Have you ever beaten an unstranslated Japanese game?

[Pearly]

Back when games were often not released in the west and there wasn't many fan translations, you had no choice but to beat games that were fully Japanese simply because it had great gameplay.

These days it's unusual when a game doesn't get released without English unless there's a specific reason for it.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

Back when games were often not released in the west and there wasn't many fan translations, you had no choice but to beat games that were fully Japanese simply because it had great gameplay.

These days it's unusual when a game doesn't get released without English unless there's a specific reason for it.

I suppose Japanese games don't always get an English dub for their western releases. Some companies will leave it at just translating the text.

 

[Reamkalamid]

yes 2 words, toukiden kiwami

 

[Johan]

I want to expand a bit on this topic:

When a game catches your attention, but you realize the only language available is Japanese, what's your reaction?

Do you try to learn the new language to at least understand the basics of the game?
Do you lose interest in playing the game? Or do you struggle to complete the game even without understanding anything it says?

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

I want to expand a bit on this topic:

When a game catches your attention, but you realize the only language available is Japanese, what's your reaction?

Do you try to learn the new language to at least understand the basics of the game?
Do you lose interest in playing the game? Or do you struggle to complete the game even without understanding anything it says?

Depends on the kind of game. I'd say most of the time I just forget about it until I hear about either an official or fan-made translation. I've played through games I didn't understand, but I am also not smart or determined enough to learn the language.

 

[TinRattler]

No I've never played a Japanese game

 

[Exasoul]

The only 2 I’ve beaten are Sailor Moon R (Game Boy) and the first Puyo Puyo (when it didn’t have an English translation)

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I want to expand a bit on this topic:

When a game catches your attention, but you realize the only language available is Japanese, what's your reaction?

Do you try to learn the new language to at least understand the basics of the game?
Do you lose interest in playing the game? Or do you struggle to complete the game even without understanding anything it says?

I push buttons until something happens or I hit a wall I can't brute force my way through. It's gaming 101 for me, and it actually reminds me of being a child picking up my Famicom for the first time

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

Oh, duh!
How could I forget:
City Shrouded In Shadow!

Played it all the way through with no idea what was happening, except for there being all those licensed monsters destroying the city. It was freakin' awesome!

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

*Reads replies*.

And here I thought I was special... ;D!

 

[yourdemise]

If the Chrono Trigger beta/pre-release counts then I guess sort of. When I found out that existed I was curious what would be different. But because I was very familiar with Chrono Trigger it was nothing like trying to play a game in Japanese you don't know anything about. Plus it's nowhere near as long as the full game.

 

[TentaclesMod]

Eh, it was the only Lunar game I hadn't beat and the English patch seems to have died entirely not even a quarter of the way in.

Look, I genuinely mean no offense, is just, it sounds like such an unfun, pointless experience. Like, you were playing them for the pleasure of the turn based battles? I really don't get it.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

Look, I genuinely mean no offense, is just, it sounds like such an unfun, pointless experience. Like, you were playing them for the pleasure of the turn based battles? I really don't get it.

That's fair enough. I enjoy turn-based battles and have played some untranslated JRPGs before

 

[Deleted member 821138]

I speak pretty decent Japanese so.. yeah a couple.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Look, I genuinely mean no offense, is just, it sounds like such an unfun, pointless experience. Like, you were playing them for the pleasure of the turn based battles? I really don't get it.

I know you meant no offense.

I played it just to see what was on the table. It's probably the least popular main Lunar game and I wanted to see why.

Just the insane encounter ratio gave me my answer.

 

[snes9x]

Chibi-Robo Clean Sweep, which is kind of surprising in retrospect. Also Jump Ultimate Stars back in the day

 

[solnK!]

And, just in case you are not aware, the first two GBA games and Twin Age on DS are fully translated

Thanks, I already knew, played Swordcraft Story 1 as a kid and I loved it.

 

[FrootyLoopsSamurai]

I played all the way through Cookie's Bustle without a translation several years ago. I mostly started playing it because I saw some of the cute and silly FMV's that are in the game. As far as adventure games go, it doesn't have much text, and all the dialogue is spoken in Japanese. I've watched some anime in Japanese, so I was sometimes able to pick up on what people were saying. The language barrier was still pretty immense, and I had to use a google translated Japanese guide to make it through the game. I couldn't understand a whole lot. I wouldn't recommend playing the untranslated game without a significant understanding of Japanese. I think the version on the repo might have some subtitles.

One particularly frustrating section involves following the directions of a girl trying to tell you where her cat is using left(hidari) and right(migi). Not only do you need to know your migi from your hidari, but you also have to reverse it because she tells you directions relative to where she's facing. Truly nightmarish.

 

[GuyZero32k4]

During the Saturn and PS 1 time period, importing games left and right main because I was impatient to wait for a US release. Mainly fighting games, (many didn't end up getting released in the US anyways), though on impulse got Guardian Heroes import. "You don't even know what they're saying!" I don't give a fiddler's FUCK! I'm having FUN! The SF Movie game, Panzer Dragoon 2.

 

[suzakuryuu]

Yes, mostly Mecha or Gundam games, because there wasn't any that is release globally.
SD Gundam G Generation
Super Robot Wars

 

[PhrawzT]

Not beaten, but I have gotten more than halfway through Mother 2 and Chrono Trigger just from playing them both several times.

I created a cheat sheet for the names of items in Chrono Trigger and that was enough.

 

[.arkasth]

Some: FFVII, FFVIII, Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve, Saga Frontier 2.

In the PS1 era, we used to play whatever games we had access to. Sometimes my parents would buy me a game, and when I turned on the console, it would be in Japanese. I' play it anyway, as it wouldn't make a difference since the games were never translated into my language, and I didn't speak a single word of English either. This was very common in Brazil, and the same happened with many of my friends.

 

[petran79]

no need for translation in adult visual novels anyway

 

[CaptainToad]

Yeah. Before Addie's Present, Iru!, and Puyo Puyo Sun got translations I played through those. I need to go back and play Addie's Present now that it's actually translated so I can fully understand the story. I was able to guess most of it from context, but it seems like it'd be really charming to read. Iru, I think I followed Snowy Aria's translated let's play (not sure).

Does anyone else get kinda' anxious when playing games in a language you don't understand? I get anxious and worried about accidentally deleting my save, getting lost in menus, etc. And I'm often too lazy to want to use my phone to translate stuff with Google/Apple Translate.

 

[Jdan-S]

Where I'm from, we had the Famicom (and various Famiclones) instead of the NES. Many of the games I played were Japanese. For one, I grew up with Rockman, not Mega Man. I also remember owning and playing Saiyuuki World a lot, though I never finished it.

I finished Japanese versions of Tiny Toon Adventures (1 & 2), Popeye 2, Ducktales 2, and other platformers for Game Boy as a kid. Reading wasn't really necessary to complete them, but I did miss out on some clues for the latter.

Another title I remember is Abalaburn for PS1, which still doesn't have a translation today. It's a 3rd person action platformer with fighting game elements. Each character has a story mode, and text boxes pop up across stages. I understood nothing, but I got by through experimentation.