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[Chopper]

Well well well... This was a nice surprise!



Tracking still says the package is on its way to the distribution center so I was caught completely off-guard when the delivery guy showed up at the door and handed me a package from Nippon-Yasan! And best of all: II didn't have to pay anything .

I was surprised how small and light the package was. N-Y wrote down a value of €20 (€2 under the limit) and that it contained a "plastic model". Pretty believable. All things considered, I'm really happy with this service and I managed to save so much money so I can't really complain anymore about the delayed shipping.

Unfortunately I don't have a small screwdriver so I can't apply any of the faceplates I got. I only ordered two covers but I'm sure that number will increase very soon . Hopefully I feel well enough tomorrow to go out and buy the screwdriver.



I'm gonna set up the system now and try to write some more guides for the OP. After that I will do the data transfer. Probably won't be able to toy it with until tomorrow, but that's okay. I'm just really glad it finally arrived.

edit: Oh and just for fun, I made a 3DS family pic! Colors are a bit dark though, I should really fix the lighting in our living room, haha.

Nice. You lucky bugger.

Any chance you could clear this up for me?

I would really have liked a some comments about slightly larger screen sizes of the new 3DS and the form factor of both units. As someone who really dislikes the build quality of the previous 3DS incarnations, I really hope this jump is similar to that between DS Lite and DSi. Perhaps some importers can clear that up for me?

The smaller model looks a little smarter than the bigger version, which looks just like the existing XL. The DSi XL was such a glorious piece of hardware, if I felt the new one could even come close to matching it, I would jump on it. As it is, the smaller model looks that much more solid, and if those bigger screens are big enough...

I am also nonethewiser about whether the screen scratching issue is gonna be just as plausible on these new models as they are currently. Is either screen recessed in anyway? Or the stupid borders they keep around them?

 

[kubus]

Thanks everyone!

Nice. You lucky bugger.

Any chance you could clear this up for me?

For now I have to say that the New 3DS feels incredibly sturdy and nice. Buttons all seem to be good quality and make little "click" sounds when you press them, including the new trigger buttons. Very happy that the "soft" Select/Home/Start buttons have been replaced by real buttons: they are much easier to reach and click. My only complaint so far is that the power button is a little hard to push in, as the button is fairly small and located in a slightly harder to reach place, but maybe I just need to get used to it.

The volume slider feels much better too, it has more resistance so you can't accidentally crank up the volume to max just by sliding your hand against the system anymore. That happened to me all the time and was pretty annoying.

Screen size seems perfect. I have a Euro XL and had a Japanese OG 3DS before this, and I used both of them all the time. After playing on the luxurious large screens of the XL, going back to the OG 3DS screens felt like massive downgrade sometimes, but on the other hand the pixels are much nicer on the OG screens. So everytime I switched systems I was annoyed by something (screen size or pixel fuzziness). The New 3DS seems like the perfect middle ground so far, but I'll have to play some more to get a solid opinion on it.

I don't think screen scratching will be an issue anymore because the top screen now has two of those little nubs on both sides of the camera, so when you close the system they will prevent the screen from touching those borders. The borders around the bottom screen are also much flatter now so there are no pointy edges anymore.

I haven't had any time to actually play some games on this thing and see how the ergonomics hold up, but once I've had some hands-on time with the system I can get back to you with some more detailed feedback if you wish so. I have never owned a DSi XL though, so unfortunately I can't make any comparisons to that system.

Hope this helped somewhat!

 

[Refreshment.01]

Cross-post from the 30 cents review thread:

Curious, were any measures taken in that thread?

It is the most apparent thread derailing and dirtying i' ve seen in recent memory, to the point of losing any desire to post in there. Would' ve liked to since DF forgot a lot of details regarding the units and made some questionable asumptions.

In regards to the screen scratching. For what i can see there are 2 small rubber feet in the top part of the clamshell to prevent screen area contact. And so far nothing unusual or concerning to report from importers.

 

[Rich!]

The rubber separators on the top half are taller on the New3DS than previous models.

Hopefully that will prevent any screen scratching.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Re-posting my ORAS demo code offer for anybody that's interested:

And my US Code just went through.

If anybody wants to trade my US Code for a spare JP code, please PM me.

 

[CLEEK]

Will be getting one when they release in Australia next month. Still deciding on the model.

I have both a 3DS and an XL. I upgraded due to finding the original 3DS spectacularly uncomfortable to use. The square edges cut into my hands and the face buttons were a bit too close to the outside edge.

The white new 3DS is a thing of beauty, and from the photos, the squared edges have been rounded off a bit.

Any new 3DS owner finding it more comfortable to use than the original?

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Way more comfortable. Edges are more rounded and the system itself is slightly bigger so your hands won't feel as cramped. I really wish this was how the 3DS released in the first place.

 

[Owari]

The rubber separators on the top half are taller on the New3DS than previous models.

Hopefully that will prevent any screen scratching.

One thing I also noticed, is the circle pad is raised higher than the bottom screen borders as well.


Has anyone else downloaded the ORAS demo? The improved 3D head tracking doesn't seem to be working on it fer me.

 

[Fabthegnome]

.

 

[Halabane]

I only have a us ORAS code.

But its nice to get back into a pokemon game...been awhile.

Maybe I will trade the stuff I get out of the demo over to my JPN version.

 

[metsallica]

Can you read hiragana and katakana? It's very easy to learn, you can be done with in a day if you want. Once you can read kana, you'll find navigating menus and games a lot easier. Lots of kids-friendly games support furigana (which means that all kanji have their readings in kana above them), so if you can read kana you can look up every word in a dictionary. I strongly recommend the iOS app imiwa. It's an incredibly detailed, easy to use Japanese dictionary.

Learning katakana has an even bigger advantage. In Japanese, English words are written in katakana, so for example "メニュー" is read as "menyuu", which means "menu". So if you can read katakana, a lot of Japanese words become instantly understandable, without needing to consult a dictionary. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to find the meaning behind the reading because of Japanese's wacky phonetic system, but you can usually figure it out.

And of course, if you're stuck somewhere specific, take a pic of it and post it here. Pretty sure there are a lot of other Japanese speaking gaffers here so someone will be able to help you out .

I missed this when you initially posted it but thank you for all the wonderful information! I can't read any Japanese alphabet but this new toy will hopefully be my gateway to that. I will absolutely check out that app!

And speaking of needing help and boneheaded language-related blundering... I paid the .30 to remove the Internet filter because I wanted to see how GAF ran on the new browser. Transaction goes through, no issues, browsing GAF just fine, then I figure I'll clear my settings 'cuz it was the one option I hadn't selected yet. Couldn't hurt to start fresh, why not. So I do it and it also clears the fact that I removed the filter with no apparent way to turn it back off. I checked the eShop, settings, deleted the extra data, checked parental controls, nothing. When I go to the option to remove the filter it acts as if I already did (it won't load the credit card screen for example) but sites are being filtered all over. So... d'oh.

 

[Chopper]

Thanks everyone!


For now I have to say that the New 3DS feels incredibly sturdy and nice. Buttons all seem to be good quality and make little "click" sounds when you press them, including the new trigger buttons. Very happy that the "soft" Select/Home/Start buttons have been replaced by real buttons: they are much easier to reach and click. My only complaint so far is that the power button is a little hard to push in, as the button is fairly small and located in a slightly harder to reach place, but maybe I just need to get used to it.

The volume slider feels much better too, it has more resistance so you can't accidentally crank up the volume to max just by sliding your hand against the system anymore. That happened to me all the time and was pretty annoying.

Screen size seems perfect. I have a Euro XL and had a Japanese OG 3DS before this, and I used both of them all the time. After playing on the luxurious large screens of the XL, going back to the OG 3DS screens felt like massive downgrade sometimes, but on the other hand the pixels are much nicer on the OG screens. So everytime I switched systems I was annoyed by something (screen size or pixel fuzziness). The New 3DS seems like the perfect middle ground so far, but I'll have to play some more to get a solid opinion on it.

I don't think screen scratching will be an issue anymore because the top screen now has two of those little nubs on both sides of the camera, so when you close the system they will prevent the screen from touching those borders. The borders around the bottom screen are also much flatter now so there are no pointy edges anymore.

I haven't had any time to actually play some games on this thing and see how the ergonomics hold up, but once I've had some hands-on time with the system I can get back to you with some more detailed feedback if you wish so. I have never owned a DSi XL though, so unfortunately I can't make any comparisons to that system.

Hope this helped somewhat!

Great impressions. Thanks! Great news about the screens. I think the slightly larger size and exchangable faceplates are enough to sway me to "downgrade" to the smaller version. A "3DSi" is what I need.

Curious, were any measures taken in that thread?

It is the most apparent thread derailing and dirtying i' ve seen in recent memory, to the point of losing any desire to post in there. Would' ve liked to since DF forgot a lot of details regarding the units and made some questionable asumptions.

In regards to the screen scratching. For what i can see there are 2 small rubber feet in the top part of the clamshell to prevent screen area contact. And so far nothing unusual or concerning to report from importers.

Nah. Everyone just stopped post there. To be fair, what was being discussed did stem from the OP. But yeah, it sucked.

And I hope the rubber feet are good enough this time round. I will be furious if I hear it's still happening.

 

[kubus]

I missed this when you initially posted it but thank you for all the wonderful information! I can't read any Japanese alphabet but this new toy will hopefully be my gateway to that. I will absolutely check out that app!

And speaking of needing help and boneheaded language-related blundering... I paid the .30 to remove the Internet filter because I wanted to see how GAF ran on the new browser. Transaction goes through, no issues, browsing GAF just fine, then I figure I'll clear my settings 'cuz it was the one option I hadn't selected yet. Couldn't hurt to start fresh, why not. So I do it and it also clears the fact that I removed the filter with no apparent way to turn it back off. I checked the eShop, settings, deleted the extra data, checked parental controls, nothing. When I go to the option to remove the filter it acts as if I already did (it won't load the credit card screen for example) but sites are being filtered all over. So... d'oh.

Awesome, glad it helped! And ouch, that sucks about the internet filter thing . I haven't meddled with it yet so I have no idea if there's any way to turn it back on. Hope you don't have to pay again!

--

So I just ordered a Hori case and screen protector from amazon.jp and sent some identification documents to Tenso to get my account approved, but they rejected it . Gotta find something else that they will accept... Problem is, I don't think I have any "government issued" documents that have my address on it D: (edit: just submitted a digital bank statement, hope they accept it)

 

[Snapshot King]

Ive seen talk of a 30 cent fee to use online features, but havent run into it yet with my n3ds. What is it and how can I just do it if need be?

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Ive seen talk of a 30 cent fee to use online features, but havent run into it yet with my n3ds. What is it and how can I just do it if need be?

There's a "Family Filter" in place for the web browser that you need to pay 30 cents with a credit card in order to unlock. Everything else online related is just as free as it was on the regular 3DS.

 

[metsallica]

Awesome, glad it helped! And ouch, that sucks about the internet filter thing . I haven't meddled with it yet so I have no idea if there's any way to turn it back on. Hope you don't have to pay again!

There doesn't seem to be a way to. There's a lot of orange warning text on Page 3 of the browser manual (that talks of the filter) and the clear history section on page 12; I can only get a sense of what it says with Waygo but it's too complicated for it. Regardless it doesn't seem good.

Ive seen talk of a 30 cent fee to use online features, but havent run into it yet with my n3ds. What is it and how can I just do it if need be?

As Brawly said it's a content filter. The browser works but you'll occasionally come upon sites that are blocked... like GAF because it's a message board. To remove the filter it's the top option in the web browser settings. Just keep hitting A until you get to your NNID password screen then you'll need to enter a credit card. And then don't clear your settings after like me!

 

[kubus]

There doesn't seem to be a way to. There's a lot of orange warning text on Page 3 of the browser manual (that talks of the filter) and the clear history section on page 12; I can only get a sense of what it says with Waygo but it's too complicated for it. Regardless it doesn't seem good.

That doesn't sound good :/. Do you have another 3DS from your own region? Someone mentioned that the user manual has already been updated to also contain information on the New 3DS, so maybe the internet filter thing is also explained in English there? Hope you can work it out! Otherwise you could take a pic of the explanation and post it here, maybe I (or someone else) can decipher it for you .

--

BTW just found a handy page on the Japanese website. This page has a lists of all available demo's on the eShop, along with their corresponding QR Codes so it's easy to look them up on your 3DS.

 

[Halabane]

nice find kubus...that makes finding new stuff on the eshop much easier.

 

[Beckx]

BTW just found a handy page on the Japanese website. This page has a lists of all available demo's on the eShop, along with their corresponding QR Codes so it's easy to look them up on your 3DS.

Thank you!

 

[metsallica]

That doesn't sound good :/. Do you have another 3DS from your own region? Someone mentioned that the user manual has already been updated to also contain information on the New 3DS, so maybe the internet filter thing is also explained in English there? Hope you can work it out! Otherwise you could take a pic of the explanation and post it here, maybe I (or someone else) can decipher it for you

I do, yeah, and I saw that post but I'm not sure what Fab was referring to. I don't think there's a full e-manual within the 3DS (other than the one that appears on the settings icon, and that doesn't seem to have been changed to me) and the web browser's manual is completely different on the original 3DS versus the New 3DS. The New 3DS browser does a lot more and has more features. I even checked the PDF manuals on Nintendo.com and they haven't been updated. And I'd post pics but I'm not sure what to post pics of! It gives me a message after I try to remove the link again, then there's reams of orange text... It just seems crazy to me that there's no obvious way to toggle the filter if you wanted to after you disabled it, though that's probably down to my ignorance of the language. Hell, I have absolutely no problem paying the .30 again too if it would let me...

I guess we can start with the message I receive after going through the remove link process (again, after I already removed it once):

 

[è£ ç”²æ‚ªé¬¼æ‘æ­£]

The message tells you that switching the filtering on/off needs the permission of a parent, and that you should go to the main settings in the home menu to set access rights.

 

[kubus]

I do, yeah, and I saw that post but I'm not sure what Fab was referring to. I don't think there's a full e-manual within the 3DS (other than the one that appears on the settings icon, and that doesn't seem to have been changed to me) and the web browser's manual is completely different on the original 3DS versus the New 3DS. The New 3DS browser does a lot more and has more features. I even checked the PDF manuals on Nintendo.com and they haven't been updated. And I'd post pics but I'm not sure what to post pics of! It gives me a message after I try to remove the link again, then there's reams of orange text... It just seems crazy to me that there's no obvious way to toggle the filter if you wanted to after you disabled it, though that's probably down to my ignorance of the language. Hell, I have absolutely no problem paying the .30 again too if it would let me...

I guess we can start with the message I receive after going through the remove link process (again, after I already removed it once):

Hm, so that's a dead end then. I must admit I have no idea where to find the manual either XD.

The picture says "You must have parental permission to change the filtering settings", and it then points you towards the Home menu > System Settings > Parental Control. But I believe you've already tried that .

I might know someone who can help you out though. Do you have twitter? Because Daan Koopman once tweeted the exact same "error" message, asking people to help him because he got stuck too. He later said that he managed to fix it and he has successfully disabled the internet filter now. Maybe you can tweet him and ask him how he did it? I tried finding the tweet but I can't find it, maybe he deleted it :S. It was fairly recently.

 

[metsallica]

Hm, so that's a dead end then. I must admit I have no idea where to find the manual either XD.

The picture says "You must have parental permission to change the filtering settings", and it then points you towards the Home menu > System Settings > Parental Control. But I believe you've already tried that .

I might know someone who can help you out though. Do you have twitter? Because Daan Koopman once tweeted the exact same "error" message, asking people to help him because he got stuck too. He later said that he managed to fix it and he has successfully disabled the internet filter now. Maybe you can tweet him and ask him how he did it? I tried finding the tweet but I can't find it, maybe he deleted it :S. It was fairly recently.

You are a wonderful human being. I figured it out thanks to your translation and Daan's radio silence! When I said I tried Parental Controls, I'd poked around in there but there was nothing to do because I never enabled them. So I ended up enabling them, turning off all restrictions, going through the remove filter process again (I didn't have to pay twice!) and it asked me to enter my pin and brought me to a menu where I could choose whether or not to enable the filter. Turned it off, wiped my parental controls settings and I'm all good. Hooray, now I can view NeoGAF on a browser that's 10 times worse than my iPhone 6 Plus (but slightly better than the one on my US 3DS!). Hah. Thanks again, this thread has been a blast.

 

[Rich!]

So like, exactly how glossy is the inside surface of the N3DS LL/XL?

The last thing I want is for mine to end up looking like a Wii U Gamepad after five minutes of gameplay. Are fingerprints an issue?

 

[cw_sasuke]

So like, exactly how glossy is the inside surface of the N3DS LL/XL?

The last thing I want is for mine to end up looking like a Wii U Gamepad after five minutes of gameplay. Are fingerprints an issue?

Thats what i want to know as well - havent seen many screens or hands-on for the regular black 3DS XL/LL, since most people here just bought the regular white one or the MH4G bundle version.

 

[Rich!]

Thats what i want to know as well - havent seen many screens or hands-on for the regular black 3DS XL/LL, since most people here just bought the regular white one or the MH4G bundle version.

Same.

I've ordered a Metallic Black N3DSXL and I've seen nothing about it online with regards to impressions.

 

[lolitsgriff]

So like, exactly how glossy is the inside surface of the N3DS LL/XL?

The last thing I want is for mine to end up looking like a Wii U Gamepad after five minutes of gameplay. Are fingerprints an issue?

The inside is not glossy, it's matte black/blue. Only glossy the outside. Which gets gross/fingerprint-y quickly

 

[Rich!]

The inside is not glossy. Only the outside. Which gets gross/fingerprint-y quickly.

oh

well that's fine, heh. I won't be looking at that whilst playing and its nothing a cleaning cloth can't solve.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Out for delivery since 6:20 AM. Come on, UPS!

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Do I have to enter a name in Kanji or Hiragana characters when making a JP club nintendo account?

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Do I have to enter a name in Kanji or Hiragana characters when making a JP club nintendo account?

I tried writing my name in Kana alone and it wouldn't accept. I just slapped together some random Kanji and put my real name as the kana reading.

 

[OldGangWarily]

So I picked up Resident Evil Revelations since it was 20 dollars...I think this is the first game that I've played on the N3DS where ZL and ZR had specific functionalities.

Pressing these buttons actually isn't that bad. It's not as much of a reach as I originally thought it was. Enjoying the game quite a bit as well!

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

I tried writing my name in Kana alone and it wouldn't accept. I just slapped together some random Kanji and put my real name as the kana reading.

Cool, I'll give that a shot.

Ugh... I keep getting this error in red text:

氏（ふりがな）はひらがなで入力して下さい。
名（ふりがな）はひらがなで入力して下さい。

Google Transate says:
Please enter in hiragana Mr. ( phonetic) .
Please enter the name in Hiragana ( phonetic) .

I'm so lost.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Those fields are the ones you're supposed to write the Hiragana readings in.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Those fields are the ones you're supposed to write the Hiragana readings in.

I've google translated hiragana, but it's not taking it. Maybe this guide is reversed for Kanji and Hiragana? http://i.imgur.com/lHPx7RG.png

Or maybe I'm just an idiot?

This Kanji for Rock, right? 岩

And this is hiragana for Arthur, right? アーサー

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

That's in Katakana, they specifically want you to write that reading in the Hiragana script

アーサー is あーさー

 

[Impotaku]

The form is expecting hiragana you have arthur in katakana. Try this.....

Arthur
あーさー　

Rock
ろっく

(edit) beaten to it by poster above hehe

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

That's in Katakana, they specifically want you to write that reading in the Hiragana script

アーサー is あーさー

The form is expecting hiragana you have arthur in katakana. Try this.....

Arthur
あーさー　

Rock
ろっく

(edit) beaten to it by poster above hehe

Thank you both! Okay, now to nail down some kanji

 

[uncredited male]

lol, no Katakana. Japan has been developing region locking technology since before electricity.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Oy... still getting just this error:

名（ふりがな）はひらがなで入力して下さい。
Please enter the name in Hiragana ( phonetic)

Which basically means that what I've enter in the Kanji 名 field is causing the error, right? So I should input some random kanji?

Do the Kanji and Hiragana have to match in translation?

 

[Impotaku]

Try the hiragana in both fields both in the kanji box and the furigana box.

 

[uncredited male]

Oy... still getting just this error:

名（ふりがな）はひらがなで入力して下さい。
Please enter the name in Hiragana ( phonetic)

Which basically means that what I've enter in the Kanji 名 field is causing the error, right? So I should input some random kanji?

Do the Kanji and Hiragana have to match in translation?

It is saying your first name needs to be in Hiragana.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Try the hiragana in both fields both in the kanji box and the furigana box.

Like this?

お名前（漢字） 姓 [ろっく]　名 [あーさー]

お名前（ふりがな） せい [ろっく]　めい [あーさー]

If so, still getting that error.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

lol, no Katakana. Japan has been developing region locking technology since before electricity.

The weird thing is that are Japanese natives who have names written without Kanji or with partial kana, I'm wondering how the hell they expect people to work around that without making stuff up.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Don't know what I did, but it finally accepted something! Thank you, everyone, for all of your help! Now for the next steps...

And DONE. Now I have 30 points, only 50 to go for Picross!

 

[Halabane]

If I recall you enter the name twice. The second time is for phonetics.

I believe they were both in hiragana. Congrats on getting thru. It was a very strange from compared to others.

 

[extralite]

The weird thing is that are Japanese natives who have names written without Kanji or with partial kana, I'm wondering how the hell they expect people to work around that without making stuff up.

What? You don't have to make anything up, you just enter your name as it is normally written, with kanji, kana or romaji (maybe it won't accept romaji in which case you would write your name in katakana). The non-furigana field is not a kanji only field, it is just where the kanji go if your name has ones. One field is for the writing of the name, with any script, one is for the reading of the name, and required to be hiragana. It doesn't matter if both turn out to be the same hiragana in the end.

 

[Rich!]

Anyone got any good online resources for learning kana?

Or a decent android app? Only ones I found are shit. Or even a book (UK based).

 

[gillty]

Anyone got any good online resources for learning kana?

Or a decent android app? Only ones I found are shit. Or even a book (UK based).

Not sure its really needed for hiragana and katakana, but Heisig is the king of this stuff.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0824831640/

Should be easy to find at a library.

 

[Seil]

Anyone got any good online resources for learning kana?

Or a decent android app? Only ones I found are shit. Or even a book (UK based).

I've never really gone far beyond kana since I end up getting sidetracked or slacking off... But with kana, standard memorization techniques are what I used. Practiced writing them, recalling them and just drilled them in general. Personally, I just used a chart and went from there, though lol.

For kana, the lessons/drills here seem decent, though. At the end of the day, I think it's just a matter of figuring out how you best deal with committing them to memory.