So I’ve talked about this elsewhere on here but my recommendation for anyone who wants to get a 3DS right now is to go on a forwarding service (I use From Japan (full disclosure: if you use this link and buy a thing I (and also you) get 500 yen)), then pick up a New 3DS from Suruga-ya. Search term you’re gonna wanna use is “Newニンテンドー3DS本体”. Probably also gonna wanna dodge ones that say “本体状態難”, which means the console is in bad shape.
Shipping included, you can get a New 3DS (non-XL) from Japan for ~160 USD, typically in very good shape (maybe some yellowing). Compare to like 300 for a US one that’s thrashed. I went this route recently and it’s absolutely the way to go imo. Exchange rates are really favorable for the USD right now so it’s kind of a great time to buy retro stuff from Japan overall.
One caveat is that they are region locked, but CFW removes those limitations entirely. You can also change the region. You can’t use the eShop if you change the region (without doing some other stuff), but nobody’s gonna be able to do that soon enough anyway.
Also:
- hShop does have DLC and updates and stuff. It’s all there. Also translation patches. I think they’ve knocked out all the packages on there now. Also Flipnote, delisted, and retail-only games. There’s also a little on-device app that you can scroll through and download stuff. Works with the lid closed so you don’t have to leave it open for the ungodly terrible wifi speeds to chew through those downloads.
- You can run non-New 3DS games in the New 3DS’s native clockspeed on a modded one. Goes a long long way for some games.
- No weird requirements for softmodding 3DSs these days. It’s stupid easy and you really just need internet access. Guide here.
- Dillon’s Dead Heat Breakers got a Europe-only physical release and sold like zero copies. There are tons of sealed ones on ebay for next to nothing. It’s probably the only localized game with Love-de-Lic heritage you can get a copy of for less than a hundred dollars at this point.
- Play EX Troopers dude. It rocks.
- Strange Journey rules, but also both it and Jeff Vandermeer both ripped off Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
EDIT: Also Tim is no joke like the 3rd person I’ve heard reference Girl God as a thing they’re going to be at where the phrase “don’t kill me” has been part of it.