Japanese Import Games for Non-native speakers

[Drew-013]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone's able to recommend any Japanese games to import that wouldn't be too difficult to play as a non-Japanese speaker.

I'm trying to play through Natsuiro high school, and am finding I'm spending a tonne of time working with translating software and trying to translate a Japanese trophy guide.

 

I was hoping there are some other good games that are worth importing but would be easier for a non-Japanese speaker to get through.

So fare I've been suggested -IAVT- Colorful which I'll be snagging from Play Asia soon, but would love to add a few others to the list to make postage worth it.

Thanks guys.

[DEMON]

Pretty much stay away from JRPGs or Visual Novels (unless you there for the easy trophies).  Games like the dance/idol ones are good as they don't require you to have much of a knowledge of the language.  I also recommend fighters that don't get localized at some point, they are pretty easy to understand too so long as you have had experience in them.  Same goes for the dance/idol games though, you will need a bit of an experience so you aren't struggling learning the controls.

[NotAFoxAnymore]

I was about to say IA/VT as it's mostly in English and very import friendly. On a similar note, most rhythm games are pretty import friendly as they don't require much reading text to enjoy the game

[NerdRage04]

If you are looking for a good study tool, Time Travelers has furigana above all the kanji making it very easy to look up the words

[Tomoko Kuroki]

Also keep in mind that some games will have English subtitles, like the witch and the hundred knight revival for example. Not a lot of games have this though. And when a game sais Asia instead of JP. I "think" it always has English subtitles.

[Satoshi Ookami]

Do you want to use the games for learning or you are just trying to play some Japanese games for some reason?

 

 

Also keep in mind that some games will have English subtitles, like the witch and the hundred knight revival for example. Not a lot of games have this though. And when a game sais Asia instead of JP. I "think" it always has English subtitles.

It has to be mentioned. Asian versions could also be Chinese subs-only.

[JapanimeGamer]

More people should try to play Japanese games, even if the language is a hurdle. There is nothing like learning a new skill.

What type of Japanese games are you interested in specifically?

You could try looking at some peoples cards to see what they have played, most people cannot speak or read any/very much Japanese, if they can play those games then maybe you can too. It would be a decent place to start looking.

Apart from that it could be difficult to recommend some games as different people have got different levels of understanding. What might be easy for me might not be easy for you for example.

[b0nsaa1]

The hyper dimension Nenptunia games are not too hard to understand and follow in my opinion especially the vita remakes. They always put down event markers so it's hard to get lost during the story.

[akaijaku]

Thanks for making this thread, I've been wondering myself.

 

You could also learn katakana. It's what all the non Chinese loanwords are written in. Since most gaming terms are English imports, you can muddle your way through a lot of games knowing just that. 

[Satoshi Ookami]

You could also learn katakana. It's what all the non Chinese loanwords are written in. Since most gaming terms are English imports, you can muddle your way through a lot of games knowing just that. 

No, that is NOT enough.

At all.

Yes, maybe for items in JRPGs but that's pretty much all.

Hiragana is much more important if we're on it.

 

But you will find kanji anyway. There's no game where katakana would be enough

[SuffyZorugelion]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle, all though a western release also excists.

[JapanimeGamer]

Both Hiragana and Katakana are of equal importance as they are often used together in many sentences.

You will get nowhere with just one of them. You absolutely need to know both, inside and out, and back to front.

Hiragana is typically taught first as it is easiest, but this in no way makes it more important.

[Kashiyuka]

As mentioned, steer clear of visual novels and RPGs because if you care about the story, you won't be able to actually read it and enjoy the storytelling in the case of the former, and reading item/equipment/requirements will be ten times more of a hassle than it needs to be in the case of the latter.

 

As such, that rules out a lot of games.  But if you don't know any Japanese or don't intend to learn it, I generally recommend just sticking to the likes of rhythm games - IA/VT, Utakumi 575, Miracle Girls Festival, Bakumatsu Rock: Ultra Soul, Taiko no Tatsujin V Version.  Some of these games have short visual novel storytelling sections in between songs but they're really quite irrelevant and don't detract from the rhythm game itself, which is thoroughly manageable despite not being able to read Japanese.  Be wary of Utakumi though; it's a rhythm game as well as a haiku-building game where you must pick the correct words for the verses being sung - there's guides listing the correct answers on trophy sites with the intent of helping non-speakers, but just be aware that it's a bit more involved and *only slightly* less import-friendly than the others.

[Hanzoadam]

God Eater, God eater 2, Though I read these are coming out in English at some point 

[akaijaku]

No, that is NOT enough.

At all.

Yes, maybe for items in JRPGs but that's pretty much all.

Hiragana is much more important if we're on it.

 

But you will find kanji anyway. There's no game where katakana would be enough

Never said either hiragana or kanji weren't important, or that you'd achieve complete understanding with katakana.

 

However, you can puzzle out a lot of the directions you're given using just katakana. I know because I've done it. Katakana first is a much faster learning curve for someone coming from English. I'm only a beginning student, but I've still managed to make it through two games. One of which has almost nothing written about it in English, yet I still figured out the gameplay and about 1/2 the story mode dialogue.

 

OP doesn't know Japanese, and didn't mention wanting to become fluent or anything. My point was that if he learns katakana, he can make educated guesses about what he's looking at a lot of the time which is probably enough for his purposes.

[kittyxiii]

I've been wondering about this myself - I honestly thought that Visual Novels would have been a good way to start but I'll steer clear of them when I get around to deciding which games to import. Thanks for the suggestions guys!

[NoGood4Me]

I got 100 japan platinums if not more

 

and i not speak 1 word japanese or korean or whatever asian language

 

its all about picking the easy ones if you go for trophys alone

[Satoshi Ookami]

I got 100 japan platinums if not more

 

and i not speak 1 word japanese or korean or whatever asian language

 

its all about picking the easy ones if you go for trophys alone

I would seriously like to know what's the purpose of doing this?

This is literally buying trophies... What's the point?

If you have >100 Japanese Plats, isn't that reason to actually give Japanese a try? =D To actually know what you are playing?

 

I've been wondering about this myself - I honestly thought that Visual Novels would have been a good way to start but I'll steer clear of them when I get around to deciding which games to import. Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Well, if you want to learn Japanese, VNs are good precisely because of needing Japanese. =D

If I omit Light Novels, I haven't found better way to get adapted to kanji so far =D

 

 

or that you'd achieve complete understanding with katakana.

I see, it actually sounded like that, so if you didn't mean it like that, okay.

 

 

However, you can puzzle out a lot of the directions you're given using just katakana. I know because I've done it. Katakana first is a much faster learning curve for someone coming from English. I'm only a beginning student, but I've still managed to make it through two games. One of which has almost nothing written about it in English, yet I still figured out the gameplay and about 1/2 the story mode dialogue.

Truly WITHOUT any knowledge of hiragana or ability to understand hearing Japanese?

Sorry, but I can't buy that. =D Without any knowledge of hiragana, you can't even grasp the basic structure of Japanese sentence. And if you claim you figured 1/2 of the story mode just by katakana, I can't help but to doubt that

If you do know hiragana, then that's something completely different =)

 

 

Another reason being that starting with katakana is never recommended for Japanese learning. (If the OP ever decides to actually learn)

[JapanimeGamer]

This is not a brag or anything, this is not about that, but only for guidance in what I am about to try and explain, but I am excellent in both Hiragana and Katakana (you would hope so as I am studying at both night school and every moment at home towards my exams).

Now my point of mentioning that is just to say that even knowing what I know I still struggle with what is being said in Japanese games, I understand a lot of it, but certainly not everything, there are plenty of gaps in sentences still.

So if someone (who is not studying the language) is saying that by only knowing Katakana they have been able to understand 2 Japanese games is not possible, they may have been able to 'wing it' and guess what's going on to a point, just like I can when I watch a French movie (I cannot speak French) but this is not the same as understanding what is being typed or said.

The best example I can give for this is, if you take the Katakana word ウィンドーショッピン now its one thing IF you can read the kana and can pronounce this word, but it is a totally different thing to then actually know what it says in English, (window shopping) and if you assume that this would be the case with every single word in Katakana that you read and then if you add into the mix ALL of the Hiragana words too, and that's without the 1900+ Kanji that could crop up at any time...

I am just saying that knowing some Katakana would not be enough to understand what is going on by a very long margin.

This is just a reality check for anyone thinking about doing this.

By all means do play the games and do try to pick out bits here and there, and its a great feeling when you start to remember them, but understand that you will not be reading full game text anytime soon, and that by only knowing Katakana (or only Hiragana) that you will be 'sorted' because you wont be.

Sorry if the tone of this post is depressing, I am just trying to be helpful and truthful.

[Shintetsuken]

Lord of Apocalypse for the Vita wasn't too difficult to get through.

[thegirlruka]

Well, if you want to learn Japanese, VNs are good precisely because of needing Japanese. =D

If I omit Light Novels, I haven't found better way to get adapted to kanji so far =D

I'd say rhythm games are probably ok for learning to read hiragana and katakana if they have lyrics shown on screen. I picked up a few hiragana and katakana by noticing them consistently showing up while a certain sound was made. I still don't really understand the words they combined to, but it let me understand how some of the characters are pronounced. If I could pick it up without really trying to learn, people who are trying to learn would probably pick it up even easier.

[chellesan]

use a guide for japanese games and you are good

[Shadiochao]

Puyo Puyo Tetris is a good one.

 

You only really need to know how to navigate the main menu to start game modes. There aren't really many, I think they're entirely in kana with visual aids and there's a full English translation somewhere on the internet.

 

Cheaper versions were released around a month ago, too. You can pick it up on any of the three systems for less than 30USD now.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Shadiochao

[Drew-013]

If you are looking for a good study tool, Time Travelers has furigana above all the kanji making it very easy to look up the words

 

Thanks heaps, I picked this one up!

 

I'm hoping it'll help me make the jump from Kana to Kanji.. though at the moment I'm still looking up most kana words, my Japanese is VERY basic.

 

 

Do you want to use the games for learning or you are just trying to play some Japanese games for some reason?

 

 

It has to be mentioned. Asian versions could also be Chinese subs-only.

 

I'm a huge fan of Japanese games in general, and do want to learn the language.. there are some Japanese exclusives that I'm dying to play, but need to get a better grip on the language first.

 

More people should try to play Japanese games, even if the language is a hurdle. There is nothing like learning a new skill.

What type of Japanese games are you interested in specifically?

You could try looking at some peoples cards to see what they have played, most people cannot speak or read any/very much Japanese, if they can play those games then maybe you can too. It would be a decent place to start looking.

Apart from that it could be difficult to recommend some games as different people have got different levels of understanding. What might be easy for me might not be easy for you for example.

 

I'm a sucker for JRPGs, Visual Novels and Rhythm Games

 

As mentioned, steer clear of visual novels and RPGs because if you care about the story, you won't be able to actually read it and enjoy the storytelling in the case of the former, and reading item/equipment/requirements will be ten times more of a hassle than it needs to be in the case of the latter.

 

As such, that rules out a lot of games.  But if you don't know any Japanese or don't intend to learn it, I generally recommend just sticking to the likes of rhythm games - IA/VT, Utakumi 575, Miracle Girls Festival, Bakumatsu Rock: Ultra Soul, Taiko no Tatsujin V Version.  Some of these games have short visual novel storytelling sections in between songs but they're really quite irrelevant and don't detract from the rhythm game itself, which is thoroughly manageable despite not being able to read Japanese.  Be wary of Utakumi though; it's a rhythm game as well as a haiku-building game where you must pick the correct words for the verses being sung - there's guides listing the correct answers on trophy sites with the intent of helping non-speakers, but just be aware that it's a bit more involved and *only slightly* less import-friendly than the others.

That's awesome! I picked up IA/VT, Utagumi and Miracle Girls Festival!

 

I got 100 japan platinums if not more

 

and i not speak 1 word japanese or korean or whatever asian language

 

its all about picking the easy ones if you go for trophys alone

 

I don't understand the purpose of this? Why would you want to have 100% trophies for a game you didn't understand or enjoy?

Thanks all! I chose to grab IA/VT Colorful, Time Traveller, Utagumi 575, Miracle Girls Festival and Monster Monpiece (Since the localised version isn't available in Australia)

 

MonMon will probably be a struggle to get through and I might wait a while to get to that since the language seems more in depth than the others.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Drew-013

[Satoshi Ookami]

I'm a huge fan of Japanese games in general, and do want to learn the language.. there are some Japanese exclusives that I'm dying to play, but need to get a better grip on the language first.

In that case, definitely start with the easier ones and slowly build your Japanese with Visual Novels