This game...
I love it!
I think Super Mario 64 was the first game I ever played. It was a pretty spectacular experience, anyone will tell you that.
Even so, it was a game I didn't purchase in Japanese until very recently. When I began to make the jump and rebuy games in Japanese, Mario 64 was held off for a while. It was a shame there was no Japanese language option on the US version, but the cool Japanese box art makes up for it.
There's two versions in Japan. The original release of the game, and this one, the Rumble version. The original game featured no voice acting, coin sounds were different, and Mario said a few different lines of dialouge compared to the US version released later. Oh, and the Jolly Roger Bay portrait is different.
I would have liked to see the ship with a blue border, personally.
This rumble release features most of the US changes, except it features a weird dive in Mario's voice when he jumps (this seems to be a problem in the PAL version as well). So think of this version as the best of all worlds.
But is this the release, you the every studying, ever playing of games, Japanese learner wants?
As I've said before, the more Japanese the better, but in the case of this game, the English is so miniscule, it won't matter. Princess peach reading a letter to you, or congratulating on a job well done won't hinder your immersion environment too much.
Both games have full Japanese text, so you'll be learning either way. There's no kanji to be found here, as this is a game aimed at kids. You'll see something similar to pokemon, which is hiragana (sometimes katakana) with spaces. This comes in the form of level names and star descriptions.
There are instances of text boxes (Characters speaking, the game alerting you of a new level, etc) which are easy to grasp. A dictionary should be handy to understand all of the vocabulary and onomatopoeia.
Where to buy? eBay is a good option. There are many Japanese sellers, who have both versions of the game for cheap, sometimes boxed as well. You'll find it to be less money than the English version. Alternatively if you have a Japanese Wii or Wii U, you can purchase the game on there as well. Downloading the game is the cheaper option.
Where to buy? eBay is a good option. There are many Japanese sellers, who have both versions of the game for cheap, sometimes boxed as well. You'll find it to be less money than the English version. Alternatively if you have a Japanese Wii or Wii U, you can purchase the game on there as well. Downloading the game is the cheaper option.
If you're at the higher intermediate stages of learning, you'll have no problem understanding this game. Anything lower, you may have some hiccups here or there. And if you have this game virtually embedded into your brain like I do, you can get by in any language.
Wrapping Up:
-Easy to understand game. No kanji, and spaces between words.
-Have dictionary handy, there will be obscure words.
-No Japanese language option for English version. Need to import.
-Both Japanese versions nearly the same, but if you have a personal goal of complete immersion, then get the original version.
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