Honestly, if you go back and play it now, it feels like a miracle that LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins actually runs on a handheld from 2011. It shouldn't. Pushing an open-world sandbox onto the Nintendo 3DS was always a massive gamble for TT Fusion, especially since it was meant to be a prequel to the heavy-hitting Wii U title. Most people forget how much of a big deal this was at the time. It wasn't just a "LEGO game"—it was a "LEGO Grand Theft Auto" that you could carry in your pocket.
But the 3DS had its limits.
The game follows a younger, greener Chase McCain as he first joins the LEGO City Police Department. You’re basically seeing his origin story. It’s a lot of fun, sure, but the technical trade-offs are everywhere. You notice them the second you step out of the police station. The fog. Oh man, the fog. It’s thick. It’s heavy. It’s the kind of environmental "haze" that developers used back in the N64 days to hide the fact that the hardware couldn't render buildings more than twenty feet away. Yet, despite the hardware screaming for mercy, the game manages to capture the soul of the console version.
Why LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins was a massive risk
When Nintendo and LEGO teamed up for this exclusivity deal, they weren't just looking for another platformer. They wanted a system seller. LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins was a pillar of the 2013 lineup. Think about the landscape back then. We were just starting to see the 3DS XL take off, and the library was finally getting good after a rocky launch. This game promised a fully explorable city, vehicles, and the signature LEGO humor.
It delivered, but with caveats that still spark debates on gaming forums today.
The most jarring thing? The load times. If you’re playing on an original 3DS or even a 2DS, moving between districts feels like waiting for a bus. You hit a loading screen, and you have enough time to go make a sandwich. Or at least a very small snack. This wasn't because the developers were lazy; it was because they were cramming an immense amount of data into the 3DS's meager RAM. They were swapping out entire chunks of the city’s geometry every time you crossed a bridge. It’s fascinating from a technical perspective, even if it’s frustrating from a gameplay one.
The gameplay loop that actually worked
Despite the technical hiccups, the core loop is surprisingly tight. You start as a rookie. You learn the ropes. You go undercover. The "disguise" mechanic is the heart of the experience. Want to break into a building? Switch to the Robber outfit. Need to put out a fire? Grab the Fireman gear. It’s a clever way to gate progression without making it feel like a chore.
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- The Police Officer: Your default. Good for grappling and basic arrests.
- The Civilian: Basically used for the "Farmer" abilities later on, like gliding with a chicken. Yes, a chicken.
- The Miner: Smashing rocks and using dynamite. It’s satisfying.
Each area of the city is a playground for these abilities. You aren't just driving from point A to point B; you’re looking for "Super Bricks." These are the currency of the game’s creative side. You collect them to build "Super Builds"—things like helipads, call-in points for cars, or even giant monuments. It gives you a reason to actually look at the world rather than just staring at the mini-map.
The "Fog" Controversy and Graphical Compromises
If you read any review from 2013, they all mentioned the draw distance. It’s the elephant in the room. In LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins, the city feels a bit lonely. There aren't many NPCs walking around, and traffic is sparse. If you zoom down a straightaway in a sports car, you’ll see trees and lampposts pop into existence right in front of your bumper.
Is it a dealbreaker? Not really.
You sort of get used to it. The art style helps a lot. Because everything is made of stylized plastic blocks, the low-resolution textures don't look as "muddy" as they would in a realistic game like Resident Evil: Revelations. The 3D effect actually adds some much-needed depth, helping to separate Chase from the background and making the platforming sections a bit easier to judge. It's one of the few games where I actually recommend keeping the 3D slider pushed up at least halfway.
Comparing the 3DS version to the Wii U big brother
It’s easy to call this a "watered-down" port, but that’s technically incorrect. It’s a prequel. The stories are different. The missions are unique. While the Wii U version had full voice acting for almost every line of dialogue, the 3DS version relies heavily on text boxes for side missions. You only get the high-quality voice acting during the main cinematics.
It feels a bit "quiet" compared to the home console version.
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But there’s a charm to that silence. It feels like a classic handheld adventure. You have to remember that in 2013, we didn't have the Nintendo Switch. We didn't have "console quality on the go" in the way we do now. Back then, this was the closest we were getting to a portable open-world LEGO experience that wasn't a top-down isometric slog.
The legacy of Chase McCain on handheld
A lot of people ask if LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins is still worth playing if they’ve already played the remastered version of the main game on PS4 or Switch. My answer? Yeah, probably. But only if you’re a completionist or a fan of the lore. It fills in the gaps. It explains why Rex Fury is such a menace and how Chase ended up in exile at the start of the first game.
It’s a piece of history.
It represents the tail end of an era where developers were still trying to do "impossible" things with limited hardware. Nowadays, we just port everything to the Switch and call it a day. But the effort put into shrinking LEGO City down to a cartridge the size of a postage stamp is genuinely impressive. TT Fusion didn't take the easy way out; they built a custom engine for this. They tried to give us the whole city. They mostly succeeded.
How to play it better in 2026
If you’re pulling your 3DS out of the drawer to give this a spin, there are a few things you should know. First, if you have a "New" Nintendo 3DS or 2DS (the ones with the little C-stick nub), the camera control is much better. It doesn't fix the frame rate, but it makes navigating the city feel less clunky.
Secondly, don't rush.
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The game is short if you just blast through the story missions. The real fun is in the collectibles. There are 70+ vehicles to unlock and dozens of characters. It’s a "collect-a-thon" at its heart. If you treat it like a racing game or a pure action game, you’ll be disappointed. Treat it like a digital scavenger hunt, and you’ll have a blast.
What users often get wrong about the game
There's a common misconception that the game is "broken" because of the frame rate dips. It’s not. It’s just heavy. The 3DS is essentially doing math at its absolute limit. If you compare it to other open-world attempts on the system—like the Spider-Man games or Driver: Renegade—LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins is actually miles ahead in terms of polish and stability. It rarely crashes. It just chugs.
Another thing: people think it’s just for kids.
Classic mistake. The writing in the LEGO City series is top-tier. It’s packed with references to 70s and 80s cop movies. You’ll see nods to Starsky & Hutch, Dirty Harry, and The Shawshank Redemption. Most of these jokes will fly right over a seven-year-old’s head, but they make the experience much more tolerable for the adults in the room.
Actionable Steps for Collectors and Players
If you're looking to jump back into LEGO City on your handheld, follow these steps to get the most out of the experience:
- Check your hardware: If possible, play on a New Nintendo 3DS XL. The extra processing power doesn't fix the loading screens entirely, but the larger screen makes the "foggy" draw distance much less oppressive.
- Focus on Super Bricks early: Don't ignore those glowing bricks. You need them for the Super Builds that unlock fast-travel points and vehicle spawners. Without them, the game involves way too much backtracking on foot.
- Use the Map: The bottom screen is your best friend. Use it to mark your waypoints manually. The auto-pathing can sometimes be a bit finicky when you're off-road.
- Manage your expectations on the "Open World": Understand that the city is divided into zones. You can't just drive from one end to the other without a loading screen. Planning your route around these "gateways" will save you a lot of frustration.
- Digital vs. Physical: Surprisingly, the digital version (if you already have it on your SD card) tends to load slightly faster than the physical cartridge, provided you have a high-speed microSD card.
LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins remains a fascinating technical anomaly. It’s a testament to a time when handheld gaming was about pushing boundaries and seeing just how much "big console energy" could fit into a clamshell device. It’s flawed, it’s foggy, and it’s slow—but it’s also undeniably charming and a foundational piece of the LEGO gaming pantheon. If you can handle the 20fps life, it's a trip down memory lane that's worth the commute.