~6 months of playing vidya in a second language
After beginning to study Spanish in Oct 2022, I started playing videogames in Spanish almost a year later in September 2023. I had never been into visual novels beforehand, or even any games with lots of reading or plot like RPGs. I used to almost exclusively play gameplay-focused games such as soulslikes, Monster Hunter, platformers, and metroidvanias. However, playing games to learn a second language has absolutely reinvigorated my passion for gaming and allowed me to enjoy games that I previously would have thought were really boring. In a second language, I dont mind that the writing is really simplistic, or that it moves at a snail's pace, or that characters repeat themselves constantly, or that they make the solutions to puzzles incredibly obvious. In fact, those qualities, which would really annoy me if I were playing the games in my primary language, actually make them better for learning a second language! I think VNs are uniquely good for learning a second language for those reasons.
- the visual aspect of them makes them easier to understand than simply reading a book
- however, like a book you can move through dialogue at your own pace, which you cant do with a show or movie
- the writing is usually at a level that is accessible to children, so its very simplistic
- oftentimes the gameplay serves as a comprehension check for the reading, like a test in a language class
- because the gameplay is often a comprehension check of the reading, the characters usually repeat themselves and emphasize important things
I bought a 3DS years ago basically just to play Monster Hunter 4U. I ended up playing a lot of cool games on my 3DS and absolutely loved it, however I had thought that I had played everything that I was interested in playing on the console and that I was basically done with it. However, since then my 3DS has become the ultimate language learning hardware. For one, I have a grip case that lets it stand up so I dont have to hold it. A lot of VNs on the 3DS can be controlled completely with the stylus so I can play without holding it, which makes it easier to use a dictionary when I need to, or write down vocabulary that I want to add to my flashcards later. It also just makes it way more chill. Also with an R4 card I have access to the entire DS library, which is what I've been playing. Theres an insane amount of good games between the DS and 3DS libraries, Ill be using my 3DS for a long time.
The games
Ace Attorney 1-3
I played the DS versions of these games. Wow, what an incredible experience. I had actually played the first game years ago but wasnt that into it because I played it in English and it was just too slow. But playing it in Spanish, I loved these games. So funny, and surprisingly heartfelt, and amazing for studying a second language, because unlike most books they are almost all dialogue. Just incredible experiences. I'll be playing the remaining Ace Attorney games that are available in Spanish for sure.
Professor Layton 1-3
I really enjoyed these games, the visual novels are interesting, but they are also good for learning a second language because of the instructions for the puzzles. Some of the puzzles have confusing instructions and the language for trying to understand what the puzzles want me to do is a totally different type of language than reading dialogue. Sometimes I had to look up the puzzles in English, but mostly I could figure it out, sometimes with the help of the hints. Very cute and charming games, and with a bit of spanish voice acting as well!
Uncharted 2-3
I played Uncharted 1 in English because I didnt think I was ready to play a fully voice acted game in Spanish (I wasnt really watching stuff in Spanish yet), but decided to give it a shot with 2. It went really well! Not too hard to understand, and theres plenty of dialogue. I played on very easy because I'm terrible at 3rd person shooters so it was essentially a movie, but I enjoyed it. I nearly ruined Uncharted 3 for myself because I decided to play on easy instead of very easy. It's not that I couldnt beat it but it did make the game significantly less enjoyable. I dont understand why people enjoy having to shoot a guy 50 times to kill him, but it's not for me. I'm here for the characters and voice acting. Uncharted series doesnt do enough with their villains.
God of War
Id played this game in English before, and was excited to replay it in Spanish because there is so much dialogue. Seriously, the characters never shut the fuck up, which is good because the voice acting is incredible, even in Spanish. Mimir talks so fast that he is hard to follow sometimes especially because of all the strange vocab they use talking about norse mythology, but still this is a great game to study a second language with. Also just a very beautiful game with a great story.
Advance Wars 1-2
This game doesnt have that much dialogue, so not that great for studying a second language. But they're pretty fun games. I played the original GBA versions. Just an aside, but the art style of the remakes is so incredibly ugly IMO.
Fire Emblem (The Blazing Blade)
I only played the Lyn section of this game, I heard FE has a lot of dialogue so I wanted to check it out. I wasn't that into the gameplay part of it. I much preferred the gameplay of Advance Wars but wanted more of a story. The story of the Lyn section was just the most boring, trope-fueled plot imaginable, but I know I cant judge the series based on that. I have Awakening on the 3DS so I'll give that a shot, but was a bit let down by this game. Perhaps Ill give the rest of the game a chance. Honestly though, the battles are so tediously long and are mostly free of dialogue so its not that great for studying a second language.
Catherine: Full Body
I really enjoyed this game, I wish it was dubbed in Spanish! I love how it lets you completely skip the puzzle sections, which I wasnt interested in. I beat it once, and definitely plan on beating it at least once more making different choices. But gonna take a break for a while. I wish the game let you make dialogue choices but oh well. Still an entertaining experience, and the subject matter is totally different from most games.
Pentiment
This game is a true masterpiece IMO. If you're at all interested in the history of that era, or that artstyle, or just a really cozy experience of being a part of a small community (although the game does deal with some heavy stuff) then I can't recommend this game enough. I think it makes 2 mistakes: the sound design is quite boring, and I think the time limits to the investigations are unneccessary. But, my largest complaint with the game is that the game limits how much of it I can play, so thats basically a compliment. My playtime was 22 hours and I wish it was longer. It's all reading so really great for learning a second language, and theres even a cool detail that makes it great for studying: the characters "write" their dialogue and there are spelling mistakes in the text boxes that get corrected after a few seconds. The spelling mistakes are usually just a single incorrect letter so nothing that would make a native speaker think twice, but for someone learning the language spotting the mistakes is a fun little way to study. This is a great game.
Hotel Dusk
I enjoyed this game although I don't think I quite understand the cult following it has. The vibes are definitely enjoyable, the best part of the game is the artstlye and soundtrack. Gameplay is kind of annoying. If you do something you wrong you get a game over and have to go through a bunch of slow moving dialogue again, which is stupid. I was using a guide because game overs are so annoying. Also the one time in the game that they put you in an actual sort of escape room scenario, they put this stupid time limit on you and you have to start over investigating the same things over again even if you already know what to do. Stupid game design, but an enjoyable game and 99% reading so good for language study.
This whole experience has not only been great for my Spanish ability but has also legitimately made me enjoy my time playing video games more, and has allowed me to enjoy some real gems that I wouldn't have otherwise. I really recommend this to anyone interested in learning another language. I've got a lot of games in Spanish that I'm excited to play next, including some more fucking 3rd person shooters that I'm going to get annoyed with and some reading-based games that are going to probably really challenge me (Disco Elysium).