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Japan in my Hand: An Import Introduction
Written by Philip Jones on Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Afraid of import gaming? Don't be! We'll show you the ropes...
...Continued From Page 1 Recently we've taken a look at a few imported titles, like the Bit Generations games, Bleach: Souten ni Kakeru Unmei, Every Extend Extra, Rhythm Tengoku, and Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins, known as Goku Makaimura in Japan. These games are a decent example of games that are easy enough to pick up and play without a degree in Japanese.
Every Extend Extra for example is almost entirely in English aside from the small tutorial at the start of the game. If you can't figure out how to play it, there's plenty of info around on how the game works due to the popular freeware PC version of the game.
With Rhythm Tengoku, virtually all the text in the menus and in-game are in Japanese but the way the game works is straightforward enough for anyone without any Japanese knowledge at all to play it. The only real areas of confusion may lie in what the options available in the menus are, but you really don't have to delve into them that often. Just make sure you don't delete all your progress!
The entire Bit Generations series is designed to be as simple as possible, with minimal text of any kind in the games and game concepts that are easy to grasp almost immediately. They're also really cheap, coming in at around half the price of a traditional GBA title. They may be minimalistic games but they're still enjoyable.
Goku Makaimura initially resembles its forebears but without a little knowledge of the game you'll find it even harder than it already is. Without being able to read the manual you'll miss some vital parts about how the game works, such as how to utilize items you come across. The in-game menus are simple enough to work out if you have a quick glance at an FAQ. Just remember to keep chucking them daggers as fast as you can, yeah?
posted September 1, 2006