jam in confidence!
pick a scale and a root note, then mash away. every button stays in key, and the shoulder buttons shift the octave. three button layouts: 30 lives, fireball and clockwise.
ocarina 3ds: a loopy wind synth!
a mystic instrument for your nintendo 3ds. blow into the mic, loop yourself in bubbles, or flip to sakura mode and let a little world of chimes, wind and snow play itself while you soak.
as seen on midnight operations!
a conversation with catbeats · opens on youtube in a new tab
01 install it
you'll need a 3ds running custom firmware (like luma3ds) and a cia installer such as fbi. old 3ds and 2ds work too!
- download
ocarina3ds.ciaabove. - copy it onto your 3ds sd card, anywhere you'll find it again.
- on the 3ds, open your cia installer, browse the sd card, pick
ocarina3ds.ciaand choose install. - head to the home menu and tap the ocarina 3ds icon. your note layout is saved on the sd card for next time.
- put on headphones, switch to sakura mode, and wander.
not tested on emulators beyond mac os azahar, which makes it wonky! best to use on original hardware. however, let me know if it works on ayn thor or similar! – catbeats
02 read the manual
flip through the english booklet right here. click or tap a page edge, drag to turn, or focus the book and use the arrow keys.
Cover
03 what's inside
press the buttons and it plays, always in the key you choose, so there are no “wrong” notes. it was built to be carried around, handed to a friend, and left running next to you for relaxation.
play it with your breath
turn on breath control and blow across the 3ds microphone: the button picks the note, your breath plays it. blow harder for louder, ease off to fade out.
looper bubbles
three bubbles record, loop and echo you. play them forward or backward, lock them to a tempo with a count-in, and slide the water level to take everything underwater.
23 voices
ocarinas, flutes, reeds, chippy synths and drums, with two drum kits one octave-shift away. bend the pitch or add tremolo with the circle pad.
sakura mode
the bottom screen becomes a tiny nature view and the instrument starts playing itself: five chime voices, drifting chords, wind, and the odd meteor. drag your stylus to arpeggiate through it.
it knows the season
spring petals, summer fireflies, autumn leaves, winter snow and steam. sakura mode reads your 3ds clock and tunes its mood to match, and a nudge of the circle pad hops between them.
meditation mode
leave sakura alone for 45 seconds and the buttons and menus melt away, leaving just the drifting scene across both screens. any touch brings it all back.
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