Is it recommended for beginners to intermediate learners to learn Japanese by playing video games? When I was in Japan I bought Persona 5 but there was no English translations/subtitles. Despite that, I managed to understand a little of what they said. But since it’s kind of an anime, I’m wondering how accurate their dialogue is to real life conversations.
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From what I can see it’s not the most animeish dialogue ever, by a long way, however characters in these kind of things are still essentially archetypes, a yakuza speaks one way, an old man another and a highschooler another again. So i’d say it’s fine for listening practice but I’d probably be careful about adopting any speaking habits. All of that said though, if it’s in japanese and you enjoy it there’s nothing lost by using it, no benefit comes from worrying too much about maximum efficacy and spoiling what’s supposed to be an enjoyable hobby.
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i would be impressed if you can get anywhere in that game playing in Japanese without being fluent. good luck!!! you know i think another option is to play in english and turn on japanese voices. i dunno if u would need to rebuy but the original version is cheap
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Persona 5 is probably much better idea than say Fire Emblem Three Houses ( what I am currently playing 
). At least the vocabulary used in Persona 5 will be easier / more useful in some cases as is set in modern times. Great choice 
. Like other people are saying, the main thing is to have fun and enjoy the experience.
P.S Animal Crossing on the Switch is very beginner friendly. Check out “Kantan Japan” on YouTube, he made a video about it.
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would be better with full VA though 
Having played in English (and loved!) Persona 5, I can’t imagine attempting to play without subtitles, or without playing in English first. I think that I’d get tripped-up on the casualness and variety of grammar.
I just started playing Chinese Parents, since they recently added Japanese language support. It’s at a great level for me to enjoy, not get frustrated, but still gain some sense of language-use progression while playing.
Good luck and enjoy the game, regardless
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Does Chinese Parents commit to the stereotypes? I’d want to be able to constantly demand grandchildren.
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Unfortunately, you are the child! The “Chinese Parents” are your mom and dad, and they demand much studying and no snoo-snoo of you.
Oh! This is a question I can actually answer pretty well… considering I have put nearly 300 hours into the Japanese version of person 5 the royal hahaha.
I would say for learning that it is great! The character names are all in kanji, but they arent too hard, so you will learn them really quick. Each character has their own specific style of language that reflects a certain personality type, and you will see a lottttt of slang. (Like Ryuji using っす on the end of nearly every sentence).
It will be very difficult, but I believe that you can definitely gain some value out of it! 真 (まこと）'s dialogue is great for learning formal language. So not all characters are full of slang. Also, the voice acting is superb!
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I’m 85 hours in so far and loving this game. I went for the English with Japanese VO option so I can still play without effort but can look away and just listen as little or as often as I want, for some listening practice.
It’s a long game though with a TON of dialogue. I have been blitzing it a bit as we are heavily locked down in the UK at the moment. I think I’m hearing 「正体を見せる！」 in my sleep at this point!
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If you play with Morgana in your party a lot, you’re probably also hearing 自分の実力が怖いな in your sleep hahah.
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Ah Persona 5, the proverbial thorn in my side.
I’ve beaten a good amount of games Japanese, but Persona 5 really made me work. I still haven’t beaten it. The variety of topics, slang, multiple tutorials and nuances makes it infinitely interesting, but also infinitely difficult for my intermediate level. Currently playing through Tokyo Mirage Sessions, so much easier.
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I want to play Persona 5 too! I’m currently playing Dragon Quest 11 and reading Harry Potter and I am not sure if it will be too challenging or at the right level. Especially since there is no Furigana for some the more difficult Kanj I think.
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Hey Zeroh, fancy seeing you here haha. Cheers for the shout out 
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@Kantan_Japan to be honest, its because of your video that I found out about Bunpro to begin with
Currently playing Disgaea 5 (and already bought Disgaea 6) . They are not too bad in terms of Japanese but have a lot of slang.
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What language level would you suggest to be to somewhat comfortably play Tokyo Mirage Sessions?
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I would say at least intermediate, but more comfortable at upper intermediate with a good grasp on Kanji. Still a lot of slang and nuances, but it’s not like in Persona where you’re speaking to doctors and lawyers in some scenes. Unlike other switch games, no furigana either so take that into consideration. My comfort level is understanding at least 60%.
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