User:X loto

Hi there! I'm Jason Kuntz, and I'm a ドラクエ ("DoraKue," Dragon Quest) fan! ^_^

I've been interested for quite a long time in the ways that games are changed when they are localized, and decided to teach myself Japanese so that I could investigate first-hand--and of course, also so I could play games that were never released at home.

I've done several translation projects like this that I posted on GameFAQs.com, including Dragon Quest I, II, and III, and Final Fantasy. I'm also laboriously (read, "slowly") working on a blog in which I'm comparing the original releases of the games to their localizations and remakes. This is right up my alley!

My video game interests:

• Dragon Quest--My first RPG series, and always a favorite!
• Final Fantasy--FF and FF6 were my two favorite games for a long time...only recently has DQ eclipsed them for me, but they're still great!
• "Xeno" series--Both Xenogears and Xenosaga; I even pre-ordered Xenoblade Chronicles. Go Operation Rainfall!
• .hack--Crack is Cheaper, but I really enjoy them.
• SaGa--Akitoshi Kawazu is one of my favorite people, seriously. As much as people seem to hate Unlimited Saga, the game has a deepness.
• Metroid--I had to have at least one non-RPG in this list, didn't I?! :-P

My language abilities:

• English--The mother tongue. American, and I have a very good grasp of grammar.
• Japanese--Meh. I'm okay at it, if you speak to me like a slow child. However, armed with JWPce, EDICT, and The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, I am a complete monster~! This language will be my primary focus here.
• Spanish--Two years in high school; I can read it much better than I can speak or listen.
• Latin--I've forgotten almost everything I knew. But I did study it one year.
• German--My wife took a class once. I learned the thing with her to be her support system. I have a dictionary, but I've forgotten most of it.

Japanese reference books I own and use:

• The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, edited by Jack Halpern--Absolutely wonderful beginner's book!
• Colloquial Japanese: The Complete Course for Beginners, by H.D.B. Clarke and Motoko Hamamura--Pretty good for learning grammar, but the way it slowly introduces kana is wonky. Uses the Japanese "consonant-root/vowel-root" method of teaching verb stems, which has both pros and cons versus the English "ichidan/yodan" method.
• Random House Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary, edited by Seigo Nakao--I honestly haven't used this one as much as the others, but it looks to be pretty good.
• A Dictionary of Japanese Particles, by Sue A. Kawashima--A very thorough examination of all things "particular." It has a ton of information on the nuance that these oddities of the Japanese language can carry.
• Japanese Slang Uncensored, by Peter Constantine--Not very helpful for gaming, but an interesting read nonetheless!