I'm thinking about importing Valkyrie Profile, but I'm not familiar with playing imports on an US PS2.  I saw this doohicky (aka the PS2 Slide-Card with Swap Magic V3.6 Plus) and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about it.

http://www.modmonster.com/index.asp?Pag … &ProdID=82

Alternatively, if there are any easier or more dependable suggestions, I would love it if you would share.  ^^  I would prefer not to have my PS2 modded though just because I think the sucker may be on its last legs and it would be a shame if it died after being operated on.  Thanks!

The slide card works just fine, but over time, using it will destroy the eject tray motor.  If you want to be slightly more adventurous, get a flip-top case mod.  If you aren't brave enough to take some screws out and put a different top-half of a case onto your PS2 though, stick with the slide card, because if you aren't careful you can accidentally sever the wire that sends the eject tray signal.

I have used both the slide card and the flip top.  The flip top is worth the extra effort and once installed, will not damage your PS2 when you use it.

just import ps2 ^_~

Thanks for the advice!  I ended up going for the flip top version, so may the engineering gods be with me. 

And as for the Japanese PS2...baby steps for now.  ^^

Just note though that depending on your PS2 model, the instructions vary slightly for installing the flip top.  My particular version didn't have any wires connected to the top of the case like I was led to expect, so my installation was actually easier than the instructions indicated.  Make sure you check your console version very carefully to find out which case model you need to get.

Yeah, I noticed that the number of screws on the bottom of the PS2 was required info in order to place an order for the flip top version.  Hopefully in this case, fewer screws means easier to install.