Installing Japanese Games

Now that your system is set up with native Japanese language support, you can install and enjoy Japanese games. Installing Japanese software is actually no different than installing English software. You may not be able to read the install screens, but they follow the same basic format as installing English software.

Here is a small demonstration of installing the Japanese boys' love game Kichiku Megane:

1. Insert the game install disk into your CDROM or DVDROM drive.

2. Open up the game and run the install file (usually this will be a file called "setup" or "autorun". This should bring up the main installer window.

Often the install screens are written using katakana, such as インストール (install) or セットアップ (setup), and キャンセル (cancel) and アンインストール (uninstall). Though you don't have to worry too much about knowing the Japanese on the install screen: if you pick the one that cancels the install, then it'll simply close the window and you can open the installer again. In the case below we have Setup and Cancel, so the Setup button will be clicked to start the installation.

3. Typically your next screen in the installer will be to select the location to install the game. If you look at this, it is really pretty much the same as English software setup screens. The default is usually in the C: drive, but you can browse to another location on your computer.

This screen will usually also ask what type of installation you want: a full install or partial install. A full install will copy all game files to the hard drive, while a partial install only copies part of the files, so you have to run the game with the game disk in the CDROM drive for it to access the rest of the files. Personally, I recommend always using the full install option, since this lets the game run much faster than having to access files off of the disk. However, if you are really low on hard drive space, you may opt for the partial install. How will you know which is which? Usually the full install option will have フル (full) in the option. However, again you don't have to know the Japanese to figure it out, because there will be sizes in megabytes of how big each install is: just seeing those numbers will give you an idea.

4. If you are familar with installing English programs, you'll notice you have a continue option and a cancel option (or sometimes a Cancel, Back, and Next). Japanese software follows that same basic pattern, with a Continue and a Cancel, or a Cancel, Back, and Next pattern. Sometimes the ordering of the buttons changes from game to game, but if you select the wrong one, it'll only close the installer and then you start it again and know what to choose. Often you'll even find english letters on the buttons, like (N) for Next and (B) for Back and (X) for Cancel, or even install buttons completely in English. In the example below, the continue option is on the left and the cancel option is on the right.

You may run into your typical "would you like to continue with installation?" message; again, this isn't really any surprise compared to English software, which usually gives the same prompt. Usually these simply have a "Yes" or "No" option in English.

Now your game will proceed to copy over the game files to your designated location.

5. If your game is multiple disks, at some point in the middle of installation, it will ask you to insert the next disk into your drive and then continue. This is easy to notice because it'll say "Disc 2" or "ディスク2" (or whatever disk number it is looking for). Installation will then resume.

Now your installation is complete! You'll usually get some sort of option box at the end of your install that is simply letting you know the install is finished, and you can click Okay on it.

Be aware that some games may want to do initial installs of software their game uses, such as DirectX or certain media files, and these usually occur either at the very beginning of the install or at the very end. If you know you don't need the files (for example, you have the most current version of DirectX already installed) then you can cancel these. Otherwise, go ahead and let them install.

When you completely finish your install, usually you are brought back to the initial screen, only now it will have the options to run the game or uninstall the game.

6. At this point, most people would consider the installation of their Japanese game complete; however, there is another very important step that should not be ignored: installing any update patches for the game. Often, game companies will find problems with their games after release, and release correction patches for the game on their website. These patches can correct anything from system problems such as lag, to CGs that won't unlock, to crashes that occur when you try playing certain routes. That's why it is very important that you always check for a patch right after installation, before you start playing the game, and if one exists, download it and run it. You don't want to patch your game later, because sometimes this can mess up your save data. You can find patches from the company website of the game maker. For bishoujo games, the best place to check to see if a game requires a patch is the Japanese site Repair ~Patch Library~, where you can search for the title of a game to see if any patches are available. They also have patches available for many legacy games where the company websites no longer exist. For boys' love and otome games, I have created the Boys' Love Games Headquarters Patch Database, where you can simply search for the title of your game and download the patch if one is available. This makes it quick and easy to see if your game has a patch and download it.

Sometimes because of copy protections, games will require the game CD to be located in the drive to make a disk check when you run the game. If you have a game that gives you some sort of error about needing the original disk (オリジナルディスク) or you simply don't want to have to leave the disk in the drive to launch the game, you may wish to see if a "no disk" patch is available. I have an archive of noCD and noDVD patches for a variety of bishoujo, boys' love, and otome games located here: The No Disk Patch Database.

This should guide you through the basics of game installation. Remember, the install screens for every game will be formatted a little differently, but overall they follow the same basic structures as English software installs, so installing Japanese games shouldn't be difficult; don't get freaked out by all the install instructions being in Japanese.

Uninstalling Japanese Games

When you are finished with a game, there are a few different ways you can remove it from your system.

1. First, back up your save data folder from the game if you think you ever may reinstall it. The save data is usually very small, and you never know when you might want to play again and load off of one of your old saves, or replay a scene from the scene gallery. Usually the game will have some sort of Save folder holding your save data. Some games ask you in the uninstall process if you want to keep your save data, but not all of them do, and if you select the wrong option then it gets erased. Therefore, I highly recommend backing up your save files manually before you uninstall your game.

2. To uninstall your game, first go to Windows Control Panel and click on "Add or Remove Programs" and see if the game is in the list. If it is listed, then click on it and uninstall it (games with English titles will just appear in the alphebetical listing of software on your computer, and games with Japanese titles will be found at the very bottom of the list). However, many Japanese games will not have a listing in "Add or Remove Programs", and must be uninstalled by other means. The game being used in this example, Kichiku Megane, does not have a listing in "Add or Remove Programs".

When this happens, then you will have to insert the game install disk into your CDROM, and run the Setup program. You will notice that now additional items have been added: for one, the install option is now changed to an uninstall option (アンインストール). Click on this, and it will start the uninstaller.

Some other places you may find game uninstallers is in the game folder as a separate file, or in the game's listing under the My Programs list in Windows. Most often however, you will use either "Add or Remove Programs" or uninstall off the game disk.


Boys' Love Games Headquarters Complete Idiot's Guide to Japanese Gaming © March 2009
Presented by Mastress Alita @ Boys' Love Games Headquarters
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