Now that Nintendo is seemingly done with the 3DS, there is not much hope left for them bringing over Japanese-exclusive titles. Yet, that’s not to say these games will never come over to North America. Just look at Trials of Mana; that was trapped in Japan on the Super Famicom for two decades.
It may seem like a fruitless effort now to highlight the games the West never received. However, in light of recent localizations like Trials of Mana, one must never lose hope. Plus, there are always the fan communities of fan translators out there. So, in celebration of the 3DS’ near ten-year reign, let’s see what has remained hidden across the seas.
10 Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3
There are too many Dragon Quest games to go through that did not venture out of Japan. Some of the bigger ones include this game, the port of Dragon Quest X, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest, and so many others. The 3DS was filled with everything a Dragon Quest fan could want. The 3DS really was built for RPGs.
9 E.X. Troopers
Mega Man Legends 3 is a legendary cancelation for the 3DS. Capcom, however, apparently took some of those ideas for this game. It released on both the 3DS and PS3, which is a weird combo of platforms. While it may or may not borrow from the scrapped demo, it’s also supposed to be a part of another Capcom series, Lost Planet.
8 Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2: Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Kakugo
That name may be long, complicated, and unrecognizable, but this is a Phoenix Wright game. It takes place during the roaring age of steam wherein a lawyer teams up with Sherlock Holmes in order to solve a series of mysteries.
It plays like most of the other entries in the series, with a few added gimmicks which incorporate Mr. Holmes. Why the crossover never came over may have something to do with the Sherlock license, though that isn’t confirmed.
7 Sekaiju to Fushigi no Dungeon 2
This name may also look unfamiliar but this is Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2. The first game did come over here, but as to why this sequel never did is easy to deduce. It was released in August 2017, and since the Switch was out in March prior to that, Nintendo may not have seen the value in releasing a niche title on a dying platform outside of Japan. That is as good a guess as any, at the very least.
6 Little Battlers eXperience Wars
This is a long-running collaboration project with Level-5 involving toys, anime, and games, and this was the last game in the franchise to release, launching back in 2013.
However, North America did get an earlier game in this series which released in 2015. They were probably dipping their toes in the water to see if it sold well enough to bring more over, but, since none did, the results are clear.
5 Disk Wars: Avengers Ultimate Heroes
This was also an anime project which did get translated for North America. It’s basically about kids using DISKs to summon Marvel heroes almost like the Marvel version of Pokémon. The Bandai Namco brawler for the 3DS did not come over, though, and that may have been because it reviewed poorly in Japan. Still, a Japanese exclusive Marvel game is odd, for sure.
4 Metal Max 4: Gekko no Diva
As is the case with most of these, Metal Max 4 released in 2013. Very few of these games ever left Japan, and it’s been going since the NES. There was a recent game on PS4, and, prior to that, one came out on PS3—that’s it for North America, though. Imagine a Fallout game that plays more like Final Fantasy, and you’ve got a rough idea of how the series feels to play.
3 Lost Heroes 2
Lost Heroes 2 is one of many RPGs that crosses over the Gundam, Ultraman, and Kamen Rider properties. This plays like a turn-based dungeon crawler. The big hook is being able to befriend legendary heroes in these long-running Japanese phenomenons. It should surprise no one that these never left Japan since the licensing rights would be nightmarish.
2 Yo-kai Sangokushi
Yo-kai Watch is basically Pokémon plus ghosts. It took a while for that series to come to North America, but, even when it did, that didn’t guarantee every release would follow. For example, Yo-kai Sangokushi is a crossover title with Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In this way, it’s sort of like Pokémon Conquest, which was also a tactical feudal era RPG, but instead mixed with another Koei Tecmo franchise: Nobunaga’s Ambition.
1 GameCenter CX: 3-Choume no Arino
Before YouTube, Twitch, and all other streaming related platforms, there was GameCenter CX. This show has been on the air in Japan for over two decades with a comedian poorly playing through games from start to finish.
It finally got a game of its own for the DS, which was renamed to Retro Game Challenge in North America. The DS sequel did not come over, nor did this third attempt. That said, there is a fan translation of the second game for those who are interested.
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