Japanese Nintendo DS

Hey all, seems like the perfect place to ask this question. I live in Japan and have been thinking about picking up a Nintendo DS. I know the system is on its way out, but am sure there are a ton of great games to play on it by now and I think I can get one for fairly cheap. However, I'm American and want to play NA titles. Can I play NA titles on a Japanese DS? Also, there seem to be quite a few different versions of the DS now; which one would be the one to get? Can a Japanese DS be set to English for the system menus and such? Finally, are all titles available digitally so I wouldn't have to pay to import them? I'd much rather just use a digital store to purchase all the titles I want and save them to the Nintendo DS memory. If all of this is no good, can I get a NA DS and digitally purchase all my games from Japan?

Cheers all! I really know nothing about Nintendo these days, but thought it would be a fun toy for my son and I.

Do you mean the 3DS? The 3DS is region locked so you wont be able to play NA games on it and i dont know which JP games have English on it.

Region Free

• Nintendo DS
• Nintendo DS Lite
• Nintendo DSi

Note: All Nintendo DSi Enhanced games are region locked on the DSi but not on the DS

Example: Pokemon

Region Locked

• Nintendo 3DS
• Nintendo 2DS

You're gonna want an American 3DS or 2DS. The problem with getting a Japanese system is that it can't be set to English, is region-locked, and also locked to the Japanese eShop. Very few Japan-region games have English localization (just Pokemon, Bravely Default: For the Sequel, and Resident Evil Revelations come to mind), so you definitely don't want that.

If you've held on to your American creditcard, that'll make it more convenient to buy stuff from the American eShop. If not, you're gonna have to buy credit codes from somewhere like http://www.pcgamesupply.com. But yes, practically all 3DS games can be bought digitally on the eShop. Original DS games you're gonna have to buy physically.

If the 3D feature isn't important to you, I'd recommend the New 2DS XL for the additional shoulder buttons, second analog nub, and the ability to run Fire Emblem Warriors, Xenoblade, and downloadable SNES games. If you do want 3D, you might wanna pay a little more for the New 3DS/XL. If you're truly on a budget, the original 2DS is still a great system. Amazon.com is probably the most convenient place to order one.

Thanks all very much! Great resource to have here for questions like this. Axersia, exactly the info I was looking for, thanks for the great detailed response. I think I may just wait and get a 3DS this Christmas on a trip home. Cheers!