I agree. This post, then, will focus on five Famicom games that currently reside on my "play as soon as you've learned enough Japanese" (whatever that means) shortlist, while future posts likely will focus on GameBoy Advance, Game Gear, PlayStation and WonderSwan games. (Don't worry, I'm considering adding Mega Drive, PlayStation 2, Saturn and Super Famicom games to this series, too.)
1. Digital Devil Monogatari: Megami Tensei--I've yet to play any of the mainline Megami Tensei or Shin Megami Tensei titles (Shin Megami Tensei IV for the 3DS will be my first), so why do I want to play this one so badly? I guess I'm a sucker for old-school dungeon-crawlers and RPGs. Let's just hope that this one relies entirely (or at least mostly) on hiragana and katakana, rather than kanji, to tell its story--otherwise, I may end up wishing I'd avoided it altogether.
2. Ganbare Goemon Gaiden I and II--A pair of Goemon-based RPGs, you say? And they feature some surprisingly nice (although by no means amazing) graphics? Where do I sign up? Oh, and another feather in the pixelated caps worn by this pair of Konami-made games: both have absolutely breathtaking box art.
3. Lagrange Point--Considering how many Famicom games have been translated into English by fans over the years, I'm more than a bit surprised that this one has yet to join the club, so to speak. I mean, not only was it developed and published by Konami, but it's also a sci-fi RPG, for crying out loud. Maybe the VRC7 chip that was used to enhance the game's music and sound effects has hampered translators? Whatever the reason, I've always wanted to play it, so hopefully I'll be able to do so sooner rather than later. (Although, honestly, I'll take what I can get.)
4. Shin Onigashima--Call me crazy, but I've been curious about this text-based adventure ever since I first laid eyes on a few screenshots of it as a youngster. Back then, I was especially attracted to its overtly Asian art style, but these days I also like that, according to the Shin Onigashima Wikipedia entry, its story apparently is made up of "numerous interwoven Japanese fairytales."
5. Square's Tom Sawyer--I was blissfully unaware of this 8-bit, RPG-ified take on Mark Twain's classic novel from 1876 until my pal, blogger Drew Mackie, published an eye-opening post about it ("An Ill-Advised Trip Down a Pixelated River") last summer. I've wanted to play it ever since. Given that, maybe this should be the first Japanese-heavy Famicom game I attempt once I've learned enough of the language?
See also: 'Five PC Engine games I'm going to (attempt to) play once I've learned enough Japanese'
