It’s no secret that Nintendo’s 3DS handheld has a very low battery life. When you combine a relatively small battery with a 3D display, touch screen, analog ’nub’, some cameras, microphone, and wireless networking among other things, the obvious conclusion is that there is ’too much gadget in such a small frame.’ The Nyko PowerPak+ tries to solve both of those matters, housing a larger battery in a new panel that makes the system larger in the hopes of doubling your play time relative to the normal 3DS battery. While my exact battery life results varied, overall this battery and panel proved to be a very useful addition to the system.
The PowerPak+ product consists of three components: a miniature screwdriver for installation, a larger battery panel with grips etched into it, and of course the new battery. Installation is simple and needs only a few minutes, as you take the screwdriver to your 3DS’ old battery panel and remove it, take out the old battery, then use the same screwdriver to attach the new panel and battery. Doing this will likely cause your 3DS to lose its time and date settings, but that’s easily fixed with a quick visit to the system’s settings menu. Once this is done, you’re good to go and can otherwise play as normal.
While the battery is the star of the PowerPak+, the panel and grips deserve special note. Nyko’s new panel is about as thick as the 3DS’ top screen section is, so installing it makes your system about one-third thicker than it was before (the picture in this review should give you a good example). Combined with the grips in the panel, this can make it much more comfortable to hold if you previously thought the 3DS was too small. This is admittedly subjective; some people will no doubt think the normal 3DS dimensions were fine, but the panel made this system much easier for me to hold while playing as my hands are slightly smaller than the average adult male’s.
This same panel also makes it impossible for the 3DS to fit in Nintendo’s charging cradle, something Nyko attempted to solve by creating one of their own (sold separately). I have no firsthand experience with their new charging cradle, but having one isn’t strictly necessary since you can still hook your 3DS up to the USB/AC adapter and recharge it that way. Nonetheless, if you need a charging cradle then Nyko makes one compatible with the PowerPak+ and even includes said battery and panel with the cradle.
As for the battery life, Nyko claims you can get ’up to double the play time’ compared to the original 3DS battery on a single charge. After several tests, I’ve found that it certainly can meet that claim and even when it falls short it is still a noteworthy improvement. Where the normal 3DS battery might last about two to four hours at a time depending on your settings (volume, 3D effect, wi-fi enabled or not, etc.), I was generally getting about four to six hours with the PowerPak+ when used in similar conditions. Simply put, it will either live up to the ’double life’ claim or come close enough to still be much better than the original battery.
For $20 USD, the Nyko PowerPak+ does a fantastic job of alleviating the 3DS’ battery life problem while also solving the size/grip issue that may affect some (though admittedly not all) users. Anyone that owns a 3DS should definitely look into this replacement battery and panel; the only possible reason I can come up with for not using it is that the extra size from the new panel may not fit some owners’ hands very well. If that won’t be a problem for you, then Nyko’s product should meet your needs quite well.
