I hope this thread is okay with the mods, if not, feel free to delete it. But I've hung out in the Codec/Game section for such a long time already, and literally every second thread is about this problem.
Okay, everyone, listen up:
Your games will not work correctly if you do not install and switch to Japanese language support.
Yes, there is a minimal percentage of games that works without doing so, but you'll be able to count those on one hand. So you absolutely NEED to switch your language settings before installing/playing.
Here is how you do it:
Changing the system language:
1) Go to the System Control Panel (Start --> Settings --> System Control)
2) Select "Regional and Language Options"
3) Click the tab "Advanced"
4) Select "Japanese" from the drop-down menu
5) The computer will ask if you want to re-install from the Windows CD. Select "No". The computer will now reboot.
6) Once it has rebooted, nothing has changed, except for the backslashes showing up as Yen-symbols. This is normal. All standard programs (i.e. MS Word, Firefox, etc.) will run as expected.
Now, if you don't have Japanese support installed, there are some things to do.
Installing additional language support:
1) Get your Windows XP CD ready. If you don't have one... things will be tougher. Please refer to the section below.
2) If you have a CD, do the following: Select the System Control Panel.
3) Click "Regional and Language Options".
4) Click the tab labeled "Languages". There are two ticky boxes. The first is for installing languages with complex symbols (like Japanese and Thai) and the second one is for installing support for East Asian languages.
5) Tick both options, then click okay.
6) The computer should now automatically install from the CD-Rom.
7) After the installation is complete (a reboot may be required), you can try the steps for setting your system to Japanese.
ATTENTION Windows XP Home users/people without Win XP CD-ROMs:
If you are not running on Windows XP Professional edition, you are in a sticky situation. Unless you have the original Windows XP Home CD-ROM, Microsoft.com does not offer downloads for the East Asian language pack for you. Downloading the Win XP Pro pack will not work.
No, I have no idea why this is so. Yes, they are idiots for doing this. But a fellow user posted instructions which MIGHT enable you to still play your games:
Go to this thread for further instructions:
http://aarinfantasy.com/forum/f52/t6..._japanese.html
And that's it. Try all of the above before doing anything else with your games.