Thanks for the enthusiasm, soldier!

The latest-generation mobile phones are something else, aren't they? If I'd really wanted it, I could have gotten video conferencing and a TV receiver with mine, but the first option wouldn't have been much use without someone to video-chat with, and as for the second... I really don't have that much interest in watching Japanese television.

Everyone should try Europe sometime, though I'd have to make a few suggestions. 1) Avoid the big population centers at first. Too many tourists go there already, so the locals are generally sick of Americans as it is. Especially around Paris. 2) At least make an attempt at learning the local language. Even if all you learn is "Excuse me, do you speak English?", that will do wonders towards improving people's opinion of you.

As for games I've played in Japanese.... Well... I don't think we have enough space for all that. A full list would probably be about the length of the entire column. So, what do I have on the shelf now? Persona 1 & 3, Devil Summoner (Soul Hackers & Kuzunoha Raidou), Final Fantasy IV & X, both Magical Vacation games, five different Seiken Densetsu games, about two-thirds of Gust's Atelier franchise, a couple of Nippon-Ichi strategy titles, four SaGa games, and a bunch of titles that no one has ever heard of.

Chrono Trigger should be a good choice for a starter game, though. The story's pretty straightforward, you're already familiar with it, and it's from late enough in the SNES's lifespan that the type-fonts should be pretty easy to read. Word to the wise, if you value your eyesight, be careful with NES or early SNES games. Due to size limitations, they usually use a cramped font for hiragana and katakana, with few kanji. Even original Game Boy titles are easier to read, sometimes.

A good online reference can be handy. You seem to be familiar with the Japanese Language Proficiency Exam (JLPT), so you probably already know Kanji-A-Day, which is really useful when studying for the exam, but for kanji reference I prefer Mahou.org's online dictionary. That one allows you to look for kanji by stroke count or radical, and is good for when you have no idea what the pronunciation might be.

Keep on truckin'. I'll be here.

A lot of the major game retailers here, like Tsutaya and GeoGeo, also carry large stocks of used games. There are several large networks of secondhand stores for videos, games, and manga as well, so it's not hard to find a place to shop in Japan. Used to be, if I was really bored on a weekend, I could go into one with a thousand yen in hand, and pick up all sorts of games on the cheap. Anything from a "retired" console, like SNES or old Game Boy, tends to be priced really low, like a few dollars at most. Which is why I have so many useless games now. At least some of them were good for a laugh...

Japanese TV, however, I tend to avoid. The majority of Japanese television seems to be insipid, poorly-acted dramas, or talk shows wherein B-list celebrities try different foods (and make funny faces as they express how delicious the stuff is). The good stuff is hard to find amid all the dross that is Japanese daytime TV, and I am thankful for the all-anime channels on cable.

Most anime tie-in games in Japan are classified as either Adventure (play along with the game storyline), or Simulation (relationship game). A few, usually action titles, end up as fighting games, or the occasional RPG. Japanese game companies use more-or-less the same classification system that we do for games. The biggest difference I can think of is that strategy games, like the various Nippon-Ichi titles, are often classified as Simulation (as in, military simulation), and even the classification "S-RPG" refers to simulation, not strategy as it does in America.

There is a rating system in Japan, and when it applies, it's enforced, at least at the big stores. The Japanese tend to mark stuff differently in any case, with heavy violence or grotesque imagery (the very wording used on the rating sticker) making for a stricter rating, while giving a lot of leeway in adult material.

Anyhoo, hope you don't mind me splicing a few mails together. Keep on writing!