Review on Nintendo 3DS XL - Pretty in Pink/White: Explore Gaming on the Go by Raymundo Miller

Great little toy. I took a star for a couple of questions. Insufficient screen brightness for darker titles and poor audio output. Flashier titles like the cartoon Mario series look right, while titles like Resident Evil, Castevania, and old NES game downloads are too lackluster to fully appreciate. I know Nintendo has limited the brightness to save battery life, but they should let the user decide what's best for them. You can always use a connected device to avoid low battery life when the screen is set to maximum brightness. Built-in speakers are mediocre, and headphones don't help much. Some games seem to sound good enough on the device, while others are too quiet due to the lack of amplification this device offers. Even with amplified external speakers, I have to turn the volume on the speakers themselves all the way up to hear the audio at an acceptable level. Once again, Nintendo had to sacrifice some of the available speaker space by limiting the adjustable volume. Louder tracks cause the speakers to distort, but the inability to crank up the volume distracts from lower-volume games. Another justification is to avoid hearing damage when using headphones. The user is the best judge of what is loud enough, and this usage indicates the sound is too quiet. Not even close to an iPod in terms of volume.