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Best MMO to play with Japanese people?

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
Okay, so I'm self teaching myself Japanese, but as any student of language can tell you, it doesn't do a lick of good to study a language without actually practicing it and being corrected by native speakers; and sadly, I do not live in the great Nippon! >>

I'm looking for a good MMO that I can play with many Japanese people. Preferably something that I can also practice my Japanese typing skills with.

Any suggestions?
 

Akala

Member
RurouniZel said:
Okay, so I'm self teaching myself Japanese, but as any student of language can tell you, it doesn't do a lick of good to study a language without actually practicing it and being corrected by native speakers; and sadly, I do not live in the great Nippon! >>

I'm looking for a good MMO that I can play with many Japanese people. Preferably something that I can also practice my Japanese typing skills with.

Any suggestions?

...

FFXI
 

Druz

Member
FFXI, but they will not like you even if you somehow manage to get in to a party with them.
 

angelfly

Member
I never had any luck with MMOs for that purpose. I ended up sticking to mixi which offered me the same thing without a game.
 

Corran Horn

May the Schwartz be with you
FF11 has a good japanese and english population. Mostly from my experience they are not gonna sit and chat with you unless you get into a linkshell(guild) with some.
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
theultimo said:
FFXI

or

PSO:BB before they shut it down

or

Second Life
?

Do lots of Japanese speakers use Second Life? I've never actually used it but I've heard it's like a virtual home online where you can walk around and chat with others... is there a way to set this up by region?
 
FFXI but if you can't natively type in japanese(actual characters not words spelled out in english ie ohayo-or however it's pronounced), you most likely will be ignored for the most part.

Otherwise, it works to some extent as a friend of mine who when I was playing the game with, who was learning Japanese (was able to say some phrases) had a lot of JP friends even if he wasn't fluent.
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
angelfly said:
I never had any luck with MMOs for that purpose. I ended up sticking to mixi which offered me the same thing without a game.

I've heard this is invitation only. Would you be able to invite me?
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
PandaPandaPanda said:
FFXI but if you can't natively type in japanese(actual characters not words spelled out in english ie ohayo-or however it's pronounced), you most likely will be ignored for the most part.

Otherwise, it works to some extent as a friend of mine who when I was playing the game with, who was learning Japanese (was able to say some phrases) had a lot of JP friends even if he wasn't fluent.

Is there an option to do this ingame or do I need a JP copy of the game? Or, would having the setting on my computer suffice?
 
I didn't use it first hand but there's a 3rd party application called Windower for the NA client and you can download a plugin for it to type in Japanese. As for key layout etc. I wouldn't know as I never used it but my friend(while he was playing) used it and it works.
 

jiggle

Member
FFXI
but don't bother if u plan to chat in romanji

I'm not sure if u can type in japanese with english version

my friend just types it out on notepad and then copy/paste it into game lol
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
PandaPandaPanda said:
I didn't use it first hand but there's a 3rd party application called Windower for the NA client and you can download a plugin for it to type in Japanese. As for key layout etc. I wouldn't know as I never used it but my friend(while he was playing) used it and it works.

Cool, I may just try that out, thanks! :)
 
i dont know if it's the same with japanese guys, but from my experience in japan, japanese girls would rather not speak to you in english for fear of saying things wrong and appearing "foolish".
 
Good luck if you end up going through with it. I spent 2 years playing and finally kicked the "addiction" about 9 months ago with no intention of coming back to this or any other MMO. Only advice you might need is don't be afraid to ask people on how some of the game mechanics work or anything else you might need to know. You'll probably get ignored/shut down by a few people but there are people out there that'll give you a hand (whether they're English or Japanese speaking)

Oh and yes, I hope you like grinding, lol.
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
PandaPandaPanda said:
Good luck if you end up going through with it. I spent 2 years playing and finally kicked the "addiction" about 9 months ago with no intention of coming back to this or any other MMO. Only advice you might need is don't be afraid to ask people on how some of the game mechanics work or anything else you might need to know. You'll probably get ignored/shut down by a few people but there are people out there that'll give you a hand (whether they're English or Japanese speaking)

Oh and yes, I hope you like grinding, lol.

do you know if there are any specific servers that tend to lean more toward Japanese players than American? Or is it just a mix all around?
 
You may as well just pick one and go unless you're able to find a JP centric FFXI forum and want to join whichever server they play on.

You can always transfer servers if you want for a fee later on if necessary.
 

Grayman

Member
unless they've changed it since launch FFXI doesn't just let you pick servers like most games. You need to get someone on the server to hook you up with a pass onto that server.
 
They've changed it in the last year or so and ditched the world pass thing. The Gold world pass still exists but you can select your server upon creation.
 

Tenbatsu

Member
Used to play PSO and Monster Hunter 1/G/2 with them, they are really helpful. Love playing games with japanese dudes.
 

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Druz said:
FFXI, but they will not like you even if you somehow manage to get in to a party with them.

I only join a party with them as a last resort, (no communication beyond basic strategy, and only in abbreviations, symbols and auto-translate = boring) but it's not at all difficult, at least on Phoenix.
 

Ravidrath

Member
I form parties with Japanese people all the time in FFXI. Granted, I speak the language, but they're always very nice.

There are a lot of people who say {English} {No thanks.} in their search comment, and it's not a racist thing (usually) but just that they want to be able to talk to people.

Basically, if you're willing to make an effort and don't read too much into things, FFXI can work out pretty well.
 

Gasgul

Member
as you can guess from the image on the left im going to say ffxi,

I live in east coast Aus, which in general 1-2 hrs behind jp time zone, hence had to learn the simple pleasentries of the language just to grroup up and communication,

havent really played it for a few years now, but the populations are highly autonomous, due to the longevity of the playerbase and the politics of the end game Linkshells, you are judged and measured from your very first forays into the game,

be pleasant, be open, ask questions in game only after you have exhausted the online catalogue of FAQ's on the interwebs and fan forums,

its a simple game made complicated by the playerbase, unfortunately you wont get far without them,

as far as the jp's themselfs, not much diffrent than any other group,

suggestions
play a support class (whm/rdm/brd) the first time through,

a) you will learn the mechanics,
b) your are a rare and beutiful commodity, especially as a brd (^^)b

in regards to kanji/romanji you are able to get unofficial addins/mods to the pc client to bring up the IME text tool
 

RevenantKioku

PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
The only thing about FFXI is I just got the feeling it's on it's last legs. I tried playing again almost a year back. Ravidrath was actually a huge help in getting me going again. I just got caught up in moving to Japan and then without internet for a while here I canceled my account and haven't gotten back in.
So, I'm kinda waiting for the next big MMO in Japan to hop on that.
Need to build a PC though.
 
RevenantKioku said:
The only thing about FFXI is I just got the feeling it's on it's last legs. I tried playing again almost a year back.

If you ever quit an MMO for a prolonged period of time and attempt to return, you're likely going to feel that way. For those of us who continue to play, it feels far from it.
 
Megami Tensei Online: IMAGINE

Japanese-only MMORPG (no English whatsoever).
Free to play, but pay for good items (I guess only Japanese residents can pay for CP, the fake money that only works in the game).

Maybe you and I can try to get a GAF guild of some sorts going in Megaten Online, but last time I tried that, most of GAF was adverse to playing it since it was only in Japanese or something like that.

LINKY LINK LINK -> http://www.megatenonline.com/

Its not a revolutionary MMORPG, but it's MEGAMI TENSEI. It gets grindy at times, but it's MEGAMI TENSEI. It's not developed by Atlus (Cave did it), but it's MEGAMI TENSEI.

edit: beaten

:<
 

dfyb

Banned
sort of off topic, but related. preparing for a japanese oral exam tomorrow... and i need to know what game developers are called in japanese. what would you call someone who makes games for a living?
 

mm04

Member
Easy...Ultima Online! Seriously, though...the Japanese players that played back in the day were some of the coolest people to run into in the game.
 

Fafnir

Member
FFXI is the mmorpg you want to interact with Japanese, but I suggest you DO NOT DO IT! If your primary reason to playing a mmorpg is to practice your Japanese language skills, then make sure you never lose sight of that. All mmorpg's are mind crack. It is so easy to get addicted and so hard to get out.

At any point during this time that you start thinking about getting 1337 stuff for your character or think about buying gil to buy stuff from the AH, then you have lost sight of your Japanese goal and you have become an addict.

Like Gasgul suggested play a support class.

1. Be a Bard. BRD is one of the only jobs that JP players will seek out no matter what nationality you are. You could try Redmage as well, but playing a good RDM is quite tedious and you will not be able to practice your JP writing skills while everyone is screaming at you to refresh/heal/debuff. Bard on the other hand is so easy to play that you can practically sleep during PTs, and even if you do fall asleep, they will invite you back to PT anyways since you are a BRD.

Also, BRD equipment/songs are cheap and there should be minimal amounts of farming needed. Play a Mithra if you think you can sucker fools into buying you stuff. :lol

2. Write a message in Japanese for your seeking comment. Something like: "JP ONRY! NA PT {NO THANKS}".

3. Once you get to lvl 75, you should have had enough Japanese interaction skill to satisfy you. Quit while you can. Don't listen to anyone asking if you want to join their Sky/Dynamis/Limbus/HNM LS.

If you happen to see my GAF name/picture then your Japanese interaction mission failed and FFXI has won. Please do not let FFXI win.
 

Davedough

Member
&#31169;&#12395;&#31169;&#12398;&#12474;&#12508;&#12531;&#12391;&#24040;&#22823;&#12394;&#29483;&#12364;&#12354;&#12427;
 
Fafnir said:
1. Be a Bard. BRD is one of the only jobs that JP players will seek out no matter what nationality you are. You could try Redmage as well, but playing a good RDM is quite tedious and you will not be able to practice your JP writing skills while everyone is screaming at you to refresh/heal/debuff. Bard on the other hand is so easy to play that you can practically sleep during PTs, and even if you do fall asleep, they will invite you back to PT anyways since you are a BRD.

Also, BRD equipment/songs are cheap and there should be minimal amounts of farming needed. Play a Mithra if you think you can sucker fools into buying you stuff. :lol

2. Write a message in Japanese for your seeking comment. Something like: "JP ONRY! NA PT {NO THANKS}".

3. Once you get to lvl 75, you should have had enough Japanese interaction skill to satisfy you. Quit while you can. Don't listen to anyone asking if you want to join their Sky/Dynamis/Limbus/HNM LS.

If you happen to see my GAF name/picture then your Japanese interaction mission failed and FFXI has won. Please do not let FFXI win.

1) no-while it's tempting you'll ultimately like most first job bards out there either want to kill yourself-or level another job which is pointless since you'll always be asked to come to bard for anything and everything. I speak from firsthand experience of this. Play what YOU want and you'll enjoy the experience much much more. Even if you're a loldrg and spend hours seeking at a time but it's better than playing something you like playing opposed to something you don't like.

3) "endgame" is a mixed bag, maybe you'll have had enough at this point to want to quit or venture into the different territories but if you're main goal is to just socialize with Japanese people and whatnot then you're probably not thinking too much about endgame to begin with (which is a good thing because wasting 3 hours everyday in a zone is not fun.)
 
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