Xbox 360 Japanese exclusive region free imports

[mailman187666]

Just wanted to know if anyone knows of any good games that are region free and Japanese exclusive. I saw some at PAX east, but they all seemed pretty expensive. Only thing is, is that I wasn't sure if they came out with any of them here or not that I don't know about. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[StealthLurker]

for shooters/shmups

http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/jayc/lists/region-free-xbox-360-shmups/56969/

[Ze_ro]

I'll never understand the logic behind the region locking on 360 games.

Why in the hell would any of these companies release Japanese games locked to Japan only? Hell, the import market is probably as large as the Japanese domestic market... does Microsoft charge extra money for region free releases or something? Frustrated grunt!

--Zero

[Bojay1997]

I'll never understand the logic behind the region locking on 360 games.

Why in the hell would any of these companies release Japanese games locked to Japan only? Hell, the import market is probably as large as the Japanese domestic market... does Microsoft charge extra money for region free releases or something? Frustrated grunt!

--Zero

Most likely it's because the publishers don't really know if the game will be Japan only at the time of release. It's an older way of thinking about licensing (although Nintendo seems to keep it going on the 3DS), but publishers perceive that games that have been released region free elsewhere have less market value in the US.

[mailman187666]

for shooters/shmups

http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/jayc/lists/region-free-xbox-360-shmups/56969/

this is the type of list I was looking for. I saw some that cost around $40 that I may be interested in. Which ones are the most fun to play?

[Ze_ro]

The CAVE shooters are all supported in the latest version of MAME, if you want to try them out yourself.

--Zero

[Words iManifest]

Mushihimesama Futari and Espgaluda II would be my favorite's out of the bunch, both are colorful and nice to look at with difficulty levels to accommodate almost anyone (mostly). DoDonPachi is DoDonPachi and reliably good. Muchi Muchi Pork is fun but I'm not really a fan of pink sweets. Eschatos and (I believe it's a sequel) Ginga Force are ok to solid, Ginga Force has a few pretty cool levels though and a ton of power ups, ship colors, etc to buy making it in the better tier as you always have something new to try. Plus, it's more fun if you can't read Japanese so the weapons are kind of a guess, lol. Bullet Soul isn't worth the price it commands to me but I had to have all the shmups I could as I'm a huge fan. There is one more to add to the list, Shooting Love 10-Shuunen: XIIZeal & DeltaZeal is also region free and is two shmups on one disc, both are pretty fun. Like I said, I would start with Mushihimesama as I think it's still pretty reasonable on price and I think the best of the bunch. YouTube all of them see what you like and just make sure you are buying the right ones as a "platinum" edition or "collection" can mean the difference over region free or not.

I really love Akai Katana, Death Smiles and Raiden which are three anyone should own as well but those are US releases as you know

[mailman187666]

I just ordered a copy of Mushihimesama Futari off of ebay. It seems to be reasonably priced, and from what I've seen on youtube and from what people say, is a good game. I'd like to try some of the other games too, but I'll start with this one for now.

Are there any non-shooters that are region free and don't need to know Japanese to play?

[Leo_A]

If you don't mind a Euro import, World Rally Championship 2 is region free and is the only traditional rally racer available to North American Xbox 360 gamers.

Sadly, it's the only one of the four current gen WRC racers that was region free on the Xbox 360.

[E Nice]

Virtual On Force is region free but you may need a guide that explains what the requirements are to win some battles.

[Blai]

I was looking for a thread like this one :)

Any titles that's not shmups?

[Leo_A]

Is this Ubisoft collection with Beyond Good & Evil HD really region free?

http://www.play-asia.com/ubisoft-triple-pack/13/704sin