Definitely a lot clunkier on 3ds than Wii U, and yes, shame about the lack of straightforward online play in comparison to its future 3ds counterparts. But coming back after playing a sizeable chunk of Gen and 4U, the early game is somewhat enjoyable. Avoid bow if you used it in the latter; the controls have been swapped and I still haven't seen any option to change it back. Affected me more than I thought it would at the time. Have not currently reached proper underwater hunts, maybe I'll update it once I've tried one. Regardless of the high contrast in comparison to Tri visuals, I feel like I still have to strain a little when underwater. It'd be nice to get further into Village Rank though.
I used to complain of the gathering RNG not being kind. I think that's a universal thing.