Or, without the metaphor: the best ways to play imports.
I'm sure we all know about mod chips, but what I'm interested in is soft mods- ways to play imports without permanently altering your console. Even if it doesn't produce a fully region free system, a good soft mod can expand the library of even the least technical game player. Sometimes though, it can be hard to figure out if there's a soft mod option available for your system of choice- so, here's a thread to start gathering that info.
So, first off- with the exception of the 3DS, all handhelds as well as the 3 current systems are region free without any effort on the player's part. In fact, the current consoles & the vita will, for certain games, automatically translate into the language of the console regardless of the game's origin. For example, if you put a Japanese copy of I Am Setsuna into an American Switch, it'll play in English. It's a handy thing!
For older disc based consoles, some systems have freeloader programs available. These use boot discs/memory cards/both to allow you to run imported software, with the caveat that you have to use the device every time you boot the imported game. The Saturn's action replay is a very useful freeloader, since it occupies the memory card slot & you don't have to go actively swap discs. Action replay also makes a boot disc for Gamecube, and there's plenty out there for Dreamcast... but I can't seem to get a clear answer on there being options for PS1/PS2. I occasionally see things on a 'free McBoot' for playstation, but no clear instructions on where to get it or how it works. Anybody know?
For cartridge based systems, it can get interesting... usually, the only thing stopping an American system from running Japanese games & vice versa is the physical shape of the cartridge itself. In the case of the SNES & N64, you can remove a couple plastic tabs in the cartridge slot to defeat the lockout. On the N64, you can buy a replacement cartridge tray if you don't have the tools to make the mod (or don't want to), but I've yet to see the same for the SNES- probably becuase it's a far more complicated swap. NES consoles have more connectors than famicoms, but a simple converter lets you play games between systems- some early NES games actually have the converters in them, you just have to open them up. Genesis is where I get a little fuzzy, as the region lock wasn't consistent across all games, so I'm not sure what's definitively needed.
With older games, you have to deal with the PAL vs. NTSC factor too. It doesn't effect US/Japan swaps- they're both NTSC. European systems, however, use the PAL video format which isn't compatible with NTSC. Sometimes it just affects game speed, but sometimes it doesn't work at all. I'm under the impression some game genie-type devices can fix this issue, but I'm not sure.
So, what do you guys know about playing imports? I've love to know some more ways to try games from other regions!