It’s jam packed with whimsy, charm, and nostalgia for what JRPGs used to be all about. Some games (*cough* Final Fantasy *cough*) have started to move towards style over substance, but Ni No Kuni gives hope for games that are still very substance driven – like JRPGs were back in the good ol’ days. So what makes Ni No Kuni so great, other than the fact that you can actually somewhat study Japanese with it (gasp!)?

What the Game’s All About

Ni No Kuni is a very traditional style RPG. You play as Oliver, a little kid from Motortown. Through a series of events, you find yourself partying up with a fairy known as Mr. Drippy and traveling to a parallel universe to save souls and subsequently, the world. The world is filled with amusing creatures and monsters, fairies, and talking cats. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Like most JRPGs, you have HP, MP, and lots of experience to gain and equipment to equip. You recruit party members and familiars to help you in battle, help townspeople out with odd jobs to advance the story, and fight monsters to advance your levels. If you’ve played an RPG before, you’ll know what to expect here. You travel around towns, an overworld map, dungeons, and locales.

For those of you totally unfamiliar with the game, here’s a review that does a good job letting you know what the game is all about.

What Sets it Apart

But playing a game like this, a game that feels more like a classic RPG than a modern innovation, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. This is a JRPG done right. Everything is absolutely top notch. It might not be incredibly innovative or fresh, but everything that is done here is done very well and the game shines as a result.

I believe Studio Ghibli’s influence on this is immediately clear as well. The animation and visuals are strikingly beautiful. Not only do you feel like you’re playing through an anime, you feel like you’re playing through a Studio Ghibli film. What could be better than that?

The soundtrack is no slouch either. All the music is very whimsical and fits in just great with the rest of the game. It was composed by the esteemd Joe Hisaishi and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Another great thing is that the game actually lets you have the original Japanese audio track as an option. I’ve heard great things about the English dub, but being able to play through with the original Japanese voices is a real treat.

The battle system is really fun, but it takes some time to really get rolling. In the beginning you just have Oliver and one familiar to control. It works, but it’s not exactly exciting. Eventually you recruit other party members and gain access to more familiars. This is when things really start to open up.

For Studying Japanese

Since the game includes the original Japanese language track, you can use that for your Japanese studies, depending on your level of Japanese. Also, Mr. Drippy (the little fairy that follows you around) speaks in Kansai dialect, so that’s just fantastic.

Anyway, one issue is that the English subtitles (which can’t be turned off, unfortunately) are not direct translations of the Japanese audio. This can be kind of goofy (or fun) when you’re playing along listening to the Japanese and reading the English and realizing that they don’t really match up. It’s kind of entertaining to pick these out and think about how you might have translated them in your head as you’re playing along, assuming you don’t get too distracted from the game itself, of course.

Another unfortunate thing is that there’s no Japanese language subtitle option, but I think that having the Japanese audio track alone is impressive enough. All of the latest Tales games (also produced by Namco Bandai) don’t include the Japaenese audio track, so I always appreciate it when games like Ni No Kuni at least give you the option.

Granted, there are much better ways to study Japanese, but it’s nice that the game at least includes the Japanese audio. It’s better than nothing, you know?

The Future

These days I feel like we’re seeing less and less Japanese games like Ni No Kuni. Maybe that’s what makes them stand out so much more, but I really really enjoy them and I am always very excited when they make it over to America, eventually. Do I think that JRPGs will ever make a full return to games like this? Probably not. But it’s nice to know that people are still making games like these and when they do come out, they are very well received.

That being said, I’m guessing that we’ll see games like this one every once in a while, but sadly I doubt that we’ll ever see a true return to the golden age of JRPGs. But who knows? Maybe the next gen systems will surprise all of us and be jam packed with traditional JRPGs. Haha, I wish.

Anyway, I give Ni No Kuni a hearty recommendation. If I had to put a number on it, I’d give it a 9/10 just for the relatively slow start with the battle system. It’s right up there with the brilliant Tales titles I’ve played this generation.

So have any of you played Ni No Kuni? What do you think about the future of traditional style JRPGs? Do you think they’ll still be around for many years to come or do you think the influence of franchises like Final Fantasy will push them all towards “modernization”? Share your thoughts in the comments!

But you might not know how big rock, paper, scissors is in Japan. Turns out that rock, paper, scissors – or as it’s known in Japan, janken – was big in Japan before anybody in the West had ever even heard of it.

Like kanji, fireworks, and General Tsao’s chicken^†, rock, paper, scissors was actually created in China. The game was created around the time of Christ, but stayed in China for hundreds of years. It wasn’t until the 1700^s that it made its way over to Japan.

The rest, as they say, is history. Janken, in the ensuing years, became incredibly popular in Japan and today, pretty much everybody in Japan knows how to play. You could walk up to any child in Japan and he/she would be immediately ready to throw down in a game of janken.

How to Play

Janken is played pretty similarly to the way most people play rock, paper, scissors in the US: you use one of three moves to beat your opponent. Rock breaks scissors, scissors cuts paper, and paper covers rock.

Obviously in Japan though, they use different terminology. Here’s a handy table:

The differences don’t stop there. There’s a whole special ritual to janken that’s a little different than what I’m used to in the US.

1. Both players start by saying “Saisho wa guu” (最初はぐう) or “Starting with rock,” and holding out a closed fist.
2. Each says “janken pon!” and throw out their move, whether it’s rock, paper, or scissors.
3. If there’s a tie (both players choose the same move), both players say “Aiko desho!” (相子), or “It seems like a tie!” and keep going in rapid-fire succession until somebody finally wins.

But it doesn’t stop there. There are tons of variants to janken, some more violent than others:

Make no mistake though: janken isn’t just used for schoolyard disputes. Virtually everybody in Japan plays janken to solve disputes or make decisions.

Pop group AKB48 has held janken tournaments to determine which of the young ladies appear on the group’s next single. Competition is fierce, and the tournaments can run for several hours (as you can see in this video).

Janken was once even used in an international, multimillion dollar art deal.

The Most Expensive Game of Rock, Paper, Scissors

Janken isn’t just used by the Japanese to see who pays for the beer or whose turn it is to clean the dishes; it can also be used for expensive, high-stakes decisions.

In 2005, a Japanese businessman decided to auction off his art collection which included masterpieces from renowned European artists like Cézanne, Picasso, and van Gogh.

But he ran into a bit of a snag when it came time to decide which of the world’s two most famous auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, would get the rights to auction off his magnificent collection.

So how did this businessman make his decision? He made the two auction houses compete in a game of janken.

The two auction houses spent a weekend strategizing, planning their one, critical move; and on Monday, the competition took place. The New York Times paints a picture of the scene:

Instead of the usual method of playing the game with the hands, the teams were given a form explaining the rules. They were then asked to write one word in Japanese – rock, paper or scissors – on the paper.

After each house had entered its decision, a Maspro manager looked at the choices. Christie’s was the winner: scissors beat paper.

“We were told immediately and then asked to go downstairs to another room and wait, while the forms went off to headquarters to be approved,” Mr. Rendell said. He described the atmosphere in the room as “difficult,” saying both sides were forced to “make small talk.”

But while janken has served as a cornerstone of the decision-making process for centuries, that era may soon be coming to an end.

Has Japan Solved Rock, Paper, Scissors?

A Japanese university has recently invented a robot that beats humans every time in rock, paper, scissors. That’s right, it has a 100% winrate. Say what?

How does it do it? It’s pretty simple: the robot uses a camera to quickly read what its opponent’s move is going to be, and reacts at the last possible second.

What happens when two of these robots play against each other? An infinite tie? Would the universe implode? Nobody can know for sure.

But I can say this: until somebody makes a portable janken robot available to the masses, janken will remain a cultural staple in Japan.

Just remember, the next time that you’re challenged to a game of janken to decide who buys the next round, don’t pick rock.

^† General Tsao’s chicken was actually probably invented in some Chinese restaurant in the US. Or on the field of battle in China by General Tsao himself. Who knows.

Photo by Aka Hige

Syobon Action hates you. You’ll find this out the hard way: every jump, platform, mushroom, pipe… even the cloud in the background is out there to kill you. In time, you will hate Syobon Action. And that’s why you’ll love it so much.
[Playthisthing.com]

The game is so difficult because, unlike classic Mario, it contains concealed traps, nonsensical death conditions, and murder around every corner. The traps are everywhere and are activated only when the player is about to hit them. The game’s obstacles are so dastardly that it makes the game incredibly frustrating and extremely difficult to complete before you go insane. Sounds like fun, eh?

The artistic style of the game is very 2ch-ish. Some of you may remember 2ch being very briefly addressed in my Japanese Rage Comics post of yesteryear. If you troll around 2ch enough, you’ll see what I mean, but be warned – you can dig up some pretty weird/gross/permanently-life-scarring stuff there. Welcome to the internet.

You can also check out the official site of the game and play it here. Or if you wish to download the game so you can frustrate yourself endlessly even without internet access, you can download the game from SourceForge here. For all you folks who like a challenge, I suggest you play it before watching any of the videos below. Wouldn’t want to give yourself an unfair advantage now would you?

Cat Mario Videos and Chonny

There are also a lot of videos on YouTube depicting people’s experiences with this joyful game. Some of my favorite Cat Mario videos come from one of my favorite YouTubers, Chonny. He has four YouTube channels, MyChonny, YourChonny, ChonnyDay, and ChonnyGame. He’s hilarious. You should definitely check out his videos. The following gems are from his ChonnyGame channel. Enjoy.

[box type="alert"]These videos contain very strong but hilariously appropriate language.
You’ve been warned![/box]

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejyYNrPXs3o']

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVvYU_0W32A']

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvRARRACtps']

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kkeQ2_IXyo']

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kam86jiUC8']

The Cat Mario Challenge

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cma6ft6UlcQ']

The above video shows you how to beat the game without losing any lives. This video is for all you cheaters out there (or those of you who are so stuck and frustrated that you want to throw your computer out the window).

The video below is one of many Japanese language gameplay videos of the game. The player appears to be no master as he dies quite a bit. Still pretty funny though. Can you use your Textfugu Japanese skills to figure out what he’s saying?

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLUvTwOeZiA']

I only played through the first level but I managed to clear it with -3 lives left which is practically the best score of all time. Think you can beat me on your first try? Post your score in the comments below!

And if you’re too lazy to scroll back up to the top of the page, here’s the link to the game again.

P.S. Hate this game to pieces? Vent your frustrations on Twitter.
P.P.S. Already a Cat Mario pro? Check us out on Facebook and Google+.

Welcome to another edition of “Saturday Time Waster.” There seems to be a huge difference between American flash games and Japanese flash games. Although this isn’t 100% the case, it seems like most of the time, Japanese flash games are all about making you feel nice and calm. Most of the games seem to have no end, and they attempt to down you with pleasant music and cuteness. I suppose if I was a hard working “Sarari man” I’d want something to calm me down too while I was hiding out in my cubical playing flash games.

This particular game was made by my friends at Team-Lab (they’re the ones that did the fantastically mesmerizing ”Flower and Corpse“), who I’ll be slowly covering over the course of the month. I was originally going to put something up for all you Apple lovers today (which I suppose will have to wait), when I came across this game that Team-Lab made with Wacom (the folks that make those really cool, yet expensive tablets). As you’re playing this game, it definitely makes the tablet yearner in all of us think “man, I wish I had $500-$1000 to buy a tablet to play this game with.” Add that to the zombie / mesmerized feeling you get while playing the game… and you’ve created the perfect monster… er… customer.

You can play the game yourself, or watch the video showing my attempt to win the game. I’m pretty sure if you fill the screen with angry neon pigs that counts as a win, right? At least I didn’t buy a tablet… yet.

Play now: http://tablet.wacom.co.jp/bambooplayroom/

Oh, and you should follow Tofugu on Twitter.

It’s been a while since our last Japan-related Saturday time-waster, so I thought it was about time for another (before Saturday is over). This game is a bit old, but I just discovered the sequel to it. Oh cursor ten, sometimes I wish you were cursor eleven.

The game was made by Yoshio Ishii, a Japanese flash game maker (that’s about the only Japan-connection it has, come to think of it). The game seems simple enough at first: Click on cones to get points, and click on the stairs to get to the next floor. There is a timer, and you have to get to the 16th floor before it runs out. But then it gets more complicated. One cursor can’t get you to the top in enough time, because there are obstacles in the way… Spikes, things you have to press and hold to open the way to the next area, cones to click, stairways to reveal, etc. That’s why you get ten cursors. When you move on to cursor two, cursor one repeats all the actions from before, which means you have to be a team player… with yourself.

You can see my poor cursor got stabbed by a spike. Luckily cursor number three will get through, whew.

Look at all that teamwork! Go play cursor10 and cursor10, 2nd session right now (and don’t forget to brag about your scores!)

I was reminded of this game over on the eduFire forums, where one of the tutors started a game up. What a great vocab game! I remember playing this a lot with my crazy little kancho-giving host brother, back in the day. Here’s how it works.

• One person starts with a word
• The next person takes the last letter (hiragana) from that word, and uses it to start the next word.
• Then it goes on and on and on until someone loses (more on that in a second).

Standard Rules

• You can’t repeat a word
• You can only use nouns (otherwise too many things would end in い and す, right?)
• You can’t end a word with an “n” (ん) sound, since no words start with it.
• You can use “words” that have の in them, as long as they are concrete enough to be considered a word. For example, things like 男の子（おとこのこ）would be acceptable.
• Words normally written in hiragana or katakana are both okay. So, foreign words are a go (as long as they are actually considered words.

Optional Rules

Now, there are optional rules (which we will be ignoring in our little game down in the comments). But, should you want them, here they are:

• No names, places, allowed (anything that would be normally capitalized in English, basically)
• Long vowels when a foreign word (for example, パワー) can either be a “pa” or an “a” sound, depending on your rules. For our game, it would be a “pa.”
• The little tenten or circle that you see on a lot of hiragana can be ignored (for example は vs ぱ or ば, etc). In our game, they will not be ignored!

Mastah Rules

If you’re a master at this, and playing with your master shiritori friends, you can do some things to make it harder on yourself (once again, we’re doing the easier version in the comments).

• Increase the word length so it has to be three or more syllables.
• Instead of using the last kana, you would use the last two kana (and neither can be ん)
• Limiting it to a certain genre (oof, this would be tough)
• Using a timer, where each side only has 10 seconds to come up with their answer (gets harder and harder as you go!)
• Slapping your friend in the face before each round also makes things more difficult (mostly for your friendship)

So there you have it. Here’s a little example run, to show you how things are done:

しりとり→りんご→ゴッド→どどんぱ→パワーレインジャーズ→ズボン

(どどんぱ is the name of a roller coaster, btw). Notice how I jumped back and forth between words normally written in hiragana and katakana? And how I only used nouns?

Alright, so now it’s up to you. We’re going to play a little game down in the comments section. Also, if you’re feeling like you can’t get enough shiritori, there’s a game going on here.

The Tofugu Shiritori Game:

Here’s some rules for the Tofugu game, in particular:

• You can write in either hiragana/katakana or Romaji (though the first option is preferred, if possible).
• Make sure you spell things correctly! Also, provide the kanji / definition of the word you wrote down, just as an added bonus to help folks with vocab :)
• You can feel free to “reply” to comments, but once it starts getting skinny, start a new thread, please.

Alright, I’ll get things started! Starting word is…

日本語／にほんご (Japanese Language)