This Old Neon Forum

Mentioned this in chat and wanted to start a thread here. With the upcoming closures of the digital stores on 3DS and Wii U on March 27th, I thought I'd catalog what I've bought in this thread with notes as to why. I invite others to do the same. Obviously, big lists of the major exclusives are all over the internet in light of this and should be googled as a supplement, but I think there is value in hearing our trusted fellow TONers tell us why they've grabbed a game.

Reminder that you will have to load your balance through a Nintendo Switch in order to make purchases on older systems.

Anyway, here's what I've got so far. Will post further updates as separate posts so the thread bumps but probably also update here so it's all available in the OP.

Prices are listed in USD and reflect what I paid for them. Every game that is currently on sale that I've encountered is on sale until the shop closes, but I don't know if that's the case for everything. Games that are available on extant digital platforms will be called out, though, as above.

Games are exclusive to listed platform unless otherwise noted.

3DS
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney ($2.99) [Also available on DS cart, Android, and iOS]
Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale ($7.99)
Automaton Lung ($6.99) [Also available on Steam]
Crashmo ($8.99)
HarmoKnight ($14.99)
Harold Reborn ($4.99)
Harold's Walk ($2.99)
Liberation Maiden ($7.99) [Also available on iOS]
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies ($2.99) [Also available on iOS]
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ($2.99) [Also available on iOS]
Rusty's Real Deal Baseball ($16 - *Total of in-app purchases after in-game haggling mechanic)
Silver Falls: Ghoul Busters ($5.99) [Also on Switch for more $]

DSiWare
Aura-Aura Climber ($1.99)
Mighty Flip Champs! ($7.99) [Also available on PS Minis]
Mighty Milky Way ($7.99)

Wii U
None (yet)

The below games are obviously available in their original formats physically but are often expensive/rare.

3DS Virtual Console
Demon's Crest (SNES, $7.99) [Also on NSO]
Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (NES, $4.99)
Mega Man III (GB, $2.99)
Mega Man V (GB, $3.99)
Tails Adventure (GG, $4.99)

Wii U Virtual Console
None (yet)

Some notes on why I've bought what I have so far:

Automaton Lung [also available on Steam]
Saw this one recommended as a hidden gem on Twitter. Seems like it might be a little mind-bendy game with some cool movement mechanics made by one guy? Also it dropped on 3DS in like 2021? Strikes me as a passion project that's worth checking out even if I'm not selling it well lol.

Liberation Maiden
A true 3DS digital exclusive by Level 5 and Suda51. The latter's involvement is all it took to sell me, plus google/HLTB says it's only about 1.5-2 hrs long. Short and sweet space shooter sounds good to me.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies/Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice [both also available on iOS]
These games' reputations precede them, so you probably already know if you want them. They're also available on iOS, but OS updates happen all the time and can render some mobile games unplayable, so this seemed like the more stable platform. I think the games also take advantage of some 3DS stuff, so it's probably most enjoyable here anyway. I'm not caught up on Ace Attorney at all, but I know I will be eventually, and I'll be glad I have these. Even if Capcom does eventually port them to a platform I have, I doubt they'll be as cheap as six bucks total on said platform anytime soon.

Rusty's Real Deal Baseball
Another one that cannot be bought anywhere but the 3DS eShop: I imagine this is probably still the only game with IAP that allows you to talk down the price with the in-game salesman. I've gotten a lot more into baseball since this game came out, so I had to revisit it. Definitely enjoying it so far and will likely buy all the little games it includes. It's a bit like a WarioWare made of just baseball minigames. Has a great sense of humor too.

I've been buying some games on Wii U en 3DS eShops for a while now. Still have some games on my wishlist that I'm thinking of purchasing. The WiiU eShop isn't offering much to my liking that I don't already have. Was thinking about getting Zombi U, but that hasn't been available for a long time it seems.

Anyway, here're the titles I've purchased since the announcement of closure:

Wii U

• Xenoblade Chronicles X
• Race the Sun
• FAST Racing NEO
• Nano Assault Neo
• Art of Balance
• Exile's End
• Severed
• Unepic
• Pad of Time
• Bit.Trip Presents...Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien + DLC
• Year Walk

3DS

• Zeus Quests Remastered Anagenissis of Gaia
• Liberation Maiden
• Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale
• HarmoKnight
• Picross e2
• Picross e3
• Picross e4
• Picross e5
• Picross e6
• Picross e7
• Picross e8
• Severed
• Crimson Shroud
• Digger Dan DX (free)
• Kid Tripp (free)
• The Legend of Dark Witch: Chronicle 2D Act
• The Legend of Dark Witch 2
• The Legend of Dark Witch 3: Wisdom and Lunacy
• Parascientific Escape Cruise in the Distant Seas
• Parascientific Escape: Gear Detective
• Parascientific Escape: Crossing at the Farthest Horizon
• Quell Reflect
• Quell Memento
• The Legend of Kusakari
• 3D Gunstar Heroes
• Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure
• Japanese Rail Sim 3D 5 types of trains
• Japanese Rail Sim 3D: Monorail Trip to Okinawa

The exclusive titles are in bold

I've got plenty of room to save these games and most of them were discounted.
Will add more games after I purchase them.

I mentioned it in the Discord but there are many Wii U VC games that are unlikely to get rereleased for awhile, if ever. As you mentioned, the carts are an option but are much more expensive than the $10 here (lowest of any of these is $60).

* Super Mario RPG
* Harvest Moon
* Uncharted Waters: New Horizons
* Metal Marines

And even this is a pared-down version from the Wii VC.

This did inspire me to finally get and (re)play Metal Marines, and it's not as good as I remember but still decent. Beyond stage 5, it pretty much requires a "try, learn, restart" pattern. Interesting Battleship-like mechanics with some disguising / decoy stuff involved, but given it's against an AI it's hard to say how effective any of that is...

Claytone wrote: ↑20 Mar 2023 22:40 Liberation Maiden
A true 3DS digital exclusive by Level 5 and Suda51. The latter's involvement is all it took to sell me, plus google/HLTB says it's only about 1.5-2 hrs long. Short and sweet space shooter sounds good to me.

Liberation Maiden appears to be available on iOS as well.

The other ones I've been tempted by are Rusty's (although I think I can live vicariously through Clay's enjoyment of this one), Crimson Shroud, HarmoKnight (although, again, I think the concept will end up being more entertaining than the actual execution), Attack of the Friday Monsters, and BoxBoy.

I didn't realize the latter of these has several instalments including a sequel on Switch, so that's another one I think can safely pass on and just play the newest version.

The other thing I double-checked was that I have all the Picross e games (I do), so I don't need to worry about missing one of those.

MerlinDrazziw wrote: ↑21 Mar 2023 21:20 3DS

• Parascientific Escape Cruise in the Distant Seas
• Parascientific Escape: Gear Detective
• Parascientific Escape: Crossing at the Farthest Horizon
• Quell Reflect
• Quell Memento

Added 5 more games for 3DS and made the exclusive titles bold in the original post.

Bought several more things, so I've updated the list above. I've spent a dumb amount of money so far and may still have a few purchases to go, but hey, I recently paid off my car, so I've got a little more money to burn than usual.

Not going to talk about every new addition, but here's a rundown of some notable ones, in alphabetical order by label.

DSiWare

Aura-Aura Climber
Cute little grappling hook & momentum-based platformer that, as its name suggests, is mostly a vertical affair taking advantage of the DS's stacked-screen aspect ratio. Doesn't look like it's very long, but it's also just two bucks. Wish I'd known about this one way back on DSi.

Mighty Flip Champs!/Mighty Milky Way
Two "Mighty" puzzle-platforming games by WayForward that may not be long for this world. While Flip Champs! will still be available on Vita for awhile, I have my doubts that that store will be around forever. Meanwhile, Milky Way is a true DSiWare exclusive that will soon be unavailable for purchase anywhere.

3DS

Harold's Walk / Harold Reborn
Two more games by Automaton Lung developer Luke Vincent. Harold's Walk is, as far as I can tell, his first game. It's a bizarre little platformer that looks about as high fidelity as the game prototype I made for the final project for my game design class I had in college, but with enough extra time spent on it to make it a real multi-level platformer. Its vibe and aesthetics are off the charts, though. I cleared it 100% in about an hour or so, and I was frequently cackling. Oh, and it came out in 2021. Hell of a time to put out one's first 3DS game. Haven't tried the sequel Harold Reborn yet, but I expect I will find it just as endearing. Both of these games are true 3DS exclusives for now, but Vincent has hinted that he will eventually port them to PC as he did with Automaton Lung. Still, if he had enough love for the platform to put them on 3DS first, I feel like I may as well play them there.

Silver Falls: Ghoul Busters
Not to be outdone by latecomer Vincent, Jerel Dulay has been cranking out Silver Falls games dutifully for the past few years. They span a variety of genres but all take place in the same universe. I'm not familiar with it at all, but I wanted to grab at least one of them to see what it was all about. This one is a Game Boy inspired platformer, which seemed up my alley. It's also on Switch, but it's on sale on 3DS til the shop closes. Of note, the latest Silver Falls release came out this month and is thus almost certainly the final official 3DS release ever. It is played by holding the 3DS sideways as if holding a book. A true DS-style game to close out the platform seems fitting!

Both of these dudes (and one more whose games I'm eyeing) were profiled in this great IGN piece.

Kong Wen wrote: ↑22 Mar 2023 14:26
Liberation Maiden appears to be available on iOS as well.

Good catch, updated OP!

Kong Wen wrote: ↑22 Mar 2023 14:26 The other ones I've been tempted by are Rusty's (although I think I can live vicariously through Clay's enjoyment of this one)

I've been having a great time with it in short bursts. It's been a bad work distraction!

Just put some games on my eShop wishlist to check out later again if I want to buy them. Some exclusive, some not. But most not discounted ...

On 3DS you really have to search for (older) games if you know the title, they don't always show up when you go through the preset lists in the eShop.
Wii U eShop almost has none of the older games I still might want to get, will have to look for disc versions if I really want them.

MerlinDrazziw wrote: ↑21 Mar 2023 21:20 Wii U

• Pad of Time
• Bit.Trip Presents...Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien + DLC
• Year Walk

3DS

• The Legend of Kusakari
• 3D Gunstar Heroes
• Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure

Added some Wii U games yesterday and some 3DS games just now.

Added 2 more 3DS games: Japanese Rail Sim 3D 5 types of trains and Japanese Rail Sim 3D: Monorail Trip to Okinawa.
Those are probably the last digital games.

Also deleted all demos I had downloaded over time, won't be playing them anyway.