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| DBZNY's Series : Anime
411 - ' Playing import videogames '
Originally Posted : Sunday, July 28, 2002
Welcome to the 2nd installment of DBZNY's informative series of articles, "Anime 411". I actually had a difficult time deciding what to do this time around. I had many subjects in mind and even wrote up some mock versions... but I just couldn't seem to get the feeling of knowledge I was trying for. So... after going back to the drawing board multiple times I came up with a topic! I thought that it'd be a good idea to cover how to play import videogames and handle it in a different way. Some systems may not be as dense as far as the descriptions on exactly what you need to do to play import games on them but... it can't be helped due to a lack of information. Let's get into the feature, shall we? If you're an anime or videogame fan, chances are at some point you've heard about a game coming out in Japan ages before it reaches the US. Better yet, maybe you've read about an interesting game that has no chance of being picked up by a US publisher. These problems can be frustrating, but there is a solution! Import them. The gaming scene nowadays makes the process relatively easy. Depending on the type of game, which game, the game's developer, and so on, the amount of pure Japanese text may vary. You also may not want to just import a game from Japan. Sometimes, like in the case of Shenmue 2 for the Sega Dreamcast, Europe may get an English translated version of a Japanese game that otherwise wouldn't be in English. First, let's discuss the language issue. Convertors, mod chips, boot discs etc. DO NOT translate the games. They simply enable you to play them on your US system. Not being able to fully understand the game is probably the main reason more people don't import games. However, it doesn't apply to every game. Of course a text heavy RPG may pose quite a problem, but a fighting game usually doesn't. The Street Fighter and VS. series of games from Capcom mostly have English menus, and the same KO and Game Over we're all used to when we play the US versions of these games. Each character's victory quote or some of the more complex game functions may not be, but it's definitely fully-playable for English-only audiences. Adventure games vary, but you may have trouble with these too. Puzzle games also are usually pretty straight forward, but there is a title that comes along once in a while that is more complex and therefore requires you to be able to read what it's saying. Overall, here's a breakdown of various genres : Adventure - You may have some trouble on the ones that are more RPG - esque, but for the ones that aren't... Try your best. Fighting - Both 2-D and 3-D, especially if it's from a popular series or from a larger developer are very playable. Puzzle - Usually playable, they may require a little menu guesswork but usually something like 1P VS. 2P are present. Racing - See Puzzle. Rhythm - Dance Dance Revolution series, Beatmania series, Guitar Freaks, Para Para, stuff of this nature is pretty much like the fighting games. Something like Vib Ribbon may give you a few more problems than the others though. RPG (Role Playing Game) - Not really recommended. Since text and conversation play a large role in this genre, you might get stuck easily. Sports - See Puzzle. Survival Horror - See Adventure. Alright, you've got a particular game in mind. You buy it and pop it in your system all ready to enjoy! But... Suddenly... It won't boot-up! Systems made for play in the US usually will not play games designed to play on foreign systems. "What do I do?!?!?" Don't panic. Depending on the platform your game is for... the modifying task could be easy or hard, and have several options. *Please note!* The following modification info is used at your own risk! If the soldering work is too complex for you, Internet import stores and some regular stores will do the work for you. Be careful though, because not every web-site is legit and mailing your system away could end in disaster. DBZNY takes no responsibility for the reliability of any of the said methods and / or suggestions. Makes you lose confidence, doesn't it? Heh. Sony Playstation Let's start with the one of the simplest systems to mod, the Sony Playstation. This system has quite a few anime games, and a good selection of Dragon Ball Z games. (Which is probably what half of you are reading this for.) You have two options with the Playstation system. You can either have an internal mod-chip that requires soldering ; or you can have an external mod that plugs into your Parellel I/O port like Game Shark and other such cheat devices. Of course, the external is the easier of the two, but the newer Playstation systems and all of the PS1 types do not have the Parallel I/O port and in this case an internal mod is required. Check to see whether your PSX has this port or not before buying an external mod. Alright, let's take a look at what the external mod looks like. (Click for pic) See, almost identical to a Game Shark. They even have cheat functions and other useful features as well. Take a look at the parellel I/O port here. It's the larger of the two ports. The installation of one of these bad boys is as simple as it gets. Just remove the I/O port guard, plug the mod into the I/O port, put the spring in place, and you're done before you can say "Manipulation." Popular external mods include : Goldfinger, Game Hunter, Pro Action Replay, and countless others. They usually can be purchased from either import videogame on-line stores or at some pre-owned regular game shops or places that sell pre-owned accessories. They'll run you typically from $20 - $30. Sega Dreamcast Next, let's talk about the Sega Dreamcast. There are internal soldered mod chips as with Playstation, but there also are boot discs. There's a few different kind of boot discs, there's ones that are basically like cheat CD's or store bought ones which let you play imports by putting the disc in, then swapping it out with an import game. There are also boot discs available on web-sites that you download and burn to a CD. These are more unofficial but get the job done. Import stores carry them and some regular game stores might too. Ask an employee whether or not the particular product you want to buy will allow you to play imports or not. The Sega Dreamcast and Sony Playstation arguably are the easiest to play import games on.
Super Nintendo / Nintendo 64 The unique thing about these two systems is the only thing not allowing you to play import games are physical. That's right, there's no complex code not enabling you to run imports on your system, it's just a little plastic not letting the import games fit in! You have two options because of this : ( 1. You can try to get the special 4.5 MM bit to unscrew the system and remove the plastic guard or ( 2. Get a convertor, which will basically go into your system like a normal cartridge but will have connectors on top for you to play your game on top of the convertor, thus eliminating any problem of not fitting in the system since the connectors are out of the system. You might note that Sega Genesis also has a convertor but I am unsure about the plastic piece inside. If you're looking for a detailed guide of how to remove the plastic pieces, head over to IGN64. Click here for a pic of the plastic piece blocking imports on the N64. See that grey inner plastic thing? Look in the corner of it, that little square thing that interrupts the flow of the rectangular inside - it's all his fault! Microsoft X-Box Now, I don't know too much about the Microsoft X-Box so there may be other options. However, the main one I know of is a mod-chip. As always it required soldering knowledge and I'm unsure but I think Microsoft tried to crack down on various "X-Box hackers" and whatnot so anything is done at your own risk as always. Sony Playstation 2 Mod-chip as always! Heh, it seems every system has this option doesn't it? There is a complex, scary way to play imports using a Gameshark 2 but I don't even know all the facts on it. So it seems like X-Box, the mod-chip is your best bet. However! Please note... NCSX claims that there's no real reliable PS2 chip to them. So.. use caution. Nintendo Gamecube Ah, yes, one of the newest ways to play imports is on the Nintendo Gamecube. NCSX.com has all the info for ya. They claim it's quite simple. Basically, you need to take the system apart, solder in certain places and attach a switch to toggle between regions. Sega Saturn There's a mod-chip... There are also external convertors. There are some devices that function as the ram add-on + an external mod. Even though the Saturn is gone, chances are an importer is still selling these products. NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) Hmm, from what I can remember... there might be a convertor and there was a method where certain games like some copies of Excite Bike contained some kinda special chip inside that allowed imports to be played if you removed it and put it in another game or something... I dunno. Handheld systems These are the most complex of all... NOT! Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color and Neo Geo Pocket Color can play imports right out of the box. There is absolutely no modification needed to play imports on these systems. I am positive of this for GBA and NGPC, but GBC I'm a little unsure. There's only one way to find out right? 3DO / CD-I What the heck are these doing here? Get outta here! Buying Japanese systems That's right, you have yet another option in your quest for import gaming domination - Japanese systems. You may not want to mod a US system, or go through any of that. If this is the case, and you think you'll be doing some very heavy import gaming, consider buying a Japanese system. The prices for a Japanese system are usually around the price of the console in the US. Most of your US peripherals will work on the Japanese platform. Playing import games on an import console is as easy as popping the game in and hittng the power button. This option doesn't make sense if you still plan on playing a great deal of US games because the regional lock-out is a double-edged sword. What do I mean? Just as US consoles can't play Japanese games, Japanese consoles can't play US games! You could always mod the Japanese system to play US games later though. Just keep this in mind before making your decision. Accessories If you're thinking of importing accessories, or buying a game that comes with accessories, almost all import accessories work on US systems. Memory cards, controllers, peripherals, you name it. A lot of you potential DDR importers were probably wondering about this. So you've gotten the facts on how to mod the system you have in mind. Now, you're either thinking to yourself, "Wow, that's easy!" or "Holy ****, forget this!!!". There may be alternate methods, but unfortunately I couldn't obtain all the information I wanted. Some of it is either so out of date there's no real info on it (NES), or other info is just really underground (X-Box, PS2). There were other systems remaining of course, which may get added if and when I update this article. I wanted to make this article longer! What else is there to say though? Hopefully this article has put away any long standing fears you had of import gaming, and you will be on your way to richer gaming! Now, I present to you a nice little database of links for import gaming : Stores : NCSX (Recommended) YesAsia (Recommended) Information : NCSX (News, some translations, walkthroughs, lots of information) IGN (News, some translations, walkthroughs) GameFaqs (Has translations, walkthroughs and more) Thanks for reading as always! Related Links: Go back to: DBZNY 5.0 Main |
