This week on the channel +181K views this week

The Retro Future's £55 3DS rescue ends at the barber's

Elliot Coll replaces a damaged screen, scrubs away sticky residue and gives friend Shay a turn with the restored handheld.

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The Retro Future Story of November 5, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

This £55 New 3DS XL Was a Risk...

Things we can learn from the video

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0:41The console powers on, but spreading black pixels mean the top screen needs replacing.
3:07Opening the handheld reveals a swollen battery and missing screws, followed by sticky residue inside.
23:49The upper housing requires carefully layered ribbon cables threaded through the hinge in the correct order.
36:39An omitted microSD board sends Elliot back inside the newly closed chassis.
40:40Testing confirms working 3D, cameras, speakers and controls before Shay tries the restored console.

The missing screws are an early warning. Inside Elliot Coll's bargain Japanese New Nintendo 3DS LL, there's also a swollen battery and sticky, soda-like residue around the buttons and motherboard. The damaged top screen is only part of the job.

"This £55 New 3DS XL Was a Risk..." was The Retro Future's only upload this week, reaching roughly 30,000 views in its first eleven hours. The repair is sponsored by iFixit, which supplied replacement parts, and Elliot gives the fiddly work plenty of room: delicate ribbon cables must pass through the hinge in the correct order before the upper housing can go back together.

There are less delicate interventions too. Buttons go into an ultrasonic cleaner, shell pieces get scrubbed with a toothbrush borrowed from Grandma without her knowledge, and Mr Sheen returns for the exterior polish. That last detail has longtime viewers recalling earlier videos, while others exchange memories of their own stressful screen replacements and repairs they've been putting off.

Even after the difficult connections are secured, Elliot has to reopen the console to install the forgotten microSD board. The eventual test confirms the screen, cameras, speakers and controls work. Then the repair leaves the bench: his friend and barber Shay tries Face Raiders and delivers his verdict on the 3D effect: "That's actually bananas, mate."

Subscriber numbers held steady this week, although daily viewing is a little above the channel's usual level. Among nearby gaming channels, Mind Pulp and Scott's Stash had particularly busy weeks. Here, the new repair has the strongest viewing momentum, with the older Japanese flea-market and Niigata bargain hunts continuing to draw viewers behind it.

Published on Trari

Where next?

Also in Gaming news, reviews and commentaryViews jump 11x the channel's usual paceThatGuyGlen unpacks Noita's world of simulated pixelsHis new documentary follows the difficult leap from an impressive physics experiment to a game worth playing.Channel: ThatGuyGlen · Story of November 5, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo taking off 66x its usual first dayJimmy Kimmel turns Idaho's state-gun vote into an attack adHis midterm monologue also gives Mike Johnson a Sarah McLachlan farewell before his assistant Natalie zips herself into a duffel bag.Channel: Jimmy Kimmel Live · Story of November 5, 2026

What viewers say

I've been watching since 2017, and Mr Sheen brought me right back
@onyxx300_See it on YouTube
I broke the latches for my control pad and I’ve had the replacement parts still in their packaging for two years now, I’ll fix it one day 😭
@KazooplesSee it on YouTube
Elliot,
I, too, am missing a few screws.
@Dippy-Dawg6877See it on YouTube

5 more comments

The part with the ultrasonic cleaner xDDD mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
@KiensannSee it on YouTube
That little part where you were "cleaning!" in the ultra sonic cleaner was very nice to hear!
@NymphieJPSee it on YouTube
Now it looks like a Brand New Nintendo 3DS XL console and it looks so good now.
@AQWBlaZer91See it on YouTube
Great video, superb camerawork. Looks really neat. Loved the ending (and seeing Mr Sheen again).
@prk55See it on YouTube
Mr. Sheen! I have been here a while indeed. Excellent entertainment!
@MrNinetiesSee it on YouTube