Playing a Japanese import without understanding Japanese

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11.22.2011 5:25pm

Thread Creator

Makeshift Gray
FFO's Blank Earth

Has anyone here done it successfully? Any advice to offer?

Tired of being at the mercy of localization, I'm considering importing Tales of Xillia. I don't understand Japanese, but I've got a few tools at my disposal:

Familiarity with the series. It's a Tales game, so the core gameplay will be familiar. I'd also recognize certain item icons, etc.
English translation of menus available online.
English plot summaries available online.
Basic understanding of Katakana.

I figure it could be a fun project, if nothing else.

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11.22.2011 5:37pm

Testament
Shamshot

I played Xenosaga I-II on DS and still had fun (I'm a Xenoslut, though). Most of the "new" scenes had been fanslated already, so I was able to read those online.

I say go for it.

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11.23.2011 12:31am

Crisium
N/A

Ah, if there's one thing that might motivate someone like us to learn another language it's Video Games. Who wouldn't want to learn Japanese and play all the forgotten gems from gaming past?

It sounds like you're already in a better position that most, so give it a shot. I tried to play a JRPG once, even with a translation online, but it was too much of a hassal. But you have experience with the series, so go nuts.

However, Xillia is selling quite well, so there may be hope for an English version in NA or EU in 2012 or 2013. Unless you must play it now, you might want to at least wait for some months to see if a localization is ever announced.

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12.10.2011 5:02am

Monetary Dragon
Just keep swimming

Go for it. Playing FF7J despite not knowing any Japanese was fun (although I am extremely familiar with the game to begin with).

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