Recommend Japanese Games

[Kae]

My recommendation would be the Samurai Shodown series, which is pretty fucking good as fighting games go but more importantly.

The Last Blade 2, probably the best fighting game ever made, well tied with Garou Mark of The Wolves, in any case it's a fighting game that is mostly Japanese, there are a couple of characters that aren't but it's worth a shot, it's really good, just play it.

 

[retsupurae yahtsee]

Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, Atlus, XSeed, Platinum, Treasure, Tecmo and Taito have a great list of classics. Zelda--the 2D ones are by far the best--Mario, Metroid, Little Nemo, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Puzzle Bubble, Mega Man, Little King's Story, Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, Mother, God Hand, No More Heroes, Shadows of the Damned, Resident Evil 4, 5 and Revelations 1 and 2, Dragon's Dogma, Bucky O'Hare, Castlevania, Contra, Alien Soldier, Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Bionic Commando, Magic Sword, Wonderful 101, Devil May Cry, Kid Chameleon, Ikaruga, Ninja Gaiden, Double Dragon, Kunio Kun, Layla, Ai Senshi Nichol, Otocky, Twinbee, Parodius, Ghosts and Goblins, The Guardian Legend, Jet Set Radio, New Ghostbusters 2, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse are all great choices.

 

[bluegate]

Way of the Samurai 1 through 4 are probably what you'd want to be playing, even though this series has already been mentioned a couple of times.

The games usually revolve around a single event, but you have freedom in how the event unfolds, what your role in it is, which factions or whatever you side with. They aren't as expansive as Elder Scrolls games, but their nature comes pretty close. Aside from having influence on the story, there are a lot of different weapons and fighting styles and clothes, making it possible to carve out your feudal little self, in a bit of a restricted fashion.

The games do require a certain amount of devotion of the player, being willing to play through the game a couple of times, paying attention to when events play out, how they effect quests and what not. They can be hard to get in to, but given some effort and time, they can be very enjoyable.

My personal favorite in the series is probably number 4, because it shows the highest level of polish and refining of the franchise, but mostly because I like the age in which it is set. Do you stick with traditional Japanese values or do you side with the Western values.

If you are into stealth games, I would recommend the Tenchu games on the PS2 and Shinobido on PS2. Whereas in Tenchu you follow a single story, in Shinobido you get the chance to ally yourself with a small number of factions, influencing where the story takes you.
Sadly, this game never got a next gen sequel on the PS3, only ever sequel on the Vita.

 

[Skatalite]

Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, Atlus, XSeed, Platinum, Treasure, Tecmo and Taito have a great list of classics. Zelda--the 2D ones are by far the best--Mario, Metroid, Little Nemo, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Puzzle Bubble, Mega Man, Little King's Story, Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, Mother, God Hand, No More Heroes, Shadows of the Damned, Resident Evil 4, 5 and Revelations 1 and 2, Dragon's Dogma, Bucky O'Hare, Castlevania, Contra, Alien Soldier, Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Bionic Commando, Magic Sword, Wonderful 101, Devil May Cry, Kid Chameleon, Ikaruga, Ninja Gaiden, Double Dragon, Kunio Kun, Layla, Ai Senshi Nichol, Otocky, Twinbee, Parodius, Ghosts and Goblins, The Guardian Legend, Jet Set Radio, New Ghostbusters 2, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse are all great choices.

Alright, now read the OP and try again.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

Tenchu series. But stick too the PS2 games because I doubt you'll be able to adapt to PS1 stealth that isn't Metal Gear.

Soul of the Samurai

Way of the Samurai series. Stick with the ones that aren't absurdly priced.

 

[FPLOON]

Damn... All I can think of is Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed, every Persona game, every Samurai Warriors game, every Dynasty Warriors game, every Dynasty Warriors Gundam game, every Warriors Orochi game to an extent, and Odama...

Other than that, apparently, I knew more, but this thread is only reminding me of the one that I forgot about, anyway...