I love the Essentials lists for the various consoles and handhelds here at gbatemp, and I thought I would expand on that theme a little bit with:
ESSENTIAL IMPORTS!
For a long time now, I've tried to find some place in the vast interwebs where I could find information on the best Japanese (and other non-English language) games. Unfortunately, while I've found a few suggestions here and there, I have yet to find any cohesive list. So, I figure, why not poll the awesome gbatemp community and get their opinion on the matter.
For the sake of accessibility, I would suggest that this list be made of games that require little or no Japanese language comprehension (or, whatever language the game you recommend is presented in). Needless to say, RPG's and any other game type that relies heavily on plot would not make for a good recommendation. Conversely, fighting games, shmups, action/platformers, etc., are more likely candidates since their focus is more on gameplay than story -- Basically any game that can be enjoyed and you can get the gist of what's going on/what you have to do without knowing the language of the game's country of origin. The main purpose of this list is to spread awareness of fantastic foreign language games that many might pass over because they assume that the language barrier would ruin the gaming experience.
NOTES:
1 - Don't list English language games from Europe or Australia. Most exclusive English titles from those regions are already well known and documented and defeat the purpose of what we're trying to accomplish here.
2 - You CAN list games that unofficial English translation patches have been made for. Just put something like "English patch available online" or something similar next to the game's info.
Make sure in your post that you indicate the game title, system, and what country your recommendations come from (and as I mentioned before, if the recommendation is based on an English patch, please say so). I'll be updating this first post with your responses, and the number of votes for each game will be in brackets [] next to the game's title. I'll start us off with a few games.
GAMEBOY ADVANCE:
Densetsu No Stafy (Japan)
Rhythm Tengoku (Japan)
NINTENDO DS:
Daigasso! Band Brothers (Japan)
Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Japan)
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Japan)
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (Japan)
PSP:
DJ Max Portable (Korea)
DJ Max Portable 2 (Korea)
Guilty Gear XX ^ Core Plus (Japan)
Pump It Up Exceed (Korea)
ESSENTIAL IMPORTS!
For a long time now, I've tried to find some place in the vast interwebs where I could find information on the best Japanese (and other non-English language) games. Unfortunately, while I've found a few suggestions here and there, I have yet to find any cohesive list. So, I figure, why not poll the awesome gbatemp community and get their opinion on the matter.
For the sake of accessibility, I would suggest that this list be made of games that require little or no Japanese language comprehension (or, whatever language the game you recommend is presented in). Needless to say, RPG's and any other game type that relies heavily on plot would not make for a good recommendation. Conversely, fighting games, shmups, action/platformers, etc., are more likely candidates since their focus is more on gameplay than story -- Basically any game that can be enjoyed and you can get the gist of what's going on/what you have to do without knowing the language of the game's country of origin. The main purpose of this list is to spread awareness of fantastic foreign language games that many might pass over because they assume that the language barrier would ruin the gaming experience.
NOTES:
1 - Don't list English language games from Europe or Australia. Most exclusive English titles from those regions are already well known and documented and defeat the purpose of what we're trying to accomplish here.
2 - You CAN list games that unofficial English translation patches have been made for. Just put something like "English patch available online" or something similar next to the game's info.
Make sure in your post that you indicate the game title, system, and what country your recommendations come from (and as I mentioned before, if the recommendation is based on an English patch, please say so). I'll be updating this first post with your responses, and the number of votes for each game will be in brackets [] next to the game's title. I'll start us off with a few games.
GAMEBOY ADVANCE:
Densetsu No Stafy (Japan)
Rhythm Tengoku (Japan)
NINTENDO DS:
Daigasso! Band Brothers (Japan)
Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Japan)
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Japan)
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (Japan)
PSP:
DJ Max Portable (Korea)
DJ Max Portable 2 (Korea)
Guilty Gear XX ^ Core Plus (Japan)
Pump It Up Exceed (Korea)
