The Nintendo 3DS, as I've stated previously, is one amazing gaming device.
Even though the game selection for the new device is slim at the moment, the sheer amount of interactivity that you can do with the built-in applications alone is more than enough to keep you busy for days. The built-in 3D Camera, StreetPass features, AR Games, and free Face Raiders game will overwhelm 3DS owners with how amazing this handheld can potentially be.
There are also many built-in secret features and Easter eggs hidden with the 3DS. The following is a compilation of nine Nintendo 3DS secrets that will blow your mind and impress your friends.
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1. Blow into the Microphone to Make the Dashboard Icons Spin
Do you see that tiny hole below the 3DS' start button? That's the system's microphone, and chances are you haven't had too many opportunities to use it yet. However, if you blow into the microphone with the home screen up, the icon that you're currently highlighting will spin. This is especially amusing when you're blowing into the Mii Plaza, the unsuspecting Miis won't see that burst of wind coming!
2. Play Game & Watch Football and Other Mini Games While Listening to Music
A number of the visualizations in the 3DS' music player are actually playable mini games! By pulling at the blue pull string in the middle of the lower screen, you are able to select from a variety of visualizations.
The one that looks like a soccer field is actually a playable mini-game similar to Nintendo's Game & Watch game series. Control the character with the analog disc to prevent him from dropping the ball. I was able to get a high score of 12 before losing interest.
Another game is a Star Fox-like game in which players can shoot objects by pressing the L and R button.
3. Augmented Reality Will Recognize AR cards Drawn on a Whiteboard
Your Nintendo 3DS AR Cards can be blown up to hilariously large proportions by duplicating a scaled-up version of one of them on a whiteboard. Check out the video above!
4. Holding the Select Button While Launching a Regular DS Will Play it in its Native Resolution
Due to the 3DS' higher screen resolution, the 3DS will “blow up” regular 3DS game images and make them appear blurry. Not a problem! By holding the select button while launching a DS game, you can play the game in its native resolution, and the game's graphics will look smooth as silk. However, this comes at the cost of the size of the image. The images will be ridiculously small, since we're dealing with higher-res screens, here.
5. The Hint Birds Mimic Your Voice
During the main screen of the “Nintendo 3DS Sound” application, there will be three birds perched on the upper screen when highlighting the “Record & Edit Sounds” icon. If you say anything during this time, one of the birds will mimic what you're saying.
Clicking on the hint bird at when a song is playing will have it say something to you. Sometimes it'll give you software tips, and other times it can say strange things. It even admitted to me once that it enjoyed singing karaoke alone. How sad!
6. The Types of Fish in the AR Games Change Depending on the Color of the Table
In the fishing game of the AR Games application, the color of the surface you're playing on will determine what types of fish you'll get. Playing on a red surface, for example, will get you the red Cheep Cheeps from the Super Mario Bros series. A blue surface will get you sardines.
7. Your Mii's Favorite Color Will Determine its Attack/Support Type in Battle
I've always thought that the “favorite color” option when designing your Mii did nothing more than change the color of his/her shirt. In the 3DS, however, it does a lot more. During Street Pass, you can gather party members for Street Pass Quest. The color of your Mii will determine what type of attack/support it can provide during this RPG minigame. Blue Miis will use water attacks, red guys will use fire, for example.
8. Blow Into the Microphone While Taking a Picture to Add Effects
The 3D Camera has a large number of hidden functions, as well. By selecting the “sparkle camera mode”, for example, you can have pretty bubbles, sparkles, and hearts to decorate your image. It also includes other features, such as a voice-activated camera camera timer.
9. Use Your Phone as AR Cards to Play AR Games
Those AR Games feature is a great way to show off the 3DS' technology to those unfamiliar with the system. However, it's a big pain to carry those things around. To avoid the risk of losing or damaging the cards, you can download images of the cards to your phone or tablet (or anything that can display an image, for that matter) and use it to show off that fancy augmented reality. Images of the AR Cards can be downloaded here.
