Since several months ago I was thinking about buying a new console, but I was not sure what console to buy. I was searching for offers to see an affordable console for a good price, suddenly after several days I encountered a good deal: a New 2DS with 3 months of use with its box and two games: Ocarina of Time 3D and DBZ Extreme Butoden. So after 2 months of use after buying, its time for a review of this portable!

First Impressions

The first thing I though when the console was in my hands was: "This console is very light!". Last year I had the oportunity to try out a New 3DS XL, and it was very heavy. Some people, including me, are in agree with one of the aspects of importance in a portable system is its weigth. Having a console with big screens for better gameplay experience without sacrifying the lightness is one point of favor to the New 2DS.

Appearance

The difference between the New 2DS and the other models are the materials, the New 2DS looks cheaper in comparison with the previus models. Don't get me wrong, the console still looks awesome and elegant with the neon blue borders and black case, it combines very well, but it's just they used a kind of plastic that looks solid but no scratch-resistant in certain circunstances. For one moment I though I scratched the bottom of the console, but it was already there. If you are a person who has bad luck with handheld systems and phones, think two times before buying one, because searching in the Internet I found that some peolple complained about the materials, specially the top screen. If you accidentally drop your New 2DS and you have bad luck, the screen will probably break, making it unusable to play with most games.
Also, putting too much pression towards the screen will break it. With this I am not saying that the screen is almost as fragile as an expensive cup, but the screen is less strong and resistant in comparison with other models. As I have said before, if you are not careful enough, you will have an expensive paperweight in no time.

Special Feautures

The New 2DS is basically a New 3DS XL but without the 3D feature. But the New models takes advantage over the Old models with loading times and a more smooth gameplay specially with hardware demanding games. There is no single lag during gameplay in the New models. Also with the improved hardware, you can play some exclusive games. There's not much games out there... but here's a list of the most important titles:

• Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
• Minecraft: New 3DS edition.
• The binding of Isaac: Rebirth
• Fire Emblen Warriors
• All of the SNES Virtual Console titles

Also the New models include an improved web browser, which you can explore and watch Youtube videos without problems (I must admit, the Youtube official app is garbage, it has terrible loading times).
Also the New 2DS comes with a C-Stick designed for enhanced controls when you play. The C-Stick is not the best, I don't mean it's not responsive, but it feels very tiny to the touch when you use it. All the New models comes with the C-Stick

Battery

One of the most important aspects of every portable device. I'll get to the point: the New 2DS has better battery over the Old models, but less than the New 3DS XL. I made several tests about the battery so here's the usage details:

• Brigthness level: 2
• Save Mode: ON
• Wireless communication: OFF
• Put to charge when the LED notification is in red

With those parameters I got the following results:

• Playing with heavy titles: 4 hours.
• Watching Youtube videos: almost 5 hours.
• Playing with not heavy titles: 6.5 hours.
• Playing with DS games: 9 hours, sometimes more.

In conclusion

The New 2DS is a good console to buy if haven't bought one of the 3DS models before and you want something more affordable and you don't care about the 3D, with great games and a big catalogue, the 3DS is still worth buying now in 2018.
This console needs a little more care in handling, think two times if you are not careful enough.

Thank you for reading! 😃