One of the coolest little features about Nintendo Switch is that is 100% region-free. This is a nice change from 3DS and every Nintendo home console since the Gamecube. Not that I import all that many games, but it’s nice to know that I can, should there ever be something worth the effort. Mark my words, if Nintendo ever releases another Ouendan game, I will be there day one.
The various Switch eShops of the world have been nearly identical in terms of games available, with the occasional discrepancy usually clearing itself up within a week. So I haven’t really had a reason to set up foreign accounts as of yet. But my curiosity had been building up for a whole month, so I finally released the load and created a Japanese Nintendo Account. It was almost unbelievably easy, and took roughly five minutes from start to eShop. Well, aside from the hour I had to wait because I just so happened to get to the eShop part while it was down for scheduled maintenance.
But yeah! I can buy Japanese games digitally now! I kind of want to set up a European account as well, as there is a slightly higher chance that games from that region will come with an English language option. But realistically, when does any game worth buying ever get released in Europe but not North America?
So what did I do with my newfound power? Basically nothing. For the time being, it’s just there for the sake of being there. I did download the demo for Dragon Quest Heroes I & II, but I assume that will be coming Westward, so there’s no need to buy it in a language that I can’t make heads or tails of. Otherwise, I think there are two games on there which don’t show up on the NA eShop, one of which is a cute but generic falling blocks game, and the other is… not worth looking into.
As far as DQ Heroes goes, there’s a whole lot more text in there that I was hoping, but I suppose it is a spinoff of one of the chattiest RPG series going. Moreover, despite being an unofficial Warriors game, it is significantly different than Hyrule Warriors. So much so, in fact, that I really felt like I barely had a clue what was going on. I just roamed around, beating up monsters and stealing their coins. There were a couple mini-bosses, and then when I noticed that a flag had been placed at the point where the demo started, which took me into the boss battle that you can see in the image above.
Rumours have been swirling about that the Switch version has some visual issues not present in the PS4 versions. Looking at online comparisons, the level of detail in the world is down a notch, but not to the point that you’d ever notice. I played only in handheld mode, and the frame rate definitely took a dip here and there, but not so much that I was upset by it. Having spent so much time with Drakengard 3 and NieR: Automata over the last few months, I’ve gotten used to much more significant frame rate issues. Not that it even bothers me in the first place…
I’ll probably give it a go in docked mode at some point to see if there’s much a difference in performance, but I’m not overly worried about it. Even if I have to put up with a little slowdown, buying on Switch gets me two games for the price of one and I’ll be able to take it anywhere. Honestly, I already feel spoiled by Switch, as every PS4 game is immediately disappointing because they can’t come to work or on the toilet with me.
Anyway, this was just supposed to be a short post about how weirdly excited I am about being able to access the Japanese eShop. Guess I got a little too excited. Whoops!