Topic: The Inevitable Purchase

[TheYoungerPlumber]

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blogArt.cfm?artid=17768

  Yes, I bought a Japanese Wii. Yes, it took me six months. And yes, I pretty much bought it out of guilt of living in Japan and not owning any Japanese gaming systems.    

Now, I sometimes get annoyed when the Japanese desire for perfection goes awry—I don't find triple-wrapped candies and ski resorts sans tree skiing cute. But sometimes it can pay off for foreigners like me. Case in point: used Wiis go on the market for around 22,500 yen, which is 2,500 yen less than a new Wii. I picked mine up for 19,800 yen, a solid 5,199 yen off retail price. And why was it $25+ cheaper than the used console to its left? Why, it was missing a stand, of course. And no, I don't mean that big grey stand. I'm talking about that dinky plastic sensor bar stand you probably don't use anyway. Damn! Now if only I could have found one missing its AC adapter, A/V cables, and sensor bar….who knows how good a deal I might have gotten!    

 So what am I going to do with it? I didn't think far ahead when I gave up on rationalizing this purchase and marched to the giant used goods store near my apartment.  My eyes are glazing over the Wii Shop channel's enigmatic listings as I write this.  I've placed a pre-order for the Metroid Prime remake that comes out later this week, so you can look forward to impressions on that, at least.

[Jonnyboy117]

Congrats, sir!  Sounds like a good b'day gift for yourself.

[vudu]

I don't mean that big grey stand. I'm talking about that dinky plastic sensor bar stand you probably don't use anyway.

I use the sensor bad stand.  I also use the round plastic stand that you use to secure the big gray stand.  I like stands.

Isn't Dracula X available on the Japanese VC?  You should pick up that!  Greg owns a Japanese Wii, so I'm sure he'll have some good VC recommendations.

Yes, I bought a Japanese Wii. Yes, it took me six months. And yes, I pretty much bought it out of guilt of living in Japan and not owning any Japanese gaming systems.

You should have picked up a Twin Famicom or a TurboDuo.  Those would have been infinitely cooler. 

[Dasmos]

You should buy the Jungle Beat remake, I want to know how it's different.

[Yoshidious]

Welcome to the club! Here's something I've spent quite a while poring over by now, the full list of Jap VC games:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virtual_Console_games_(Japan)

Now I know you're not the biggest scrolling shooter TYP, so it's unfortunate that a lot of the notable exclusive titles on that list belong to that category. I'd certainly recommend Pulseman by Game Freak for the Mega Drive, it's a pretty unique platformer and apparently has some things in common with their GBA game Drill Dozer (for everyone else, this has been rated in Australia I think so could be on the way as an import release eventually).

As I recall you aren't mad for old school Castlevania but I still have to second the recommendation for Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, as it is a great game and is certainly not as tough as the 8-bit Castlevanias (maybe a little harder than Super Castlevania IV though, difficult to say). On the WiiWare side I can't think of a great deal, except they have Bubble Bobble plus already so if you're at all anxious to check that out it's available now.

For me the Jap VC is a huge upgrade not just because of the extra titiles available but because it's a chance to play them in their native 60hz presentation rather than the botched PAL versions on the European Wii. Hence, I doubt you'll find it as joyous as I have, but I wouldn't mind betting you'll find a number of interesting games in among all those titles eventually.   

Also, keep an eye on Everybody's Nintendo Channel because they are pretty good with getting new DS demos up on there.

[nickmitch]

More Cho Aniki.

[BranDonk Kong]

You should have just installed the Homebrew Channel and Gekko Region Free, then you can play all of your imports on the NTSC (U) Wii.

[Tansunn]

You should buy the Jungle Beat remake, I want to know how it's different.

http://wiifolder.com/?p=145

[Halbred]

I used the sensor bar stand until I bought a slimmer TV, and the slightest vibration would cause the stand to move and tumble to the floor, along with the sensor bar itself. So I don't use it anymore.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I went to Target and bought little anti-slippage rubber nubs and stuck them to the bottom of my INFRARED RAY INDUCTOR.  Best solution for HDTVs frames.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

I thought about the Homebrew Channel approach, but don't want to deal with the specter of firmware updates, and I like having the Japanese Wii Shop channel. Also, while it isn't enough to justify the purchase alone, I now have a third Remote + Nunchuk. (I suspect my eventual fourth remote will come with a Wii Motion Plus)

There is a decent amount of DKJB Wii coverage out there, and I played DKJB on my GameCube shortly before moving to Japan, so I'm not as keen on picking that one up. If I had people to play with, I'd check out the Mario Tennis remake, too. I think I'm more likely to pick up the Klonoa remake though--I never played the PSone original, and barely touched the GBA game at an E3.

[Mop it up]

Now you can buy Captain Rainbow and tell us all what we're missing.
If you're a kind fellow, you may even lie to us and tell us that it is terrible even if it really isn't.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

I didn't buy this system to amplify the culture shock effect, Mop_it_up. I don't have the language skills necessary to make heads or tails of that bizarre release.

[famicomplicated]

Buying a Jpn Wii in Japan - I've never HEARD of such nonsense!

Next you'll be buying an Jpn Xbox 360 for 15,000 Yen! (which I saw the other day....still not interested)

[Jonnyboy117]

If 360 was region-free, that would be a great deal.

TYP, I think you will love Klonoa, especially knowing your fondness for 2D platformers.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

I'm under the impression many games are not region locked, but I think downloadable content region tags and regional online stores still complicate the 360 and PS3.... I could be wrong.

[BranDonk Kong]

The Xbox 360 is region free, however, not all of the games are.