Showing posts with label Guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guide. Show all posts

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Nintendo Switch Game Region (Physical Game Cartridges)

April 10, 2022 0 Comments
For physical cartridges, it is easy to tell the regions they are from as the region will be printed on the cartridge code and case.

Here is a list of codes:
  • USA: North America
  • EUR: Europe
  • JPN: Japan
  • AUS: Australia
  • CHT: China / Hong Kong / Taiwan
  • KOR: Korea
  • ASI: Asia

You can also tell by the ratings system displayed in the lower-left corner of the game box cover art insert.

  • USA: E for Everyone, T for Teen, M for Mature, etc.
  • PAL: Green label with the number 3-7, Yellow label the number 12-16, Red label with the number 18, etc.
  • JPN: Cero A, Cero B, etc.
  • KOR: 12, 15, etc.

For those of us living in South East Asia, Maxsoft and Convergent are our official distributors. They are the ones who import the games from Nintendo. The covers are for the MDE(Middle East Region) are basically the US carts with the E rating on the front but a slightly different back cover (with the MDE one mentioning the Middle East Region). The game cart itself is indistinguishable from the US one as it is the same -USA. Of course, you would still be able to get other covers as games from other regions are also imported (or you could just buy it online).

Fun Fact: Did you know that the spine title alignment for EUR and USA are different?

USA versions are more aesthetically aligned while EUR versions are centralised.
Sometimes physical game cartridges are cheaper when there are sales, and for those of us familiar with AmazonShopee and Lazada, they do have pretty good sales from time to time. 
 
If you want it a little more affordable, because let’s admit it Nintendo games are not exactly cheap, you can get them second hand come Carousell or Facebook Marketplace for slightly less then retail price. However, prices hardly drop much for Nintendo games, so you may manage to get a good deal for second-hand games or you might have better luck with brand new ones.

Do remember to do your research before buying, especially if the price is too good to be true. If the retail price is around S$69.90 or on the e-Shop USD$59.99, and you see it going for less than 1/3 of the price do check if they are selling second-hand physical cartridges or a digital version of the game. If it is a digital version, then it’s against Nintendo’s terms and conditions.

One advantage owning a physical game cartridge is that when you are done with it or are no longer interested in playing you could always resell it off on the second-hand market. 
 
As mentioned earlier, the prices for pre-loved games do not drop that much so the loss is minimal and you can use the monies to fund your next gaming adventure.


What has do you know about the different game regions? Share it with us below in the comments below!

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Monday, April 4, 2022

Nintendo Account Region

April 04, 2022 0 Comments
When you are setting up your Nintendo Switch you would be promoted to create a user profile and link it to a Nintendo Account. You can set up your Nintendo Account via the console or your good old computer browser.

This is when you link it to an email account and set up the region to allow you to buy digital games and get the online subscription etc…
 


When prompted to key in your region, please select one of the regions previously displayed when choosing your Console Region (e.g. America, Europe, Japan etc). You can also choose another region (that your console states). For example, if you Switch console region was set to Korea, you can select America for your Nintendo Account region. It’s best to select a region which Nintendo has e-Shops for.
  • The Americas (America)
  • Europe
  • Australia / New Zealand
  • Japan
  • Hong Kong / Taiwan / South Korea

Why you might ask? Well that’s because choosing a region on your Nintendo Account affects your Nintendo e-Shop access: the e-Shop only recognizes a select few regions and sometimes the cities and states located in these regions. For example, if you select “Singapore” or “Malaysia”, you will get an error message saying “Nintendo eShop is currently not available in your country/region”.
 
Different country e-Shops have different promotions at different times, if you want to leverage that advantage, you should create a new Nintendo Account for each country's e-Shop to keep track and manage your digital purchase. You can also switch your Nintendo Account to another region / country, but the downside would be any Gold Points, funds or credits that you have in that account would be void once your region is changed.
 
Do note that the currency and language might also be country specific as well: if Japan was your selected region the currency will be Yen, and the games will be Japan region games and entirely in Japanese.

It might be also good to know that there are times when certain games have DLC packs (additional content) that are region locked, meaning if you have a Europe Region game, you would have need to go the Europe e-Shop store to purchase the DLC packs. If you purchased it from the US e-shop or another region, it might not work. So always do your research before buying DLC content. Splatoon is one such example.
 
But freight not, mainline Nintendo published games such as Mario, Zelda, Pokemon etc… tend to have DLC that is region free, meaning that if you have a game (digital or physical) in the Europe Region, and you see a good sale for DLCs on the US e-shop you can go ahead and purchase it.
 
How do you check which regions are supported? All you need to do is press the “plus”/+ button when selecting your software, go to “Software Information” and click on “Support Information”. For most games, supported regions for that software will be displayed here.
 
Of course, if you are unsure or note that tech-savvy, it’s best and much easier to just stick with your game region when getting an DLC to save yourself the hassle.




What has do you know about the different game regions? Share it with us below in the comments below!

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Monday, March 28, 2022

10 Top Tips When You Start Playing Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town

March 28, 2022 0 Comments


#1 Choosing the Right Difficultly Setting

Depending on your preference you can choose the “Normal” or “Seedling” Mode. Your gaming experience will depend on which mode you choose.

Normal Mode is a little more challenging than Seedling Mode. You don’t get any bonuses sways particularly in your favor: shop prices are typically more affordable in Seedling Mode, while the rate which relationships develop and experience gained is much faster. Other than that the rest of the game and story progression remains unchanged.

#2 Get all the Tools

When you first start the game, you’d get a few from Mayor Victor and collect others from the other characters. As you progress in the game, you will have the opportunity to upgrade the tools to achieve maximum results. There are 9 tools in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town:

  1. Axe – Cuts down trees and stumps for logs.
  2. Sickle – Harvests grass, which is used to be spun into thread or as a material to build other tools such as the fishing net.
  3. Hammer – Breaks and flattens rocks which will get you Ores to be used in your building achievements.
  4. Hoe – Tills the land and prepares it to grow your crops.
  5. Water Can – Used to water your crops manually.
  6. Bucket – Given by Clemens on Day 7 after the Rainy Day 6. Scoops up puddles of water for clay (and occasional treasures) and drain little crescent ponds for treasures scattered throughout your farm.
  7. Fishing Rod – Given by Marco, you have to visit his home. Entering the house will automatically trigger a cutscene, which ends with Manuela giving you the Fishing Rod.
  8. Camera - From Gloria in the Museum. Use the Camera to photograph animals around your farm and populate the Museum.
  9. Leash - From Patricia at the Pet Shop once you upgrade from the tent to a log cabin. You can walk your pets with the leash.
 

#3 Selling Your Title Medals

While playing the game, I’ve had the notifications on the Title achieved but never thought to go to the Town Hall to collect them. By the time I did there were quite a few makers I could have gotten for free at the start of the game by simply collecting them instead.

So remember, each time you gain a new achievement in the game, you get a new shiny Title Medal as well as makers, seeds, and other useful tools.You don’t have to waste money buying the equipment when you first start, you actually have freebies which can save you some monies.

As for the medals, you should also sell them. They sell for a hefty amount. Don’t be afraid to sell them (and clear up space) while earning some money.

#4 Complete Requests at the Town Hall

Requests to upgrade the town’s infrastructure can be found here. They can be from the Mayor himself, or the form the other residents. Once you complete the requests, you would get rewarded with money and the story would also progress (for the infrastructure requests).

#5 Plant Enough Crops

Until you reach Level 4 in Level 4 in Fieldwork, tending to your crops would be a time and stamina consuming activity. To accomplish a significant day in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, you’d need to find that balance of work-stamina balance to maximize crop output.

Once you reach Level 4 in Fieldwork, you would be able to access sprinklers, which can automate your crop planting process to free up your day and stamina to do other things. These sprinklers can water up to 8 crops at a time. At Level 8 in Fieldwork, you will unlock upgraded sprinklers that can water 24 crops at once!

#6 Fish as much as you can and be the best!

When it comes to making money to improve your farm and other aspects of town live, there plenty of options. You could grow your crops with the highest possible turnout and rake in the cash, or you could hit the mines in hopes of finding diamonds for that big payout.

Then you have fishing, which is one of the most reliable and consistent way of earning money. Compared to growing your crops, fishing is low in effort and fun. Once you cast your rod, you reel it in when the icon turns blue (for maximum effect), do not reel it in if it is red (fish will escape you faster!). If you see 2 exclamation marks “!!”, that means expensive fish = big money.

#7 Follower Spites and Earth Sprite Village

Once you unlock the Earth Sprite Village, you can “employ” these cute little critters to work on your farm. As you play, you will also be collecting new follower sprites which you can add to your team via the Manager Sprite in the Earth Sprite Village. There’s a sprite for everything:
  • Boss Sprite
  • Journey Sprite
  • Chef Sprite
  • Grass Sprite
  • Field Sprite
  • Care Sprite
  • Log Sprite
  • Angler Sprite
  • Stone Sprite
  • Magma Sprite
  • Gold Sprite
  • Sky Sprite

#8 Be Social and Make Friends

Be friends with the residents by speaking to them whenever the opportunity presents itself. The more hearts you get the better, and you can speed it a little by gifting gifts!

There are 10 Heart Levels to achieve with each character, hearts might be a pink or orange color. Pink means romantic, orange means platonic.

#9 Storage Storage Storage!

One of the first things you should do in the game is to craft a storage box to store items. For food and ingredients, there's a fridge which is obtainable after a house upgrade. It makes it easier to access ingredients when cooking. 

Inventory space can be updated to  store on hand items as you progress along in the game.

#10 Always try to go to the bottom of the Mine

Journeys down the mines are not easy, especially when you get distracted trying to mine them all and have not enough stamina, or items to replenish your stamina.  Planning ios key to make the most out of your trips to the mines. Having lots of food and fruits to restore stamina, and making sure you upgrade the Hammer as best as you can ensures that you get the most out of the experience.
 
There are actually several mines and usually, the lower the you go, the better the minerals found. Besides the one available from the start, there is another one accessible after you fix the bridge. This mine has lots of silver rocks with silver ore inside. Another mine is reachable through the other broken bridge which has even more silver rocks and gold!



What's your tip when playing Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town? Let us know in the comments below!

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Thursday, March 24, 2022

Nintendo Switch Console Region

March 24, 2022 0 Comments
There are many regions for the Nintendo Switch and it might get confusing at times on the regions and setting up your Switch and Nintendo account, both of which work hand in hand but yet independent of each other. Confused? Read on…

This is the first thing you will see when setting up your Switch. It will prompt you to set up a region for your console. There are a few regions to select from:
  1. The Americas (America)
  2. Europe
  3. Australia / New Zealand
  4. Japan
  5. Hong Kong / Taiwan / South Korea

If you haven’t noticed by now, if you are not in any of the above-mentioned regions then you can pretty much choose any region you want. For example, choosing “The Americas” for example, will set your Nintendo Switch Console region to America. If you feel later that you want to change your console region you can do it anytime you want.



The region that you select for you console does not have to match the region as your game. Yes, there are regions for games, but not to worry they are not region locked. You can still pop in a Japan or Europe game cartridge and play on your console which was set to America.


So what exactly is the point of the region setting? It’s mostly for in-game data and may affect the language choices available. It doesn’t restrict you from playing any game!

If you want to know how to set up your Switch for the first time (be it a Gen 1/2, OLED or Lite), you can refer to this which pretty much sums it up nicely with screenshots to follow.





What has do you know about the different game regions? Share it with us below in the comments below!

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Monday, March 21, 2022

Pokemon for a Newbie

March 21, 2022 0 Comments

If you like to collect cute little critters, fight them occasionally to level them up and evolve them with a simple storyline like with no major plot twists like your daily soap drama, welcome to the world of Pokemon!

There are plenty of versions from Pokemon Go and Pokemon Unite on your mobile phone, to the Let’s Go (Eevee / Pickachu), Sword / Shield, Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl and the latest Legends of Arceus.


If you want to follow all the different regions and history, that’s cool but if you’re like me who knew nothing about Pokemon except Pickchu then all that matters when playing is having fun.

 There are 18 different types of Pokemon and each of them has its own individual strengths and weakness. And let’s not even go with the dual typing of Pokemon, and the hundreds of different variations there are. There are cute looking Pokemon and the not so cute looking ones. 

Check out this table below for the various types, along with their strengths and weaknesses.

If you are just starting out and not competitive or anything, there’s no real need to memorize or study the different types that or their strengths and weaknesses. You can learn along the way at your own pace. 

It’s a game targeted at kids primarily so it’s not that hard. Some of it can be common sense. For example, a Water Type Pokemon would have an advantage over Ground, Rock and Fire Types, and a Fire Type is strong against Bug, Grass, Ice  and Steel Types.

 

Objective

The main objective for Pokemon has always been to catch them all and completing the Pokedex, which is similar to an Encyclopedia or sorts, where some professor will be research for the betterment of the Pokemon World

Catching and fighting Pokemon helps to level up the Pokemon on your team (those which you catch use in the game). There are also boxes where you can keep your forgotten other Pokemon, which can be used for trades or alternated with your team throughout the game. There’s berry picking and cooking for your Pokemon too.

Once you are all done with catching Pokemon for your Pokedex, or even while you are taking a break from catching and training your team, you fight in game trainers to get badges and money to allow you to handle higher level Pokemon. 

You can also breed them to create your own nursery or be competitive and try to win every online battle with trainers around the world. You might even be lucky enough to find Shiny Pokemon (just a rare and different colored Pokemon). There’s a little piece of something for everyone so you won’t get bored playing.

Playing a Pokemon game on Nintendo Switch is non-stressing too, fights are turn-based so controls are simple (no continuously pressing multiple different buttons to get a particular move). Navigation is also was and you can always revisit an area to see if you’ve missed anything or discover some potions and moves lying around on the ground. Who doesn’t love freebies?

Speaking of freebies, in games like Sword / Shield and Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl, there is an Online Mystery Gift option where there will be occasional freebies like status, clothes or Pokemon. If you are thinking if you should try playing, I would say go for it and enjoy the ride. 

If you are afraid you might not like it, there is always the option of getting it physically second hand or selling the physical game cartridge away when you are done with it and no longer want to play.

Have you played a Pokemon game? 
If no, would you want to pick it up? 
If yes, which is your favorite Pokemon game? 
Let me know in the comments below!

~Comments, shares and follows are most definitely appreciated! 💬💞