Homebrew 3DS vs. New 3DS - Emulation/homebrew performance, compatibility, etc.

[babyboodle]

Hello everyone! This is my first post and I couldn't find anything like it through searches, so forgive me if this has already been asked before.

Recently, I was able to acquire a Nintendo 3DS from a friend and was considering using it for emulation and homebrew. However, I continue to see advice strongly recommending using the New 3DS for emulation and the like. So my question is, do you have any insights or firsthand experiences with the differences in emulation/homebrew/custom firmware/support/etc. between the two consoles? What would you personally recommend?

In my case, I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I was thinking maybe I should get a New 3DS if its performance is really night and day. However, money is tight, and I'm not sure if it's wise to buy something new when I already have an old 3DS.

 

[Reploid]

Maybe if buy anything, you should buy vita. It not much more expensive, far better as emulation station, plus you get whole vita/psp library too.

 

[babyboodle]

Maybe if buy anything, you should buy vita. It not much more expensive, far better as emulation station, plus you get whole vita/psp library too.

I had definitely considered that as well! I might look further into that. I know there's a lot from the DS library that I'd enjoy, which of course the old 3DS can probably handle, as there aren't many New 3DS exclusive titles as far as I recall.

 

[antiNT]

Now that you have the 3DS you might as well just use it. If you realize after playing it for a few time that it really is underpowered for your needs then you could consider upgrading.

 

[zxr750j]

If you're planning on spending some money buying a Vita is the best advice! You can play DS games on a Vita but this isn't a very pleasant experience so keep the 3ds too, then you can play almost anything (natively) from the 2 biggest handheld libraries.

 

[Rahkeesh]

For Old3DS start with Bubble2006K's standalone emulators (snes9x, picodrive, temperpce) to cover your 16-bit needs. You can get away with retroarch for 8-bit stuff although startup can be slow. New Super Injector Ultimate or open_agb_firm will cover GBA games.

As mentioned if you want to blow money I would definitely recommend a Vita for emulation, screen is far nicer, Retroarch menus seem to run better, and its just more light/comfortable seeing as you only really need one high-quality screen for emulation. Note that you can get similar emulation performance from some of the better recent Chinese handhelds at like half the price, but you will have to give up Vita games and near-perfect PSP support.

 

[The Catboy]

New3DS is going to have better emulation experience over the old3DS. There are some emulators that compensate for the old3DS hardware but the old3DS overall is just not as good as the new3DS.
I actually own both systems and have used both of them for several years and I would say the old3DS kind of sucks. You aren’t just limited in the terms of power for emulation, but also just playing 3DS games. Many 3DS games require extended memory mode to work and that adds more time waiting for games to load and the system to reset when closing them. Many games like Pokémon US/UM run like complete garbage on the old3DS. Simply put, it’s worth spending a little more on the new3DS.

 

[babyboodle]

Thank you for your feedback everyone, I feel more comfortable and informed now!

New3DS is going to have better emulation experience over the old3DS. There are some emulators that compensate for the old3DS hardware but the old3DS overall is just not as good as the new3DS.
I actually own both systems and have used both of them for several years and I would say the old3DS kind of sucks. You aren’t just limited in the terms of power for emulation, but also just playing 3DS games. Many 3DS games require extended memory mode to work and that adds more time waiting for games to load and the system to reset when closing them. Many games like Pokémon US/UM run like complete garbage on the old3DS. Simply put, it’s worth spending a little more on the new3DS.

I really appreciate this insight, it's basically exactly what I was looking for! Thank you.

 

[placebo_yue]

games like Pokémon US/UM run like complete garbage on the old3DS

i wouldn't say complete garbage, although it does have some slowdowns. It's like they axed stereo3D support because the game as it was on certain scenarios (meaning, 4 trainers and 4 pokemons on the field at the same time) was too much to handle already for o3ds. But besides that, which also isn't a 5FPS slowdown.. the game runs fine.

 

[nutsack]

If you do end up following the advice of this thread and look at Vitas, note there are two versions: a kind of heavy one with an OLED screen and a really light one with an LCD. I strongly prefer the OLED one not only because of the screen but because the OLED Vita feels much more substantial in your hands, like something with really nice build quality. But they're old now and can be a bastard to find with a screen in nice shape. I went looking at pawn shops and Gamestops and saw so many OLED Vitas with lines on the screen or bad colors before finally finding a really nice one at a Gamestop, and this was probably 3 or 4 years ago.

Don't sleep on the 3DS native library though. 3DS is one of the best RPG machines you'll ever find, especially when you can play every DS game on it too.

 

[placebo_yue]

3DS is one of the best RPG machines you'll ever find

Any suggestions? besides bravely default and the ports for disgaea and chrono trigger i haven't played any RPGs.. well unless you count pokemon there, which i dont

 

[nutsack]

Any suggestions? besides bravely default and the ports for disgaea and chrono trigger i haven't played any RPGs.. well unless you count pokemon there, which i dont

My favorite on the system is Shin Megami Tensei IV, and there are a lot of Shin Megami Tensei games on the system. SMT Strange Journey is really good too.