Just when I thought I curbed my appetite for an impulse buy, Nintendo went ahead and announced the Hylian Shield Edition New Nintendo 2DS XL. Coming exclusively to GameStop on July 2nd, this special edition New Nintendo 2DS XL comes preinstalled with The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and flaunts Link’s iconic shield on the back of the console.
This announcement is somewhat surprising considering the liminal space that the 2DS/3DS line inhabits for Nintendo. There are a lot of salient reasons why someone should buy the 2D option of the Nintendo 3DS. However, they’re mostly the same reasons why someone should buy a Nintendo Switch. The core promise of the New Nintendo 2DS XL, playing polished Nintendo games and indie gems on the go, is something anyone with a Switch is already able to experience—at a much higher resolution to boot.
On the other hand, the New Nintendo 2DS XL family boasts an established, voluminous software library. While the Switch has a ton of great games, especially for a console that’s hardly been out for a year, folks that don’t own a 3DS won’t be able to enjoy Pokémon, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, or lots of other franchises. At least… for the time being.
Speaking as someone who doesn’t currently own any version of the Nintendo 3DS family, this newest announcement is all the more enticing to me. While I’m confident that all of the series’ I love will eventually come to Switch, the prospect of playing all the games I’ve missed on this beautiful piece of hardware may be too good to pass up.
The New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition costs $159.99 and will be released exclusively at GameStop on July 2nd. You can preorder the console on GameStop’s website, or prep yourself to wait in line to avoid the inevitable scalpers.