As I have mentioned, I have been loving my Nintendo 3DS. I discovered the 3DS late, past its heyday and late in my life too. I am used to only two buttons on a game controller and it has taken some time to get used to analog sticks, shoulder buttons, and the extra control buttons. The screen print on the 3DS buttons is really light on the red model with low-contrast. I sometimes struggle to see the buttons in the heat of the moment.
I attempted to solve this problem by making vinyl letters on my Cricut vinyl cutter for the A, B, X, and Y buttons that are bright white and extra large. I took out my calipers and measured the buttons. They outside diameter is 3cm. I turned to the Cricut design software and typed out the letters in a nice square font. I hit make… and well it was close.
Hmm. My first attempt was off. If you are following along at home, I squared the circle instead of finding the largest square to fit in the circle. Rookie mistake. After let’s call it a test print, I also noticed that the 3DS was covered in a layer of grease. I cleaned it off with rubbing alcohol and then made some smaller letters.
With confidence in the math and a clean 3DS, I went ahead and cut out the rest of the letters. I tested them in low-light conditions. I am very happy with how the new button overlays turned out. The vinyl is stuck in place and has kept up with my play through of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
Have you upgraded your 3DS? Any tips for me to try?