Tag Archives: Japanese import

Swooning Over: Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls Japanese Version

Considering Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair were far and away my favorite games released in 2014, it should come as no surprise that I am extremely excited to hear that NIS America has announced plans to bring over the third game in the series, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls later this year. 

Unlike the first two games in the series, however, this is one that I couldn’t wait for a localization to purchase, so I went ahead and preordered a copy of the Japanese version after having my mind blown by Danganronpa 2 back in September. Of course, like many Japanese game releases, Danganronpa Another Episode came with some extras, so what better occasion to show them off than the game’s English localization announcement?

The box art for the game is stunning, as has been the case with the past two two titles in the series. Already, it’s clear that two female characters, Komaru Naegi (sister of Makoto Naegi) and Toko Fukawa, are central to the game. I also really dig the Revolutionary Girl Utena-vibe I’m getting from the roses and overall design, but I haven’t played enough of the game yet to say if the comparison is at all relevant. Luckily, NIS America has preserved the original cover art for the English release, though I think something was lost in the logo conversion…

The back of the box isn’t extremely exciting, but I really like the focus on black, red, pink, and purple, and how that carries through not only the game’s overall design, but the character designs themselves.

And would you look at that – an actual game manual, packaged with a game made in 2014! Ok, it’s just a single folded leaflet that briefly explains some basic gameplay and controls, but it’s still a lot more than most titles get these days, especially Vita games.

Because I preordered the game from CD Japan, I received this nice A4 poster of the protagonists. Again, I really love the color scheme! I haven’t figured out where I’ll hang this one yet, though. Honestly, I much prefer the strangely off-putting art of the first two games – I’m not as much of a fan of this cleaner/more anime-esque art style.

Finally, all preorders of the game, regardless of what store the preorder was purchased from, came with this adorable Monokuma cell phone stand. Now I can finally say I own a piece of Monokuma merchandise! Unfortunately, the opening on the top is too small for my new iPhone 6, so I’ll have to find some other use for it.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls will release on Vita in North America and Europe this fall (spring for fellow Aussie folk). That should be plenty of time for me to finish playing through my Japanese copy – honestly, it’s been so fun so far, I don’t know why I haven’t stuck with it! While the new action puzzle-based gameplay isn’t quite as snappy as the trials in the first two games, the story and characters pack more than enough punch to make up for it. If you haven’t had time to play the first two Danganronpa games yet, be sure you do so before Another Episode releases later this year!

10 Japanese 3DS Games Worth Importing

Now that the RegionThree exploit makes region-free 3DS gaming a reality*, you may be wondering how you should utilize this newfound power. Well, what better way than to import some cool Japan-exclusive 3DS games? Keeping import friendliness in mind for those who know little to no Japanese, I’ve compiled a list of 10 great Japanese 3DS games worth checking out!

*Before reading on, head over to the full news post to learn how to use the RegionThree exploit on your 3DS and whether your system is compatible. While this isn’t a complete region-free gaming solution, it’s a great way to try out a few Japanese games before you decide to commit to importing a whole system! Note: RegionThree no longer works, but there are other exploits available for playing region free games on 3DS.

Read More

Japan Prepaid Review

If you enjoy Japanese media like I do, it’s likely that you’ve delved into the world of importing. Whether it be games, CDs, or anime, sometimes there are things that can only be bought in Japan. Luckily, we live in a digital age where most of these items can be purchased through online services without having to pay exorbitant shipping costs. Still, not all digital Japanese platforms allow purchases from outside Japan, which is where Japan Prepaid comes in!

Japan Prepaid offers easy purchases of prepaid cards to a number of Japanese platforms such as PlayStation Network, Nintendo eShop, iTunes, DMM, and Web Money. All codes are provided by email within 24 hours after purchase (however they are experiencing delays over the holidays), and redeeming them in your platform of choice is extremely easy, even if you don’t know Japanese.

For the purpose of this review, Japan Prepaid provided a 3,000 yen Japanese PSN card (priced at $38.50), which I redeemed on my Vita. The code was delivered quickly and worked flawlessly, and the company’s owner, Josh, was friendly and enthusiastic in our correspondence.
To redeem the code on a Vita connected to a Japanese PSN account, click on the “…” button on the bottom right corner and choose the option at the top of the list.
Since I had some extra money on my account already, I decided to spring for Binary Star, an otome game for the Vita that I’ve heard very good things about! There are more and more otome games and visual novels on the Vita, making it a great system for fans of such genres. You can even swap between different region accounts relatively easily by having more than one memory card and wiping the system before making the switch.
Japan Prepaid also offers Japanese iTunes cards in denominations of 3,000 and 5,000 yen, which is great for those who want to download iOS games, music, or even anime and films. If you don’t yet have a Japanese iTunes account, I have a guide on how to make one without a credit card to get you started! It’s easy to add credit once you have an account, and you don’t need a Japanese credit card.
While Japan Prepaid’s prices may seem slightly expensive when compared to Play Asia or Jlist, Japan Prepaid has a comprehensive range of prepaid cards available, and it was nice to interact with an individual and support a startup company. Josh is also looking for writers to contribute to Japan Prepaid’s blog, so if you like Japanese pop culture and would like to get discounts to the site, that is definitely worth checking out.
Finally, Chic Pixel readers can use the code “chicpixel” for 5% off all purchases from now until January 10th! Be sure to like Japan Prepaid’s Facebook page for other discounts and news. It’s great to see so many options now available for buying digital media from Japan!