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Games for practicing Japanese?

C

Cream

Banned
So, I've been working towards learning Japanese, and I'm trying to start getting into games that will help me practice my skills.

I know a lot of early 8-bit and 16-bit games can be good resources for this, but I'm curious if the people on GAF who know the language, or are studying it would have any suggestions.

These games I want to note I won't necessarily start playing right now. I just wanted to list resources for the future, when my skills get better.
 
S

Stereogatari

Banned
Pokemon. It only uses Kana so it's an easy starting point.

I myself learned all the Kana 5 years ago, but then stupidly gave up at the Kanji and didn't pursue it any further, so ended up forgetting it all. Could have had 5 years of learning Japanese behind me. I've always told myself I'd pick it up again, one of the main reasons I tried the first time was to play FF Versus XIII in Japanese. That actually might still be possible for me to do though ;).
 
P

Puaru1

Member
My_Japanese_Coach_Coverart.png
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
One of the first that I started with way back in 2003 or so was Tomato Adventure for GBA. I remember being able to make decent progress with the text back then. It's fairly simple and not heavy on Kanji.

From there you should look into some of the Tales games. In particular, some of the older games that were voiced. You get full voice acting to help with the audio portion along with text that doesn't advance until you press a button. Gives you time to look up words you might not know. After a while you'll find that you can start to go through whole scenes without needing to look anything up.

Good places to start, I think.

I know Hiragana, Katakana, and super basic grammar.
Click to expand...
Ah, well, you might need to make more progress first. Don't get frustrated too quickly as getting to the point where you can read well enough to enjoy a game can take time and feel frustrating.

Can you at least look up Kanji characters? Knowing the radicals, for instance, can allow you to easily piece together a character and quickly look it up. It's easier than ever with phones and tablets by your side.
 
A

Aeana

Member
Level-5 games are not a bad place to go. The language level is low (the games are targeted at younger children), and they tend to have furigana. With that said, don't limit yourself to this since they tend to not be voiced, and you really, really need to work on listening comprehension as well.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
The 3DS suggestions could prove troublesome due to region locking, it should be noted.

Hikami said:
If you're looking for games, try to get some that have furigana (kana over the kanji).
Youkai Watch for example.
Click to expand...
Yes and no.

Youkai Watch is probably simple enough but the addition of furigana can sometimes be deceptive, I've found.

For instance, I remember picking up Wild Arms 4 back in 2005 and, while it used furigana, the game constantly tossed around long military related words and other similarly complex characters. Basically, it doesn't seem that furigana guarantees simple words though it's useful.

Also, it can become a crutch. Looking up kanji is kind of boring but a rewarding exercise at times and it definitely helps them stick in your head due to the fact that you need to look at them so closely and see how they're constructed.

Just my experiences - I'm not even close to an expert. There are plenty of people on here that probably have much better suggestions.
 
J

JimPanzer

Member
Well I don't think hiragana, katakana and basic grammar will help you much even in the Pokemon games. I'm basically at the point where you are except instead of katakana I know around 50 kanji.
I ended up looking for pretty much every word in pokemon. Better spent the time actally learning instead of playing....100 times more effective imo.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
JimPanzer said:
Well I don't think hiragana, katakana and basic grammar will help you much even in the Pokemon games. I'm basically at the point where you are except insted of katakana I know around 50 kanji.
I ended up looking for pretty much every word in pokemon. Better spent the time actally learning instead of playing....100 times more effective imo.
Click to expand...
Yep. Agreed 100%. Until you can reasonably read the majority of what's popping up and get the grammar you won't be having fun or learning. It takes time.
 
A

AtomskEater

Member
From screens, Yokai Watch looks like it has simple grammar and it has furigana ( a lifesaver if you don't want to deal with drawing out kanji in recognition programs). You're going to be stopping to look up words every sentence no matter what, though.
 
C

Cream

Banned
These games I want to note I won't necessarily start playing right now. I just wanted to list resources for the future, when my skills get better.
 
A

Aeana

Member
JimPanzer said:
Well I don't think hiragana, katakana and basic grammar will help you much even in the Pokemon games. I'm basically at the point where you are except instead of katakana I know around 50 kanji.
I ended up looking for pretty much every word in pokemon. Better spent the time actally learning instead of playing....100 times more effective imo.
Click to expand...

Using games to aid learning is a good thing if you're passionate about games. People tend to give up on language learning when they lose interest or passion for it, and that's why doing something you absolutely love doing (playing games) is a fantastic aid. That's not to say that you should try to supplant your normal study experience with games entirely, but using it to supplement and strengthen is a great idea.
 
S

stump sock

Member
if you're into retro gaming, a lot of NES, SNES, and even some PS1 games exclusively use kana. Heck, the two reasons I started learning the language were for retro gaming and for finding music.
 
M

muteki

Member
I find that PS1 classics or other PSP/Vita games where you can easily screenshot, or switch over to browser for a quick look up to be convenient. If anything gives me trouble I will just snapshot -> move on then go back and review later. Playing FF7, most of it was easier than expected, once you get past the specialized terms. Action games with a bit of dialogue can be good because most menus are simple vocabulary exercises, and with some simple dialogue you can at least get some grammar practice. It is often casual, contracted/slang forms though.
 
T

Tsukumo

Member
Cream said:
So, I've been working towards learning Japanese, and I'm trying to start getting into games that will help me practice my skills.

I know a lot of early 8-bit and 16-bit games can be good resources for this, but I'm curious if the people on GAF who know the language, or are studying it would have any suggestions.
Click to expand...

Rpgs are the best for this because the presence of stores will imprint a lot of words and grammar just by playing through, since for obvious reasons these games are ALL about repetition.
For practicing reading any Dragon Quest will do (or Pokémon as other suggested): they are completely wrote in furigana.
I did a lot of learning through multiple playthroughs on Shen mue (the first game) and I still consider it the best way, since being set in modern times and being about "daily life" helps acquire useful vocabulary.
Other rpgs like the Yakuzas or the Persona games may be good but they tend to be chockfull of archaic language or very modern dialects.
If you have a favourite rpg, just play its Japanese version: you'll know what you are getting into plot-wise but you will also be exposed to new vocabulary. The words and the grammar used in Japanese games is very mainstream, you won't find a lot of cryptic modern day lingo if you stick to games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
 
A

Aeana

Member
Tsukumo said:
Rpgs are the best for this because the presence of stores will imprint a lot of words and grammar just by playing through, since for obvious reasons these games are ALL about repetition.
For practicing reading any Dragon Quest will do (or Pokémon as other suggested): they are completely wrote in furigana.
I did a lot of learning through multiple playthroughs on Shen mue (the first game) and I still consider it the best way, since being set in modern times and being about "daily life" helps acquire useful vocabulary.
Other rpgs like the Yakuzas or the Persona games may be good but they tend to be chockfull of archaic language or very modern dialects.
If you have a favourite rpg, just play its Japanese version: you'll know what you are getting into plot-wise but you will also be exposed to new vocabulary. The words and the grammar used in Japanese games is very mainstream, you won't find a lot of cryptic modern day lingo if you stick to games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
Click to expand...

Only Dragon Quest 9 and 7 3DS have furigana, for the record.
 
J

JimPanzer

Member
Aeana said:
Using games to aid learning is a good thing if you're passionate about games. People tend to give up on language learning when they lose interest or passion for it, and that's why doing something you absolutely love doing (playing games) is a fantastic aid. That's not to say that you should try to supplant your normal study experience with games entirely, but using it to supplement and strengthen is a great idea.
Click to expand...

it sure is! but I think you need to be at a certain point to get something out of it like fun and excercise. I only can speak for myself, but I'm getting stuck at words I translated 3 sentences earlier.
Without having at least a basic understanding what each sentence that pops up means you won't learn anything.
 
R

Resilient

Member
Get a tutor if you really want to learn Japanese. Eventually, you'll come to a point where the games will actually be useful. Until then you will just be reading kana but not really understanding any of it.

Having said that, Monster Hunter 4 has been useful for me, not really sure why. Could be why Aeana said; it's a game I was excited about + it has lots and lots of repetition. No furigana tho, so you're gonna want to know a fair bit of Kanji coming jnto it.
 
C

Cream

Banned
Resilient said:
Get a tutor if you really want to learn Japanese. Eventually, you'll come to a point where the games will actually be useful. Until then you will just be reading kana but not really understanding any of it.

Having said that, Monster Hunter 4 has been useful for me, not really sure why. Could be why Aeana said; it's a game I was excited about + it has lots and lots of repetition. No furigana tho, so you're gonna want to know a fair bit of Kanji coming jnto it.
Click to expand...

Meh, I'm self-teaching. Don't have the money or interest in going through a tutor. Thanks for the advice though!
 
down 2 orth

down 2 orth

Member
I'm playing the English version of Muramasa: Rebirth now and since the voices are still in the original Japanese, its pretty fun to try to pick out words i know in the game, kind of as a way to supplement my Japanese studies. I guess the way they speak probably isn't the same as everyday Japanese but it's still good experience.
 
Zenaku

Zenaku

Member
If you have any interest in visual novels on the PC, they can be one of the best tools for learning Japanese.

The key is AGTH (Anime Games Text Hooker), a program which essentially "captures" text from games, and displays it in a notepad-esque window, which can be set to copy anything you highlight to the clipboard, or to copy everything automatically (Might've been updated since I used it a few years back).

The normal way people use it is to use it with a translation program, and automatically translate all the main text as they play, but I disabled the auto-copy and used it with a dictionary program instead. Whenever I came across a word or kanji I didn't know, I'd highlight it in the AGTH window and the dictionary would instantly tell me how to read it, and what it meant.

This helped me learn hundreds of words and kanji in a really short amount of time, and I had fun while doing it.
 
A

Aeana

Member
Zenaku said:
If you have any interest in visual novels on the PC, they can be one of the best tools for learning Japanese.

The key is AGTH (Anime Games Text Hooker), a program which essentially "captures" text from games, and displays it in a notepad-esque window, which can be set to copy anything you highlight to the clipboard, or to copy everything automatically (Might've been updated since I used it a few years back).

The normal way people use it is to use it with a translation program, and automatically translate all the main text as they play, but I disabled the auto-copy and used it with a dictionary program instead. Whenever I came across a word or kanji I didn't know, I'd highlight it in the AGTH window and the dictionary would instantly tell me how to read it, and what it meant.

This helped me learn hundreds of words and kanji in a really short amount of time, and I had fun while doing it.
Click to expand...

Using such a program to simply run it through an auto-translator will teach you nothing, however I do agree that there is a value here. I've seen a program called Translation Aggregator which has a function called JParser which will parse a Japanese sentence and give you mouseover information not only about vocabulary, but also things like verb conjugation (which is something that sets it apart from something like wwwjdic). A few students of mine brought this to my attention and I thought it was very neat.
 
C

Cream

Banned
Aeana said:
Using such a program to simply run it through an auto-translator will teach you nothing, however I do agree that there is a value here. I've seen a program called Translation Aggregator which has a function called JParser which will parse a Japanese sentence and give you mouseover information not only about vocabulary, but also things like verb conjugation (which is something that sets it apart from something like wwwjdic). A few students of mine brought this to my attention and I thought it was very neat.
Click to expand...

Very cool. I'll definitely check it out.
 
R

Resilient

Member
Aeana said:
Using such a program to simply run it through an auto-translator will teach you nothing, however I do agree that there is a value here. I've seen a program called Translation Aggregator which has a function called JParser which will parse a Japanese sentence and give you mouseover information not only about vocabulary, but also things like verb conjugation (which is something that sets it apart from something like wwwjdic). A few students of mine brought this to my attention and I thought it was very neat.
Click to expand...

Hey this sounds sweet! Thanks for the heads up.
 
Kagoshima_Luke

Kagoshima_Luke

Gold Member
51AjlBfibRL._SX385_.jpg


Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten for DS

It's a kanji dictionary that allows you to practice writing Japanese (kanji, hiragana, katakana) using the system's stylus and touch screen. It works really well and actually allowed me to practice writing, as well as look up various characters as needed when I was living in Japan.
 
M

muu

Member
Cross Channel

In all honesty though if you have a decent understanding already, being able to read the dialogue while it's being spoken probably would help out a ton.
 
Zenaku

Zenaku

Member
Aeana said:
Using such a program to simply run it through an auto-translator will teach you nothing, however I do agree that there is a value here. I've seen a program called Translation Aggregator which has a function called JParser which will parse a Japanese sentence and give you mouseover information not only about vocabulary, but also things like verb conjugation (which is something that sets it apart from something like wwwjdic). A few students of mine brought this to my attention and I thought it was very neat.
Click to expand...

I agree. I initially used it with a translator, reading what I could in Japanese and then using the english translation to fill in the blanks, but it did nothing for my vocabulary whatsoever, which is why I just started using a dictionary program to look up the individual words/kanji instead. Basically the same as playing a game with furigana and flipping through a dictionary, without being limited only to games with furigana, or being forced to spend half a minute looking up words.

I've just looked up TA though, and it seems great, looks like people do use it with AGTH too, but it came out after I finished using it. I might try giving it a go and see if I can brush up my kanji a little more.
 
R

RoKKeR

Member
Was actually thinking about making this thread so it was nice to see it pop up. Some good suggestions in here I'll have to check out. Only problem is my gaming consoles are pretty limited here at school... Xbox/Mac at college and that's it.
 
A

Ahnez

Member
While reading a sentence in japanese, just by looking, can you say where words start/end?
Can you determine if a word is a noun/verb?
Do you know how to use the basic particles (は, が, の, に, へ, で, から)?

Even if you know very few words, I think you can already play Pokemon just with the above
 
E

elhav

Member
Games with furigana will definitely be a good place to start, as others have stated.

However, anything with kanji will give you trouble. Even knowing about 500 kanji won't be even nearly enough for, say, a visual novel or so.

Not to mention the bazillion compound words that have one or two kanji you'll never ever need except for that specific word.

I say don't try anything fancy untill you have enough vocabulary, kanji and grammer for an intermediate+ level or so.

If you want my personal advice for kanji, start learning radicals first, as it will be easier to learn how to write and read more complex kanji in the future.

Sites like kanjidamage offer a nice list of radicals and mnemonics.
 
U

urfe

Member
I recommend the Professor Layton games.

I forget when they started using furigana though. From the fourth one perhaps?
 
Aizo

Aizo

Banned
Just play games that you like. Look up words that you don't understand when they're repeated, but try to understand through context. It's a lot of fun, and I hope you don't get discouraged. Some concrete studying is definitely required for the most part, but practicing with games is a great time. Good luck!

I know that people will disagree with me, but I really feel that the 龍が如く　(Yakuza) series in Japanese helped me for practice, but that's because I like slang. In addition to that, I have enjoyed Dragon Quest VIII, Kingdom Hearts (series), the Tales series, and other whimsical JRPGs. Voiced visual novels are good if you can find them, too, but some (Steins;Gate) can be very difficult to understand if one isn't pretty advanced. I remember trying Steins;Gate and Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru, but they were a bit tough. I think I'll go back to them soon. Another recommendation is to go play games that you really loved in English, in Japanese. It's quite rewarding. Newer pokemon games with kanji are also solid.
 
S

stump sock

Member
AlabastreAizo said:
I know that people will disagree with me, but I really feel that the 龍が如く　(Yakuza) series in Japanese helped me for practice, but that's because I like slang.
Click to expand...

the only real caveat here is that you need to be at an intermediate or higher skill level with a pretty strong grasp of kanji to even begin to follow these games. I'd say 2/3 of it is still over my head, even though I've picked up some fun slang.
 
S

Sodding_Gamer

Member
For someone who knows absolutely nothing about Japanese but is really interested in giving Japanese a go is there any good teaching games to get the basics down? Like a 3ds game or something? I'm in the UK here and have the new 3ds on pre order and if there is a "learn to speak and read basic japanese" game I would love to give it a go! Even if it's too much for my busy life I'd still like to say I gave another language a try. I always feel guilty for not knowing a second language lol.
 
D

Dreamwriter

Member
Zelda: Wind Waker is a good one - if I remember right, it has Kanji but spells out the Kanji above each character.

Sodding_Gamer said:
For someone who knows absolutely nothing about Japanese but is really interested in giving Japanese a go is there any good teaching games to get the basics down? Like a 3ds game or something?
Click to expand...
Slime Forest, an old free RPG for PC, is great for beginners.

battlescreen.png
 
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