I’m looking into buying a 3DS, but the only thing holding me back is the region lock, damn me living in Europe when Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward will be released in NA later this year.

Yet Kid Icarus: Uprising looks like the first legitimate reason, along with the somewhat recent price drop and maybe Tales of the Abyss, for me to actually get one. The supposedly awkward control scheme aside, it looks like tons of fun and sounds like a console game’s worth of content and that’s quite intriguing.

The other reason I really want a 3DS is because of the original DS’ amazing array of titles like 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (almost singlehandedly made me buy a DS once), The World Ends With You, the Devil Survivor series not to mention the Phoenix Wright series. These are at the top of my list.

The visual novel genre fascinates me to no end and as such I’d definitely get most of the games put out by Cing like Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Last Window: The Secret of Cape West and Again or even Trace Memory.

If I’m in the mood for a surreal experience I might even get Flower, Sun and Rain.

And then there’s titles like Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Lux-Pain (despite the mixed reviews) and Time Hollow.

Sure sounds like if it were up to the back catalogue it would be a no-brainer, but I am a bit worried about the future. I know there are incredible-looking upcoming games for the 3DS, but I wonder whether titles like Time Travellers, Beyond the Labyrinth or even Konami’s Love Plus+ will ever be localized and then also see a European release.

As of right now, the only titles I know are out in Europe, or will see a European release, that I’m interested in are Nintendogs + Cats, Animal Crossing 3D (I could see myself getting into the simulation genre), Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and possibly the Fatal Frame spin-off Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir.

It’s almost like my tastes in games makes it harder than it has to be. Either that or I should’ve been born in Japan. I think I’ll probably break down and just buy the 3DS and see what happens, but I just wish I had that last, big title that I could look forward to as a European.

Now if a sequel to The World Ends With You was announced, or the Persona series got the 3DS treatment, or Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward or Devil Survivor: Overclocked ever saw the light of day in Europe, or some other, mature, atmospheric game came out it would be an entirely different matter.

But, then again, the 3DS hasn’t been out that long, I’m just thinking out loud here.

So, taking into account all of the above factors, should I get one?

Also, fuck region locks.