As some of you are likely aware, Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria has been made available on the 3DS eShop in addition to the Wii U eShop. If you'd like a more in-depth analysis of why we love this excellent JRPG, you can find all the details here. So, how does Dragon Fantasy play on the 3DS? Extremely well, easily matching its home console version.

At its core, Dragon Fantasy on the 3DS is largely the same experience as the Wii U version. It still features the same retro visuals & music and the full storyline is completely playable. The map and the management of items are handled by the lower screen and you can still operate the game entirely by the touch screen if you so choose. Perhaps one minor difference is that the text of dialogue in cutscenes is positively massive. This isn't either a good or bad thing; it's just a curious design choice considering that the text in the Wii U version wouldn't have been difficult to read on even an original 3DS model's screen.

Easily the biggest feature that sets the 3DS version apart is its excellent usage of stereoscopic 3D. Pixel art looks particularly nice when a 3D effect is applied to it, and this is no more evident than in the battles your protagonist will engage in with countless monsters and baddies. The distance between the background and the sprite of whatever enemy you happen to be fighting creates a nice contrast and gives the visuals an extra bit of flair. Additionally, the overworld map is given a nice layer of depth when the 16-bit graphics are enabled.

It is mildly disappointing that there doesn't appear to be any sort of cross-save functionality, but perhaps that's more of an issue on Nintendo's part than the developer's. It'd be nice if there was a way to share progress both at home and on the go, but it's no deal breaker.