imports impossible to play without knowledge of japanese

[pragmatic insanester]

just figured a list would be helpful to those such as myself.

[allsport11]

Any specific system you have in mind because the list could go on forever?

[GobopopRevisited]

The Role Playing genre...

[pragmatic insanester]

we could always start with my import favorites, super famicom and playstation 1.

[Lady Jaye]

Well, let's see... basically anything that relies heavily on text, like RPGs and dating games, require some Japanese knowledge.

Obviously, visual games like puzzles, schmups and even Bemani titles don't require any knowledge of Japanese (in the case of Bemani games, you'd have to go about blindly to figure out how to play, but once you've done so, you can go ahead and play).

In other words, a full list is IMPOSSIBLE to make, as there are way too many games out there.

[Aussie2B]

It's impossible to say what is "impossible" to play. Few games are "impossible" if you have a little patience and are willing to do a bit of trial and error. I have to completely disagree with anyone who claims that RPGs and dating sims are impossible to play in Japanese without knowing the language because I've rather easily played through many of them.

The only games I make a point to avoid are Koei-style heavy strategy games, but I'm not into that genre to begin with. I have trouble playing them even in English, so I'm sure that if I was big on the genre and very familiar with how the games work, I would import those too.

If you truly desire to play a certain import, you can conquer just about any language barrier.

[Cauterize]

Well, let's see... basically anything that relies heavily on text, like RPGs and dating games, require some Japanese knowledge.

Actually, lol, i completed Pokemon Card on GBC all in Jap! Took a long time thou!

[SoulBlazer]

Sure, you CAN play Japanese RPG's if you have a walkthrough and other files to help you translate and figure out what's going on -- but then, you know what's going to happen ahead of time so it takes away the discovery aspect of the game, one of the main reasons I PLAY a RPG. :P

So yeah, it's pointless.

[Sniderman]

You mean there are other countries that DON'T speak English???!?? :eek 2:


/swoons

[Aussie2B]

Sure, you CAN play Japanese RPG's if you have a walkthrough and other files to help you translate and figure out what's going on -- but then, you know what's going to happen ahead of time so it takes away the discovery aspect of the game, one of the main reasons I PLAY a RPG. :P

I don't. Even in the rare cases where there is a walkthrough for an import I'm playing, I treat it no different than a walkthrough for an English game. That is, I avoid using it unless I get hopelessly stuck.

In fact, in some cases I've played through a Japanese import with virtually no help at all and then *I* wrote a FAQ on it. And my guides were so accurate and thorough that people would just assume that I knew how to read Japanese.

[SoulBlazer]

Okay, sorry, I stand corrected -- I know you said in the past that you played Japanese RPG's no different then American RPG's. Sorry about that.

For me, though, I don't see the point since I can't understand a word of what they are saying -- and a big reason I play RPG's is for the story. :/

Hey, at least it's better now then it was 10 years ago. We get most of the good RPG's and they are translated correctly! X_x

[Aussie2B]

Well, we do get a lot less Engrish than we used to, but I still wouldn't say that American RPGs are translated properly. They're usually excessively Americanized and loaded with tons of unnecessary changes. Heck, nearly every single character, move, item, etc. in Star Ocean 3 got an entirely new name for no reason whatsoever. It's like reading Shakespeare that's rewritten in ebonics. It's just insulting to the original creators. And I'm not even going to start on English dubbing. o_O

[Funk Buddy]

I'd say quiz games are damn near impossible along with the stuff mentioned above. Of course you could just try over and over again until you get the question right. @_@

[SoulBlazer]

I have nothing wrong with somehting being Amercanized. One of the reasons I love Working Design's Translations -- they are full of American references and the like and makes the games feel like they were actually made HERE in the USA -- you know, like the good old days. :P

Of course, Fable and the two KOTOR games were American made and written and they did'nt seem any different from recent Japanese translated RPG's...... :)

But we're really getting off topic here. :D

[Daniel Thomas]

You know, you could always learn the Japanese language and save yourself the trouble. Of course, it's a pretty heavy investment, but it's a great language and culture. Oh, and it's nowhere near as difficult to learn as it seems on first glance. You just have to learn a couple new alphabets and some Chinese characters.

Seriously. Just learn Japanese.

[SoulBlazer]

Tried that. :P

Seriously.

I took Japanese for two years in high school. I did like it, and I could learn to speak and understand it easily enough, but reading and writing -- oh boy. It's just SO different, the eastern symbol based alphabets compared to our western roman style.

And I only can speak a drop now. :)

But really, I'm not complaning. I just wish more dating sims got released in this country, that's all. I......like those. :embarrassed: