Japanese 3DS worth the hassle? (and other questions)

[Mikmoomamimocki]

Hey everyone,

I'm new here. Currently, I own a New 2DS XL, which has a crack near the hinge and generally poor build quality.

I'm looking to purchase a New 3DS/XL, but on Ebay, the prices are ridiculous. If I buy a Japanese model, the price is much more reasonable. However, is it worth the hassle to softmod it?

I can't speak Japanese at all, so I'm worried about connecting to the eShop and getting Pokemon Picross. Additionally, will Luma auto-boot, so I don't have to go through the normal 3DS menu, which will be in Japanese?

Thanks.

 

[makwillownu]

its definetly worth it, specially now that the eshop will be removed either way. You can easily mod it and change the language to english and add games to it without dealing with the eshop

 

[Tsukiru]

Wow you weren't lying, Japanese 3DS prices are
I never heard of issues between regions for 3DS hacking. Besides, face plates!

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

Nice!

On another post, I saw someone advising someone else with a Japanese 3DS to "NEVER CONNECT IT TO THE INTERNET." Why is this? I'll need to connect it up to WiFi in order to download Pokemon Picross, correct? Is that person's advice outdated?

EDIT: Also, I heard that I shouldn't change the region. What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? I just don't want Japanese menus. If I can autoboot into Luma in English, that'd be great. Does that require a region change?

Also, thanks for helping. I don't have any hacking experience besides DSi Memory Pit hacks (which, by the way, is ridiculously easy, go do it now if you haven't).

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

its definetly worth it, specially now that the eshop will be removed either way. You can easily mod it and change the language to english and add games to it without dealing with the eshop

Thanks! Also, do you think that the 3ds's build quality is much better than the 2ds xl's? Also, I wear glasses, so will the 3d work well? Thanks.

 

[lilyuwuu]

Luma3DS does not replace the home menu. It autoboots, but the point is to enable patches (e.g. remove region checking).

eShop access shouldn't be too difficult to setup; you can use a smartphone and Google Translate's camera translation feature. If the information is too complicated to write or translate then you can follow unSAFE_MODE instead, though either way you're going to have to do some menu translating to connect the device to the Internet.

My assumption for the never connect it to the Internet thing is due to old knowledge that said that New3DSes that connect to eShop will not be able to switch eShop region. The more nuanced wisdom right now is that this is due Yi pre-associated titles, though I'm not sure if that is something that happens at the factory or at Internet connection. Either way, while you can avoid eShop by following an alternate Seedminer method, you will likely find it difficult to avoid connecting to the Internet altogether (Seedminer can be performed without an Internet connection but requires a reasonably powerful GPU).

Recommendations are made against region changing due to the eShop breaking as mentioned above. eShop contains updates, so you would have to sideload any and all eShop updates. That being said, you would be hosed either way as JPN eShop only contains updates for JPN titles and region changing would likely not make USA/EUR eShop accessible.

If you don't want Japanese menus, your only option is a region change. Some weird locale stuff might still think you're on a JPN console, but most everything else will be in English. Keep in mind that whether you region change or not, games with English in them can display in English (though you may need to switch the locale for that specific title and enable game patching, or it may display in Japanese or not boot entirely).

The N3DS/LL build quality is generally said to be better than that of the N2DSLL. Shouldn't fall apart in your hands though.

3D works fine with glasses; it just relies on both eyes working fine.

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

Luma3DS does not replace the home menu. It autoboots, but the point is to enable patches (e.g. remove region checking).

eShop access shouldn't be too difficult to setup; you can use a smartphone and Google Translate's camera translation feature. If the information is too complicated to write or translate then you can follow unSAFE_MODE instead, though either way you're going to have to do some menu translating to connect the device to the Internet.

My assumption for the never connect it to the Internet thing is due to old knowledge that said that New3DSes that connect to eShop will not be able to switch eShop region. The more nuanced wisdom right now is that this is due Yi pre-associated titles, though I'm not sure if that is something that happens at the factory or at Internet connection. Either way, while you can avoid eShop by following an alternate Seedminer method, you will likely find it difficult to avoid connecting to the Internet altogether (Seedminer can be performed without an Internet connection but requires a reasonably powerful GPU).

Recommendations are made against region changing due to the eShop breaking as mentioned above. eShop contains updates, so you would have to sideload any and all eShop updates. That being said, you would be hosed either way as JPN eShop only contains updates for JPN titles and region changing would likely not make USA/EUR eShop accessible.

If you don't want Japanese menus, your only option is a region change. Some weird locale stuff might still think you're on a JPN console, but most everything else will be in English. Keep in mind that whether you region change or not, games with English in them can display in English (though you may need to [link] for that specific title and enable game patching, or it may display in Japanese or not boot entirely).

The N3DS/LL build quality is generally said to be better than that of the N2DSLL. Shouldn't fall apart in your hands though.

3D works fine with glasses; it just relies on both eyes working fine.

Wow! Thanks for all the info. I don't really care about online play so I guess connecting it to the internet should be fine. Also, initial setup in Japanese is doable, as long as I don't have to constantly do stuff in the normal menu.

Thanks for the help everyone, tomorrow I'm gonna hack my 2DS XL, I hope I don't brick it.

 

[binkinator]

Hey everyone,

I'm new here. Currently, I own a New 2DS XL, which has a crack near the hinge and generally poor build quality.

I'm looking to purchase a New 3DS/XL, but on Ebay, the prices are ridiculous. If I buy a Japanese model, the price is much more reasonable. However, is it worth the hassle to softmod it?

I can't speak Japanese at all, so I'm worried about connecting to the eShop and getting Pokemon Picross. Additionally, will Luma auto-boot, so I don't have to go through the normal 3DS menu, which will be in Japanese?

Thanks.

I bought a Japanese LL for this precise reason! I use the Google app and the camera on my phone to translate to English in real time although I’ve been using it less and less as I become more familiar with Japanese. Google translate definitely helped me navigate through the Luma install but if you’re familiar enough with the buttons and navigation on a regular 3DS menu you might be able to muddle through. locating the right Picross to download would have been a pain without a translator.

The biggest issue with converting Regions is that you will not be able to access the eShop any More, but Ninty might have made this a non-issue with The announcement that they are discontinuing 3DS eshop. So that makes this less of a problem.

Additional details here: https://3ds.hacks.guide/region-changing

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

I bought a Japanese LL for this precise reason! I use the Google app and the camera on my phone to translate to English in real time although I’ve been using it less and less as I become more familiar with Japanese. Google translate definitely helped me navigate through the Luma install but if you’re familiar enough with the buttons and navigation on a regular 3DS menu you might be able to muddle through. locating the right Picross to download would have been a pain without a translator.

The biggest issue with converting Regions is that you will not be able to access the eShop any More, but Ninty might have made this a non-issue with The announcement that they are discontinuing 3DS eshop. So that makes this less of a problem.

Alright, thanks. So just to clarify, I can change the language of Luma and, because it autoboots, rarely have to interact with the Japanese menu, correct? I'd rather not mess with the region because I have little to no experience hacking consoles.

 

[binkinator]

Alright, thanks. So just to clarify, I can change the language of Luma and, because it autoboots, rarely have to interact with the Japanese menu, correct? I'd rather not mess with the region because I have little to no experience hacking consoles.

I don’t want to paint too rosy a picture for you. Without hacking the region there will still be quite a bit of Japanese throughout the menus and some games will pick this up as well. It was more so than I expected when I bought mine in December but here in February I’ve memorized a lot of the icons, know where a lot of things are by position (even though it has foreign labels) and am now fluent in Japanese. Ok, maybe not that last one, but I do recognize a few words and a handful of letters due to immersion.

An example…

Here is a snapshot of my screen right now:

Here is the same screen through the Google App (translate function):

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

some games will pick this up as well

What do you mean by this? If I load a US region game backup that has Japanese support, will it be in Japanese until I set it? What's an example of this?

Thanks for clarifying about the language, it seems not to be much of an issue for you, so I won't bother with changing the region.

I really appreciate all your help, thanks for doing this.

 

[binkinator]

What do you mean by this? If I load a US region game backup that has Japanese support, will it be in Japanese until I set it? What's an example of this?

Thanks for clarifying about the language, it seems not to be much of an issue for you, so I won't bother with changing the region.

I really appreciate all your help, thanks for doing this.

Im not 100% certain why this happens.

I have only installed US region CIAs but as an example the Pokemon games and even the Pushmo game I was just playing have Japanese Titles. Not a huge deal and you start to recognize them by their Japanese title.

The region is all changed to US ENG using Luma Locale Region Auto Setter or Locale Switcher (I tried both).

In game text is all changed to English as expected.

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

The region is all changed to US ENG using Luma Locale Region Auto Setter or Locale Switcher (I tried both).

What is this locale switcher? Is it necessary? What exactly does it do?

 

[binkinator]

What is this locale switcher? Is it necessary? What exactly does it do?

just an easy GUI to change out your locale.txt file for each title.
https://github.com/Possum/LumaLocaleSwitcher

This GUI does it for all titles installed in your 3DS in one go.
https://github.com/DarkSynopsis/LumaLocaleRegionAutoSetter

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

just an easy GUI to change out your locale.txt file for each title.
https://github.com/Possum/LumaLocaleSwitcher

This GUI does it for all titles installed in your 3DS in one go.
https://github.com/DarkSynopsis/LumaLocaleRegionAutoSetter

Alright, thanks for all your help. I just modded my N2DSXL so I'll use it for now until an event where I can treat myself with a nicer N3DSXL. Thanks!

 

[binkinator]

Alright, thanks for all your help. I just modded my N2DSXL so I'll use it for now until an event where I can treat myself with a nicer N3DSXL. Thanks!

i hope I didn’t scare you off. The Japanese consoles are a really good deal and the games play perfectly. I like the look of the “foreign“ console. The amount of time I spend struggling with the language is extremely minimal these days Now that I’m familiar. I have a unique/rare/tough looking 3DS…which is exactly the look I was going for with the LL vs the XL. Well worth it IMO.

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

i hope I didn’t scare you off. The Japanese consoles are a really good deal and the games play perfectly. I like the look of the “foreign“ console. The amount of time I spend struggling with the language is extremely minimal these days Now that I’m familiar. I have a unique/rare/tough looking 3DS…which is exactly the look I was going for with the LL vs the XL. Well worth it IMO.

Oh, no, you didn’t scare me off at all. I just thought it’d be a bit silly to randomly spend over 100 dollars on a system that I basically already have. I might get one for myself for Christmas or something.

 

[Mikmoomamimocki]

i hope I didn’t scare you off. The Japanese consoles are a really good deal and the games play perfectly. I like the look of the “foreign“ console. The amount of time I spend struggling with the language is extremely minimal these days Now that I’m familiar. I have a unique/rare/tough looking 3DS…which is exactly the look I was going for with the LL vs the XL. Well worth it IMO.

Sorry to bother you again, but I've got another question. Do you live in the US? If you do, did you have any trouble with the charging situation? Did you have to use the charger that came with the system? Do you know if chargers for a US 3DS will work with a Japanese one? Thanks again.

 

[binkinator]

Sorry to bother you again, but I've got another question. Do you live in the US? If you do, did you have any trouble with the charging situation? Did you have to use the charger that came with the system? Do you know if chargers for a US 3DS will work with a Japanese one? Thanks again.

No worries at all. Yes, I’m in the US. I bought my LL on eBay from a guy in Japan. I purchased a US charger/cable just in case but the charger he sent had the standard 2 blade plug and it worked great. The US adapter I bought separately works great too so I got a backup. They can be had for < $10 if you’re want the insurance https://www.ebay.com/itm/383094468285

 

[sley]

I don't know how much N3DS are going for in the US but isn't shipping from Japan like 30 bucks anyway?
I'd recommend checking places like FB marketplace instead of ebay for a 3DS.