i’m gonna be the millionth person to tell you this…

you should mod your 3ds.

now i know what you’re thinking… who HASN’T told me this in the past 4 or so years? but no matter how much it’s memed and ran into the ground, the fact of the matter is: it actually is that easy.

let me start this by going back a bit.

in 2011, i had gotten one of those blue original 3ds’ for my birthday, and i was ecstatic. i was on it almost constantly, until one day, for a reason i still don’t really know, i got out of bed and opened it up and the screens just. never came back on. it would power on, but the display just never worked again. i was devastated, and not fully convinced it wasn’t something i did directly (rude of them btw), it took years of convincing after that for my parents to even consider getting me another one. until 2014, when my mom finally gave in and got me a link between worlds edition 3dsxl. not only was this a new 3ds, but it was an xl AND a zelda edition? so obviously i treated that one like my very own child… so you can imagine why i was hesitant when i decided i wanted to mod a 3ds in 2023. so hesitant in fact, i bought a whole new japanese 3dsxl off ebay to do so. do i regret it? absolutely not. i love having a different model to add to my handheld collection. but realistically, after actually putting the minimal time and effort you need into doing it… i realized it actually wasn’t that serious.

this was also my very first modding project ever so my anxiety was doubled, but with organized, beginner friendly and easy to understand directions to follow at 3ds.hacks.guide, the process was a breeze. if i’m remembering correctly it took maybe an hour or two to fully homebrew my 3ds when i expected it to be like an entire day ordeal. and i am so, SO glad i decided to go through with it.

having an extensive library of games and extremely personalizable home menu even before modding, it’s almost as if the 3ds was made for the community to take it a step even further. with custom themes and badges and an extremely easy way to get games directly on your 3ds (hypothetically. of course.) without having to remove and reinsert your sd card every time, to even having a community ran ONLINE SERVER now that the official ones have been shutdown (shoutout pretendo), the 3ds is genuinely the number one homebrewed console to have in my opinion.

it’s perfect for every situation. wether i’m in the mood for a longer more intense game like zelda or fire emblem, or for a small brain teaser to pass the time like picross or crossworld puzzles. i have music downloaded onto the player just in case (which i had NO idea you could do on a base ds until THIS YEAR BTW?? genuinely shocked it took that long) and i’m working on downloading some episodes of anime on it to pass the time. there’s also ways to turn it into an ereader which i haven’t dabbled with yet but i plan to. not to mention i just adore using the camera as a digicam. there’s just SO MUCH you can have with it in any way you want in any situation that makes it the very definition of the perfect handheld console in my eyes. of course i’m probably biased since i grew up with nintendo and i never had a sony handheld until this year (and i love my psp too!), but i just love how special the 3ds is to the community that even after nintendo has abandoned it and tossed it to the side, the fans are still finding ways to breathe new life into it even now <3

here’s the link to the guide i used to homebrew my 3ds! genuinely the best guide out there, and i’ve heard (HEARD, i’m not sure if it’s true or not but i’d believe it) that it’s gotten EVEN EASIER since i did my own in 2023, so really, if you haven’t already, i HIGHLY recommend modding your 3ds. and of course you can be cautious, but don’t scare yourself out of doing something that could bring your childhood 3ds back into your daily life again!

3DS Hacks Guide

A complete guide to 3DS custom firmware