Is the Japanese in fantasy video games worth learning?

Chase · 4 Aug 2008

By this I mean is it the same as the standard Japanese? Or is it all different, like for example a lot of games in English use a bunch of archaic words that noone uses in real life, like 'tavern' and such.

The reason I ask is that I just bought a bunch of old Japanese RPGs for my old ps1 and was thinking about using them to help me learn, as they only use the kana.

Thanks.

Glenn · 4 Aug 2008

I say yes. There's bound to be a bunch of words in there that aren't game-specific that you can use in everyday life, and there's bound to be at least one character who speaks Standard Japanese (there always seems to be, anyway). If it's fun and you're learning, I say it's worth it.

AJBryant · 4 Aug 2008

For exactly the reason you mention, no.

Japanese video games are just as full of archaic and funky Japanese as English ones are.

How often in your daily life do you use terms like "magic missile" and "necromancy"?

Tony

Glenn · 4 Aug 2008

If you play video games in your daily life then you probably use "magic missile" and "necromancy" a lot. It depends on what your goal is here. Besides, "magic" and "missile" on their own are worth knowing. How often in your daily life do you use "missile" anyway? Would you say that it's not worth learning because of that?

tada · 4 Aug 2008

They definitely help with maintaining Japanese, and you might even learn a thing or two.

JimmySeal · 4 Aug 2008

Any realistic source of Japanese is going to have special-purpose vocabulary that isn't used in everyday life.
If you enjoy it, go right ahead.

Elizabeth · 4 Aug 2008

Chase said:
By this I mean is it the same as the standard Japanese? Or is it all different, like for example a lot of games in English use a bunch of archaic words that noone uses in real life, like 'tavern' and such.
The reason I ask is that I just bought a bunch of old Japanese RPGs for my old ps1 and was thinking about using them to help me learn, as they only use the kana.
Thanks.

Wow, I personally wouldn't waste my time learning a lot of low frequency words in kana. But if the Japanese element would be more for character practice in a game that is really enjoyable, without using it as your only study material -- then by all means don't hesitate.

Glenn · 4 Aug 2008

Kana or not is beside the point in my opinion. It's still Japanese. Besides, if he really wanted to he could look up the kanji for the words. And as you suggest, it's not as if he'd have to be playing the games to the exclusion of any other source of Japanese. More exposure is always desirable, which makes not playing the game because of some specialized words a bad move, IMO.

By the way, I started learning Japanese with the aid of Dragonball Z. I know words like 界王拳, 太陽拳, 瞬間移動, 宇宙船, 惑星, 星, 滅びる, 滅ぼす, 全滅, 戦う, 戦闘力, 家庭教師, 所帯窶れ, 神殿, 民族, 全力, ～如き, etc. just because I watched the show (of course, some of them were re-inforced elsewhere). In that list are some words that aren't useful unless you're watching Dragonball Z or are having a conversation about it, but there are more words that are much more widely applicable to real-life situations.

All this is to say, I agree 100% with what @JimmySeal said.

Haruspex · 4 Aug 2008

Most of the text in any game is composed of a load of standard words and phrases. There is no game that only uses words such as "necromancy" and "magic missiles." If you think there are game that use pure low frequency nouns and nothing else, it might be a good idea to buy your first game.

Elizabeth · 4 Aug 2008

Glenn said:
Kana or not is beside the point in my opinion. It's still Japanese. Besides, if he really wanted to he could look up the kanji for the words. And as you suggest, it's not as if he'd have to be playing the games to the exclusion of any other source of Japanese. More exposure is always desirable, which makes not playing the game because of some specialized words a bad move, IMO.
By the way, I started learning Japanese with the aid of Dragonball Z. I know words like 界王拳, 太陽拳, 瞬間移動, 宇宙船, 惑星, 星, 滅びる, 滅ぼす, 全滅, 戦う, 戦闘力, 家庭教師, 所帯窶れ, 神殿, 民族, 全力, ～如き, etc. just because I watched the show (of course, some of them were re-inforced elsewhere). In that list are some words that aren't useful unless you're watching Dragonball Z or are having a conversation about it, but there are more words that are much more widely applicable to real-life situations.
All this is to say, I agree 100% with what @JimmySeal said.

I don't doubt the value of certain anime, manga or games as motivators/learning tools in moderation. I also worked my way through the Edo-era historical manga 化粧師 of 石ノ森章太郎 a few years ago learning all kinds of new kanji like 曜かす、見習う、番頭、筋違い、貴女 etc, all of relatively little interest to the average beginner, along with even more obscure grammar and names. But the お振り仮名 was decent....Doing it completely, or even a little, in kana my brain would have exploded first. On the other hand, as you said, also, it depends on your goals and the stage the person is at with the language.

tada · 4 Aug 2008

Derfel said:
Most of the text in any game is composed of a load of standard words and phrases. There is no game that only uses words such as "necromancy" and "magic missiles." If you think there are game that use pure low frequency nouns and nothing else, it might be a good idea to buy your first game.

Try making a post solely with those "obscure" words and nothing else, much less an entire RPG script. Not possible, and if you did, it would likely be very, very ungrammatical.

Also, textbooks can contain just as "incorrect" Japanese;I've heard native speakers comment on how some of the words used in them are only used by old people, or they've never heard them before.

kaitagsd · 9 Aug 2008

If you play Nintendo DS, there is a kanji learning thing on the Japanese version of Zelda Phantom Hourglass:
ゼルダの伝説夢幻の砂時計 Zeruda no Densetsu Mugen no Sunadokei
Basically pops up furigana on Kanji words or something. Very useful and probably one of the best DS games.

See it in action here:

gamesblog.ugo.com/index.php/gamesblog/more/zelda_phantom_hourglass_kanji_help_video/

Is the Japanese in fantasy video games worth learning?

Chase

後輩

Glenn

一切皆苦

AJBryant

先輩

Glenn

一切皆苦

tada

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JimmySeal

Tubthumper

Elizabeth

先輩

Glenn

一切皆苦

Haruspex

先輩

Elizabeth

先輩

tada

変わってる

kaitagsd

後輩

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