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Japanese Nintendo 3DS Import Thread | Brand New 3D, Same Old Region Lock

So, I bought smash 4 last october on eshop using my US credit card. It has since expired, and I tried to add my newest one (same number, new expiration) and the card got declined. Did japanese eshop stop allowing foreign credit cards? (I know the card works, I literally just used it.) Or is this possibly my bank declining it?
A few days ago I bought Digimon World: Re:Digitize Decoded with my card and I have no reason to believe it was suddenly changed.
 

Aizo

Banned
So, I bought smash 4 last october on eshop using my US credit card. It has since expired, and I tried to add my newest one (same number, new expiration) and the card got declined. Did japanese eshop stop allowing foreign credit cards? (I know the card works, I literally just used it.) Or is this possibly my bank declining it?
I bought Dragon Quest VII with a foreign card today, so your bank, I suppose.
 

Hatchtag

Banned
So, I bought smash 4 last october on eshop using my US credit card. It has since expired, and I tried to add my newest one (same number, new expiration) and the card got declined. Did japanese eshop stop allowing foreign credit cards? (I know the card works, I literally just used it.) Or is this possibly my bank declining it?

If you can't find a solution, you could always just buy a digital code for the game over amazon.jp. I kinda think that's easier most the time anyways since you can translate most of the page.
 

hongcha

Member
Cross post from the June pick-up thread.

My Japanese *new* 3DS LL in PEARL WHITE arrived today.

q3eKzf6.jpg

txUXo75.jpg


In short, I love it.
 

georly

Member
A few days ago I bought Digimon World: Re:Digitize Decoded with my card and I have no reason to believe it was suddenly changed.

I bought Dragon Quest VII with a foreign card today, so your bank, I suppose.

If you can't find a solution, you could always just buy a digital code for the game over amazon.jp. I kinda think that's easier most the time anyways since you can translate most of the page.

Ok, thanks guys, pretty sure it's my bank. Did not know about the digital code thing, that sounds way better!
 

max.renn

Neo Member
what are y'all playing, import-wise of late, going to rally together funds to import some titles this month. Probably going to pick up rhythm tengoku, Fire emblem if, anything else look good??
 
what are y'all playing, import-wise of late, going to rally together funds to import some titles this month. Probably going to pick up rhythm tengoku, Fire emblem if, anything else look good??

Nothing for me this month even though I do want to give Fire Emblem if a try but next month I have the limited edition of the new Ace Attorney coming in
 

akileese

Member
what are y'all playing, import-wise of late, going to rally together funds to import some titles this month. Probably going to pick up rhythm tengoku, Fire emblem if, anything else look good??

Still struggling through Youkai Watch and playing the import version of Box Boy. Also Dragon Quest Theatrhythm. I played the demo for the new 2d DBZ fighter and it's amazing. It's essentially a marvel vs capcom style fighter with DBZ characters.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
Might pick up Rhythm Tengoku. I can't bring myself to buy DBZ after finding out that the character roster is on the small side, the game lacks things like a basic training mode, and has no online multiplayer. And they're pricing this at 6000+ yen? GTFO.
 

Impotaku

Member
what are y'all playing, import-wise of late, going to rally together funds to import some titles this month. Probably going to pick up rhythm tengoku, Fire emblem if, anything else look good??

Currently going through hero bank 2 , plus finishing off the last few islands on slime mori mori dragonquest 3.
 

Impotaku

Member
Slime morimori dragonquest 3 is pretty fun but it feels very similar to the DS game, it also looks pretty much like a DS game as well so that might put off some people, the sailing can be a bit of a chore but the battles are very fun and make up for it.

As for hero bank i personally think it's one of the best games they have put out in quite a few years not only is it a totally new ip but it's also a blast to play, it can be a little tricky in places with the language barrier but i never got totally stuck. The 2nd game expands upon the first in many new ways, the battles are still flashy as ever.

Official website is here you can read up on the game or just look at the pics.
http://herobank.sega.jp/3ds2/index.html

Or they have loads of movies
http://herobank.sega.jp/3ds2/movie/movie20.html

There is a demo for both games, fist game is on the eshop but the 2nd games demo is not, you have to get it by QR code. The code to get to the eshop link for the second games demo is here http://gehanew.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-4492.html
 

Impotaku

Member
At 300 yen a pack it's 15,000 for 50 packs or an Amazon an extra 1200 yen on top of that, however that only gets you 150 cards and the complete set is 100 i don't think 1 box is going to get you a full set.

Dilemma time do i cough up now for 2 boxes and hope i can sell the rest on or hold off.

[edit]
Damn Amazon have restricted it to 1 box per customer, i could get a friend to use their account to put a second order in but i can't be bothered with the extra hassle looks like im out for now.
 

Impotaku

Member
Sadly the packs of 5 have sold out for preorders on the 1st series, common sense had kicked in looks like i'll leave it and see what happens. Chances are there will be full sets available later on amazon from marketplace sellers, happens quite a lot with youkai watch medals.

As much as i'd love them as i'm weak for collecting trading cards, the fact i haven't even tried the game to see if it's any good is quite a risk for blowing that amount of cash on cards. Plus it means one more collection to try and keep up with, think i'll just stick to youkai watch stuff for the time been.
 

tiijj

Member
It is certainly expensive, it's around $150-170 plus shipping and it's not guaranteed a full set. I've been trying to decide since last night lol. There's a NA/EU release so if I miss out I have those as a back up in case I decide to pick a set.
 

Impotaku

Member
I'm so bad for having any willpower managed to talk myself back in pretty easy lol, now i decided to go for them after all. Watched the treehouse event where they were showing it off, theres a lot more to the game than i thought there would be, in fact there's things you can do in there that you can't even do in the main game. My credit card is taking the brunt of this purchase but i d have till july 30th to change my mind lol.

So if i do eventually manage not to change my mind and let the order go through i'll most likely have a lot of spares to trade.
 

tiijj

Member
I thought I was the only one. I pre-ordered 2 boxes (one for each series). They have the 5 packs with sleeves. I can't find the size or what kind of sleeves the cards uses. I might do some sort of double sleeving with a sleeve inside a binder sleeve.
 

Impotaku

Member
Yeah i saw those i'm curious if they are generic sleeves or special branded animal forest ones, had a look on amazon but nothing so far separately. I'm going to guess they will be standard trading card sized so they should fit in normal binders, the cards should be reasonably tough as they are plastic from what i have heard. Although if sliding them out a lot i think sleeve are a good idea to stop wear on the fronts.

Nintendo Japan has a great 8 min video showing a lot of the features of the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6AysL-Y49M&feature=player_embedded
 

Impotaku

Member
Scumbag resellers on amazon Jp strike again. Series 1 cards are now sold out if you want a full box of 50. They jumped from 16,200 yen retail to 29,600 from resellers, theres still packs of 5 to get but i imagine they will go as well to resellers now the big boxes are sold out. Kind of glad i had a willpower relapse and put a preorder in before they went.
 

tiijj

Member
All of the series 1 cards are scalper priced now. Amiami still has the 5 pack for msrp though.

Also, when I was looking at some video and photos of the cards, they seem to be wider than the more traditional TCG. I'm still trying to find some official measurements. I hope they post it soon.
 

Impotaku

Member
It's really hard to tell, i definitely know that they are not as narrow as AR cards at least. Will probably have to wait until release to find out the exact dimensions.

Will be willing to swap doubles if i don't get a complete set, we might be able to complete our sets between us.
 
Now that I know Dragon Quest vii and threatrhythm aren't coming, what are my options? Are there still methods to get around the region lock? If so, what are they? If not what is the cheapest I can get a jpn 3ds for?
 
Now that I know Dragon Quest vii and threatrhythm aren't coming, what are my options? Are there still methods to get around the region lock? If so, what are they? If not what is the cheapest I can get a jpn 3ds for?
If your firmware's up to date then there's just Region Four I believe, which requires a copy of Cubic Ninja.

A Japanese original 3DS is about $95 on Amazon US right now for several of the colors. Of course, it's not an XL or a new 3DS since it's, well, the original model, but it's cheap. *And* those offers tend to have prime for minimum waiting.
 

BriBri

Member
Quick question for RecoChoku users: are the songs you buy and download able to be moved off the SD card onto your computer? Thanks in advance!
 

Lookie401

Member
Not sure if this was posted before but they are giving away a weird looking 3DS nyanko theme.

http://nyanko3ds.ponosgames.com/

It's only valid until Jun 23rds and the code seems to expire Jun 30th.

Also when you put in your email address it takes a while for the email to arrive (a few hours to a few days).
Thanks! I signed up using two email just in case one didn't go through/show up but both did. Already redeem one and have an extra for those who do not want to wait.

A08E7B8G07H0PXCL
 

DoctorZ

Member
Man, Now I regret not getting the Cyber grip for my XL. Just not as comfortable as I had hoped. I got the grip for my regular JP N3DS, but thought the size of the XL would be ok for me. It's still just too cramped/small.

So now I'm contemplating where to get one cheap. Amazon+tenso will likely run me around $20. Could've gotten one for around $10 if I ordered with my last tenso shipment. A few cheaper on ebay and amazon, but air mail without tracking isn't a great option considering it's only a few bucks.

Why are XL accessories so few in the US? Didn't the N3DS XL sell out at launch?

Thinking about ordering a few things to make the tenso shipping worth it, but everytime I do AmazonJP sends them out separately so I have to pay consolidation fee which defeats the purpose.
 

baconcow

Member
Why is YesAsia never mentioned in import guides? Free shipping to USA and Canada seems of worthy note especially since their prices nearly mirror PlayAsia. Had to two lost shipments in 10+ years (both replaced for free). Just thought I would add my thoughts. With PlayAsia coming second, they are my go-to shop. Built my early Japanese DS collection there.
 

lupin23rd

Member
Seems unlikely DQ Theatrhythm will come west, I bought digital on day one but wish I could have paid $14 for it! (not saying that as a knock on the game, it's exactly what you think it would be)

Speaking of the game, can someone tell me what's with the Dharma shrine function? I realize I can switch jobs but unclear whether I should, or when I should (assume it just starts at level 1 again right?)
 

JimPanzer

Member
Just got my new3DS with Yokai Watch 2 from Japan. I bought Animal Crossing and Dragon Quest VII digitally. Anything else worth getting at that language level? I'm especially looking for smaller, less known eshop titles.
I definitely want to get Fire Emblem: IF and Dai Gyakuten Saiban at some point, but my japanese isn't there yet...
 

Josephl64

Member
Just got my new3DS with Yokai Watch 2 from Japan. I bought Animal Crossing and Dragon Quest VII digitally. Anything else worth getting at that language level? I'm especially looking for smaller, less known eshop titles.
I definitely want to get Fire Emblem: IF and Dai Gyakuten Saiban at some point, but my japanese isn't there yet...

I don't delve that much into the eshop besides virtual console(and box boy), but Rhythm Tengoku is pretty great and you don't really need to know the language.
 

Aizo

Banned
Just got my new3DS with Yokai Watch 2 from Japan. I bought Animal Crossing and Dragon Quest VII digitally. Anything else worth getting at that language level? I'm especially looking for smaller, less known eshop titles.
I definitely want to get Fire Emblem: IF and Dai Gyakuten Saiban at some point, but my japanese isn't there yet...
Pretty sure DQVII is significantly harder than Youkai Watch 2 and Animal Crossing.
Get the second Taiko no Tatsujin for 3DS! :D Its story mode is super easy to understand. Nice and peaceful.

I'd say DQVII is more around the level of Fire Emblem if. Dai Gyakuten Saiban is probably the hardest one on the list, just due to specialized vocab.
 
Pretty sure DQVII is significantly harder than Youkai Watch 2 and Animal Crossing.
Get the second Taiko no Tatsujin for 3DS! :D Its story mode is super easy to understand. Nice and peaceful.

I'd say DQVII is more around the level of Fire Emblem if. Dai Gyakuten Saiban is probably the hardest one on the list, just due to specialized vocab.
While I haven't played them, going by these screens I'm looking at DQVII would be a lot easier for me to play than Fire Emblem if simply because it has furigana. It also seems to have easier vocab and grammar but the sample size I have isn't large enough to be sure. *shrugs*

I could probably get through if without too much trouble but since that actually has a confirmed localization I'll just wait. Got DGS because I don't trust Capcom, though, and it's been great. I plan to start case 5 later. It definitely has a lot of words I've never seen before though.
 
Finally jumped in and ordered a JP N3DS. Just waiting for it to ship. :p Yokai Watch 2 is here, in the meantime I can stare at the box and imagine what it would be like to play it.
 

Aizo

Banned
While I haven't played them, going by these screens I'm looking at DQVII would be a lot easier for me to play than Fire Emblem if simply because it has furigana. It also seems to have easier vocab and grammar but the sample size I have isn't large enough to be sure. *shrugs*

I could probably get through if without too much trouble but since that actually has a confirmed localization I'll just wait. Got DGS because I don't trust Capcom, though, and it's been great. I plan to start case 5 later. It definitely has a lot of words I've never seen before though.
Whaa. Isn't DGS waaayy harder than Fire Emblem? I can understand Fire Emblem fine. Should I just pick up DGS? I guess I could try the demo, but I feel intimidated.
 
Pretty sure DQVII is significantly harder than Youkai Watch 2 and Animal Crossing.

I'd say DQVII is more around the level of Fire Emblem if.

It's harder, yes, but not by as much as you'd think. There are a lot of fantasy and RPG terms, but the grammar is very simple which makes it fairly easy to read. Plus it has full furigana (and a very legible font), which is a huge boon to intermediate learners. I started playing Awakening and DQ7 at the same time, and DQ was much easier. I haven't finished it due to spending time on other games, but unless the grammatical complexity skyrockets late in the game I think it's a pretty safe "First fantasy RPG in Japanese" recommendation. (If only they'd put Ni No Kuni on 3DS...)

Whaa. Isn't DGS waaayy harder than Fire Emblem? I can understand Fire Emblem fine. Should I just pick up DGS? I guess I could try the demo, but I feel intimidated.
Give the demo a shot. I'm pretty sure that your Japanese is better than mine and I've been able to manage with use of a dictionary (and subsequently putting the new words into Anki). I haven't gotten the full game yet (need to finish Layton Vs. first) but the demo wasn't too bad.
 

urfe

Member
Speaking of difficult Japanese in 3DS games, I have always found the Bravely games to use much more advanced Japanese than any other RPG.

I've played the first two Ace Attorney games in Japanese, and they weren't as hard as I thought they would be.
 
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