Nintendo Puzzle Collection - $19.99 at Play-Asia

That's an insanely good deal. I got it for like twice as much earlier this year. I would have much prefer it to have gotten it at this price, but I wanted to for a gaming get-together at that time. 4-player Dr. Mario is worth it for that price alone. :)
 
[quote name='Roufuss']My second question... does anyone know where to get an inexpensive freeloader?[/QUOTE]

This is rare now, but some Gamestops have Freeloaders in store. They've been marked down so much that you can get one for under $5. I managed to snag one for a friend this way. It was hidden in a pile of Gamecube games behind the counter.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']My second question... does anyone know where to get an inexpensive freeloader?[/QUOTE]

Your best deal is probably Play Asia's combo price for it. They offer the Freeloader for $16 when you buy the Puzzle Collection. Just scroll down the page a little further to see it.
 
[quote name='mkelehan']$27 for 4 player Tetris Attack. Excuse me, sir, where do I sign up?[/QUOTE]

:shock:

Okay, I think it's time for me to learn how to import!

4-Player Tetris Attack... good lord...

Okay so do I need to mod my 'cube in any way to use this "freeloader" thing? Or is it just some sort of boot disc that I swap out?

Question #2: Which games can I load onto the GBA? Some Tetris Attack/Panel De Pon on the road would be sweet. Oh and does the importing affect GBA compatibility at all? If I got the freeloader, would I be able to use my American GBA and my American link cable?

*EDIT* just checked the item descriptions and answered a couple of my own questions. It is explicitly stated that you do NOT need to mod the GC to use that Freeloader thing... sweet! And apparently all three games in the Puzzle Collection can be loaded onto the GBA. I'm still wondering about the GBA/link cable compatibility though.
 
The freeloader works well and is really simple. It is a swap disk that boots up quickly and says "Insert Game Disk Now" or something similar. Put in the import and voila. No mod-chip is required.

I recommend it over a mod-chip. Especially since backups are almost unheard of on gamecube (other than some PSO trick using the broadband adapter).
 
[quote name='BustaUppa']:shock:

Okay, I think it's time for me to learn how to import!

4-Player Tetris Attack... good lord...

Okay so do I need to mod my 'cube in any way to use this "freeloader" thing? Or is it just some sort of boot disc that I swap out?

Question #2: Which games can I load onto the GBA? Some Tetris Attack/Panel De Pon on the road would be sweet. Oh and does the importing affect GBA compatibility at all? If I got the freeloader, would I be able to use my American GBA and my American link cable?[/QUOTE]

The freeloader is the easiest solution just pop in the disc, boot your US gamecube and then swap the freeloader out for Nintendo Puzzle Collection or any other import. If you want to add a switch to your cube you'll need to get a special screwdriver to open the cube up, buy a switch from your local radio shack and then wire it to your cube. It's a bit of a pain, but the advantage with the switch is you can play all import games. Some games like the Japanese Paper Mario RPG 2 don't work with the Freeloader.

Also Tetris Attack is NOT in this. It's Panel de Pon (this was remade into Pokemon Puzzle League), Yoshi's Cookie and Dr. Mario. All three of these games can be loaded into a GBA's (not a DS) flash memory, but you can only have one game on at a time.
 
[quote name='era5000']Also Tetris Attack is NOT in this. It's Panel de Pon (this was remade into Pokemon Puzzle League)[/QUOTE]
Pokemon Puzzle League was essentially Tetris Attack with Pokemon characters.
 
[quote name='smickerm']The freeloader works well and is really simple. It is a swap disk that boots up quickly and says "Insert Game Disk Now" or something similar. Put in the import and voila. No mod-chip is required.

I recommend it over a mod-chip. Especially since backups are almost unheard of on gamecube (other than some PSO trick using the broadband adapter).[/QUOTE]

Actually to play import you dont need a chip, all you do is change one wire. If you have any experience with a solder iron it is much cheaper than getting a free loader. A mod chip for gamecube is out recently and you can use it to play backup games.
 
Thanks for the info guys. Sounds like Free Loader is the way to go for me!

I will definitely miss the Yoshi's Island motif they used in the original Tetris Attack (I've got fond memories of the graphics and music in that one), but getting a 4-player mode in this "Panel De Pon" is just oh-so-enticing!!

Oh and does anyone know if a US GameBoy will work? I don't even know if there is a difference, so maybe it's not even an issue.
 
Some other deals of interest at this site:

Wave Race: Blue Storm (JPN) - $9.99 (it's a damn racing game, no language barrier)
Astro Boy (JPN) - $13
 
[quote name='Purkeynator']Will an Action Reply let you play imports or does it have to be this Free Loader device?[/QUOTE]

FreeLoader is included in the Action Replay, so if you already have an Action Replay you are good to go (I have been using my Action Replay to play Nintendo Puzzle Collection for a couple of years now).

If anyone here likes puzzle games, you would be a fool to pass this up. All three included games are great, especially if you are playing them multiplayer.

There is a bit of a language barrier because all of the menus are in Japanese. However, its not too hard to figure everything out with a little trial and error. Plus, I think there is a translation guide on gamefaqs now. If you are on the fence about this game, I would go for it. Especially if you are a Dr. Mario addict like myself.

Now we just need to get Nintendo to port this game to the DS...
 
Also Tetris Attack is NOT in this. It's Panel de Pon (this was remade into Pokemon Puzzle League), Yoshi's Cookie and Dr. Mario. All three of these games can be loaded into a GBA's (not a DS) flash memory, but you can only have one game on at a time.
Click to expand...

Actually, Panel de Pon IS Tetris Attack. In the US they just switched the almost-creepy artwork of little anime girls to almost-creepy artwork from Yoshi's Island.
 
shipping is ridiculous, but this might be what pushes me to actually start importing.

Check out your local Gamestops, I was able to get my Freeloader for under 2 dollars.
 
Thanks got this and

NHL PSP $15
Metal Slug 1 $8 2 $12 Neo Geo Color Pocket
Mahjoog game for the DS for my wife, she loves those and I doubt the US will get one
 
Import games is expensive.......!!

Darn! my little sis pretty love this collection but i don't wanna spend $45 for 1 game & freeloader. :(
 
[quote name='mdm']Only if there are no US saves on the card. Must be blank.

Memory Card 59s ARE useful![/QUOTE]

I have successfully saved my import games on the same memory card with US saves without any problems. I have read about people having problems doing this, but personally, I have not had any. I recently moved all my import game saves to another memory card just to be safe, but I'm really not sure if I am just being overly cautious.

On another note, thanks for pointing out the deal, OP. I just picked it up.
 
I may have to pick this and Kuriun Squash together. Thank you very much!

already have Freeloader for my UK Doshin.
 
I really want this, but I'm debating whether the $35 price tag would be better spent waiting and just importing Panel de Pon for GBA come Sept. 13. After all, it's the only game in the collection I really care about, and having it portable would be wicked sweet.
 
[quote name='mdm']Only if there are no US saves on the card. Must be blank.

Memory Card 59s ARE useful![/QUOTE]

This is what I use for my import saves as well.
I have both Hudson Bonk and Adventure Island remakes.
And now the Puzzle Collection. Thanks OP
 
They also have DS Polarium (US version) for 19.99
Adding it to the order increases the shipping by a dollar.

Sigh. I was supposed to be spending less this week...
 
[quote name='Blind the Thief']Actually, Panel de Pon IS Tetris Attack. In the US they just switched the almost-creepy artwork of little anime girls to almost-creepy artwork from Yoshi's Island.[/QUOTE]
Nope, Tetris Attack was sold as "Yoshi's Panel de Pon" in Japan.

[quote name='dayglo']I have successfully saved my import games on the same memory card with US saves without any problems. I have read about people having problems doing this, but personally, I have not had any. I recently moved all my import game saves to another memory card just to be safe, but I'm really not sure if I am just being overly cautious.[/QUOTE]
I also have a card with save files from both regions, and it works fine.
 
Thank you for posting this, I just pulled the trigger on a copy. :D

I ordered Chibi Robo from NCSX a little while ago (interesting robot platformer), but I have yet to play it. I own a Panasonic Q (Japanese Gamecube that also plays DVDs), and sadly, my Japanese Gamecube game collection is frightengly slim. But this will definitely force me to hook it up.

Nintendo Puzzle Collection is one of those games I was dying for NOA to release in the US, and at this price, I can no longer wait around. I play Dr. Wario (from Wario Ware) every work day during lunch without fail, and I can't wait to see it on the big screen, tricked-out Japan-style.
 
At this point it's much more reasonable to buy an AC fro $20 and get both a freeloader AND a cheat device, as opposed to shelling outneasrly the same, JUST for the FL.
 
Ordered Nintendo Puzzle Collection, Polarium (US) ($20!), Riviera (US) ($40, but I don't want to have to track it down plus these deals justify it), and Astro Boy (JP) ($13!)
 
I think I'm gonna go for this. And I wouldn't mind picking up some other stuff to help soften the blow from the steep shipping. Any suggestions for an import noob? I own the following consoles: NES, SNES, n64, GameCube, GBA, Dreamcast, PStwo, XBOX... so there's a lot I could potentially be interested in. I'm assuming I'll need extra freeloaders for PStwo and XBOX, but what about a Dreamcast? I've run CD-R's on my American DC, does that mean I can play imports? Oh and how about those Hori digital controllers (the SNES-looking ones for GameCube)? Is this a good site to get them from or are there better offers out there?

Anyway some suggestions would be greatly appreciated! :D Oh and I don't know any Japanese, so I'm looking for stuff that won't require lots of reading.
 
As a major importer, I just thought I'd clear up the memory card query.

If you're using a FreeLoader, you can keep multiple region saves on the same card. The FreeLoader, from my understanding, basically makes your Cube think the game is a US game, so the save file is in US format.

If you mod your system, you'll need seperate cards for each region, because you technically can't have multiple region saves on the same Cube memory card. As said above, though, you can get around this with the FreeLoader.



And by the way, anyone who doesn't jump on this deal is crazy. I paid $45 or so after shipping about six months ago and don't regret it at all. Fantastic game, although mostly I play Tetris Attack.
 
I've decided to hold off on this. All I'm really interested in is Panel de Pon / Tetris Attack, and as I'll be getting it for GBA in a month or so anyways, I think I'll sit tight. Great deal still, though.
 
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