with all of what everyone wanted to do with the 3DS line of systems. But it falls short of being perfect due to the Nintendo's old anti-repair practices rearing its nasty self back with those triwing screws just to fix the device if something breaks.

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James Jones

Great purchase

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

Item arrived as exactly as described and works great. Item was packaged well to prevent damage. Excellent seller!

One person found this helpful

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A bit long but feel nice and look good

So fun

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

I like it

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Dani

Good Quality

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

Very safely packaged. The product had very minimal marks, nearly like-new, and it works perfectly.

One person found this helpful

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Sabina Darby

Im not sure if it was refurbished

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2024

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

Item worked well. Came in secure packaging. The product itself was very dirty. Had to clean it very thoroughly before use. Tape reside as well as other crusty bits on it. The cover for the 3ds games does not close all the way. Seems like a faulty covering. It did not even come with the correct stylus. Was much too small. The bottom screen was scratched and it is very visible. Other than that it operated well. Works like any other 2ds. I think the price was a little much being in the state it was. If it was not so dirty i would have considered a higher score. Product- 5/5, Presentation-3/5

One person found this helpful

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Joshua Garin

A welcome upgrade to the 2DS, but I'll bring attention to a few things.

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2017

Edition: Black + TurquoiseVerified Purchase

I've owned most versions of the Nintendo DS, bar the Nintendo DSi or the original 2DS. Thankfully, I'm able to say that this handheld definitely adds some improvements onto the normal 3DS I had prior to purchasing this one.

I bought this mainly because I was looking forward to getting rid of the finicky and ineffective 3D feature, not to mention that when turned on made the system run much worse than normal. Also, the trade for a larger screen size versus quality was perfectly fine for me, as the actual drop in picture quality is noticeable, but certainly not terrible.The swap from the glossy black texture to the matte material was also very nice, because the 3DS got smudgy and dirty rather quickly, however this was hardly a deal breaker for me.

Now, the major changes between the 3DS and the 2DS XL are the game cartridge and SD card slot, the stylus, the headphone jack placement, the speakers, the design (shape) of the handheld, and the power button. First the power button is now located under the battery light, and its less than nice to press to turn off the system. It doesn't provide any sort of audible click or tactile feeling to let you know it's been pressed, which definitely doesn't help its relatively slow response time. Its not anything to complain over, its just a little odd. Secondly, and this will cause issues for anyone who uses a form of DS case, the game cartridge slot and the SD card slot are next each other on the bottom left of the system, and have a covering that needs to be opened to insert cards. This won't be possible if using some sort of case, as you will have to take the case off to switch SD cards or games. With a case or without, it's sort of a hassle to switch games with the it being where it is, along with the cover. However, I will point out that the shape of this handheld is much more rounded and much less "sharp" so it fits more comfortably in your hands. The speakers are in the back of the handheld, so if you're not using headphones, you'll feel vibrations in your hands. I do happen to use headphones, so this isn't a problem for me, but some may need to take note of this. Also, it takes MICRO SD cards, not normal ones, so keep that in mind.

A couple things I can say that are inherently bad about the handheld are the stylus and its location along with the headphone jack location. They are right next to each other, to the right of the game cartridge slot, and the stylus is no longer the hand-friendly telescoping kind. It's now a much shorter, and is a bit larger in diameter. This is not at all good, as someone with large hands won't be able to hold onto it comfortably (I can barely hold it, photo attached), and if you do wear headphones, it wouldn't surprise me if the jack got damaged due to the placement of the stylus.

Overall, the 2DS XL is a welcome upgrade, however the stylus length might turn people off from it. They could make a telescoping variant of the stylus, and that would be enough for me to raise my rating to five stars. The card slot is also slightly annoying to deal with. And something I forgot to mention...the C-stick that was added onto the 3DS XL and 2DS XL is very static, however it does work. I haven't had to use it yet, but I'll update the review if I find any problems with it. As it stands though, I believe the 2DS XL is a good member in the 3/2DS family.

29 people found this helpful

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