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[Vegas]

What are your favorite Japanese (indie) games and developers?

Right now I'm learning Japanese and trying for immersion during the school year in addition to my classes so I can really learn it. I've already downloaded Cave Story in Japanese for my Mac.

Thanks!

[Uykered]

I like Shinobu Yagawa's games.

[sauyadav]

Let me point you to the HardCore Gaming. Its a treasure troove for japanese games as well as much more. Also look for older games on PC-98, Sharp X68000 and other japanese systems.
There are many gems on SNES too that are yet to be translated.

[iffi]

Team Shanghai Alice - Touhou Project

Edit: woot 800 posts

[deathtotheweird]

ABA makes some interesting things: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html

Ikiki makes some ok games as well but you may have a hard time finding them. there was a thread that had a collection..may search for it and you'll find it.

and indie or not, God Hand is one of the best Japanese games ever

[ithamore]

I second for ABA.

Solid Image is about as old school as ABA.

There was this thread "How do you find Japanese indie games?" that you might find useful. Vector's game page is probably the one I visit the most often, but there are a lot of rough games there. So, checking out the ones they've reviewed helps to cut out much of the clutter.

One source I've used occasionally that wasn't mentioned in the thread is 4Gamer.net. Their Small Rooms of Indie Games covers Japanese and Western indie games now, but their older posts were mainly Japanese.

[moi]

Kansai Drive Project are my favorite devs, back in the time they created a lot of old classics such as afternoon-tensai, Shinda axe, Bad Rally or Annata-wa, Departed.

[s0]

and indie or not, God Hand is one of the best Japanese games ever

Yes.

[Richard Kain]

I've always been a fan of Treasure. They've always had a gift for games with frenetic energy. They are also the kings of the shmup genre.

[DavidCaruso]

Japanese "indie" devs?...uhh idk, try the Touhou games or Gigantic Army or Cho Ren Sha 68K. I don't really keep up with the doujin scene much though, and none of these games will probably help you learn Japanese much if that's what you want to use them for.

If you don't care whether the game is "indie" or not: from a language perspective you'd probably want to play JRPGs since those are heavy on dialogue. If you're going to go that route I'd suggest at least playing a good one, like Mother 3 or the Mario JRPGs. Or maybe play SRPGs like Fire Emblem or Valkyria Chronicles, since those also have dialogue scenes between battles.

If you just want great Japanese games and dev names regardless of whether they'll help in learning the language: play games by Hideki Kamiya, Shinji Mikami, Tsuneki Ikeda, Yu Suzuki, Shinobu Yagawa, Yuji Naka, Miyamoto, etc. Tons more I haven't listed and these are mostly modern developers but yeah.

They are also the kings of the shmup genre.

w e l p

The only two Treasure games you absolutely need to play are Alien Soldier and Ikaruga. Maybe Dynamite Headdy or Gradius V too.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i like all of them; but for purposes of learning japanese you may want to focus on the text-heavy games. for instance, japanese visual novels

[Aloshi]

I like Platine Dispositif's games. Demos for most of them are here: http://www.invertedcastle.com/archives/2007/02/20/temporary-platine-dispositif-download-mirror-go/

I thought Bunny Must Die and Engage to Jabberwock were pretty good, though it takes time to get used to the controls of both. Hitogata Happa is also worth a mention. I think most of those have translation patches if you look around a bit.

Acceleration of Suguri (and its expansion, X-edition) is fun too (and in English!). Video

, demo here, and you can buy it on GamersGate here.

[s0]

The only two Treasure games you absolutely need to play are Alien Soldier and Ikaruga. Maybe Dynamite Headdy or Gradius V too.

Strongly disagree. Almost every Treasure game is good. Bangai-O, Radiant Silvergun, Gunstar Heroes and Guardian Heroes (XBLA remake this fall btw) and Sin & Punishment 2 (the best 3d "rail shooter" ever) are other "essentials" in the Treasure catalog.

BTW Ikaruga is the most overrated shmup ever. Still very, very good though.

[kyn]

and indie or not, God Hand is one of the best Japanese games ever

Yes.

YES.

[baconman]

Agree with Team Shanghai Alice; they took the "magical girl" stuff and made some real magic with it. Especially the spinoff games like the oh-so-deviously-designed MegaMari. I kinda wished they'd have tapped that level design in TouhouVania too, considering how well illustrated/orchestrated the game is.

Vanguard Princess is a great fighter title, especially considering it was developed by one person. And it's a crime that nobody's mentioned La Mulana yet. And believe it or not, once upon a time, "Dance Dance Revolution" was an indie game, too. There's a lot of good indie-Stepmania spinoff series too, like DWI Extreme and Dancing Wipeout (although technically, they aren't japanese). RED ALiCE of now-TSA fame actually made the first DDR fangame like that I'd ever played. Possibly even in existence!

[HöllenKobold]

and indie or not, God Hand is one of the best Japanese games ever

Yes.

YES.

Yes.
I consider Shinji Mikami a great auteur to follow.

I don't really play much Japanese indie games at all. If anything, I played Touhou back in 2008 and that was it.

[Nuprahtor]

Try Yume Nikki and .flow - official english speaking imageboard, dedicated to the both games

[Superb Joe]

the japanese are bugs; that is to say large insects, in suits that resemble humans

[JWK5]

the japanese are bugs; that is to say large insects, in suits that resemble humans

[moi]

1440 is totally a illuminati number