Nintendo Badge Arcade
Nintendo Badge Arcade is a free-to-start application available from the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS. The game involves collecting badges in various Nintendo-themed crane game-like minigames, which can be used to customize the 3DS Home Menu. It was first released in December 2014 in Japan, and almost a year later in the west.
Gameplay
The arcade is hosted by a pink shop assistant rabbit. To earn credits to play, the player must pay real-life money. Five credits cost ¥90 in Japan, US$1.00 in North America, £0.90 in the United Kingdom, and AU$1.30 in Australia. The player can also earn free credits by playing the Practise Catcher, or as a gift on special occasions.
The arcade includes a variety of Badge Catchers based on various Nintendo franchises, such as Super Mario and Animal Crossing. To control the crane, the player must press and hold to move it left. Releasing will drop the crane and, if successful, collect any badges within its range. In certain Badge Catchers that use hammers instead of cranes, the hammer drops down and is swung, knocking any badges in its way.
Any badges earned can then be placed in the Home Menu. They can also be placed on folders. There are also badges that function similar to icons for other Nintendo 3DS applications, such as the Activity Log, when tapping them on the Home Menu.
Practice Catcher
The Practice Catcher is a practise version of the Badge Catchers. The player is given five credits and can only play it once per day, and the badges are replaced with "dummy" badges, which don't earn the player anything. However, there is a chance that a dummy badge has a red symbol printed on the other side, in which case it earns the player five free credits to use in the Badge Catchers.