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3DS Ambassador NES Games Now Available, Predictably Annoying to Download

The process to grab them is...interesting.

Today's the first day of the rest of my life; today's the day I finally start playing Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Jeff argues it's better than The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, and since I haven't played Zelda II yet, I can't really argue against that point.

Soon, that's going to all change.

Nintendo made everything live for the NES part of the 3DS Ambassador program today, making 10 old school games, some of 'em genuine classics, available for free. Another set of Game Boy Advance games will arrive later on this year.

Naturally, downloading them is a huge pain. Don't believe me? Here's a step-by-step process, taken from my own 3DS.

Tap that eShop button. You know you want to.
Tap that eShop button. You know you want to.
Now, click the Menu button. Why? That's a good question. Let's find out.
Now, click the Menu button. Why? That's a good question. Let's find out.
You're not missing anything: there's no Ambassador button. Instead, click on Settings / Other. Because.
You're not missing anything: there's no Ambassador button. Instead, click on Settings / Other. Because.
Your downloads? What? Just do it. Follow me into this digital Nintendo rabbit hole, friends.
Your downloads? What? Just do it. Follow me into this digital Nintendo rabbit hole, friends.
This was taken after I'd downloaded everything. Normally, there's a download button. Click away! And no, you're not crazy, there's no way to queue multiple downloads. You have to repeat this process over and over and over again.
This was taken after I'd downloaded everything. Normally, there's a download button. Click away! And no, you're not crazy, there's no way to queue multiple downloads. You have to repeat this process over and over and over again.
Voila! Play your games! Without proper Virtual Console save functionality! Still, free. Games. Free games.
Voila! Play your games! Without proper Virtual Console save functionality! Still, free. Games. Free games.

The typical "Restore Point" save functionality, allowing you to save/load at any time, are not in these versions of the games, but will come later. Instead, you're limited to the stopgap "VC Suspend."

But, hey, at least I have something to do with my 3DS.

Patrick Klepek on Google+