Why I'm Always Sad About Buying Second-Hand 3DS Games Like Pokémon Sun

screenrant.com:

I've recently started to enjoy older console generations, turning to games I sadly missed out on the first time around, likeand . For the most part, it's been a fun foray into games that surprisingly hold up and, in many cases, offer far better experiences than their more modern counterparts. The Nintendo 3DS especially has been host to some of my favorite gaming experiences this year, but also, bizarrely, some of my saddest.

I was naturally disappointed to discover that a lot of 3DS games are now incomplete thanks to the closure of the eShop, but for the most part, have been successful in finding new experiences to enjoy. These have been rewarding and enjoyable adventures that I have far too much to say about to a group of friends who enjoyed all of these games years ago. They just nod their heads while I talk. It's fun. However, one aspect of my journey they're all able to relate to is not a particularly fun one, and that's, strangely, deleting save data.

Something that not a lot of people may know, especially if they've either never played a game on the 3DS or bought one second-hand, is that the save data is stored on the cartridge itself, and not the console. This isn't particularly new for old console generations, at least handhelds, but newer consoles, including the Switch, all save locally to the console itself. I, unfortunately, learned this hard way, after purchasing the majority of my 3DS games second-hand.

Here I was with the responsibility of essentially taping over someone else's experience, and starting anew.

I'm a late adopter of the 3DS, and as such, beyond my dwindling DS library, I didn't have much for the console itself. Of course, now that Nintendo has ruined childhoods and prevented players from experiencing the entire package when it comes to certain games by shutting down the eShop, I couldn't buy anything digitally. So, with just one quick trip to my local store, I found myself with all the essentials: ,,,; you name it, I probably bought it.