(1) I speak a little Japanese and can read enough kanji so that I can work out the jist of what's written there some of the time and would probably be able to survive in Tokyo; survive mind you, not instantly adapt. I need to improve because speaking Japanese has proved to be a selling point at college/school interviews in the past and will probably help get my foot in the door at job interviews. So immersing myself in the language by trying to understand the guide is part of the training process. I strive to learn it a lot harder when I want to know what a sentence about Kuja translates as rather than reading a textbook every day.
(2) Ultimania books and Ex Guides are sort of the Japanese S-E geek's bible. They're both strategy guides AND encyclopedias so they include concept artwork, full character bios, interviews with the development team and some really nice stuff that never sees the light of day in the west as well as information that we probably didn't get ingame. I initially bought them for the rare extras but the strategy guide was an added bonus. I uploaded some of the stuff on the comm a while ago since I felt they were worth sharing with the other fans.
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Long story...
Date: 2011-06-29 03:45 am (UTC)(2) Ultimania books and Ex Guides are sort of the Japanese S-E geek's bible. They're both strategy guides AND encyclopedias so they include concept artwork, full character bios, interviews with the development team and some really nice stuff that never sees the light of day in the west as well as information that we probably didn't get ingame. I initially bought them for the rare extras but the strategy guide was an added bonus. I uploaded some of the stuff on the comm a while ago since I felt they were worth sharing with the other fans.