As such, the item at the top of my Christmas list this year (which is usually very short or nonexistent, but this actually gives me something to put on it for once

- How big is the system in comparison to the very first DS design? From pictures, it looks like they're roughly the same size, but I'm not too sure as I haven't seen a definite side-by-side comparison of the oldest DS to the 3DS XL - just the XL with the standard 3DS. (EDIT: I've found a couple pictures of it next to a model-1 DS like mine; the size difference is noticeable, but not as big as I was afraid it might be.)
- How do DS games look on those larger screens? Does the upper screen look awkward at all due to its increased size? Does it blow up/stretch the image in weird ways at all? The uneven size of the two screens has always looked a little odd to me since I'm so used to the original DS, whose screens are equal-sized with one another. I haven't actually seen them running a DS game though, so I don't know what that will look like.
- Is there any reason I might want to go for the basic 3DS instead of the XL? I don't mind the XL's size too much as long as it isn't significantly larger than the original DS, so the smaller size of the base model isn't a persuading factor for me. So far, the bigger screens and increased battery life (plus the fact that I found a package that includes Mario Kart 7 at no extra charge) makes me thing that the extra $30-40 is worth it. Still, is there anything I should know about that the basic 3DS does that the XL doesn't?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer some insight!