It's time for more Japanese language video games! But there's something... different about this one.
If you haven't seen this in GameStop or Walmart, I can't say I blame you. This game wasn't released in the USA! Or anywhere else except Japan, and certain parts of East Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan).
This game, is the Japanese arcade smash hit Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Full Boost (機動戦士ガンダムエクストリームバーサス)
It's definitely a mouthful, and like its title, this game is large. If you're familiar with the Gundam Universe, it's almost all here. Mobile Suits from the original series to 00, with all major side stories in between, you're sure to find a suit you enjoy. The only exceptions are Gundam Age and Build Fighters. Age was reserved for the sequel (which is in arcades) and Build Fighters recently finished airing.
You want the Star Build Strike don't you?
The basic premise of the game is to combat with a partner against two or more enemies in a very loose arena style battle.
I won't teach you how to play the game here, there's a very handy guide for that, which I will leave a link to at the bottom of the page. Instead, I'll let you know if you can learn something from this game...
...And it turns out you can!
I stick by the theory that all Japanese is best when playing a Japanese games. The game itself isn't completely in Japanese...However, there is no doubt you'll pick up quite a bit of keywords and kanji compounds (Jukugo or 熟語).
If you know hiragana and katakana in addition to some basic kanji you'll have no problems navigating the game. If you're still a beginner, that's okay! There's a translation guide available if you get stuck. I'll also leave a link to that as well.
There are many instances in game when the menu's are in English (Like the top menu for example), and even menu's with Japanese as the default titles have English right underneath.
Not in English, but good ol' katakana knowledge will help you here
The mission mode found in the game, along with the character/series information pages have the most Japanese language sections in game. There are descriptions for missions which are all in Japanese, no English here. Also, when you're sifting through different settings online (such as creating your own room to host), you most definitely need to know some basic kanji in order to tweak settings to your liking.
The character bios/story information is all in Japanese as well. The Japanese here is beyond what else we've seen in game, featuring heavy kanji use especially. But it's pretty descriptive which is great study material.
I don't think it says anything about his uniform
As I stated before, there is a lot of kanji and advanced Japanese, but at the same time, plenty of beginner/intermediate level stuff along with English in the important areas. Use the guide or a dictionary for reference.
When playing online, you'll also notice there is an option to send messages during the battle and right after. These come preset but you can change them to your liking. However, if you're playing with US players, it's best to have your messages in English. Most of the time, not being able to understand messages in dire situations can lead to easy losses.
The one thing about this game which can be off putting is the price tag. It's not cheap, with regular copies selling for around $70 not including shipping, and the Premium G Sound edition selling over the $100 mark. There is a downloadable version available on the Japanese PSN which reduces the cost of importing by a bit.
I recommend watching game play videos first, or even picking up the prequel game Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Versus (No full boost in the title), to test the waters. That game can be found very cheap on eBay nowadays. There are differences between the two but the core game play itself is nearly the same.
Wrapping Up:
-There is lots of kanji, but nothing too complicated where it counts.
-Many text menus are in Japanese, but there are some in English and many have translations right beneath them.
-Try and copy down unfamiliar words and study them. Chances are you'll see them often in other games, especially Gundam ones.
-There are guides available on how to play the game, and countless videos of game play footage on youtube.
-Very enjoyable game, and worth picking up if you're studying Japanese or not. But even better if you're a Gundam fan.
That about wraps it up. I wanted to keep it simple but tried to explain as much about the Japanese language aspect of the game as possible. Thanks for reading!
External links:
Unlimited Brett Works Full Boost Guide
Menu Translations
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