Take Screenshots with the 3DS
Want to share your greatest 3DS gaming moments with others? With the addition of the MIiverse to the 3DS, you can now take screenshots in a lot of 3DS games. The process is a little convoluted, since you have to post the screenshot to the Miiverse first and then download it to your computer to save it. Not all games support screenshots using Miiverse.
Steps
- Connect to a wireless network (if you're not already). In order to take screenshots, you'll be updating your 3DS and connecting to the Miiverse, both of which require a wireless internet connection.
- Tap the "System Settings" button in the Home menu.
- Tap "Internet Settings" and then "Connection Settings".
- Tap "New Connection" and then tap "Manual Setup".
- Tap "Search for Access Point" and then select your network.
- Enter your wireless password and then save the connection settings. Your 3DS will perform a connection test and then download any available updates. These updates are important, so wait for them to download.
- Update your 3DS if you haven't recently. You'll need the latest 3DS updates in order to connect to the Miiverse, which will allow you to post screenshots. This is the only way to save a screenshot, as you will be posting it to Miiverse and then downloading it to your computer. If you didn't download the update in the previous step, or haven't checked for updates in a while, you can manually update:
- Tap the "System Settings" button in the Home menu.
- Tap "Other Settings" and then tap the Right button until you reach Page 4 (Page 5 if you're using a New 3DS XL).
- Tap "System Update" and then tap "OK". Your 3DS will connect to the internet and download any available updates.
- Log into the Miiverse. In order to take screenshots in many of the 3DS games, you'll need to log into Miiverse. Miiverse was added after the 3DS launched, which is why it's important to update first. To connect to the Miiverse, you'll need a Nintendo Network ID.
- Tap the "System Settings" button in the Home menu and select "Nintendo Network ID". Follow the prompts to create your Nintendo Network ID.
- Tap the Miiverse button at the top of the Home screen.
- Log in with your Nintendo Network ID.
- Start your game and play until you're at the part you want to capture. Press the Home button to open the Home menu. This will suspend the game and bring up the Home menu.
- If you do not have a New 3DS, you won't be able to take screenshots in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate or Super Smash Bros. This is because the older 3DS models are not powerful enough to keep these games running while the Miiverse is loaded. The New 3DS can take screenshots of these games using this method.
- It is not possible to take screenshots of any Pokémon games using this method. The only way to get screenshots in Pokémon X and Y is to visit the special Photo Spots throughout the game.
- The Miiverse method of taking screenshots does not work with all games. Some Miiverse communities, such as Pokémon, do not support screenshots. Other games don't have a Miiverse community to begin with. If there is no Miiverse community or the community doesn't support the game, you can't take screenshots unless the game has its own screenshot function (See the Tips section).
- Tap the Miiverse button. This can be found on the far right end of the menu. This will launch the Miiverse page for the game you are playing.
- Tap the "Post" button. This will open the post form where you can create your Miiverse post. You can type or write anything you'd like, but you need to write something in order to be able to post.
- Tap the Image button. This is in the upper-right corner of the post screen.
- Select the screen you want to post. You can choose to post the screenshot of either your top or bottom screen. Tap the one you want to use.
- Tap "Post" to save your post. It will be added to the Miiverse community page.
- Download the screenshot to your computer. If you want to use the screenshot anywhere else, you'll need to download it to your computer.
- Open a browser and visit miiverse.nintendo.net and select "3DS Communities".
- Find the community for the game you just posted to.
- Find your screenshot in the list of recent posts. Click it to open it full-size.
- Right-click on the screenshot and select "Save image as". Name the image and save it to your computer.
Tips
- A few games have their own screenshot function. For example, pressing L + R in Animal Crossing will save a screenshot to your 3DS's SD card. You can then copy the image to your computer. Refer top your game's manual to see if there is a screenshot function (not many games have one).
- You can take screenshots of the 3DS's menus by holding the Y button and then pressing Up to take a screenshot of the top screen, or Down to take a screenshot of the bottom. This only works in menus, and requires the October 2014 update. Screenshots will be saved to your SD card.
