Seeing as there isn't a thread on this neat little thing...
First of all, how many of us actually watch the TV sets in any of the Pokemon games? They generally serve no purpose. Ever. Well, in Pokemon Black and White, they now do. The television show "Koukan Talk" teaches basic Japanese phrases! In the spoiler below, I have provided a sample script cut from the game.
Did you expect this of a Japanese game? Or is it that Pokemon/Game Freak are illustrating that the games are taking on a new face?
Discuss
Whoa...I wasn't expecting this at all, LOL. It's a nice step in the right direction, as opposed to videogame localizations that try to remove almost every reference to Japanese. And this is in a kid's game, no less. XD I guess it ties in with the rebirth concept a bit, sot that the rest of the world gets an insight on the actual origins of these games, rather than just being limited to a English or foreign-native-language-aside-from-Japan copy. The introduction to Japanese translations of typical conservational Pokemon phrases is a good start, IMO.
And I hope this means that non-prominent "kanji erasures" will stop occuring (I'm looking at you, 4Kids). I mean, it was like
crucial for 4Kids to remove nearly every instance of Japanese characters in every episode, and here we are, where Game Freak
acknowledges the existence of the Japanese origins in translated editions of the game. I'd like to see this feature expanded upon in future games, at least to get the fans more in touch with Japan...
I wonder what the Japanese editions of the games have in place of this feature? If it's the same, I would assume that it might feel a bit repetitive/trivial at times, such as the Teachy TV basics that were taught to veteran Trainers.
Aha. I love this addition. I'm actually interested in learning Japanese, but never bothered, so this is a good start. I was actually surprised that they added this. I also love the other show where they tell you the Japanese names of Pokemon.
Whoa...they even display the Japanese
names of the Pokemon? That sounds very intriguing! :) Though it probably won't help in players who are still trying to transition from the Japanese names to English Pokemon names. XD Still, this new feature is interesting, nonetheless.
i always watch the TV sets on the games :3
they amuse me.
'cept the 3rd gen shows. they annoyed me.
But there's hardly any shows in Generation 3 either, aside from Name Rater, Gabby and Ty, mixing Records, and completing important competitions... ;_;