Saturday Soapbox: Yearning Japanese
A little over a fortnight ago, I bought Anarchy Reigns from an online retailer; this week I downloaded New Super Mario Bros. 2 from the eShop on my Japanese 3DS. In the past, importing games of this stature was a no-brainer for me, but on both occasions I hesitated before taking the plunge. It seems many others have been equally reluctant. I can count the people I know that own both games on one finger. These games are rarely discussed, assessed and dissected in excitable tones among small but enthusiastically vocal groups on forums any more. It’s a recent development, and one that I find incredibly sad, because a few years back, the import scene was thriving. It was an exciting movement to be a part of, and now it’s utterly moribund. For some, the allure of what were then termed “grey imports” began in the 16-bit era. Through a mixture of impatience at delays and compromised PAL versions that arrived with horrid black borders or ran in 50Hz, SNES owners in particular would order games from retailers advertising in the back of magazines, encouraged by rave reviews of thrilling new Japanese titles in the likes of Super Play. For others, the Saturn years proved a rich source of shooters not available in western territories. My first import was for the GameCube, the advent of Datel’s Freeloader allowing me to get my hands on Japanese and American games long before their European release to play on my PAL console. Read more…
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