Nintendo has delivered a surprise in Swapdoodle, a free-to-start messaging application for Nintendo 3DS.
This successor to Swapnote – or Nintendo Letter Box as it was known in Europe – lets users communicate with their friends by drawing quirky doodles to send them.
Users can only send such scrawlings to those on their Friend List by using SpotPass, a move that addresses the concerns that saw Swapnote suddenly pulled from the Nintendo eShop. These messages can play out over several panels, and secret panels can be used to allow their recipient to slowly unravel what has been sent. Users can also add game software icons to their messages to share what they have been playing, plucked from their Activity Log.
Those that want to send more impressive drawings can turn to Lessons, which are available as option Premium Packs to purchase. These are based on well loved Nintendo characters and series such as Animal Crossing, Super Mario, and Mario Kart, and fun doodles penned by Nikki who returns to guide players in Swapdoodle.
The Nintendo Premium Pack and Sparkling Premium Pack are now available to buy, allowing you to use more ink in messages, work through multiple Lessons, and unlock more colours to help bring your doodles to life.
There is a Free Starter Pack that contains four Lessons, more notes, and a new colour to get started with, while other Premium Packs are available to trial. Creations drawn in the trial versions cannot be shared with friends until they are purchased, but still allow users to practise an entire Lesson before choosing to do so.
Swapdoodle is now available as a free download on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS.
