I have just watched Game Gengo’s video on how he would suggest learning Japanese from games and he lists useful things that make it easier to learn from such as:
Downloadable game scripts (Such as final fantasy) and checking each unknown word in a browser using extensions such as Rikaikun (GS)
Voice acting (VA)
Press to continue dialog (PTC)
Log / replay button for dialog (L)
Furigana option to start (F)
Can anyone think of any Switch games that have these available?
The few that I can think of are (In order of boxes ticked, not by readability):
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (VA/PTC/L/F)
13 Sentinels (VA/PTC/L)
Atelier Ryza (VA/PTC/L)
Dragon Quest XI (VA/PTC/F)
Octopath Traveler (VA/PTC/L)
Ni No Kuni (VA/PTC)
Final Fantasy X (VA/PTC)
Final Fantasy XII (VA/PTC)
Tales of Vesperia (VA/PTC)
Ys VIII (VA/PTC)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (VA/PTC)
Xenoblade Chronicles Remastered (VA/PTC)
Fairy Fencer F (VA/PTC)
Can anyone either think of any more to add to the list or recommend the lowest level readability?
I do want to start with Final Fantasy 7, 8 or 9 but I feel the voice acting will really help in my first few games. I want to get stuck into reading ASAP but don’t want to get too burned out where I give up.
I think going with any of the Final Fantasy games is fine. I also really like Octopath Traveler on Switch.
Is this your first time playing JRPG’s in Japanese? Because if so, I think the hardest thing to get used to at first are the menus and inventory and not the dialogue.
Is this your first time playing JRPG’s in Japanese? Because if so, I think the hardest thing to get used to at first are the menus and inventory and not the dialogue.
Yes! Other than attempting FF7 months ago, far too early.
That’s a good point, I suppose you see them so many times that they should stick in memory pretty quickly though once looked up.
I’m thinking a voice acted game and/or with furigana as well as kanji would be best to start but will just have to have a think about it.
I have played Skyward Sword (PTC*/F), Pokemon Brilliant Diamond (PTC), Pokemon Legends Arceus (PTC/F) on switch. They’ve been pretty great for reading at around the intermediate level and really focusing on dialogues. Hardest was Skyward Sword, because that one was my first. That said it helped me out a lot. Easiest is Brilliant Diamond despite not having furigana. One can switch freely between the kana or kanji mode when you set the language to Japanese. Also I found the spacings between words very friendly as well as only getting fed two lines of dialogue at a time. You might also find the Japanese Gaming Thread useful.
I’ve been playing ゼルダ無双/Hyrule Warriors. The cutscenes that are narration on a black screen are PTC, but the animated cutscenes advance automatically (although you can rewatch those in the gallery). Most of the things that characters say as well as all of the orders you receive during a challenge there is a log of. It’s also fully voice-acted. Most things inside of challenges have furigana, but outside of them, there’s none. I don’t know if there’s a downloadable script or not.
I’ve been playing that one to start out with because I figure there’s less story I’ll potentially miss out on than with one such as DQXI. I am getting that one soon though, as well as DQ Heroes I+II, but I’m starting Heroes first specifically because it’s a 無双 lol. But even though my reading speed isn’t very fast yet, I haven’t been having much difficulty with HW
Triangle Strategy released this year comes with a full Japanese option (i.e. all in game text too) included. In your terms it’s VA/PTC/L, with log functionality voiced. As for the game itself, it’s a tactical RPG similar to Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics, down to the 2D look. Can’t say much about the plot or the enjoyablity as I’m playing it very slowly and haven’t gotten far yet. I don’t know if the script is available anywhere either, you’d have to look it up yourself.
