Recently, I mentioned using non-traditional study methods for my Japanese studies. While it may be a no-brainer to many people to do things in the foreign language they are studying or rather look to material, that native speakers of the foreign language use, for foreign language study material, it is still a fairly new concept for me. Lately, I have decided to use my love of video games as study material for Japanese, since I really like Japanese video games. In this post, I will discuss how to get Japanese video games to play.
How do I get a Japanese video game to play? If you are able to, I definitely suggest going to Japan and buying a game system and games while you are there. Stores such as Book OFF sell used game systems and games for reasonable prices and you can find a better selection of Japanese games in Japan. If going to Japan is not an option, you can buy a game system and/or games online. There are also multiple websites that import Japanese goods and sell them overseas. You can even make a Japanese Amazon account fairly easily (there is an option to view their website in English), but you just have to make sure that whatever you are buying can be shipped overseas. Some game systems are not region locked, so you can just buy a Japanese game and play it on a console/device you already own.
One alternative to figuring out how to purchase Japanese video games is to play mobile games. It may take a little searching, but video games can be found in various languages at app stores for smart phones or other smart devices (ipods, tablets etc.). For example, Gailardia, a Japanese RPG similar to Dragon Quest, is available for free in both English and Japanese (on iTunes). And some games you may have already purchased have the option to change the language of the game from within the game app itself (I have seen this feature mostly with Square Enix games). You may have to do the search in Japanese to find a game or even just search through a long list of apps for a particular genre of game, but there are definitely Japanese games available on app stores for free or for a few dollars.
If you are a fan of Pokemon and have a Nintendo 3DS, you can simply buy Pokemon X or Y. Both Pokemon X and Y have 7 different language options available at the beginning of the game, including Japanese. Playing Pokemon X/Y is one of the most hassle-free ways I know of to play a game in Japanese. Both Pokemon X and Y, as do all of the newer Pokemon games, have the option to choose between kana and kanji mode, since it is marketed towards children and the adults who grew up with the series. Although the game is for children, it uses a lot of big words and can be used a vocabulary builder and reading practice.
How do you get your Japanese video games?
Learning Japanese for Life 