Review by Nick H.
Portable systems offer a great deal of flexibility for gamers on the go, but they tend to introduce some unique challenges as well, ranging from how to protect them to keeping them charged to the best way to transport them. The 3DS was handy because its clamshell design often made it easy and relatively safe to carry about – my son just keeps his in his pants pocket most of the time. The 2DS with its larger and open design is not as handy and that means a carry case can become even more important.
That is not to say a carrying case for the prior models of DS have no value. Quite the contrary, unlike my son, I like to keep my portable units in a case. This often lets me carry around multiple games or even peripherals. I have a Pull and Go Folio for both my 3DS and my Vita, and I absolutely love them. They hold multiple games, extras such as a stylus or three, earbuds and even power cables if I really want to pack them to the point of bursting at the seams.
The 2DS is a wider beast though, which means a carry case for it needs a different design. While you can put a 3DS into a 2DS case (it would slide around a bit much for my liking), the 2DS does not fit as effectively into the often more compact 3DS cases. That is where the PDP 2DS Nylon Mario Case comes into play.
The case certainly looks nice, especially for fans of Nintendo’s favourite mascot. There is a printed image of Mario leaping through a circular hole on the front while the background is a simple red colour that matches the plumber’s hat and shirt. Black coins, mushrooms, flowers and stars are patterned across that red background as well. The inside is less fun as it is a grey colour that is clean and simple. Both the inside and outside seem pretty scuff and dirt resistant, so it should look nice for a long time to come.
The design is reminiscent of the square-shaped portable CD carries of the past. It has a zippered design that runs around both sides and the bottom and has a nylon hinge at the top that keeps the two halves together. It has a soft, malleable feel to the outside that makes it easy to carry, though some sort of a handle might have been nice for kids with smaller hands who might be prone to letting the case slip out of their fingers. The case itself feels durable however, and it has a padded feel in case it does take a spill.
The 2DS sets inside on the bottom while sleeves along the top allow you to carry six games games. It might have been nice to have multiple sleeves so more games could be transported, but the the sleeves here are snug and keep the games from falling out. The unit is perfectly serviceable for the somewhat unwieldy 2DS, though it might have been nice to find some extra pouches or something on the inside for carrying things like earbuds or fabric loops for a stylus or two. I can tuck a stylus into one of the cartridge pouches, but it moves around loosely in the unit.
This case is slim and that makes it easy to tuck into a back seat, but still too large to fit into coat or pants pockets. While the rounded corner design of the case makes it easy to zip open or shut, it just lacks the extras I have seen from other similar products. The PDP 3DS pull and go folio just feels like it has more utility, from the removable protective case to mesh pouch for accessories to even a simple fabric holder for a stylus on the inside.
What we wind up with is a perfectly average solution to the transportation problem that the 2DS creates. While the case itself is well-designed and aesthetically pleasing, it lacks a few of the nice touches found on other cases PDP has created in the past.
– Nick H.
US Editor
