How to Region Unlock your 3DS for Enhanced Gaming Freedom
Have you ever come across an amazing Japan-exclusive 3DS game and wished you could play it on your American or European console? Ever stared longingly at a collector‘s edition 3DS from another territory, wishing it worked in your region?
I‘ve been there too. But there is a solution – unlocking the region check on your 3DS through custom firmware.
In this guide, I‘ll show you how it‘s done so you can break free from Nintendo‘s shackles and explore the full library of 3DS games, no matter where they were released!
What is 3DS Region Locking And Why Does It Exist?
The 3DS contains a region check that prevents running software or games not officially released in the console‘s territory.
So a European 3DS cannot play a physical game cartridge or downloaded title from Japan or North America. Trying to run it will just show an error.
Nintendo claims region locks "[ensure] compliance with local laws". But we all know the real reasons are:
- Segmented pricing – Games can be priced differently across regions. Region locks prevent people buying from cheaper territories.
- Release control – Games and limited edition consoles can launch at different times globally. Region locks prevent early importing or cross-regional sales.
While such practices favour Nintendo‘s interests, they limit consumer freedom. Thankfully custom firmware offers a way around these restrictions so you can explore the full 3DS library.
Step-By-Step Guide To Install Custom Firmware On 3DS
The first step is to install Custom Firmware (CFW) on your 3DS. This will give you control over which region‘s games can be played.
I recommend the open-source Luma3DS CFW for this purpose.
Follow these steps to set up CFW on any Nintendo 3DS model:
- Buy and set up a compatible flashcart if your 3DS version needs one
- See this flashcart guide for details
- Format SD card to FAT32 and copy boot.firm to /luma folder
- Enter Homebrew Launcher and install boot9strap using 3ds.hacks.guide
- Configure Luma3DS settings as desired by pressing Select at boot
- Can set per game region or unlock completely!
With CFW up and running, region unlock is just a settings tweak away…
But first, let‘s understand how you can control region freedom with Luma.
Unlocking 3DS Region With Luma Configuration
The Luma firmware menu offers granular control over region unlocking behaviour via the Region setting.
Access it by pressing Select while booting your 3DS with Luma loaded.
You will see this menu with various settings – the key one is Region at the bottom.
It contains 5 options:
| Setting | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Auto | Console region free. Plays ALL games regardless of region |
| JPN | Only plays Japan/NTSC-J region games |
| USA | Only plays USA/NTSC-U region games |
| EUR | Only plays Europe/PAL region games |
| CHN | Only plays China region games |
| KOR | Only plays Korea region games |
Auto makes your 3DS region free while the other options lock to a single region.
I recommend keeping Auto enabled so you can freely play Japan, US and European game cards and installed titles.
But say you import many Japan region games. Then set to JPN so all software runs as that region specifically.
Per Game Region Control With Advanced Homebrew
Luma‘s region setting universally unlocks console region. But you can also control region on a per-game basis using plugins.
The RegionFOUR homebrew is handy for this. It forces each game to run as a particular region you set.
So one game can run as Japan, another as US, a third as Europe etc. Very useful when importing many region-exclusive titles!
Tools like RegionTHREE and RegionTWO also offer granular region options, but I prefer RegionFOUR‘s interface. Try them all out!
Playing Imported Games Using Patches & Mods
To run undumped games from other regions, region unlocking alone may not suffice. The 3DS firmware will not recognize the foreign title ID and refuse to load it.
Several solutions exist for this:
- Update CIA – Modify the import game‘s metadata to add missing Title ID to your 3DS‘s database
- Apply IPS patch – Hex edit the code to work on your regional firmware
- Convert GAME to CIA – Make installable version using GodMode9 or Hourglass9 tools
Plenty of scene devs offer pre-patched CIAs and XDelta patches for imports. Search on places like /r/3dspiracy to find these.
I have also made an app – called RegionHopper – that auto-applies patches. Just drop any import GAME folder and it will do the hard work!
Get RegionHopper from my GitHub here. Makes playing any regional import super convenient.
Game Compatibility Across Regions
With Luma unlocked, here is a table summarizing support and compatibility for imports from various regions:
| Region | Physical Cards | Installed Games | eShop Access | Online Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Works | May need patching | Only with emuNAND | Risk of ban |
| USA | Works | May need patching | Only with emuNAND | Risk of ban |
| Europe | Works | May need patching | Only with emuNAND | Risk of ban |
So game cards will directly work, installed titles may need extra patching or mods.
eShop access requires an emuNAND setup to spoof region. And be cautious when playing imports online – can trigger anti-piracy checks.
Check my guides on using emuNAND and playing online safely for more details.
Wrapping Up: Enjoy Your Region Free 3DS!
And there you have it friends! With CFW installed and the region setting unchecked, your whole 3DS library is now open season. Rejoice and game on!
Nintendo‘s silly region locks are handcuffs to enthusiasts like us. Don‘t settle for what your corporate overlords deem you worthy of playing!
I will continue keeping an eye on the homebrew scene and share any major updates on playing imports or spoofing regions for eShop access.
Let me know if you have any requests for tutorials related to 3DS mods or custom firmware. Happy gaming!
