Which old or new games should I start playing to help me learn Japanese?

Well, there you have it: I'm trying to learn Japanese. Again.

You may remember that I said this very same thing (well, not the "again" part) a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, after memorizing the language's katakana and hiragana syllabaries and then beginning the process of learning actual words and grammar, my studies fell off a cliff. I don't remember what prompted that plumet, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with a deluge of freelance writing assignments.

Dragon Quest (Famicom)

Given the amount of time that has passed since that original, aborted attempt, I basically was forced to go back to the beginning for this second one. I'm already back to where I left off, though, thanks in large part to a couple of handful of apps I added to my phone a couple of weeks ago.

I'm going to keep using those apps, as well as a few new ones and even the GENKI series of textbooks, to continue my studies, but I also want to toss some slightly more entertaining, real-world "lessons" into the mix this time around. Specifically, I want to use Japanese games to bolster what I learn about the language via the above-mentioned applications.

Some of the games I'm currently considering for this endeavor:

Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari (aka Great Greed, GameBoy)
Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon (WonderSwan)
Dragon Quest (Famicom)
Lunar: Samposuru Gakuen (Game Gear)
Madou Monogatari (Game Gear)
Mother (Famicom)
Pro Tennis: World Court (PC Engine)
SaGa (GameBoy)

I'm not far enough along in my studies to understand all of the Japanese text these games are sure to throw at me, but I should be able to understand the bulk of the katakana that pops up, plus I plan to regularly look up words that make use of hiragana.

Mother (Famicom)

I pretty much pulled the selections above out of thin air, by the way, so if any of you know of other games--I'm especially interested in hearing about any Japanese 3DS, DS, PSP or Vita games that could help me expand my vocabulary--that you think would be useful for this purpose, please share their names in the comments section below.

A long-overdue update RE: my quest to learn Japanese

All the way back in early January I mentioned--in this post--that I'd like to start learning Japanese this year.

Well, it took me a good while, but I finally started learning hiragana--one of the language's three syllabaries, along with katakana and kanji--just under two weeks ago.

In fact, as of Thursday I've memorized all 46 "basic" hiragana characters that can be seen in the chart below as well as the "functional marks" that are used to modify a handful of them.

Is this not the most adorable hiragana chart you've ever seen?

With that out of the way, though, I'm not entirely sure what to do next. Should I take the next week or so to learn the katakana syllabary, or should I start learning hiragana words and basic grammar and then come back to katakana?

I have a feeling I should go with the first option, but I'm completely open to suggestion at this point. What do those of you who've already learned Japanese think I should do?

Let's not call it a resolution: I want to start learning Japanese in 2013

I know the kind of comment in the header above is of the "duh" variety when it comes to many western gamers, but I'm going to share it here it anyway.

Also a comment of the "duh" variety: I've wanted to start learning Japanese since I was a teen. I've never done anything about that desire, though, because, well, the whole thing overwhelms me, to be completely honest.

For starters, how should I go about learning to read and write this language? Should I take a course? Should I hire a tutor? Should I invest in something like Rosetta Stone? Should I pick up some books (such as the ones mentioned here)? Should I use a website (like this one)?



Based on what I've been told and what I've read on line over the years, I'm guessing books and/or websites are the way to go, but I'm not at all sure about that. And even if they are the way to go, which books and websites should I utilize?

Another question that's been bouncing around in my head for some time: once I finally make a decision as to which method I'm going to use to teach myself Japanese, which alphabet do I start with--kanji, katakana or hiragana?

I know at least a few of you understand Japanese. If any of you would be willing to share (in the comments section below) your thoughts, recommendations and opinions on this subject, I'd greatly appreciate it!