Strong disagree for a complete beginner, I’ve played a bunch of RPGs in Japanese so far and P4 was far from the easiest. The text is pretty kanji-heavy and because it takes place in a fictional place in Japan you have to deal with kanji names and their readings. There also are many cultural elements that are interesting but also contribute to the difficulty. The dialogue goes from slang-heavy discussion between kids to informal cop dialect to formal newscasts etc… You get a really broad range of “real-world” Japanese which is really good practice but also quite challenging.
And on top of it all the game is extremely text-heavy, even by JRPG standards. A beginner can easily spend many hours reading dialogue before reaching the first fight. At times it almost feels like a visual novel.
There are some advantages for learners though, you have good voice acting and at any moment you can open the dialogue history if you missed something.
Still absolutely not what I would recommend for a starter RPG in Japanese. For instance I’m currently playing through Threads of Fate (Dewprism in Japanese) and it’s vastly easier and also a lot less dense. You don’t get hours of dialogue between gameplay sequences.
That’s certainly true. Knowing most kanji does help a lot with reading, but there’s a lot more to it.
Oh yeah, that’s absolutely not a recommendation for OP/a beginner reader, it was for Yabashiri, who’s level 40. There certainly tons of things in it game that are incredibly complex like when Igor says anything, but there’s also lots of daily life kids talking and teachers, and parents interacting. As you detailed for me. But the walls of text you have to deal with is why I said, “not horrible” lol.
Late to answer but I think you’re right. Currently playing through Persona 3R in English and I think I might replay P5R for the fourth time in Japanese at some point. Like, I can almost hear how inaccurate English translation is because of the dialogue boxes They can’t fit everything, so they compromise. And because I know P5’s plot, I won’t be discouraged that I don’t get something.
ive been finding 逆転裁判 is quite good because it has very short bite-sized sentences and a lot of the puzzle-based gameplay is contingent on you understanding entire situations as described by testimony (and in those segments you can repeat them as desired), so it functions almost like a series of short quizzes
However, the main issue is the absolutely insane amount of vocabulary you are going to be buried under. I think this is an unavoidable issue but it’s a little easier to deal with with shorter games (or at least shorter ‘chapters’)
Agreed, 逆転裁判 (Ace Attorney) was a very early thing I read in Japanese and it was good for that level because the text box is rather small. I also felt like the case structure was nice, each one having its own set of core words through a new location and supporting cast that you then get a while to get used to before making it to the next case.
I did have the advantage of having already played it so I wasn’t going to be confused about what was happening, but taking it slowly I still understood most things at that time. Though I did feel I was struggling more on case 5, the final one, at that time and dropped it there. Not optimal, though it WAS added to the game later so it’s not like missing out on having an ending – but at this point it is just part of the game everyone who plays should see even if you end up like me and have to come back, heh.
As others have said, start from below or you will get demotivated. Build your way up from Tadoku level 0 books, and also try Satori if you want. Those are the two best resources I know for beginners.
They can’t fit everything, so they compromise. And because I know P5’s plot, I won’t be discouraged that I don’t get something.