nintendo new 3ds XL noob question about marketplace

[dorelas]

Hallo

i just bought for the very 1st time the new 3ds and i have some questions considering this new marvel of technology. Obviously there are not enough games for it and i would like to play some shmups and just discover that "nintendo" world which is barred for everybody not having the gaming hardware.
i made a small research on play-asia and i learned that all the "regional" games (i.e. japanese , usa) are working on all DS systems sold wordwide. But what about the digital marketplace?

Marketplace.
i am in Europe. The games available on EU marketplace are pretty lame.
i know majority of shmups available there from the time playing on Game Boy Advance.
Does it make sense to make a fake account on Japanese store or do i have to stick with EU (german) one? is it a viable option at all?
i have not dared to touch the account registration and i will wait for your opinion before i do anything.

Retail Games
i will obviously be getting all the nintendo digital marketplace shmups and arcade games. There is just a handful of these anyway.
Could you advise me what are GOOD retail DS games (preferably shmups and arcades) as well as their AVAiLABiLiTY? I already saw that Ketsui is not available on play-asia.

Cheers and thanks a lot.
Martin

[BrianC]

3DS is region locked, so I don't think getting JP eShop games is as simple as making a JP account. This might sound silly, but one of my favorite 3DS shmups is actually a StreetPass game, MiiForce. It requires Streetpassing to get the best out of it, but it's a surprisingly enjoyable shmup with a lot of variety.

As far as DS games go, I recommend both Space Invaders extreme games. Combines classic space invaders elements with intense gameplay and color chaining. Both came out in Europe, but, telling from Amazon and eBay, the first one seems to be the cheaper of the two.

[dorelas]

Thank you. So the games for DS are NOT region locked as it seems, but the ds console is. So i will be making the regional account than.
Are there any japanese retail games worth buying from play-asia?
is Ketsui for ds out of print?

[HydrogLox]

So i will be making the regional account than.

Wait. So far you don't need to create a NNID (Nintendo Network ID) to purchase games from the eShop. Without an NNID the games are registered to the 3DS console. The advantage is that without an NNID you can change to different eShops within your region (Europe). An NNID will tie you and all your purchases to a specific eShop (Germany).

For Example in June 2013 Kokuga was released in the North American region - but for some reason it was not released on the Canadian eShop. Without an NNID people were able to temporarily change to the US or Brazil eShop and get Kokuga anyway. With an NNID all your games will stop working when you change to a different eShop because the NNID isn't valid on another eShop - they will start to work once you reactivate your NNID on your 3DS but you will lose any purchases that you have made on the other eShop.

Most of my purchases are from the Canadian eShop but Kokuga is from the the US eShop. I would lose Kokuga if I were to create an NNID on the Canadian eShop for my 3DS.

Thank you. So the games for DS are NOT region locked as it seems, but the ds console is.

The DS console is not region locked - it never had access to DSiWare (downloadable games). DS cartridge games are NOT region locked.
The DSi console was the first to have access to DSiWare - DSiWare IS region locked.
The 3DS is region locked. 3DS cartridge games are region locked. eShop games are region locked - and if purchased with an NNID they are locked to your association with that particular eShop.

[DoomsDave]

is Ketsui for ds out of print?

Long out of print. It's fetching crazy prices on ebay.

[dorelas]

Thanks Hydrolox and everybody else for very informative answers.

I find 2 more things confusing:

1 If new 3DS is region locked , than how can play-asia sell (lets say japanese) games saying they work on all consoles. DO they mean the old generation of ds?

2 what is the difference between eshop and dsiware? it guess that in a eshop there are modern games and dsiware is emulated stuff from older nintendo consoles but all in all i assumed the ehop and dsiware is one and same stuff. How can Dsi ware be region-locked but eshop not?

in this context let me also rephrase what i understood:
- i will not be making an account with nintendo, that way i can jump among the eshops and choose among bigger variety of modern games
- when it comes to Dsi ware i can only buy it in a locked region, and i can do it without making NNiD
can you confirm whether it is true?

i could probably iron out some stuff with trial and error but i prefer to ask. i have already receive invaluable advice that way NOT to make a regional NNiD. Thanks!

[HydrogLox]

1 If new 3DS is region locked , than how can play-asia sell (lets say japanese) games saying they work on all consoles. DO they mean the old generation of ds?

Do you have an example? In general cartridge games that will only run on a 3DS are region locked; cartridge games that work on a DS/DSi/3DS are not region locked.

2 what is the difference between eshop and dsiware?

The older DSi (XL/LL) can only access/run DSiWare. The 3DS (XL/LL) can access/run eShop games and DSiWare.

that way i can jump among the eshops and choose among bigger variety of modern games

You are still limited to eShops within your region, so in Europe lets say Germany, France, UK, etc.

when it comes to Dsi ware i can only buy it in a locked region, and i can do it without making NNiD

I'm assuming that the eShop rules apply to DSiWare, I haven't tried any on my 3DS.
Arika's Metal Torrent is a good one to try.

[Dumple]

This might sound silly, but one of my favorite 3DS shmups is actually a StreetPass game, MiiForce. It requires Streetpassing to get the best out of it, but it's a surprisingly enjoyable shmup with a lot of variety.

Seconded. Most of the StreetPass games are quite simple (and grind-y) minigames, but Mii Force is a nice little shmup. Each level is pretty easy (especially if you bring in the full 10 people) but Arcade Mode is a decent challenge. (Arcade Hard Mode seems...very hard)

[dorelas]

Thanks for the tips!

i got Metal Torrent and i love it. Anyway, Arika...

i also got 3d space tank (X-Scape) , it looks like something for a hardcore player.

i can not get MiiForce though in eshop. it can be found when i search for it. How do i get it?

There are some free games on eshop i.e. "steel hunter" about submarines but they all require a Nintendo Account , so i guess it is best to just not get them?

[BrianC]

i can not get MiiForce though in eshop. it can be found when i search for it. How do i get it?

As with most Nintendo StreetPass specific games, MiiForce is in the StreetPass Mii Plaza, not the eshop.

There are some free games on eshop i.e. "steel hunter" about submarines but they all require a Nintendo Account , so i guess it is best to just not get them?

Most of those "free" games are either freeinum games or glorified demos that require you to pay to play the full game. Steel Diver Sub Wars is 10 dollars for the full game.

[dorelas]

Wow! Really people... you are way beyond helpful. Suprisingly , getting to grips with Nintendo 3ds is much more devious than japanese PS2 or Xbox360.

Now , that i know "all the truth" about these "free" games i will not bother with them nor with Nintendo account.
Funny thing is , i bought "Steel Diver" cartridge cheap on sale and than was not too happy seeing it for free in eshop. The way this information is presented , i would never suppose that the game actually costs 10 bucks.

On the bright side: Karous is coming on 02.07.2015 (tomorrow) to eshop for 6 eu. http://www.amazon.co.jp/Karous-The-Beas ... B00G6F06U2

=====

Now before i join the ranks of experienced Nintendo users, i have one last question: sales.
I see the sales on nintendo estore are always ongoing , and not seasonal events like on steam. Is every game (not new obviously) on estore going to be on sale at some point?

I ask because of Kokuga. It sure does not look like a typical shmup but it is from the G.Rev so i will take it. As for now i got my fill of games and tomorrow i will get Karous so there is enough to play ATM.
Kokuga is 3 years old and 15 eu! :/ Should i wait for sale or will it never happen?

[BrianC]

The Steel Diver Sub Wars game in the eShop is different from the retail game just called "Steel Diver" and more focused on online. Personally, I found all three of the Pushmo (Pullblox in Europe) games to be worth a purchase, though the third one, Stretchmo (called Fullblox in EU), is one of those "free" games. Strechmo is ten dollars USD for the full game, which is reasonable. The Pushmo games are puzzle games, rather than action based games, though.

I heard mostly negative things about the 3DS Karous. It's not a port of the original, but rather a mission based game with small stages. The framerate looked very low in videos I have seen of it.

As far as I know, the SEGA 3D Classics are on the EU eShop. Both Fantasy Zones are worth getting. The second one is a port of the PS2 remake, rather than the original, and it's a great game in its own right. The new endless mode, Link Loop Land is also good stuff.

[dorelas]

thanks for game tips! appreciated.

[dorelas]

how do i buy MiiForce on StreetPass Mii Plaza?

i have created my Mii character
That allowed me to enter StreetPass Mii Plaza
i updated StreetPass Mii Plaza
cant find a game beyond 4 default ones.
There is an advanced option but it requires me to meet somebody using StreetPass first.
No idea what now ;/

If i have to exchange data with somebody before i can get MiiForce, than i already start wishing me good luck because i have never seen anybody having it on the street. Extremely rarely on the highway i get to see a kid in the car on the backseat being driven on holidays. Thats it when it comes to DS users in Austria ;D

The games i got till now;
Majora's Mask (preinstalled)
Metal Torrent
3d space tank
super contra
kokuga
Korg DSN12 (uber cool synthesizer app with oscillator gimmick)

PS - thanks for warning about Karous. I read all the milestone games on DS are super bad "even for milestone standards" lol
PS II - let me reiterate for the last time: There are games, and most notably Game DEMOS , which require Nintendo iD. I should AVOiD making one, right?

Cheers!

[Shin]

You can play imported 3ds carts with regionthree/regionfour, not sure about the fw ver you need though. (you'll also need a copy of cubic ninja of your region)

Apparently, you can also emulate an other region+eshop, if you're 9.2 or lower. (but you need get files from an imported 3ds with fw lower than 9.2)
Not sure about this since I didn't try myself, but you should check gbatemp if you're interested.

[myth]

Stumbled across this topic while searching for 3DS shmups and wanted to let everyone know that Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives does not work correctly using regionFOUR. As of now, the only portions of the collection accessible are Space Harrier 3D and the credits. From what I've read, the issue may lie with Western 3DS systems being unable to read the Japanese font used in the later 3D Classics titles. If you're able to load 3DS CFW, you may be in the clear, as there is a language plug-in designed to read Japanese font.

I'm not too pissed since I only spent $39 including shipping. Hopefully some others fence sitters excited over regionFOUR and importing the Sega 3D Collection will heed my advice before ordering a copy.

[myth]

With the release of *hax 2.5 and HANS, Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives is now in a working state. The main issue at this point is that loading any of the games requires resetting the 3DS back to the homebrew menu screen and reloading the cartridge through HANS. You also can't switch between games or return to the selection screen without shutting the 3DS off.