Hi! I’m sorry if I’m out of place here, but this is my 3rd year living in Japan, and I wanted to ask something about Nintendo Switch cartridges here in japan.
Even though it’s my 3rd year living in Japan, because I always slacks on my Japanese lessons, I only speaks in broken japanese, and barely even read kanji lol. That’s why I uses NA account on my switch that I bought here. I have bought some games here before (at chÅ«ko stores like trader or bookoff), such as Pokemon Arceus, BDSP, and Smash Bros Ultimate, when I run them, it automatically runs in English.
The problem is in my next purchase, when I bought Samurai Warriors 5 (or sengoku musou 5 in jp (?)), It only has japanese language. I searched for solutions online to no avail, so I gave up.
So my questions are,
– Is there no way around about that last game?
– Is there any database online about what language are available in those japanese switch cartridge, or is there any way of knowing it before buying?
– Is there any stores in JP (whether its an online shop or a regular store) that I can go to buy NA/EU physical games? Since I prefer to buy physical instead of digital.
Sorry if there’s any grammatical error or hard to understand sentences, English is also not my first language.
Thanks
EDIT:
Thanks for the answers, it never crosses my mind to just check THE NINTENDO SITE lmao I’m dumb. But fr thanks, so next time I don’t have to kakegurui my money before I buy those games 💀
9 comments
Easiest way is to just go to Nintendo’s website and [look the game up on the eShop](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/software/switch/index.html). It has all supported languages listed.
The page for [Samurai Warriors 5](https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000029085.html) clearly lists all supported languages for the game (Japanese and Mandarin Chinese).
The Nintendo store lists all languages supported. (Look a couple lines above the Cero rating.)
I.e., for the recent Kirby game:
Package:
[https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/HAC_P_ARZGA_JPN.html](https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/HAC_P_ARZGA_JPN.html)
Download:
[https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000046404.html](https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000046404.html)
​
Sengoku Muso 5 does not have English support:
[https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000029085.html](https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000029085.html)
​
You can often find import versions of games on Amazon.
You have to check nintendo jp website. They mentions the languages
Some shops put a sticker on the back of the box with supported languages.
Agreed with the previous recommendation that it’s helpful to check the eShop for language options first.
Switch games are not region locked so the carts should play even if the language is not available.
(3DS and Wii U games are region locked. JP carts and discs won’t work in systems from other regions.)
I got used to translated game I was so surprised when a game I bought a game that had no translation. It was a cheap copy of FF crystal chronicles but still feels bad.
Better check each time…
– The packaging if buying in person
– the game listing if buying online from a 3rd party retailer
– the eshop page
Also, if a game releases globally at the same time, it more than likely has multiple languages but if it releases in Japan first, always double check. A lot of games get script or character changes when released overseas. So the western and Japanese releases are fundamentally different (however minor the adjustment was). Splatoon 2 although the same game had a different version per region. So if you had a US/EU/ JP copy you were locked into regional special events.
For a good rule of thumb, Koei Tecmo-published games usually never have English support, while Nintendo-published games do (except Splatoon for some reason).
I ran into this issue with Hyrule Warriors, in which I stupidly thought it was a Nintendo game (ya know, Zelda!), but it was actually published by Koei Tecmo in Japan, meaning it was only Japanese. Annoyingly as well, Nintendo publishes the game overseas and has Japanese support! Make sense of that!
But yeah, the Nintendo site has all the information. Same with PlayStation for their games. Best to check on there first before buying.
This website has been a lifesaver – it’ll tell you whether the game will have English or not! I always check it when I’m in the local bookoff!
https://www.perfectly-nintendo.com/nintendo-switch-list-of-games-with-english-language-option-in-japan/
It happened to my husband. He bought me dragon quest XI for the switch (gorgeous edition) and we came to find out it only has Japanese text. It has an English voice over option but not much help for the text. The regular edition has full English support. Not the best way to try and introduce me to dragon quest lol
We learned the hard way to always check which editions have what languages.