So I have a second, Japanese 3DS I don't use much. I recently tried to use it to get onto the eShop, but it demanded that I sign into an NNID. I figured out that my friend had set it up when he was borrowing it, but he didn't remember the password and didn't think it had an associated email to reset the password with. Sending a password reset email was no luck either. So I can't get onto the eShop because of the NNID, and in the System Options section, I couldn't find the option to remove the NNID, which the website insists exists.
So, barring a workaround on one of these parts, my only option left for re-accessing the eShop is apparently to format the system memory. This apparently removes access to downloads made with the NNID. But will it also remove downloads made before making the NNID? I don't want to lose those. If they're still linked to the system and I can just re-download them, I'm not worried. But if not, it'd be a huge waste.
Does anyone have information about the formatting or some workaround to make it not necessary? I don't care about the NNID itself; I just want to be able to download new games without losing my old ones.