41 replies to this topic

[PlayerOnePhil]

As we discussed in episode 257, we’re going to have a special import gaming retrospective next episode in episode 259. We certainly have plenty of stories about the subject, but we want to hear from you as well!

Share your import memories in this thread. What was the first game that you imported? What was the most recent? Have any of your imports ended up being worth a small fortune? Which game was totally worth those hefty import shop prices? What $100 title ended up sucking? Do you have a crazy system modding story? This is what we want to know!

So start sharing, and we’ll talk more about it next episode in two weeks.

Update: Although originally planned for episode 258, scheduling conflicts have forced us to push the import discussion back a week. That’s OK, though–it just gives everybody an extra week to get your stories in. We will now be having our import discussion in episode 259.

[levitynyc]

Xenoblade is the first and only game i ever imported. Worth every friggin penny.

[Wenny]

Vib-Ribbon and Shenmue II are my most memorable imports. Probably because they're my only imports. I always found enough to play among the US releases so never felt compelled to import.

[SlimX]

You can have me on the show and I'll tell you the story of the time I imported the Saturn prequel to Beyond Oasis.

[juanster]

When the Saturn died in the US, I started noticing Japanese games at Electronics Boutique. I was about to turn 14 and for my birthday I asked my mom to take me to EB to buy the Saturn "Ultra Madness 4M Turbo Key" cart. When we got to EB, there was a gang bangerish looking guy purchasing the last cart EB had in stock, so I was bummed out. Then, I started hearing the guy tell the cashier that he didn't have enough money. He also started asking his girlfriend for the cash, but she said no.

They left without the cart and I immediately tell the cashier that I want it. I started looking through the games and found Vampire Savior. So, my mom pays for the items and just as we get the receipt, the guy comes back with the money. He got furious and started yelling at the cashier. Telling him "I was only gone for a few minutes!" He then started yelling at his girlfriend, "you should have gave me the money before!" The cashier tells him that it wasn't his fault. That the guy left without even hinting that he would be back. The guy then said something towards me, I didn't hear what but my mom did. So my mom and the guy got into a yelling match before he stormed out.

This was at the Brickyard Mall in Chicago. As we walked through the mall back to our exit, we noticed the guy following us. He followed us all the way until we walked out into the parking lot before turning back. Nothing happened, but I remember we were both scared.

At first, I stuck to buying Japanese-only fighting games. Games like King of Fighters Collection, Marvel vs Street Fighter, Street Fighter Zero 3, etc. Then I started buying the Japanese versions of the US fighting games I had, just because the packaging was so much better. When eBay came, I started to search for "import sega saturn" and started buying whatever was under $15. This is how I got games like Anarchy in the Nippon, All Japan Pro Wrestling Featuring Virtua, Initial D, Wipeout, Street Racer, Clockwork Knight, Sega Rally, Daytona USA, Enemy Zero, Fire Pro Wrestling S, Shinobi Legions, Sky Target, Sonic R, Steel Slope Sliders, Decathlete, Winter Heat, and Deep Fear.

Finally, after high school when I got a good job, I started to buy the good saturn import games. Games like Dungeons & Dragons Collection, Dragon Force 2, Grandia, and Castlevania: SOTN. I also sold my US Saturn and bought a Japanese one. My goal now is to buy Japanese versions of everything I have and sell off my US collection.

[Kirbutashi]

My first imported games were Four Swords Adventure+ and Nintendo Puzzle Collection. Had to use the Action Replay thingie to get them to work. I remember paying a fair premium to get this stuff, but I don't think it was anything too extravagant. There were only two instances in Four Swords where it being in Japanese was a problem, but even the fully voiced Tetra's Trackers was perfectly playable with my friends and I banging our heads against it until we figured it out. I only ordered Nintendo Puzzle Collection for 4-player Panel de Pon, WHICH I DOMINATE AT OF COURSE. Dr. Mario and Yoshi's Cookie pretty much suck.

The only other import was Xenoblade, which I got for $50 and have clocked in at 103 hours so far with no signs of the end being near. Loving it. Other than a bunch of extra u's, calling cookies biscuits and other such Queen's English related nonsense, the game is perfectly playable in English. I really admire the British voice acting, actually. Don't get a lot of that for entire games.

Until Four Swords (which my friends and I couldn't wait for and knew that language would be no barrier), I always viewed importing as an extravagant luxury that could require some extra work or hardware to get right. While there was some stuff I knew of overseas that would have been nice to play, I never really felt the urge to import for a long while.

[mik]

I've actually imported more current-gen games than old-school games. The only ones I can remember from the past are Ranma ½ for the Super NES, (which was actually a rather good--for the time--2D fighting game), and the Super Famicom/Super Mario World/Pilotwings bundle that we imported at the game store where I worked in the 90s. We set that thing up on the big screen and charged kids by the hour to play it, which is almost certianly illegal.

Because I lack any sort of patience, I've imported a few games on the PS3: EyePet, Motorstorm Apocalypse (which got delayed everywhere but Europe, so that's where mine came from), and Hakuna Matata, which is what the game Afrika was called in Hong Kong. What a wonderful phrase.

Edited by mik, 28 September 2011 - 10:30 AM.

[eg atol]

I never imported anything before this gen due to me being a young lad and having no idea/desire to get any of my consoles to play imported games or where to purchase said games, but thanks to the region freeness of the ps3/psp and the internet I was able to get DJ Max Portable, Parodius Portable, Salamander Portable, and Aquanauts Holiday.


I also imported some games because they had better box art in other regions like Heavy Rain and MGS4

Edited by eg atol, 28 September 2011 - 11:25 AM.

[minus_273]

Xenoblade is the first and only game i ever imported. Worth every friggin penny.

i wasted waay too much time in holland last week looking for that game. fucking free record shop only has the most popular games.

[momerath]

Xenoblade is the first and only game i ever imported. Worth every friggin penny.

Seconded.

[gokieks]

Most recent import is the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus Limited Box, which I just received yesterday. I hadn't imported anything for a while - there were a few games that my friend and roommate during college bought when he went back to Japan every summer, mostly games which never got a US release, but I really hadn't imported all that many games period. I've thought long and hard quite a few times about importing hardware (PSX the PS2-based DVR, the Panasonic Q, the oh-so-sexy Ceramic White PS2, the Yakuza 3 PS3), but in the end usually couldn't justify the cost, even back when the JPY-USD exchange rate wasn't as awful as it is now.

[Compeau]

Dragonball Z Legends for PSX. I was a big DBZ fan as a kid, and importing was the only way to play a Dragonball game at the time. It was a thoroughly mediocre fighting game, but it supported 4+ characters fighting at one time, and had a HUGE list of characters. And really, that's all I wanted as a 14 year-old kid.



I used the trusty swap trick, using a paper clip to keep the lid button pressed down, so the system always thought the lid was closed. To perform the swap, you start loading a US game, and when the Playstation logo appears, the disc stops spinning for a couple seconds. At that time, you rip out the game and shove in your import game. Easy peezy.

[KnightAttack]

I'm only 23, so I never really grew up in an age of importing. I didn't even on a console until the PS1, despite playing games since I was 2. Started at friends houses. However, in the 15 years I've been collecting games, I've really gravitated towards one series, Breath of Fire. I'm not sure why. I've loved the first four games, and especially number 2. When I had first got my PSP, I knew that Breath of Fire III was a remake coming out for it, but it looked like it wasn't going to come stateside. It ended up in Europe and just about the time I thought about buying it.......I sold my PSP for a DS.

But the thirst for Breath of Fire could not be quenched, so I continued to look for alternative ways to play the series while I was at University (you see back then, I was trying to be a good student, and didn't bring a single console along with me). I eventually came to find out that Breath of Fire IV received a release on PC in Europe and Asia. I purchased a brand new copy from some dude in England off E-Bay for about $20 (plus shipping, which was like, another 10), and now I can play Breath of Fire IV whenever I feel like it, so long as I have a computer around.

Edited by KnightAttack, 28 September 2011 - 06:42 PM.

[Ondore]

We set that thing up on the big screen and charged kids by the hour to play it, which is almost certianly illegal.

Yeah, you're supposed to do that in 15 minute increments. My local store did that with an import N64 and Mario 64, actually.

The only game I ever imported was Jam with the Band for the DS, and that was because I got it for the equivalent of $15 and got decent shipping from a hookup in the UK. It was a decent little rhythm game made more memorable by the fact that I unlocked the ability to play The Final Countdown with a pipe organ. In a word... awesome.

[TheKurichan]

Sadly, as an Australian, I am forced to import all my retail games from the UK thanks to the ridiculous standard prices in Australia. I also exclusively buy from the US PSN store for the same reason.

[K-S-O]

I remember my first import game being Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan for the DS. I loved Elite Beat Agents at the time so I had to import the Japanese version to check out the different tracks.

My most memorable import has got to be Vib-Ribbon. I was blown away by the ability to input music CDs and get different levels out of them. While I find that Audiosurf does a better job at making levels out of music, Vib-Ribbon still wins me over with its quirky graphics, fun character, and epic victory theme. This game is pretty much the reason I still buy music CDs.

My most recent imports are the portable collections of Twinbee and Salamander for PSP. Old school Konami shooters are worth owning on portables.

[Raughn]

This was at the Brickyard Mall in Chicago. As we walked through the mall back to our exit, we noticed the guy following us. He followed us all the way until we walked out into the parking lot before turning back. Nothing happened, but I remember we were both scared.

Man, that's pretty creepy.

My first import was the Japanese version of Phantasy Star Online, only so I could use it to set-up the Dreamcast broadband adapter to work with the US version. (The broadband options were blocked on the US disc to lure people to SegaNet.) I think I sold it on eBay after that.

My first import to play was Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, well before Elite Beat Agents was even announced. It was like magic playing that game for the first time, so simple and outrageously positive and foreign.

[Cambot]

Railfan - I imported it for PS3. I like operating the CTA Brown line in and out of downtown Chicago.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan - Maybe one of the most imported titles ever, but well worth it.


Phoenix Wright Ace Attourney: Justice for All - I finished playing the first one and felt I had to get this one right away.


My best importing memory is still finding all the Mega Drive games at a Value Village. A lot of shooters, Strider, etc. I think I posted about it here back then.

[gamer812]

My first import was that Dragonball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 game. I thought it looked so cool with the detailed character art. All I had were screenshots to look at since downloading movies were a bit hard with 56k. I received the game, popped it in, and came out disappointed. It was like playing Blazblue but without the awesome animation and with terrible polygonal backgrounds.

I did have a modchip installed and it felt so evil, I don't know why. I gave my dad the PS1 to give to a "friend" at work to mod it. Cool. Then Dino Crisis came out with that anti-modchip crap. So it was either play import games or play Dino Crisis. I took a pair of scissors and snipped the wires. Goodbye import days.

Most memorable import was Chrono Trigger for PS1. I was a Akira Toriyama fan at the time (hence the Dragonball import) and thought the anime cutscenes were worth importing the game. A year or two later, Square releases Chrono Trigger here. Oh well, at least I got to see the cutscenes before all my friends.

[LiK]

I import too many friggin' games. I import from Japan, Hong Kong, England, Australia etc etc etc. The main reason is because there are games I will never get to play here or other regions have Special Editions which we will never see here in the States.

It really sucks that region-locking exists on some systems and games. That means I would have to import hardware or mod the systems to play them.

I do not remember what I first imported, but my most recent import is the Japanese LE for Ico/SotC which was just shipped today.

[Ginormousj]

The first game I ever imported was Sin and Punishment for the N64 at a local gaming shop. I hadn't intended on importing, and this shop rarely sold Japanese games, but I could see it playing in the store window and quickly fell hard for it. $75 for the game and converter cart wasn't a bad deal at all for a game that didn't make it stateside until about a decade later.

I'm not sure if it counts as "importing" if you're in Tokyo at the time of purchase, but I was teaching in China a few years ago and had two weeks of Spring Festival holiday time to spend in Japan. I didn't bring many games with me, so I was determined to bring back something memorable. After pacing through a bunch of Akihabara shops, I eventually settled on Rhythm Tengoku for the GBA and a huge lot of Saturn games (along with the console itself). Those last few months on my contract were made a lot more bearable thanks to nights of Puyo Puyo multiplayer and X-Men vs. Street Fighter.

Still holding out for the Xenoblade stateside release, but I'm going to cave any day now.

[Raughn]

After pacing through a bunch of Akihabara shops, I eventually settled on Rhythm Tengoku for the GBA...

Bloody effing brilliant choice.

I don't know how I forgot to bring this up in my post.

If any of you only know Rhythm Tengoku (Heaven) by its DS release, or if you don't know it at all, get a copy of the import GBA game ASAP. Best rhythm game I ever played.

I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't be making plans for importing the Wii game. That US version still doesn't have a date, and Nintendo has been getting off on being withholding lately.

[Chairman Steve]

Awesome idea for a podcast! I bought quite a few imports back in the 90s, spending $80-90 on games like Final Fantasy 8 and Chrono Cross just so I could stumble through a couple of hours not knowing what the hell was going on.

I have a lot of rare import titles like Radiant Silvergun, Dracula X, and the Shining Force 3 Premium Disc.

Speaking of Shining Force 3, my fondest memories of playing imported games are related to that game. Modding my Saturn was an adventure in itself (with some help from my dad, I soldered a wire in one of those memory expansion cartridges), but I also wanted to actually know what was happening while playing the game. Using the "computer lab" at my crappy call center job, I printed out the entire translation to scenarios 2 and 3 (thankfully, I never got caught printing out the hundreds of pages that were the translation, complete with character portraits for each line) and brought the phone book-sized documents home. I don't think I ever made it through the entire thing due to the papers being scattered at one point and me being too lazy to put them back in order, but it was a memorable experience nonetheless.

[headcaseGames]

As big of a gaming maniac as I was back in the 90s, importing was seldom something I bothered with. There were always plenty of great titles coming out over here, and I didn't mind the extra time waiting for the locallization (although it was always a drag knowing we'd get stuff "a whole year later," this included consoles). Still, being an avid reader of EGM meant you would always be pretty teased by the insane amount of "coming soon.. maybe" coverage they'd get into, particularly in their offshoot specialty mags (Super Play and Mega Play).

If I'd had a TG-16 I suspect I would have gone the import route sooner, since their domestic support curled up and died just as the party was getting started. Otherwise, the idea of having to bust open hardware (taking circuit boards out of old NES carts, or doing I-don't-even-know-what to SNES games) was never appealing. However there was that one game that had me unscrewing the entire shell of my Sega Genesis..

EGM was a bastard about this "Sunsoft Batman" title for the Mega Drive, going on and on about how it was the hot business and "no one in the US would ever play it because of Nintendo licensing issues" (Sunsoft already had a successful NES Batman title available for 8-bit NES). Hell, they'd rant on about this stuff on the damned cover of the magazine! In those early days of the Sega Genesis, a Batman the Movie game by Sunsoft (who, in those days, were kind of a scrappy kid brother to the likes of Capcom and Konami, in a good way) was just about the perfect game one could imagine for their new brand-new (and software-starved) 16-bit monster. I ponied up the $100 to Die hard Game Club or whoever it was who always ran those exotic "get foreign games for only twice as much as they'd cost if you'd wait a year!" ads in the back of EGM and other mags. Sure enough, the package arrived soon after I coughed up my $100. The game case was much smaller than the typical Genesis packaging (barely big enough to hold the cartridge) and the game had this funky rounded lip, where the domestic ones had a hard edge. So exotic..

Of course the game cart was not formed to fit into the US Genesis, so I unscrewed the console lid and hastily plugged Batman right into my poor Genesis' exposed housing, feeling like some kind of a mad scientist of gaming. I fired up the cart, noting that all the text/cut scenes were in English (um, isn't this supposed to be a Japanese game?) and slobbering over how good the game looked and sounded instantly. Of course I plowed through the game in about 2 days, and sure enough the damn thing released properly over here a year later after all : P

Anyway, there is my only import story, except of course that GP32 handheld I bought (Korea by way of the UK) a couple of years ago..

Edited by headcaseGames, 01 October 2011 - 09:56 PM.

[SickBoy]

I imported very little. A game store in a local mall brought in import copies of Super Mario 3, with some funky converter cartridge to play the Famicom cart in the NES, and that was my first exposure to a Japanese game -- friends of the family bought a copy of that.

After that it was a while until I got my hands on anything imported. I always wanted Batman for the Genesis (IIRC, there was some sort of licensing issue that long prevented it from being released here, but maybe Sunsoft eventually did?). Fact is, money was better spent on cheaper items and I didn't want to do any mechanical modification of my console (just shaving/cutting off a couple of bits, no?)

The first import *I* actually bought wasn't even a game. It was one of those CG Portrait things from the Virtua Fighter series -- Lau. I never really understood what they were, and the price seemed pretty reasonable at the time.



...sooooo worth it.

The other import I remember was Firepro Wrestling: 6 Man Scramble... a really fun game, and although I tried a couple of later games in the series, I'm not sure if it's just that it hasn't aged well (because it really hasn't advanced much) or that there was some secret sauce in the Saturn version, but they've never really done a ton for me since. I think most of the other import games I wound up playing on the Saturn were a friend's -- he had just about every fighter that Capcom released on the system.

Anyhow, the Saturn was the one console I really didn't have any issues about importing with, because while you could do it with a quick soldering job (sans-heatsink, naturally), there were also a variety of carts that emerged that would fit into the system's finicky cartridge slot and save you from the temptation of potential console ruin.

It worked out well for me, because it got me on board with buying from Tronix back in the day, and I had the very good fortune to put in a preorder for Panzer Dragoon Saga that was early enough that I actually received a copy. At that point, Sega had stopped any distribution in Canada, so online was really my only shot at a copy. I made a tidy profit on the game eight or nine years ago. I think it's probably worth somewhere around $150 more nowadays. I needed that money more back then

Veering off topic, I do wonder how much it would cost to do a re-release of the game... Even if it was essentially just the Saturn version reworked to run on a newer system and display the geometry in higher resolution (leaving horrendous textures and all)... I think it would sell quite well as a curiosity, if nothing else.

Edited by SickBoy, 03 October 2011 - 12:22 AM.

[jonesey]

My first import was 1080 Snowboarding for the N64. I lived in the UK at the time and the release date was months later than the Japanese version. My roommates and I discovered that the Japanese one had full English text, and when we saw it on the shelf we took it and a cartridge converter (one of those things where a second cartridge hangs out the back to allow the import to play) and bought them instantly.

We got it home and plugged it in... It didn't work. We plugged every cartridge had into the back of the converter but nothing happened.

We then went back to the store and traded our UK N64 for a Japanese one. Took that home and plugged it in... It worked, but it was in black and white!

My friend then got on his bike and rode to the outskirts of the city where there was a company that made RGB converters that would let the import console work on a PAL TV. He came back later (it was several miles away) and everything worked. Such a good game, along with Mario Kart battles and Goldeneye it was a multi-player standard in the house. The trick attack mode was particularly amazing, and the rivalry got pretty heated. I still have the game boxed as new today, though that N64 is long gone.

Once we found out that US and Japanese games worked without a converter in the system we bought a lot of imports, which were actually much cheaper than the PAL versions in many cases.

[StinkingBishop]

The only game I ever imported, if you even want to call it that, was Super Mario Brothers 3 from the US. My dad was going to Florida for a couple of weeks and was going to be there when Super Mario 3 was going to be released and I had saved up enough for him to get me a copy. He ended up getting 2 copies, for me and my friend who also gave him money for it.

I can't remember though why I would have him do this for me. Does anyone remember if the game came out later in Canada, or maybe just in Halifax, then the US? I remember that we were the first person in our school to have the game and we beat it before anyone else had it, but this was also back in the day were you only got games for your Birthday and Christmas. So the game could have been out.

[Owozifa]

I think the first game I imported was a game called ChainDive for the PS2. Nobody probably even knows what it is, but it was a Sony published game that managed to make it on one of their demo discs that might have come with PlayStation Magazine as a "coming soon." It never came soon, and me and my friends loved that demo so damn much we just dropped the cash for it. I ended up being the one who kept it after the others played it, because the import swap discs were mine. I actually already had the swap discs in order to preview games, since certain awesome game companies that shall remain nameless actually told us hey if you don't have development consoles just get these swap disc thingies and then we can send you builds on DVD-R! That was back when I wrote for the internets.

Probably the first game I imported for myself was Mother 3. I got the big collector's edition with the Game Boy Micro, and then later I just bought the regular game too. I bought it twice.

Other than that I have a few Japanese shooters on PSP (Salamander! Parodius, Star Soldier, Sapphire...), some of the Sega Ages stuff for PS2 (Wonder Boy Collection and Treasure Box), Tales of Eternity PSP (I think?) from Europe, because we didn't get that. Oh and the Bonk's Adventure remake for PS2, probably inspired by me playing the original on Virtual Console and loving it more than I probably should. I also imported Ka 2, which most would know better as the sequel to Mr. Mosquito that we didn't get. I also have a copy of Earth Defense Force 2, but I haven't gotten around to playing it.

Oh and I have some random other games that I found somehow. I believe I have the PS1 Gamera game, and maybe some other that I'd have to go find. I'm sure whatever it was, it was a shooter. I don't usually play games where I can't understand them, RPG importing (other than from Europe) is not exactly something I could see myself engaging in. Shooters, you just shoot stuff.

I've enjoyed importing games digitally via PSN and Virtual Console too. Sin and Punishment, that one platformer I can't remember the name of that was on SNES, Cho Aniki, Dracula X, Star Parodier (was this import?), and other stuff I can't remember.

And now I kinda want to join in the Xenoblade importing, but there's some OCD part of me that doesn't like cracking consoles. Most of my importing has been for regionless consoles, and the PS2 I used for the messy swap disc method was actually a spare.

[Owozifa]

Oh I forgot one that's kind of related:
I managed to get a mint condition in box import of Final Fantasy V for the Super Famicom. Now, this was kind of weird, because I had no intention of playing it, but it was the favorite of a good friend of mine, and I presented it to him as a kind of cool keepsake for his birthday, because I knew he'd be into that. Well my friend loved the shit out of it, even though he's not going to play it, and he actually now has it signed by Nobuo Uematsu (I forget where other than it was in Minneapolis), who was apparently really surprised to see a Japanese copy floating about midwest America.

Just thought that was cool.

Edited by Owozifa, 06 October 2011 - 02:14 PM.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I import games all the friggin time. As for what my first import game was? Pocket Monsters Green. Back in the day I didn't realize that Green was just Blue with inferior sprites. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed playing through it years before I knew a single word of Japanese. Subsuqently, in 2000 I imported Pocket Monsters Gold because I just couldn't wait for the North American release. I eventually got stuck at the radio tower not knowing how to proceed, but it was still good times.

Some other highlights

Rockman 1-6 complete set for the Famicom - $100 gone, but I sure do love my fruity pebbles! Also, these are some of the best 8-bit games ever made.

Ouendan 1-2 I love j-pop and rthyum games, so this was really a no brainer. My original fat DS screen got so damn scratched up because of overplaying these two games.

Giana Sisters DS - WHEN will this game come out here!? Goddamnit!


Pocket Monsters Heart Gold, Pocket Monsters Black - continuing my tradition of importing Pokemon games way before they become localizied, but now I can actually read the majority of the text and follow what's going on!

Akumajou Densetsu and Lagrange Point - both of these games have crazy soundchips (VRC6 and VRC7) that make them sound lightyears beyond what you'd expect from a typical Nintendo game. Lagrange Point in particular sounds more like a Genesis game than a NES game. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

Melty Blood Actress Again - One of the best sprite based fighting games ever made for the PS2. The $70 price tag hurt, but I love it.



The last game I imported was

THE Chikyū Bōeigun 2 Portable for PSP.


This is Earth Defense Force 2, also known as Global Defense Force, the best game in the EDF series. If you know the third game on the 360, you know how much crazy fun it is. If you have access to custom firmware, its a great game to import. I say that because you'll want to change the default clock speed the game runs at to the full 333Mhz otherwise you'll get the same sort of slowdown as you'd find in the PSP GTA games.

Edited by Satoshi_Matrix, 06 October 2011 - 06:15 PM.

[a48871]

The first system i imported was a atari jaguar from the united states. Let me explain while station in japan wayyyy back in 1995 i "imported" one atari jaguar using half a months pay. After a month of waiting my jag finally arrived, talk about a crappy candle. The following december i went home on leave and brought back my playstation, talk about a mind blower for me and my friends. I don't know if this counts as importing but seeing as how going outside the front gate to buy games limited you to fighting or shooters so my only other options was to import from the USA.

Edited by a48871, 06 October 2011 - 10:22 PM.

[Indy aka Rex]

The first import I ever bought was Dragonball GT for the PS1 (Final Bout, I think it was called). I was 13, I knew nothing about imports (or DBGT, but this was during DBZ prime-time in the US), but one of my favorite specialty stores had it, and I had money to buy it. Thank god I had a first-gen PS1 that worked, all I had to do was stick a wad of paper on the lid switch, leave the lid open and BAM! My PS1 played any and every import. Too bad DBGT was confusing as fuck, I only ever played it like... 10 times at most, and 8 of those I only played it so I could watch the super-sweet anime intro. I sold it 4 months later with the PS1 to pay for a Dreamcast... or a PS2 pre-order, I can't remember.

Hardware I imported? NGPC from DVD Express with like 3 games (KOF, FF and one other... I forget which, probably Gals Fight), I have it somewhere but it's busted. I really loved that thing, I remember feeling disappointed when the GBA didn't have a clicky-analog-nub, or a menu system when you turned it on without a cart. The NPGC was ahead of its time.

Outside of that, I imported the DS3 when it came out (cheaper than the US one too, thanks Play-Asia), Aquanauts Holiday (my favorite software import. I'm so let down Natsume didn't bring that over) and Afrika... Fuck Afrika actually, the stupid thing is near-unplauable since it lacks inverted-camera controls. 2 weeks after I paid 30 for the import, they announced the US version too... FFFFF. If anyone wants the Korean version of Afrika? I'll sell it to you for like 20 bucks... It has no trophies and shit camera controls.

[Hacker Alias]

I've only ever imported one game (did it twice though) and the CIB with official player's guide (that was actually an incomplete guide, as it didn't feature one of the characters at all) went to Stewy I also tucked my spare copy of Dragon Quest 5 (NDS, US) in the game box because I'd had my fourth DS stolen by the time I sent Star Ocean to him. It really is the best RPG I've ever played, though. The in-between town atmosphere was amazing, the music was just the right level to let you hear the ambient noise (birds and insects) and the water even featured reflections The PSP port was just horrendous, it destroyed all of that in favor of the SO2-style world map.

[flamecondor]

I was kinda late to the import party, I don't think I imported anything until the DS came out. First game I ever imported was the Japanese version of Electroplankton. Living in Australia I had a feeling it wouldn't come out down here and lo and behold I was right. Ever since then I'd say I imported a good 50 percent of my DS games mainly from the US but a few Japan ones in there. With the 3DS being region locked I've gone full on Importing with getting a US 3DS so I can only play US 3DS games on it which is somewhat annoying but given the games I'd miss out on if I couldn't its well worth it.

[Owozifa]

I've only ever imported one game (did it twice though) and the CIB with official player's guide (that was actually an incomplete guide, as it didn't feature one of the characters at all) went to Stewy I also tucked my spare copy of Dragon Quest 5 (NDS, US) in the game box because I'd had my fourth DS stolen by the time I sent Star Ocean to him. It really is the best RPG I've ever played, though. The in-between town atmosphere was amazing, the music was just the right level to let you hear the ambient noise (birds and insects) and the water even featured reflections The PSP port was just horrendous, it destroyed all of that in favor of the SO2-style world map.

What game are we exactly talking about here?

[gamer812]

Aquanauts Holiday (my favorite software import. I'm so let down Natsume didn't bring that over)

I imported Aquanauts Holiday as well. The Engrish in that game was just hilarious. Did you finish it by the way? What a weird story.

[Wenny]

I imported Aquanauts Holiday as well. The Engrish in that game was just hilarious. Did you finish it by the way? What a weird story.

I'd forgotten about that gem. I haven't finished it...yet but intend on it.

[Owozifa]

Reviving this topic because I just imported Last Window from the UK. I really loved Hotel Dusk, so at this point I figured I'd better go ahead and buy it before it gets dumb expensive or something. Been out in Europe a long time and America doesn't really like adventure games. I only paid $37 including shipping so I felt pretty good about it despite the horrifying exchange rate.

[Hacker Alias]

What game are we exactly talking about here?

Oh, sorry, I did kind of ramble there.

Star Ocean, for the Super Famicom.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

RetroZone has reproduction copies of Star Ocean in English now. Fully playable on any SNES or Super Famicom!