This is a list of Virtual Console games that were available on the Nintendo 3DS in North America prior to the eShop's closure on March 27, 2023.
The following is a list of the 192 games (203 including those available for Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors, and the promotional-exclusive Donkey Kong: Original Edition) that were available on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo 3DS in North America, sorted by system and in the order they were added in Nintendo eShop. To sort by other columns, click the corresponding icon in the header row.
These titles were originally released for use on the Game Boy system, which was launched in 1989. The first three Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console titles were Game Boy games and debuted alongside the Nintendo 3DS eShop in June 2011.[1]
There were 51 games available to purchase, of which one (Tetris) was delisted before the Nintendo 3DS eShop's closure, due to Nintendo's Tetris license expiring.[2]
These titles were originally released for use on the Game Boy Color system, which was launched in 1998.
There were 31 games available to purchase.
These titles were originally released for use on the Game Gear system, which was launched in 1991.
There were 16 games available to purchase.
| Title | Publisher[5] | Developer(s) | Release Date | ESRB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Crystal | Sega | Sega R&D2 | E10+ | |
| Shinobi | Sega | Sega R&D2 | E | |
| Sega | Aspect Co. | E | ||
| Columns | Sega | Sega R&D1 | E | |
| Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine | Sega | Compile | E | |
| Sega | Sonic! Software Planning | E10+ | ||
| Sonic the Hedgehog | Sega | Ancient | E | |
| Defenders of Oasis | Sega | Sega CS2 | E10+ | |
| Sonic Blast | Sega | Aspect Co. | E | |
| Tails Adventure | Sega | Aspect Co. | E | |
| Crystal Warriors | Sega | Sega CS2 | E10+ | |
| Sonic Labyrinth | Sega | Minato Giken | E | |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sega | Aspect Co. | E | |
| Sega | Sega R&D2 | E | ||
| Sonic Drift 2 | Sega | Sega CS5 | E | |
| Sega | SIMS | E10+ | ||
These titles were originally released for use on the Nintendo Entertainment System, which was launched in 1985. The first 10 NES games were released on August 31, 2011, to Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors.[6] These games were later released to the general public with additional features, such as the ability to save the game at any point; the Ambassador versions were patched to add the new features.[7]
There were 64 games available to purchase on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. The Mysterious Murasame Castle and Summer Carnival '92: Recca made their first official appearances in North America when they were added to the 3DS Virtual Console. Donkey Kong: Original Edition also made its North American debut, but it was available only as a promotional bonus and was removed from availability after the promotion ended.[8]
These titles were originally released for use on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which was launched in 1991. These Virtual Console titles are exclusively available for New Nintendo 3DS platforms (New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, and New Nintendo 2DS XL).[10] Nintendo has claimed that the reason for this is due to technical issues regarding the CPU in older Nintendo 3DS models for rendering the emulation,[11] but some fan-made emulators compatible with the old 3DS exist that will run SNES games at full speed.
There were 30 games available to purchase on the New Nintendo 3DS platforms (New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL and New Nintendo 2DS XL).
| Title | Publisher | Developer(s) | Release Date | ESRB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F-Zero | Nintendo | Nintendo EAD | E | ||
| Pilotwings | Nintendo | Nintendo EAD | E | ||
| Super Mario World | Nintendo | Nintendo EAD | E | ||
| Donkey Kong Country | Nintendo | Rare | E | ||
| EarthBound | Nintendo | Ape, HAL Laboratory | T | ||
| Super Mario Kart | Nintendo | Nintendo EAD | E | ||
| Nintendo | Rare | E | |||
| Nintendo | Nintendo EAD | E | |||
| Super Metroid | Nintendo | Nintendo R&D1, Intelligent Systems | E | ||
| Super Punch-Out!! | Nintendo | Nintendo R&D3 | E | ||
| Konami | Konami | E10+ | |||
| Nintendo | Rare | E | |||
| Mega Man 7 | Capcom | Capcom | E | ||
| Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts | Capcom | Capcom | E | ||
| The Legend of the Mystical Ninja | Konami | Konami | E | ||
| Final Fight | Capcom | Capcom | E | ||
| Kirby's Dream Course | Nintendo | HAL Laboratory, Nintendo EAD | E | ||
| Mega Man X | Capcom | Capcom | E | ||
| Street Fighter Alpha 2 | Capcom | Capcom | T | ||
| Capcom | Capcom | T | |||
| Capcom | Capcom | T | |||
| Super Castlevania IV | Konami | Konami | E10+ | ||
| Final Fight 2 | Capcom | Capcom | E10+ | ||
| Final Fight 3 | Capcom | Capcom | T | ||
| Mega Man X2 | Capcom | Capcom | E | ||
| Breath of Fire | Capcom | Capcom | E | ||
| Mega Man X3 | Capcom | Minakuchi Engineering | E | ||
| Breath of Fire II | Capcom | Capcom | E | ||
| Demon's Crest | Capcom | Capcom | E | ||
| Konami | Konami | E |
There was one title that was exclusively available as a promotional bonus, which was removed from availability after the promotion ended on January 6, 2013.[8]
These titles were originally released for use on the Game Boy Advance, which was launched in 2001. Like the initial NES Virtual Console games, these titles were released exclusively to Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors. Unlike the NES titles, these games were never released to the general public.[12] Additionally, since these titles run natively and are not emulated, they do not support typical emulation features, such as suspended play and restore points.
There were 10 Game Boy Advance games available exclusively for Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors.
| Title | Publisher | Developer(s) | Release Date | ESRB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo | NDcube | E | |||
| Nintendo | Intelligent Systems | E | |||
| Kirby & the Amazing Mirror | Nintendo | HAL Laboratory | E | ||
| Nintendo | Capcom | E | |||
| Nintendo | Intelligent Systems | E | |||
| Mario vs. Donkey Kong | Nintendo | Nintendo Software Technology | E | ||
| Metroid Fusion | Nintendo | Nintendo R&D1 | E | ||
| Wario Land 4 | Nintendo | Nintendo R&D1 | E | ||
| Nintendo | Nintendo R&D1 | E | |||
| Nintendo | Nintendo EAD | E |