My Nintendo 3DS Hubris finally got to me

I've long promoted the Nintendo 3DS as the perfect travel companion. It's solid, compact, and can play some of the best games Nintendo has ever made. It also has the nostalgia factor of the consoles I grew up with, which is cherry red icing on the cake.

Do you remember what a Nintendo 3DS charger looks like? I don't either. I'm not sure anyone would remember that. That's because the battery life on this thing is so good that you only need to charge it once every few years or so.

Or so I thought.

3DS

I've taken my 3DS on several trips over the past 12 months, including Seoul and Rome. I haven't been playing console all the time on various flights, but I've had a few good sessions of A Link Between Worlds and Majora's Mask. Like I said, bangers only on this console.

This week I took my 3DS on a third trip, to Ireland. It's only an hour's flight from the UK but I knew I'd have plenty of cozy evenings in front of the fire going through my reading pile or playing some retro games.

Yes, the 3DS is now considered retro.

However, I was only three hours into the new Pokemon SoulSilver nuzlock when the dreaded red light came on. My heart sank. I haven't experienced this in at least ten years. Low battery? what is it I was trying to remember something like that. How long does a 3DS last on a red battery? How many more battles could I take? Would this be the end of my holiday nuzlocke?

Ecruteak City from Pokémon Evolutions

As usual, the 3DS lasts about an hour on a red battery. So four hours and two gym badges into my nuzlock, that piercing red light started flashing and I knew my time was up. I saved often and pushed on as hard as I could, but I couldn't get out of the Ilex Forest. I wish a guardian could swoop down and send me back to when I was foolishly packing my bags minus my charger so I could change the course of history and play a little more Pokemon.

In Pokemon, is the Butterfree Effect a thing? Ash doesn't seem to think so…

A sensible man would charge his 3DS before taking it on holiday. You might as well pack a charger. But I was so confident in the seemingly endless battery life of this little console that I flew too close to the sun. I pushed my 3DS to its limits and fell victim to my own arrogance.

Mario on the race track in Mario Kart 7

They say that pride precedes a fall. I don't know if I was too proud of my 3DS's ten year old battery, but I was definitely overconfident. And that was my downfall. Next time, regardless of how recently I've charged my 3DS, I'll be sure to pack a charger. Just in case.

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