Is it worth importing if you don't know Japanese?

[UnknownUber]

I'm seriously thinking about it. I have a JPN 3DS and I'm really thinking about importing. But I don't know any Japanese. But I think I'll be fine, assuming walkthroughs or story explanations will be provided prior to NA release.

Is it worth it?

[meowcakes]

Well, If you already have the JPN DS, then I'd say yes, but it really depends if you think you'll be able to fully enjoy it or not.

[Othin]

It tends to go fine for me, personally. If you have a JP 3DS already, it sounds like you've played JP games before, so if you have your own experiences to go off of, they might be more helpful.

[Draco]

I doubt it. I wouldn't.

You're missing out on half the game.

[BlizzardWolf95]

If you have a basic understanding of Katakana, just for ease when reading names/Nohr classes, and some specific kanji for weapons/stats/skills/Hoshidan classes, then I'd say that's more than you would need to play the core game. Heck, since it's a strategy game, trial & error + patience might just be enough to get you to the end, or at least that's how it happened with me and Super Robot Wars J back in the day!

But, Fire Emblem is a very text heavy game series, same goes for 98% of all JRPGs, so not knowing Japanese may dull the game a little if you're one for story, as most summaries wouldn't include little details unless they were important, HOWEVER if you don't care too much for story, and you're like me, where you just want to play the game, experience the chapters and the characters, and have fun messing around, trying to find what works, then by all means, go ahead! You already have it easier than I do by previously owning a Jp 3DS! The game + a Jp 3DS + a Jp Pre-paid Nintendo card = $250 out of my precious savings... (But I'm so hyped I don't even care. Money well spent imho!)

My personal plan is to wait until someone starts posting chapter-by-chapter summaries, so I can follow along whilst playing, still get the gist of the story, and experience the game in my own way!

Edited June 22, 2015 by BlizzardWolf95

[Othin]

Yeah it's definitely worth considering if you would be getting the Japanese version in place of the English version or in addition to it. I plan to get both, personally.

[Espinosa]

I'm worried I won't be able to understand the My Castle stuff. The maps should play out more or less straightforward since it was never much about text at all.

[Laie]

It depends, putting the gameplay aspect aside,compared with some of the more abstruse JRPGs,personally i think the text in fire emblem is not exactly that difficult to begin with,most of the time their wording tends to be pretty formal and straightforward.

So if you are interested in learning some Japanese along the way,i would consider this game as a decent starting point and a good motivation.

[Jose_Darkeye]

If you've got money pooping out of your butt and you understand japanese, then yes, it's worth it.

[Bovinian]

It depends, putting the gameplay aspect aside,compared with some of the more abstruse JRPGs,personally i think the text in fire emblem is not exactly that difficult to begin with,most of the time their wording tends to be pretty formal and straightforward.

So if you are interested in learning some Japanese along the way,i would consider this game as a decent starting point and a good motivation.

It's still a huge amount of text, so for someone who hasn't studied Japanese extensively, they will have to look up every other word (which in itself takes a long time due to kanji) and it'll just end up being extremely time consuming and a pain in the ass. Not to be a downer, but even someone who is motivated to learn the language will probably eventually end up rushing through the dialogue to get to the gameplay if they can't read at a reasonably fluent level.

[RPGatWill]

If you're only there for the gameplay and watching all the My castle stuff didn't make you think you'd be unable to do all the gameplay elements you need to, go for it.

If you want the story and characterizations, you'd be better off waiting for the US version. There are always some inevitable changes made, but overall the experience is better when you understand what's happening.

[Rewjeo]

It depends, putting the gameplay aspect aside,compared with some of the more abstruse JRPGs,personally i think the text in fire emblem is not exactly that difficult to begin with,most of the time their wording tends to be pretty formal and straightforward.

So if you are interested in learning some Japanese along the way,i would consider this game as a decent starting point and a good motivation.

If you aren't familiar with Japanese at all, though, it's not exactly something you could just pick up on the way, at least for most people. Other than some modern vocabulary (e.g. computer) the language shares almost nothing with English. Like, they both put adjectives before nouns, and, um, have most of the same parts of speech? That's not to say it's not worth it if you're interested in Japanese for other reasons, but learning enough Japanese to make it through FE would be no small task.

[LowestRes]

Is regionthree reliable for import games?

[Laie]

It's still a huge amount of text, so for someone who hasn't studied Japanese extensively, they will have to look up every other word (which in itself takes a long time due to kanji) and it'll just end up being extremely time consuming and a pain in the ass. Not to be a downer, but even someone who is motivated to learn the language will probably eventually end up rushing through the dialogue to get to the gameplay if they can't read at a reasonably fluent level.

If you aren't familiar with Japanese at all, though, it's not exactly something you could just pick up on the way, at least for most people. Other than some modern vocabulary (e.g. computer) the language shares almost nothing with English. Like, they both put adjectives before nouns, and, um, have most of the same parts of speech? That's not to say it's not worth it if you're interested in Japanese for other reasons, but learning enough Japanese to make it through FE would be no small task.

now come to think of it you guys are probably right,guess i oversimplified my experience back then,oh well :p

[Kirokan]

Translations will certainly be there, especially for the gameplay/interface. Story is a harder thing as you would be relying on summaries and miss the subtleties of what makes the story (potentially) enticing and the specifics of it all.

It depends if you just want a new gameplay experience, or a new story experience. If the second, I would recommend waiting.

[Othin]

On the other hand, you can tell a perfectly fine story without dialogue, and while the Fire Emblem games weren't designed to be played from that perspective, I've found that they can still be more compelling at times without knowing the exact words the characters are saying.

[NekoKnight]

I treat it as something to tide me over until the localized version comes out. I bought a Japanese 3DS to play Animal Crossing and later the Pokemon games so it's tempting to buy it. I won't be able to appreciate the dialogue or story fully but I'll get to see if I like the direction they took Fire Emblem Fates and if I should buy all three routes later.

[Ghostlander]

https://kantopia.wordpress.com/2015/06/21/fire-emblem-fates-importers-source-menus-all-ongoing/