I don't think Amazon.de ships internationally. I had tried to order Giana Sisters DS from them, and they wouldn't ship it. I eventually found an Aussie site that would.

Also, I've never played PAL games before. Don't run at a different frame rate than NTSC games, which will make them run suboptimally on an NTSC system?

But yeah, I'll be getting this. I wish the PAL release of Arcana Heart 3 for the 360 had been region free.

Ah, good to know.

It's sad to think that I could have this in my hands before Otomedius Excellent, and that I might never have Otomedius Excellent in my hands. But I will still be happy to have DoDonPachi, as it is one of the most beloved shmups of all-time.

Now, whets the deal with DDP:R? Some sites are listing it as a localization of the Black Label version of the game, others are saying the Black Label modes will be extra.

Another thing Cave traditionally did was give you a free download ticket for Black Label DLC is you bought the collector's edition of the game or the first pressing standard edition. I'm guessing Rising Star won't do this.

The only reason I care is because I'm going to need a THIRD Live account to get the DLC now. When Mushihime-sam Futari 1.5 was released, Microsoft didn't require that DLC be rated, as the implication was that any DLC would have an equal or lower rating to the original game. But now they've changed that rule, with the effect being that DLC for region-free games is now only available in the original region. Which means that you need to register an account in that region to gain access to it. You also need a credit card associated with that region to buy XBLA points for that account, or you need to import a regional points card.

That being said, having Live accounts for each region is still a good thing to have. You get to play demos for some games ahead of time, and you get to try games that aren't ever released here.