Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins Rom

LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins came out on Nintendo 3DS in April 2013, with Nintendo handling publication. The Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins Rom is commonly listed around 736 MB, usually in .3ds or .cia format. It’s tied to the EU region, so on Citra you’ll want to check your region settings before blaming the game. A clean dumped copy matters too. Bad files can crash before the first proper case even starts. The ESRB rating is Everyone 10+, which fits the Lego tone. Still, this isn’t just a tiny cartoon side release. There’s a real prequel tucked under the plastic jokes.

Black Screen Usually Isn’t the Game’s Fault

And this is where a lot of people get tripped up. The game was built for original 3DS hardware, so how it runs depends on the file, the region, and your Citra settings. A .3ds is the version most PC emulator setups expect. The .cia format tends to show up for software installed on hacked original hardware. So if the EU build hands you a black screen, the cause might not be the game at all. Maybe a mismatched setup, maybe weak hardware, maybe a damaged dump. Annoying, yes.

Chase McCain Before Anyone Knew His Name

Chase doesn’t begin as the confident officer people know later. He joins the Lego City police force straight out of the academy, no famous reputation, no big heroic entrance. The cases open with simple police work, then slowly get rougher by Lego standards. That shape helps. Chase has to earn trust before the city treats him like someone who solves real problems. And because all of this happens before LEGO City Undercover, his awkward rookie status actually makes sense.

A City That Acts Bigger Than the Cartridge

Lego City opens early, and the 3DS hardware keeps the place more compact than the console game. That’s not automatically bad. Chase can still grab cars, cut across streets, and kill time between cases. Some vehicles feel stiff. A few corners are too tight. But the toy-like handling gives the city a messy charm. That effort shows most when you ignore the marker and just drive badly for a while.

Old Corners, New Reasons to Care

At the start, Chase doesn’t carry much beyond basic police gear. As the story moves on, his kit grows and the city gets easier to read. You start noticing spots that were useless earlier. A blocked path stops feeling like decoration. That ledge suddenly looks suspicious. It’s a simple handheld trick, but it works. The game keeps nudging you back into old corners with new reasons to care. And yes, some backtracking still feels padded.

A Cop Who Needs a Criminal’s Crowbar

But the thief outfit is where the disguise idea clicks. Chase can use a crowbar to open locked doors his normal uniform can’t touch. That detail is funny in a slightly crooked way. A police officer needs a criminal costume to get through certain doors. Very Lego, and a little weird. The costume sharpens exploration because locked spots stop feeling like dead ends. You remember them. Then you come back later with the right outfit.

The City Works Better Once You Look Up

Chase can also climb building faces, grab ledges, and pull himself onto rooftops. Animation isn’t fancy. The idea still lands anyway. Streets are fine, but the city works better once you start looking upward. Rooftops hide routes, pickups, and small tasks that make the map feel less flat. The 3DS screen makes depth awkward at times. Still, scrambling up a wall breaks up the driving and the easy fights.

Goons That Burst Into Loose Bricks

Combat never gets deep. Chase throws martial arts moves at Lego criminals, and most fights stay easy to read. That suits the age rating. It also means older players might find the action light. The better part is the timing and the slapstick. A Lego goon will fall apart, bounce off a wall, or get tossed around in that floppy way the Lego games of that era loved. Light, sure. But watching a crook scatter into loose bricks never quite gets old.