Mercenaries Saga 2 マーセナリーズサーガ２.
Because of Japan’s history with role playing games, it should be no surprise that I am huge turn-based Japanese RPG gaming fan. I had the chance recently, to check out Mercenaries Saga 2, also known as, マーセナリーズサーガ２on the Japan iTunes store. For someone who is learning Japanese, like myself, a JRPG in Japanese can come off intimidating because of the deep context that may be involved in the game. Luckily, this game makes the combat simple enough that anyone could be easily able to pick it up and just roll with the story-line.
Right off of the bat, you are given an assigned party of characters who become involved with a fairly straight-forward story. May I suggest to those who cannot read or speak Japanese that you follow the context clues in the visual story, along with the dialogue (Do your best! It's fun!). Below, you can have a look at some of the classes you can use!
The game starts you off with three to four characters that typically form a party in most role playing games. You have a healer, a tank (or defender), and a couple damage dealing partners. I liked this game a lot because it had a retro feel and it was still a simple, click-and-play turn-style RPG. The attacks are written in Katakana, but mostly words that you know in English. For example, the healer's primary support skill is キャア, which is 'cure' in English. This is a great time to brush up on that kana, my friends! You use your touchscreen on your apple device to guide yourself through the maps and menus of the game. It's very simple and self-explanatory. I am not one for clunky interfaces, and the game's UI was very straightforward and enjoyable to experience first hand.
All-in-all, I had a lot of enjoyment with Mercenaries Saga 2. If you are willing to weigh in and give the game a try you can grab it exclusively at the Japan iTunes Store, with your apple device. Make sure to leave a comment below, if you enjoyed the game as well! iTunes Japan gift cards can be purchased at JapanCodeSupply.