So you've decided you want to play the Japanese Tales games despite not actually knowing Japanese. Maybe you don't have the time or money to learn Japanese, or maybe you just got it into your head that it's impossible for anyone without Japanese blood to learn.

Generally other players will be more than willing to give you the help you need... provided that you know the kana. If you don't know those and aren't willing to look them up, 80% of those helpful people will think you're a whiney dependant xenoglossophobic dumbass and not bother to help you.

But don't worry, because the kana are easy to learn. (And don't try to tell me it's actually OMG RLY HARD!!!1 because I know from personal experience.) I didn't feel like learning them before I played, so I just looked them up all the time, and I eventually learned them by accident. Zero effort involved. If you don't learn anything else, at least learn kana.

Here is a collection of information I've collected to make it easier for you to play Japanese games. It's optimized for people who don't want to spend any time/money/energy on learning, which means you will learn very, very slowly. If you want to learn more quickly, just put forth extra study effort (like flash cards) or buy a book or something.

Kana Katakana Hiragana Kanji List of Helpful Kanji

Jim Breen's WWWJDIC Amikai Translation Demo Cyber G-BOC Translation Service *Automated Translators should not be used by themselves, but if you use two of them plus a normal dictionary and some Japanese knowledge, you'll usually gain a good understanding. :3 The Japanese Page Teach Yourself Japanese Alternative sci.lang.japan FAQ