I sprang for the XL and have no complaints at all. Some old DS games that weren't made with a bigger screen in mind look a little off, but I can actually see what I'm doing. Then again, my eyesight is terrible, so you may not need a large screen. Still the image quality is great and Awakening really looks good. I don't use the 3D very much though. It's neat now and then to make a cutscene really come alive, but I learned my lesson from the last 3D "portable" I owned. I got a Virtual Boy when it came out because my name is Sheik, and I'm I dumbass. When I have the 3D (lowest setting) on the DS for more than five minutes, I start to get the same headache I got on the VB that says "You're going to go blind when you turn forty and make your optometrist a very happy person until then."