Mauricio_Magus
Banned
I'd never do this, ever.
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Let's play JRPGs in Japanese without learning Japanese: cause it's still fun
- Thread starter PumpkinSpice
- Start date
I used to play a lot of Japanese games on my NDS thanks to my cousin who spent a year in Japan. Apart from that I've never really opted to make Japanese purchases mainly because most of the time the Japanese games I want end up coming to the West anyway. I almost used my Japanese PSN to purchase Digimon for the Vita but thank god there's an English version coming for that one 
SoundPulse
Banned
You'll have lots of fun playing Phantasy Star 1 blind like this.
threelights
Member
Hey, another insane one =P
I'm not using the patch because I want to wait at least a patch that will translate all of the dialogue... And maybe I'm also tricking myself into thinking I'll learn some Japanese this way =X
I think I found one scroll (I think I only have one type though), and I don't rank up very often (that is the "rank" that shows besides your level, right?), so I'll try to do that. Thanks!
And yeah, I'm currently going through the AI Buster part, and seeing Albireo, Hokuto and Lycoris is so awesome, I hope one of them will join me.
I also saw that there's some type of social-link-ish events you can watch between the characters. I've seen a few but I stopped (for obvious reasons). I really hope the patch translates that stuff.
Since english is not my first language,it was common for me to play games without understanding them till i started learning english all by myself when i was 12 or something, dunno why people don't even try to play them and just keep begging for a localization.
Nowadays it helps that i'm studying japanese through the internet,i remember playing FF8 when i was 8 years old and Chrono Cross,still fun.
And usually JRPGs(my favorite genre) storys are all cliche so yeah not losing much.
Nowadays it helps that i'm studying japanese through the internet,i remember playing FF8 when i was 8 years old and Chrono Cross,still fun.
And usually JRPGs(my favorite genre) storys are all cliche so yeah not losing much.
Yeah since you've finished SIGN the Serpent of Lore like place on the ship is where ya use virus cores to rank up. At Rank 2 for Tokio you get a really great attack you can use to slice right through baddie defenses. Get running at full speed an press the attack button! At Rank 4 his X + X move goes much further which is pretty useful.
O = attack (keep pressing for a combo)
O + Left (during combo) = sidestep to left
O + Right (during combo) = sidestep to right
O while running = dash attack (Rank 2)
X = roll forward
X + Left = roll to the left
X + Right = roll to the right
X + Down = roll backwards
X + Left (with the right timing) = side dash to the left
X + Right (with the right timing) = side dash to the right
X + Down (with the right timing) = backflip
X + X = aerial dash (distance travelled increases at Rank 4)
X + X + O = aerial dash attack
X + X + O + X + X + O = double aerial dash attack (ya get this much later in the game)
Then of course theres skills & items but ya. Something I discovered recently is after using a single Attack or Roll, with the right timing you'll get a silvery flash on Tokio and a "tink" like sound effect will play. I'm not really sure what its for but it makes doing those side dashs & backflips not require the perfect button presses ta do repeatedly.
Those skits don't have to do with affection or anything. Just place the right PCs together and witness a usually funny lil convo.
Oh and on the ship be sure to swap out characters ya have stationed at the various shops/facilities one in awhile. Every 3 or so areas cleared an they'll start being tired out and be less effective at raising the places level.
IdreamofHIME
Member
I played through Pokemon Yellow in Japanese back in the day, enjoyed every moment of it.
Hey you do what you gotta do to play that Yakuza 0 demo off the JP PSN Store.
As a child I played through Gold in JP when it came out over there. It wasn't much tougher than playing Red in English when I didn't speak any English (but it helped me learn it around 7-8 years old whereas Gold in Japanese never really taught me Japanese, I was just wandering around aimlessly and still calling Sentret as Otachi after all these years.
As a child I played through Gold in JP when it came out over there. It wasn't much tougher than playing Red in English when I didn't speak any English (but it helped me learn it around 7-8 years old whereas Gold in Japanese never really taught me Japanese, I was just wandering around aimlessly and still calling Sentret as Otachi after all these years.
djplaeskool
Member
This is how I played Grandia back in '98.
Didn't know a lick of Japanese.
Took me 90+ hours...
Didn't know a lick of Japanese.
Took me 90+ hours...
threelights
Member
Yeah, I saw the white flash too. I just assume that means you cancelled the attack into a roll correctly (it also happens if you dodge and do an attack afterwards). Because it's something you cannot do if you commit to the last hit of your combo (so often times it is useful do to two hits - dodge sideways - two hits - dodge sideways instead of a full combo, since that will keep you always close to the enemy.
I think I know what is the thing I have to do to rank up (because I'm pretty sure I went there and ranked up Mimiru a bunch of times lol). But good to know that the air dash increases (and I think you're the one that told me about the double air dash before, so I'm really hyped to get that).
And I'm not quite sure what leveling up the rooms will get you, but I do swap them around sometimes (I try to follow the chart that shows the character's interactions). Although not nearly as often as "3 areas" =X
Can't agree at all OP. If it were any other genre but a JRPG, I'd agree. I've even finished Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars (I did need a translation guide for some bits where the objective isn't really clear but that was maybe less than ten times total between BOTH games). JRPG's though? Haven't finished one, not even with a translation guide, not even ones that are really short. They're way too text-dependant and I find it really unfun to use trial and error just to figure out how to progress the game.
Lumpy Onion
Member
Last one I did this for was Lighting Returns, and I kinda regret it because I should have waited. Most stuff I want ends up getting released in the US so I've felt less inclined to do these kind of playthroughs as of late. Anyway, I've played all these with knowing katakana and hiragana and the occasional kanji. It all started with FF V when I saw it advertised in the back of egm way back at its SFC release (playing ff 2&3 for famicom after ff IX felt like discovering the missing FFs). I can't believe I beat all these without being able to speak the language. But hell, at the time of their release I didn't know if these games would ever be localized.
-FF I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XIII, Tactics
-Elnard
-Madara 2
-Ys IV PCE
-Tengai Makyou Kabukiden
-Emerald Dragon PCE
-Front Mission
-Phantasy Star IV
-Romancing Saga 3
-Chrono Trigger (thx to dudes at japan town who helped me solve the run in circles 3 times puzzle in end of time)
-Sword World SFC 2
-Albert odyssey Saturn
-Rayearth Saturn
-Blue Seed Saturn
-Popolocrois
-Granstream Saga
-Riglord Saga
-Airs Adventure (worst JRPG ever)
-Star Ocean SFC
-Seiken Densetsu 2&3
-Xenogears
-Fire emblem 1&2 SFC remake
-Treasure Hunter G
-Tenchi Sozo (terranigma)
-Tengai Makyou Apocalypse
-Legend of Xanadu 1&2 PCE
-Silva Saga 2
-Arc the Lad 1&2
-Samurai Shodown rpg
-Lunar mega cd
-kings field 3
-Genso Suikoden
-Bahamut Lagoon
-Shining Wisdom
-Mario RPG
-Brave Fencer Musashi
Jesus that's a lot of import JRPG goodness. I don't do this much anymore though. They were great fun though, and I always enjoyed seeing a new location or fighting new battles. Often the story I imagined was better than what I got to play in English (ie FF xiii).
-FF I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XIII, Tactics
-Elnard
-Madara 2
-Ys IV PCE
-Tengai Makyou Kabukiden
-Emerald Dragon PCE
-Front Mission
-Phantasy Star IV
-Romancing Saga 3
-Chrono Trigger (thx to dudes at japan town who helped me solve the run in circles 3 times puzzle in end of time)
-Sword World SFC 2
-Albert odyssey Saturn
-Rayearth Saturn
-Blue Seed Saturn
-Popolocrois
-Granstream Saga
-Riglord Saga
-Airs Adventure (worst JRPG ever)
-Star Ocean SFC
-Seiken Densetsu 2&3
-Xenogears
-Fire emblem 1&2 SFC remake
-Treasure Hunter G
-Tenchi Sozo (terranigma)
-Tengai Makyou Apocalypse
-Legend of Xanadu 1&2 PCE
-Silva Saga 2
-Arc the Lad 1&2
-Samurai Shodown rpg
-Lunar mega cd
-kings field 3
-Genso Suikoden
-Bahamut Lagoon
-Shining Wisdom
-Mario RPG
-Brave Fencer Musashi
Jesus that's a lot of import JRPG goodness. I don't do this much anymore though. They were great fun though, and I always enjoyed seeing a new location or fighting new battles. Often the story I imagined was better than what I got to play in English (ie FF xiii).
The last japanese game I played was Puyo Puyo 20th anniversary on DS, navigating the menus was confusing and infuriating, and that was just a drop puzzle game.
It sounds like torture to me, but I kinda appreciate the idea on a philosophical level - in a world where almost everything can be directly looked up via guides, walkthroughs and quest markers, throwing yourself into a game where you can't even read simple menu text sounds like an interesting challenge.
I just hate being stuck in games.
It sounds like torture to me, but I kinda appreciate the idea on a philosophical level - in a world where almost everything can be directly looked up via guides, walkthroughs and quest markers, throwing yourself into a game where you can't even read simple menu text sounds like an interesting challenge.
I just hate being stuck in games.
Valkerionseven
Member
Only games I do this for are fighters like Gundam Vs. or Super Robot wars.... and after I looked up the plot of the games, I really wish I stayed not knowing what was going on the story was so dumb lol. Oh and Third Birthday... which was also a dumb plot.
But yeah a ton of games, like music or movies ect. can be enjoyed even without knowing the language. Don't think I personally will do this for text heavy RPGs but I think we can all appreciate a game with good mechanics.
But yeah a ton of games, like music or movies ect. can be enjoyed even without knowing the language. Don't think I personally will do this for text heavy RPGs but I think we can all appreciate a game with good mechanics.
More things for sale, permenant discounts, and other rooms/add more spaces to put more characters in 'em. Very useful but it takes time! They all max out at Level 5!
otaku-asia
Member
I used to played play Japanese games (including RPGs) a lot in the past but nowadays there are just too many games waited to be played and there's lack of time, so I prefer to play games in a language that I understand.
The last RPG that I played in Japanese was Final Fantasy XIII, which was very easy to complete thanks to the linear storyline though.
The last RPG that I played in Japanese was Final Fantasy XIII, which was very easy to complete thanks to the linear storyline though.
JustAnotherOtaku
Member
I do this quite a bit and yeah, it's usually easier than you think. Yakuza games especially have been essential for me to play this way since the third one since I don't like the wait for the Western release, assuming it ever gets one.
360 era saw me play through a lot of RPGs/ADVs etc in Japanese without too much trouble.
360 era saw me play through a lot of RPGs/ADVs etc in Japanese without too much trouble.
D
Deleted member 20920
Unconfirmed Member
They are all Dragon Quest IVs.
Oh, it's all there in the OT. Too early in the morning... Thank you.
dickroach
Member
I stumbled across this blog that started doing this years ago. (think I found it via Earthboundcentral). Haven't kept up on it in years, but they've done the Mother games, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, and I'm sure a couple hundred more at this point
http://flailthroughs.blogspot.com
http://flailthroughs.blogspot.com
This. Aside from action, fighting, racing, shooters.
I've been playing Super Robot Wars and JRPG for 18 years, back when I didn't know a thing about Japanese. It was really mysterious and amazing for me. Now, when my Japanese is good enough to understand 70-80% of the dialogues without a dictionary, I just lost interest in reading them. Maybe because most of the stories in SRW or JRPG are just same cliché shit
texhnolyze
Banned
Well, me too!
I haven't learned Japanese enough to understand that much of the dialogue though. I only understand some of the basics to read the character/mechs name, attacks, menu, seishin, etc. I'm still using a walkthrough or wiki for SWR games to achieve SR points. Yeah the stories are pretty cliche shit, but I still really appreciate fanmade English translations like @Gaiden and and MNeidengard's works though.
Yeah man. I am still waiting for the @ translation. Maybe the lack of interest could also because I am too lazy to use the dictionary though. The story is cliche but the lore is still good i guess.
Alex_Mexico
Member
If there was ONE genre of Japanese made games that I wouldn't even try to play unless I learned the language it would be the RPG.
I could probably play any other genre in a language I don't understand and still manage I enjoy myself. RPGs where there's so much text and the story's so important I don't see how that could be worth my time.
I could probably play any other genre in a language I don't understand and still manage I enjoy myself. RPGs where there's so much text and the story's so important I don't see how that could be worth my time.
I'm going to Japan in a couple of weeks and made a short list of stuff I'd like to pick up, mostly just for collection reasons but I'll probably give them a go as well. I know both hiragana and katakana but my kanji knowledge sucks.
Does anyone have an opinion on Shining Resonance? It kind of looks like a Tales of game. Was also going to pick up God Eater 2 and some other things.
Does anyone have an opinion on Shining Resonance? It kind of looks like a Tales of game. Was also going to pick up God Eater 2 and some other things.
blummer102
Member
I've done this before but frankly, it's not much fun, at least for me. I think part of the reason I play JRPGs is for the story, and not being able to understand things fully is a big turn-off. And this comes from the perspective of someone who studied Japanese for several years in college. Though actually, that might have been what made the whole experience even more frustrating - it's one thing to play an untranslated JRPG if you have no knowledge of the language and feel proud of yourself for making it through the menus and whatnot; it's another to play through the same game and constantly be feeling "goddammit I wish my Japanese was better so I could understand this crap, grahhhhhh so near yet so far."
Japanese is a tough language. I thought after three years of study I'd be able to play through Tales of Rebirth no problem...I was wrong.
Japanese is a tough language. I thought after three years of study I'd be able to play through Tales of Rebirth no problem...I was wrong.
Unknown Soldier
Member
I played through the entirety of FFXII back in the day without anything more than a short cutscenes-only translation FAQ.
It was fun once. I'm not planning on doing it ever again as it was also a lot of work.
It was fun once. I'm not planning on doing it ever again as it was also a lot of work.
While I agree Youkai Watch 2 is an incredible game, I wouldn't recommend playing it w/o knowing at least a bit of Japanese. Like most Level-5 games it's really well written and damn charming if you understand what's going on.
I've been studying Japanese for about 7 months now (granted I've studied a lot each day) and understand almost everything w/o the need of a dictionary if I take my time.
Acquiescence
Member
Nah, I couldn't do that, it'd drive me mad. I can read hiragana, katakana and about 90 kanji (lol) and that's still nowhere near enough to get a grasp on what's going on when playing these things. Instead of trial and error and relying on fan translations, I'm just biting the bullet and learning the language. It'll take a good while, but I'm in it for the long haul.
Earthpainting
Member
I've done this for a couple of games. Armed with only a little Hiragana and Katakana knowledge and some guides on a laptop, my and a friend played a bunch of SFC games she bought off someone. I believe the first one we tried was Panic in Nakayoshi World, which was super ignorance-friendly. Text was limited and easy enough to decipher from context and a bit of experimentation.
We later skipped on to RPGs like Final Fantasy 5, Emerald Dragon and Star Ocean, which were a lot harder for a non-native speaker. A quick peek online shows that there are fan translations available now for the latter two, so I could give them another go if I still have access to them, and they don't have any obvious glitches on a Retron 5. I have fond memories of all three of those games, and it's hard to say if it's on their own merits, or if we had to really work for our enjoyment.
We later skipped on to RPGs like Final Fantasy 5, Emerald Dragon and Star Ocean, which were a lot harder for a non-native speaker. A quick peek online shows that there are fan translations available now for the latter two, so I could give them another go if I still have access to them, and they don't have any obvious glitches on a Retron 5. I have fond memories of all three of those games, and it's hard to say if it's on their own merits, or if we had to really work for our enjoyment.
I don't recommend this, my first play through of tales of xillia was rough. Back then I could read hiragana/katakana, had completed heisig and still struggled. Sure reading menus was easy but you miss everything else. To that dude that completed a falcom rpg without being able to read, damn that is crazy. Those games have libraries of text in them.
Newtype-001
Member
Nah i just cant do this.
I aint getting the full experience if i have to make concessions like "ignore the story".
If its something simple like a fighting game then its fine but a fully fledged jrpg? Nah.
I dont know about others but i dont play most games for the sake of playing them i like to get invested in it even if its just a bit.
I should just learn Japanese.
I aint getting the full experience if i have to make concessions like "ignore the story".
If its something simple like a fighting game then its fine but a fully fledged jrpg? Nah.
I dont know about others but i dont play most games for the sake of playing them i like to get invested in it even if its just a bit.
I should just learn Japanese.
Ok, let me admit one thing related to this, the only JRPG I've ever played under these circumstances was Golden Sun Dark Dawn (I eventually used the translation patch for PSO2), it wasn't that difficult acclimating to the system as I was already familiar with it. One big thing though, I got stuck in a huge plot point and wasn't able to figure out how to proceed until I got my copy of the translated version, guess I'm not so suited for this after all.
Shining Sunshine
Banned
I do this a lot, but there was one Famicom game that completely stumped me and I couldn't progress at all.
It was called Bakumatsu Kourinden Oni.
I believe I made it quite far since I was pretty high level, but then I didn't know where to go at some point. I did the standard method of progressing through JRPGs.
Talk to everyone and do action to every wall.
I literally spent hours not progressing and finally gave up.
It was called Bakumatsu Kourinden Oni.
I believe I made it quite far since I was pretty high level, but then I didn't know where to go at some point. I did the standard method of progressing through JRPGs.
Talk to everyone and do action to every wall.
I literally spent hours not progressing and finally gave up.
Not doing it again, ever.
Did this with Namco X Capcom.
Finished without knowing what the hell they were talking about.
I did not consult a guide at first but ever since (Spoiler for Judas?)
I had to get one to avoid doing the same thing with the other characters.
Also, back when Snowboard Kids Plus was released on PS1 and the 6 year old clueless me was just memorizing what this and that option did.
This is why I'm studying Japanese in my free time now. There's something missing when you can't understand what's going on.
Did this with Namco X Capcom.
Finished without knowing what the hell they were talking about.
I did not consult a guide at first but ever since (Spoiler for Judas?)
that fight where Judas was still an enemy and you wipe other enemies except for him and I defeated him without any knowledge,
Also, back when Snowboard Kids Plus was released on PS1 and the 6 year old clueless me was just memorizing what this and that option did.
This is why I'm studying Japanese in my free time now. There's something missing when you can't understand what's going on.
