When I was a kid, I tried this with imported Zelda/Final Fantasy games. As an American, I was lucky enough to study Japanese as an elementary schooler, and back then, there was a pretty significant lag between Japanese and American releases.
Consequently, I had some pretty massive incentives to try out these RPGs and muddle through the language (play the game months before my friends!). Unfortuantely most of the kanji was beyond my ability to divine, and I didn't know how to use a kanji dictionary effectively back then...so I often didn't really know what I was doing, and wound up getting the English versions too.
Still, if I had a bit more support (slash knew how to use a kanji dictionary), I could have imagined it really working to improve my Japanese ability. Now that the lag doesn't exist for game releases there's not as much incentive, but it would be interesting to see someone design a game with these sorts of things in mind.
kanji is such an awful roadblock. I think just about every Japanese student has gone through what you did, myself included. I almost wonder if basic Japanese curriculum should teach kanji before a lot of grammar, to try and get you ready to consume print media ASAP.
Consequently, I had some pretty massive incentives to try out these RPGs and muddle through the language (play the game months before my friends!). Unfortuantely most of the kanji was beyond my ability to divine, and I didn't know how to use a kanji dictionary effectively back then...so I often didn't really know what I was doing, and wound up getting the English versions too.
Still, if I had a bit more support (slash knew how to use a kanji dictionary), I could have imagined it really working to improve my Japanese ability. Now that the lag doesn't exist for game releases there's not as much incentive, but it would be interesting to see someone design a game with these sorts of things in mind.