When I first upgraded to the 3DS, there were not that many compelling games available, so I–like many others, I expect–played around with the extra doodads: Face Raiders, the AR Card stuff, and Find Mii and Puzzle Swap via the Mii Plaza. Then I pretty much forgot about all of them. Unlike the first two doodads, the Mii Plaza “games” held my interest, but since they required the StreetPass feature to truly work (In a nutshell, being near another person with a 3DS so the two devices can communicate) and I live in the U.S. where I rarely pass anyone on the street, well…other than running into the occasional nerd at GameStop, that was that.
All of this changed during DragonCon 2012. Nerdy Cons are apparently great places to StreetPass, and since my oldest wanted to see the costume parade, it was a win-win. The parade was crazy crowded, a fun spectacle, and–oddly enough–a particularly good showing for Ghostbusters fans. My son had a fun time, but I suspect he enjoyed the subway ride and one-on-one time just as much as the actual parade. I later headed back downtown to have dinner with some nerd friends, and then walked among the crowds–to people watch and hopefully snag a few more tags.
It was a good haul. With StreetPasses galore, I made real progress saving myself in Find Mii. More importantly, I received a boatload of pieces in Puzzle Swap–including a bunch of the purple pieces one can ONLY acquire via tagging. It was a fun accomplishment, and I started to understand what Nintendo was trying to do with StreetPass. But what was I going to do now? Where would I get my fix for puzzle pieces?
I decided I would have to ‘grind’ for them. I started carrying my 3DS around in my pocket wherever I went. Hopefully I would luck into the occasional StreetPass, but at least I would earn my ten daily ‘Play Coins’ via the pedometer. It all went downhill from there.
- I started visiting Targets and GameStops solely to hit up the demo kiosks for tags.
- I became really annoyed when the demo units at those stores switched to the Style Savvy demo that DISABLED StreetPass.
- This devolved into playing Mii Plaza on said demo units to unlock any additional puzzle pieces from other visitors.
- I subsequently made enough progress that any random Tag I receive, while out and about, will be from some normal kid who doesn’t have any puzzle pieces I need.
On the plus side, I did figure out a decent strategy for using Play Coins wisely. If I load up Puzzle Swap just a couple of times a day (usually mornings and evenings), and buy no more than three puzzle pieces, I usually end up with a new piece. Also, once I unlock a new piece, I stop. With luck, I reveal a new piece both times.
Looking forward, I’m excited about the upcoming Zelda concert. Again, I’m taking my oldest–for some father-son time and yes, to expose him to music, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m really hoping to score some purple puzzle pieces. I am supposedly a grown man. I’m pushing 40. And I carry this 3DS with me in my pocket every day! Learn from my tale, gents (and ladies). Go outside, chop some wood, or capture a live animal and eat it… before it’s too late.
Ben
ecto-1 photo courtesy of http://carolinaghostbusters.com/
That has always been my complaint about Street Pass and some of the other similar wireless mechanisms Nintendo has come up with. They only truly work if you are in a populated area where it is a social norm to carry around a portable gaming system. Unfortunately that eliminates me and significant number of other people who live in either a rural area or a populated area but with low 3DS penetration. I love the concept, I’ve just never been able to take advantage of it. 🙁