dragon quest

まんたん

Fill up HP. If already full it says: "However, It did not absorb it at all"

さくせんがえ

Change colors and position of party (like Final Fantasy)

せんれつ

Change Party order

戦列 - Front row

こうれつ

後列 - Back row

スキルふりわけ

Skill points

しぐさ　とうろく

Gesture Sub Menu

プロフィールせってい

Profile SettingsProfile Sub Menu

ボリュームせってい

Volume Settings

ちゅうでん

Here is a translation of the main menu.

どうぐ　　ー　道具

Literally "tools" (items). See the Tools Submenu

　

そうび　　ー　装備

Literally "equipment". Weapons and armor.

つよさ　　ー　強さ

Strengths.

じゅもん　ー　呪文

Spells.

せんれき　ー　戦歴

Literally "Military Experience".

さくせん　ー　作戦

Literally "Combat Experience". See the Settings Submenu

This is going to be a guide about playing Dragon Quest IX in its native Japanese on the Nintendo DS. Why? Because I love the series, and because I want to learn Japanese. The game itself serves as a great (if not somewhat challenging) introduction to the Japanese language.

The fact that the game has furigana (little characters above the kanji to tell you how it is pronounecd) make it much easier to look words up in a pocket dictionary. Additionally, there are spaces between the words, making it easier to translate everything word by word.