Otome games for beginner learners of Japanese?

[Kuppuru]

I've been studying how to read and write Kana for the past few months. I've learned quite a few kanji here and there but sadly, I'm still at a level where I read reaalllyy reaaallly slowly. Regardless, I've made it one of my goals to be able to play a game in Japanese some time in the future. With that being said, are there any otome games that you can recommend for someone who's still learning Japanese? So far, I've wisely avoided any historical otome game but I'm not quite sure if the otoges I want to play are possible given the stuff I know.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[afraa.o]

Taishou x Alice is very good, they are putting small hiragana over kanji letters, which makes it easy to read and would be a kind of fun education.
And of course a very fun game, you can not understand the conversation characters from "listening" only?
I do not mastered reading a lot, in fact I'm slow because I'm trying to read ..
But I understand Japanese well I just can not read and write.

 

[Kuppuru]

Oh, thank you so much! I didn't know that Taisho x Alice did that. I'll be sure to check that out soon!
Haha, I also have the same problem. I'm better at listening than reading which is why I prefer listening to drama cds than playing otome games. But there aren't as much pretty pictures to look at.

 

[LaCaL]

Pretty much any otome game set in high school or centre around idols are "easier" reads. They rarely use technical terms or uncommon kanji, given their (mostly) real-world settings. Games such as Starry Sky or Uta no Prince-sama...

I can say with fair amount of confidence that about 80% of otome games are relatively simple reads; suitable for beginners to absorb more kanji and vocabulary. Most otome games are set in high school, have idols or have somewhat fantastical settings with simpler Japanese.

As you noted, stay away from historical settings. War and politics can also get complicated as well. So games like Ken ga Kimi or Yoshiwara Higanbana are a bad idea. My Japanese is very good and even I still get confused with some words/kanji that come out in these types of games.

 

[Kuppuru]

Thanks! I'll definitely be sticking to high school settings for now! I'll start on UtaPri once I'm a little more confident with what I know. Haha. Thanks again!

 

[LaCaL]

Thanks! I'll definitely be sticking to high school settings for now! I'll start on UtaPri once I'm a little more confident with what I know. Haha. Thanks again!

No worries, keep up the good work and all the best! If you don't give up, you'll be reading VNs you never thought you'd ever understand!

Also, here's the Visual Novel Database's list of otome games set in high school. Since "high school" is a pretty common and general setting, some harder games may have slipped through the cracks... but perhaps you might find some other potential reads: https://vndb.org/v/all?q=;fil=olang-ja.tag_inc-542~48.tagspoil-0;rfil=;o=d;s=rel

 

[Kuppuru]

No worries, keep up the good work and all the best! If you don't give up, you'll be reading VNs you never thought you'd ever understand!

Also, here's the Visual Novel Database's list of otome games set in high school. Since "high school" is a pretty common and general setting, some harder games may have slipped through the cracks... but perhaps you might find some other potential reads: https://vndb.org/v/all?q=;fil=olang-ja.tag_inc-542~48.tagspoil-0;rfil=;o=d;s=rel

Oh wow ! Thanks again! This is really helpful! I didn't know that you could filter at vndb. Whoops. But I'll definitely be putting this to good use. :D

 

[icterine]

Maybe games with heroines who are voiced would be ideal? At the top of my head, I remember Norn9, Ayakashi Gohan, and... R18 otome games by Sugar Beans which I would not recommend at all. :(
Other suggestions: BroCon/Storm Lover/ UtaPri/ Starry Sky (though I disliked the astronomical focus )/Amnesia etc.

 

[Tee]

Try Sakuya: Free Edition :)

 

[Kuppuru]

Thanks! Though I'm avoiding Starry Sky for now due to the astronomical terms as well haha.

I've heard a lot of good reviews on Sakuya! Thanks! I'll def give this one a go! Hopefully, my skills are enough haha

 

[chorecel]

I think stat-raisers like Storm Lover and Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side are fairly easy. The systems are pretty simple, and there are guides available online. Also, Tokimeki Memorial 3rd Story has a 3P mode! :)

I haven't played Amnesia in Japanese, but the Heroine doesn't speak at all, so all of the lines are voiced. Well, she make speak a bit at the end of the route (and it's not voiced) but for the most part, it's good if you are better at listening. The type of vocab may be harder, though, because it's not set in high school. Also, a guide might be helpful. I played the English version and still found it hard to each the good end for some characters (okay, all characters).

 

[Alcyone]

Thank you for this post,
I want to learn Japanese and play original games and read original mangas too (.... I love Japan)!
Now I can try better to learn kanji and have lot of fun!

 

[chorecel]

Thank you for this post,
I want to learn Japanese and play original games and read original mangas too (.... I love Japan)!
Now I can try better to learn kanji and have lot of fun!

If you haven't already, I would definitely read raw manga as well. It has furigana and you can pick up quite a bit of vocab. It's also fun, that is, if you like manga. :) You can get it from CD Japan or other online sellers.

 

[Alcyone]

Thank you amachan!
I'm definitely going to do it!

 

[awaryuu]

I think ayakashi gohan is good! the heroine is voiced and the kanji are not too hard. i'm able to play it without a translator, which i am still learning japanese as well. the conversation is like everyday conversation you often found in anime!!