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Thread: N64 Importers

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    Default N64 Importers

    The Nintendo 64 if the only system I have ever actively sought out imports for. I find it to be incredibly easy to play imports on, even without modifying the console or the cart. Back in 2001, I imported Sin and Punishment and thus started my N64 importing. Good, solid game and with most of the game in English, an easy place to jump into importing. Since then I have built up a small collection of titles as I find them on the cheap. Some of my personal highlights have been Wave Race Rumble Edition and Virtual Pro Wrestling 2. I tend to look for games that are either Japanese exclusive, but will also pick up titles that I never bought the U.S. version of (Mario Golf, Majora's Mask). The only other requirement I have is that the game must be complete - there's just something about the artwork on the boxes that I really enjoy.

    Just curious to see what other N64 importers have to say. Any favorite games? Exclusives I should be on the look out for?

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    umm.....how do you play the games without modifying the console? there is no way they will fit unless you cut those tabs out of the cartridge slot.

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    Back when my brother had an N64 we imported the Evangelion game when it came out because the screenshots looked sick, it was absolutely terrible and we never tried importing anything again.

    I hear that Bangaioh for the N64 is good stuff, though. A different version from the Dreamcast one. Shame there isn't really many exclusives.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Milk Thistle View Post
    Back when my brother had an N64 we imported the Evangelion game when it came out because the screenshots looked sick, it was absolutely terrible and we never tried importing anything again.

    Yeah, that game is total garbage, I could see it putting anyone off from importing haha.

    Sin & Punishment is probably the best title to import, it should have been released here it would have been a hit!

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    You can use a pass-through device.

    To the best of my knowledge, I'm the only other serious N64 importer around here, except for when Importaku shows up on occasion. I only collect Japan-exclusives (although that includes games that only got released in Japan and Europe because I don't want to deal with PAL carts). Here's my collection, minus the first Doraemon which I recently picked up:



    And here's my manufacturer's box of Wonder Project J2, along with goods related to the game:



    As if it's not obvious, Wonder Project J2 is my favorite N64 import. I also have a real soft spot for Getter Love!!, and Bomberman 64 is good fun. If you like card games, 64 Hanafuda and 64 Trump Collection are good. Fushigi no Shiren 2 is an excellent dungeon crawler, and Super Robot Taisen 64 is a solid strategy RPG. Goemon: Mononoke Sugoroku is a good card battler like Culdcept, and if you like Virtual On, there's Custom Robo (and its sequel). In fact, I'd recommend almost every game I have on one level or another. Onegai Monster is probably my least liked since the frame rate is just awful. Although something like Yakouchuu II I can't really play at all unless I become fluent with Japanese, so I can't make a call one way or the other on that.

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    Man, Wonder Project... That girl was the Nintendo mascot over there for awhile, she was everywhere, they really seemed like they wanted a new franchise. But there was only one game, right?

    I really have always liked the Japanese N64 box arts, and I think it's one of the last consoles to still use the cardboard cases.

    Nintendo really dropped the ball on the N64 by not making it backwards compatible with the SNES or even the NES, too. They stuck with the cart format despite all the drawbacks, they at least could have used the backward compatibility as a trump card over the CD based systems. Would be a must own system if it played all 3.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    You can use a pass-through device.
    Ditto. One was thrown in with my purchase of Sin and Punishment, plus a GameShark does the same thing. For me, that equals "easy".

    And here's my manufacturer's box of Wonder Project J2, along with goods related to the game:
    Cool beans! Since you have a whole box I am assuming they all the the controller pak that was included? Is it just a blank or was there something specific to Wonder Project J2 already saved on there?

    Anybody ever look for a copy of Mario no Photopie? Not sure it would be fun to play, but the concept seems interesting enough and supposedly it is rare in Japan. Few months back I had a chance to pick up a copy, near mint condition, for $25 shipped but didn't. More surprised by the prices listed on eBay recently (some over $100 and usually sun faded).

    Anybody out there have a copy of Last Legion UX? I would love to find a complete copy of this game, but the best I've done so far is cart only on eBay.

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    Wonder Project J2 is a sequel. You can see the first game in my picture too. It's on Super Famicom and stars a boy named Pino. It's a fantastic game too, but I like the sequel more. I don't know about Josette being a mascot. Wonder Project J2 was kind of a blip on the horizon, although it did get a bit more attention than the average N64 game considering it was the 4th release I think (after Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64, some shogi game). Nintendo didn't really have anything to do with it either, since it was developed by Givro and published by Enix. Givro disbanded not that long after WPJ2 and the composer died on top of that, so a third game wasn't meant to be. Square Enix did release a mobile port not that long ago, though.

    I actually don't have the controller paks in those. I don't know if they were removed at some point or if they were manufactured that way and needed them put in later. The game had completely generic paks, though. No special data, no special design. The only thing special is that the games come with a WPJ2-themed controller pak sticker that you could place on it. All of my copies do have those. I think the copies of Doubutsu no Mori with controller paks are basically the same.

    That's strange about Mario no Photopi. Last I heard there wasn't much demand or interest in it. But there's a ton of price gouging going with N64 imports. Since not many people are into it and not many copies of games are put up for sale on eBay, sellers try to take advantage of ignorance and price games sky high. My collection would definitely be built a lot faster if I didn't have to immediately pass on 95% of the listings I see, either because of outrageous BINs or the fact that most sellers just list the same games that got US releases over and over. If a game starts at a low opening bid, I think the majority of N64 imports shouldn't go over around $25. Including Mario no Photopi, to be honest. Last Legion UX is another one where I've come across a couple people that think it's rare or worth big bucks, but I don't buy it. It just rarely comes up for sale on US eBay, which isn't unusual. I doubt it's any rarer than other Hudson releases like Getter Love!! If any Hudson release should be considered rare and valuable, it's Bomberman 64.

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    Wow, Nintendo didn't even make it. I never realized that.

    I have a bunch of Japanese gaming mags and Nintendo promotional stuff from the time the N64 was launching, and that J2 girl is all over everything. I just assumed she was the launch mascot over there.

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    If you got anything that prominently features Wonder Project J2 (like mags with the game on the cover or posters or whatever) that I don't have and you're willing to sell, I might be interested. I'm always looking to add to my WPJ collection. I know I'm missing the Gamest EX Dec. 96 issue, for example, but there could be even more magazines with cover features for all I know.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    If you got anything that prominently features Wonder Project J2 (like mags with the game on the cover or posters or whatever) that I don't have and you're willing to sell, I might be interested. I'm always looking to add to my WPJ collection. I know I'm missing the Gamest EX Dec. 96 issue, for example, but there could be even more magazines with cover features for all I know.
    I have some of the Famimag 64 mags you have, any of the other stuff is in boxes so I don't know exactly what I have. Probably Gamest/Famitsu/Arcadia, I have a ton of those from the mid-90s to present. I always buy old/cheap magazines whenever I'm in Japan (from Book Off especially), they're just cool to look at. Wouldn't be worth selling for me, most of them were like 200Y each. I just knew who that girl was off the bat and I've never even played the game.

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    Quote Originally Posted by frogofdeath View Post
    Anybody ever look for a copy of Mario no Photopie? Not sure it would be fun to play, but the concept seems interesting enough and supposedly it is rare in Japan. Few months back I had a chance to pick up a copy, near mint condition, for $25 shipped but didn't. More surprised by the prices listed on eBay recently (some over $100 and usually sun faded).
    I've got a copy here CIB, can't recall how much I paid for it, wasn't an awful lot. I don't have that many Japanese N64 games, most of my collection is American. Nothing PAL, I went the complete importing route again with the console

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    That's strange about Mario no Photopi. Last I heard there wasn't much demand or interest in it.
    I hadn't even heard about this game until about 6 months ago. Not sure how rare it is, especially with the relatively high number or copies that have been popping up on eBay lately.
    Last Legion UX is another one where I've come across a couple people that think it's rare or worth big bucks, but I don't buy it. It just rarely comes up for sale on US eBay, which isn't unusual. I doubt it's any rarer than other Hudson releases like Getter Love!! If any Hudson release should be considered rare and valuable, it's Bomberman 64.
    I would probably pay slightly more for a complete copy of Last Legion UX. I remember reading about this game in an old Nintendo Power and it sounded amazing. That was at the top of my "most wanted" for months and months until I finally realized it wasn't coming out stateside. It wasn't until much later that I was even aware it was released in Japan. That's my main reason for looking for this game, plus I've read it's really not too bad gameplay wise.

    As for Bomberman 64, do you guys think it is really that good of a game or is it just the fact that it was one of the last games for the N64? (Or was it the last?) I've thought about looking for this one, because I generally enjoy Bomberman games so it would get some play time.

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    Yeah, it was the last release in Japan and seems to be pretty rare as a result. It's not the best Bomberman (I'd probably go with Neo Bomberman, and I haven't even played the Saturn one), but it's definitely a very good one and has a lot of variety going for it since it has four entirely different modes of play. But it sure as hell isn't fun enough to warrant the $300-500 people have spent on it in the past. Now it's more around $80-90, though. I got it before all that insanity happened, so it was only about $30 for me, which was plenty reasonable for the entertainment if offers.

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    I also collect JP N64 games CIB. In fact, I'm going for a complete set.

    I'd have to say the game I was "originally" most excited about was Tetris 64. I bought it and CIB 4 bio-sensors (took forever to scrounge up). Then, unfortunately, I finally played the game. Needless to say, it is terrible. The fact is the game isn't nearly exciting enough for the bio-sensors to have any effect on it. Very disappointing...
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    Quote Originally Posted by Parodius Duh! View Post
    umm.....how do you play the games without modifying the console? there is no way they will fit unless you cut those tabs out of the cartridge slot.
    Gameshark works just fine for me.

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    I tried to get into n64 imports, but the pickings are pretty slim in terms of titles I would actually like. Reminds me of trying to get into the FM Towns Marty or import 3DO... just small handfuls here and there compared to other platforms.

    Some of the stuff I've picked up in the past. Other than the titles that have been mentioned, some interesting titles (imho) is the Super Robot Wars game (love Dancouga), Dezaemon and Mario 64 rumble edition. Picked up 15-20 other titles but the only notable one I remember from that was Rakuga Kids.

    Nice things about n64 imports though is that they're relatively less expensive than other import platforms and there is much less competition for items so collecting for it is "easier".










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    I don't know if I'd say N64 imports are less expensive than others. For the games that have comparable entries on other contemporary systems (either ports or games in the same series), the PlayStation and Saturn games are almost always cheaper. And N64 games usually cost more to ship from Japan, so that sucks too. Although you're right in that with the lack of popularity, the N64 doesn't have much in the way of import grails that everyone wants. Sin & Punishment is often the only Japan-exclusive that people even know about, and it only pulls in about $40-50 (although I'm sure the Virtual Console release killed a lot of the demand). There are titles more expensive than that, of course, but there aren't a ton of people going after them. It's probably legitimate rarity pushing those ones up more than anything else.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    I don't know if I'd say N64 imports are less expensive than others. For the games that have comparable entries on other contemporary systems (either ports or games in the same series), the PlayStation and Saturn games are almost always cheaper. And N64 games usually cost more to ship from Japan, so that sucks too. Although you're right in that with the lack of popularity, the N64 doesn't have much in the way of import grails that everyone wants. Sin & Punishment is often the only Japan-exclusive that people even know about, and it only pulls in about $40-50 (although I'm sure the Virtual Console release killed a lot of the demand). There are titles more expensive than that, of course, but there aren't a ton of people going after them. It's probably legitimate rarity pushing those ones up more than anything else.

    Well the point of view in which I was coming from when I said "less expensive relative to other platforms" comes from me thinking this:

    If someone wanted to get into n64 collecting in a comprehensive way...

    1. library is somewhat small to begin with
    2. very few "high dollar" games (100+ USD).
    3. you might even say that the "big ticket" games on the jpn n64 don't command much to begin with compared to say the heavy hitters on SFC, Megadrive, PC-Engine, Famicom, etc
    4. less competition so prices might not even get to "market value" or more in some auctions

    So yeah weight per unit and size will push prices up a bit vs per unit on another platform, but if you wanted "all the must haves" plus a few of your personal likes... the overall cost is gonna run you much less in the long run.

    So for example you might be grabbing things at 10-20 shipped for say 20 units with the occasional 50-120 shipped unit here and there. On say SFC or whatever, there is more likely a chance that there are 40-50 units you want and they average somewhere between 30-50 shipped. In addition there are 10-20 100+ games you'd like to someday pick up.


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    How rare/expensive is a Choro Q 64 2 cart? That doesn't look to appear often in the west.
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