The Return of 3DO To Go :: The Life of the Traegorn

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The Return of 3DO To Go
Posted Apr 2, 2009 - 11:49:47

So after an extended hiatus, 3DO To Go, my ongoing series about retro-3DO gaming, returns to these vast interwebs with an episode on Japanese Import Gaming. I figured I would bring the series back with a "special" episode (like my one on comparing 3DO models) as it provides a nice reintroduction to the series.

Next episode I'll return to reviewing games, but this primer came from an idea I had when talking on the Rising Stuff forums -- and after Peso and Vinnk shipped me some games to review.

3DOs are, for the most part, region free so almost any game will work on almost any 3DO. There are exceptions though, but there aren't a whole lot of published lists of games that don't work.

Effectively, there are three variety's of hardware (beyond manufacturer differences). Kanji-Supporting NTSC, Non-Kanji-Supporting NTSC, and the PAL variations. The only obstacle that American gamers importing from Japan face are the few games that require Kanji Support. All other games will work on the American (Non-Kanji-Supporting) 3DOs. This makes import gaming a snap... unless you accidentally import "Sword and Sorcery."

A game that Peso shipped to me.

So, I made the episode. And I think that it should be helpful. Yes, I avoid talking about all the PAL game issues... but that's why I did a very limited focus. One of these days I'll expand on it to include issues between European and US consoles, but I'll need to do more research... as I've never messed with a PAL 3DO honestly.

Just for completeness sake, these are all of the Japanese Games that won't work on American 3DOs that I've been able to figure out. There may be more, but I'm sure of everything on this list:

Sword and Sorcery
Blue Forest Story
Twinkle Knights
Cradle Moon
Blue Chicago Blues

And yes, that list is mostly J-RPGs... which makes sense if you think about it as they are all text intensive. Again, I'll eventually make a list of games that have PAL/NTSC issues - but I need to dig a bit deeper.

There was a weird increase in traffic on the website yesterday, but things seem to have gone back down to normal traffic levels today. It was very, very strange -- and coming from all over the world. Who knows what was going on with that, but I'm just happy the website has gone back to normal.

Normal is good.
- Traegorn