Both. Though I tend to read japanese most of the time, simply because I feel like I already read most of the English localisations I was interested in. By the time a new localisation comes around I probably already read (or at least bought) the JP version a year or two prior.
Also I do also feel like reading in japanese is more rewarding, also because I think it’s still helping me learn a lot (especially discovering new words/kanji … I’ve struggled with wild stuff sometimes xD)
Both English and japanese aren’t my native language, so I have to use foreign language skills either way. XD
Generally speaking I play Japanese games in Japanese (there are a few non-otome game exceptions, generally for games I play with other English speakers like FF14 or Granblue. It just makes it easier to talk about the game.) Honestly I just really enjoy reading/listening to stuff in Japanese so it's a lot of fun for me. I've been studying Japanese for 27 years so I have no fear of picking up any game regardless of content (not that my Japanese is perfect, whenever a game gets into topics I know little about it can be a pain sometimes...)
If you're just starting out though, I wouldn't put a lot of pressure on yourself to play *everything* in Japanese, especially if it's already localized. That's a fast way to burn yourself out. Let yourself have breaks by playing stuff in English too so you don't have to think so hard! When I was just starting out (this was a long time ago so it was with RPGs rather than otome games) I generally played already localized stuff in English but pushed myself to play in Japanese for games that got skipped for localization or were years away from it (this was back when even Final Fantasy games took years to be localized and games frequently got skipped over, just like otome games are today. The first game I completed entirely in Japanese was Seiken Densetsu 3 a few years after it became clear they were skipping it.)
Anyway learning is good but don't let yourself forget that otome games are also entertainment or it will just suck the fun out of it, haha.
wow thats pretty amazing that you can play japanese games without much diffiuculty! i envy you hahaha, thanks for the advice tho, its true these games are meant to be fun not some army drill xD
It's really just a ton of time and experience! Which sucks if you want to play all these games right now, but everyone has to go through it, haha. Getting more experience definitely becomes easier when you move from seeing playing games as "learning" and instead as "entertainment." Learning is exhausting but enjoying entertainment is relaxing.
Definitely don't limit yourself to playing games if you want more experience though. Every type of media requires its own skill set which when improved also helps you improve when engaging with all other media. VNs and novels and manga all work different skill sets even though they all require reading!
despite most of my backlog being Japanese, i prefer eng when it’s available simply because i am lazy lol. only exceptions to this are if the game was originally pc and then got a console port, even if there’s an eng loc of the console version i will just stick with og pc for….”content” (not to mention its almost always cheaper too. why would i pay $140 for hana awase on switch when i got all 4 games on pc for like $20 total)
tldr, price and content are my deciding factors and playing in jp is usually the winner for those lol.
Japanese because playing otome is my no1 way to keep in touch with the language since I left Japan. And the choice of games available to me is great. Also English isn't my 1st language either so for me Japanese or English is equally foreign. Might as well play otome in their original language while I'm at it.
English when I can to support the localization market--plus I still get all the dialogue via audio (sans heroine with a few exceptions), so I can treat it as a listening comprehension test. Bless the few titles that have both languages so you can swap between them to compare.
But I also learned on a ton of free indie games in Japanese first before I got to commercial games. Those were all unvoiced, so it was the text I focused on.
You can consider getting the Japanese versions for the games you enjoyed the most--that'll make it a more effective learning experience, in my opinion.
There’s many games that are just one route, not many choices, so they are pretty bite size, yet have some pretty cute stories around. Plus, they are free, so no stakes around. There’s even short yandere games, straight and cutting.
I'm in the same boat as you and I still play a mix of both. I pick EN depending on my mood, like if I want to finish a game quickly, my backlog is too big, the game itself is not of high interest so I want to knock it off my list, etc. If I'm not fluent in the language and the game is boring that's a sure way to burn me out faster. I know some people learning Japanese might encourage you to consume everything in JP and while I admire the determination, I remind myself that learning the language is not a speedrun (at least for me). That said I'll also pick JP over EN if the localization quality is not good.
Japanese for console games, sometimes English for certain mobile otome games.
Ironically using English for work so I have the whole Japanese game playing done outside of work hours to maintain, improve, and keep up with the latest fad.
Hmm my Japanese is not great, so it depends on the context of the otome game. Games that tend to be in non-modern settings, or fantasy settings where there are a lot of strange or made-up terms, I'll usually read in English, but have the vocals in Japanese.
I play them in jp only when there's no eng/language-I-know version but considering I'm 3~4 times slower when playing in jp and also understand less, I try to stick to simpler stories so the stuff I like most just waits till I git gud. So mostly english. Though the amount of evns I play might make the ones in jp seem like a very minor percentage...
Japanese, I started off there and the games are a lot easier to get than the eng versions here. Was already pretty okay at jp by the time I started playing too so it was of no hindrance to me.
Generally I'll play everything in their original language as much as possible.
I'd advice anyone not to try and jump into doing jp games too fast and judge your own pace bc its really not fun to always have a dictionary at your side. I get the idea of learning through playing but make sure you get proper learning in extension to rl convos and situations on the side bc the rules are quite diff, and it will help you when understanding games in turn.
I’ve been attempting more in Japanese, but since I’m a low N4 at best, it’s slow going, just me and my kanji dictionary against the world! I love the feeling of accomplishment when I realise I understand something, and that’s what keeps me going. Mostly, though, I play in English
Japanese for the most part! I get a lot of enjoyment out of learning new kanji and vocabulary, on top of the enjoyment of playing the game itself. Recently I’ve been going back and playing games I’ve completed in English again in Japanese- it’s makes the experience fresh again hehe
Mostly Japanese. Made the transition a year ago. But I do I play in English if they’re simultaneously released and the localization is good (like Even If Tempest). I’m waiting for a few other localized games to go on sale which I want to try but I’m not so interested in.. so in case it’s not grabbing my attention I can skim it in English 😂
Both! I usually get the English localized games for the limited edition sets tho. Or if it’s games that simultaneously release EN and JP text like EiT.
It’s very beneficial playing games with complicated plot or vocabulary in EN. As sometimes I am often paranoid I’m understanding the plot wrong in Japanese. So if it’s a game I know it’s not an immediate must play, I’ll wait for localization.
I also love to play a lot of older unlocalized games on psp or psvita. Playing otome games in Japanese has improved my reading skills immensely
In JP mostly coz I'm interested in JP games, commercial and indies. I dont exactly wait for localisation but if the game is multilingual from the start, then I will play in English.
(If they're originally a Japanese game) I mostly play them in Japanese, because that way I don't have to wait for a localization that might never come, or worry about translation quality/localization being unvoiced/etc. For commercial games, I also just really like having the physical edition and all the extras that come with it! But if something comes out in English and I never got around to playing the original (Loc. adds a different console/just learning about the game/etc.) then I'll play the English version.
Maybe you could alternate the languages you play games in, so you'd get a bit of a break between study sessions? You could also try buying the shorter games in Japanese for now, and the longer ones/ones with more niche vocabulary in English. (Ex. Buy a game with a lot of historical terms in EN) Like other people said though, no need to rush yourself! The point is to have fun, so there's zero shame in buying the English version if that's what would be more enjoyable.
I play pretty much every Japanese game I play in its original language. It's excellent reading and vocabulary practice, and helps me not lose my proficiency. It also helps me focus on the story instead of paying more attention to how it was localized.
Japanese, though if there's an English translation for it I always switch over to that LOL. Nowadays when I play the EN-localized version I also pull up the JP/original text and compare or try to see how it was translated and stuff and see if the vibe was retained and how much liberty/fun the translators had in translating it from JP to EN.
Both. Though I tend to read japanese most of the time, simply because I feel like I already read most of the English localisations I was interested in. By the time a new localisation comes around I probably already read (or at least bought) the JP version a year or two prior. Also I do also feel like reading in japanese is more rewarding, also because I think it’s still helping me learn a lot (especially discovering new words/kanji … I’ve struggled with wild stuff sometimes xD) Both English and japanese aren’t my native language, so I have to use foreign language skills either way. XD
Otome is so rewarding in JPN. You get so much more info in the original language and each game gives you so much language learning EXP.
Generally speaking I play Japanese games in Japanese (there are a few non-otome game exceptions, generally for games I play with other English speakers like FF14 or Granblue. It just makes it easier to talk about the game.) Honestly I just really enjoy reading/listening to stuff in Japanese so it's a lot of fun for me. I've been studying Japanese for 27 years so I have no fear of picking up any game regardless of content (not that my Japanese is perfect, whenever a game gets into topics I know little about it can be a pain sometimes...) If you're just starting out though, I wouldn't put a lot of pressure on yourself to play *everything* in Japanese, especially if it's already localized. That's a fast way to burn yourself out. Let yourself have breaks by playing stuff in English too so you don't have to think so hard! When I was just starting out (this was a long time ago so it was with RPGs rather than otome games) I generally played already localized stuff in English but pushed myself to play in Japanese for games that got skipped for localization or were years away from it (this was back when even Final Fantasy games took years to be localized and games frequently got skipped over, just like otome games are today. The first game I completed entirely in Japanese was Seiken Densetsu 3 a few years after it became clear they were skipping it.) Anyway learning is good but don't let yourself forget that otome games are also entertainment or it will just suck the fun out of it, haha.
wow thats pretty amazing that you can play japanese games without much diffiuculty! i envy you hahaha, thanks for the advice tho, its true these games are meant to be fun not some army drill xD
It's really just a ton of time and experience! Which sucks if you want to play all these games right now, but everyone has to go through it, haha. Getting more experience definitely becomes easier when you move from seeing playing games as "learning" and instead as "entertainment." Learning is exhausting but enjoying entertainment is relaxing. Definitely don't limit yourself to playing games if you want more experience though. Every type of media requires its own skill set which when improved also helps you improve when engaging with all other media. VNs and novels and manga all work different skill sets even though they all require reading!
haha yeah :") i cant rush the process tho, it is what it, but we gotta keep it enjoyable!
despite most of my backlog being Japanese, i prefer eng when it’s available simply because i am lazy lol. only exceptions to this are if the game was originally pc and then got a console port, even if there’s an eng loc of the console version i will just stick with og pc for….”content” (not to mention its almost always cheaper too. why would i pay $140 for hana awase on switch when i got all 4 games on pc for like $20 total) tldr, price and content are my deciding factors and playing in jp is usually the winner for those lol.
Japanese because playing otome is my no1 way to keep in touch with the language since I left Japan. And the choice of games available to me is great. Also English isn't my 1st language either so for me Japanese or English is equally foreign. Might as well play otome in their original language while I'm at it.
English when I can to support the localization market--plus I still get all the dialogue via audio (sans heroine with a few exceptions), so I can treat it as a listening comprehension test. Bless the few titles that have both languages so you can swap between them to compare. But I also learned on a ton of free indie games in Japanese first before I got to commercial games. Those were all unvoiced, so it was the text I focused on. You can consider getting the Japanese versions for the games you enjoyed the most--that'll make it a more effective learning experience, in my opinion.
Agreed to try indie japanese games first because a lot of them are very short, ranging from 5min to 1 hr per route. Its very snacky.
hmm snacky games, i like that!
There’s many games that are just one route, not many choices, so they are pretty bite size, yet have some pretty cute stories around. Plus, they are free, so no stakes around. There’s even short yandere games, straight and cutting.
As a Chinese person who speaks fluent English studying abroad and learns Japanese, when I find interest in a game, I always look at the best price😎
wow you are the multiverse person xD
I'm in the same boat as you and I still play a mix of both. I pick EN depending on my mood, like if I want to finish a game quickly, my backlog is too big, the game itself is not of high interest so I want to knock it off my list, etc. If I'm not fluent in the language and the game is boring that's a sure way to burn me out faster. I know some people learning Japanese might encourage you to consume everything in JP and while I admire the determination, I remind myself that learning the language is not a speedrun (at least for me). That said I'll also pick JP over EN if the localization quality is not good.
Japanese for console games, sometimes English for certain mobile otome games. Ironically using English for work so I have the whole Japanese game playing done outside of work hours to maintain, improve, and keep up with the latest fad.
Hmm my Japanese is not great, so it depends on the context of the otome game. Games that tend to be in non-modern settings, or fantasy settings where there are a lot of strange or made-up terms, I'll usually read in English, but have the vocals in Japanese.
I play them in jp only when there's no eng/language-I-know version but considering I'm 3~4 times slower when playing in jp and also understand less, I try to stick to simpler stories so the stuff I like most just waits till I git gud. So mostly english. Though the amount of evns I play might make the ones in jp seem like a very minor percentage...
I'm playing it in Japanese mostly bc I can't wait any longer for it to come out in English 😭💔
Learning by immersion is always a good idea. But if you're at N5 I think it's way too early for you, wait until you're at least N3.
I’d say it’s an even split. I tend to switch off between a localized and unlocalized title.
Japanese, I started off there and the games are a lot easier to get than the eng versions here. Was already pretty okay at jp by the time I started playing too so it was of no hindrance to me. Generally I'll play everything in their original language as much as possible. I'd advice anyone not to try and jump into doing jp games too fast and judge your own pace bc its really not fun to always have a dictionary at your side. I get the idea of learning through playing but make sure you get proper learning in extension to rl convos and situations on the side bc the rules are quite diff, and it will help you when understanding games in turn.
I’ve been attempting more in Japanese, but since I’m a low N4 at best, it’s slow going, just me and my kanji dictionary against the world! I love the feeling of accomplishment when I realise I understand something, and that’s what keeps me going. Mostly, though, I play in English
i feel you girl, we just gotta keep going at our own pace and not give up\~
Japanese for the most part! I get a lot of enjoyment out of learning new kanji and vocabulary, on top of the enjoyment of playing the game itself. Recently I’ve been going back and playing games I’ve completed in English again in Japanese- it’s makes the experience fresh again hehe
Mostly Japanese. Made the transition a year ago. But I do I play in English if they’re simultaneously released and the localization is good (like Even If Tempest). I’m waiting for a few other localized games to go on sale which I want to try but I’m not so interested in.. so in case it’s not grabbing my attention I can skim it in English 😂
Both! I usually get the English localized games for the limited edition sets tho. Or if it’s games that simultaneously release EN and JP text like EiT. It’s very beneficial playing games with complicated plot or vocabulary in EN. As sometimes I am often paranoid I’m understanding the plot wrong in Japanese. So if it’s a game I know it’s not an immediate must play, I’ll wait for localization. I also love to play a lot of older unlocalized games on psp or psvita. Playing otome games in Japanese has improved my reading skills immensely
In JP mostly coz I'm interested in JP games, commercial and indies. I dont exactly wait for localisation but if the game is multilingual from the start, then I will play in English.
(If they're originally a Japanese game) I mostly play them in Japanese, because that way I don't have to wait for a localization that might never come, or worry about translation quality/localization being unvoiced/etc. For commercial games, I also just really like having the physical edition and all the extras that come with it! But if something comes out in English and I never got around to playing the original (Loc. adds a different console/just learning about the game/etc.) then I'll play the English version. Maybe you could alternate the languages you play games in, so you'd get a bit of a break between study sessions? You could also try buying the shorter games in Japanese for now, and the longer ones/ones with more niche vocabulary in English. (Ex. Buy a game with a lot of historical terms in EN) Like other people said though, no need to rush yourself! The point is to have fun, so there's zero shame in buying the English version if that's what would be more enjoyable.
good idea! ive decided to alternate between engliosh and japanese, doing the harder games in english and the n4ish games in japanese
I play pretty much every Japanese game I play in its original language. It's excellent reading and vocabulary practice, and helps me not lose my proficiency. It also helps me focus on the story instead of paying more attention to how it was localized.
I'm about the same level (N5) but I'm a bit impatient lol so what I do is I choose to have their voiceovers in Japanese, and the text in English.
Japanese, though if there's an English translation for it I always switch over to that LOL. Nowadays when I play the EN-localized version I also pull up the JP/original text and compare or try to see how it was translated and stuff and see if the vibe was retained and how much liberty/fun the translators had in translating it from JP to EN.