That's a great recommendation, thank you so much - especially since DS is region free though JP app stores are probably the cheaper option. Maybe I should go really crazy and play 4-6 like that since I haven't played those entries. Thinking about it with Layton it would be extra tough because the puzzles are already often hard and in this case I'd have to figure out what they even want me to do. I imagine with anything involving math terms it would get extra tricky. But I suppose I could always look up the English version of a puzzle if need be.
I originally intended to play the Ace Attorney games (haven't played any) and I have the JP version of the second DS game. But I haven't gotten around to it yet.
I'm actually about to start my very first game in Japanese. I've tried a few others in the past but never with the intention of trying to understand what's written. This game will be Starfy (GBA), so hopefully it shouldn't be bad. And I have a copy of Terranigma to play on SFC once I get really proficient. That's a good goal for me to have in mind - as are the Layton novels you mentioned, thanks for letting me know of those! And I would welcome any other game recommendations you think are good for studying the language.
In general, whatever motivates you to keep reading is a good pick.
Starfy sounds like a great first game. Nintendo games are welcoming since they make an effort to be accessible to kids. Some titles like Splatoon are full of puns and modern language. RPGs have a tendency to include rarer Kanji (especially in item, attack, spell names) to give those games a more ancient or exotic feeling. I haven't played them in Japanese, but I think the Xenoblade games might fall into that category. I'd instead recommend the Dragon Quest games, they are very light on Kanji usage and the gameplay and story are instantly familiar if you've ever played a JRPG.
Retro games tend to have less text, but it's still a good idea to a quick Google / YT search first and see if you can easily understand the font. At least early on, some older games can be hard to read because of the low screen resolution. Terranigma should be fine, but anything before SNES / GBA is worth looking up first.
Modern games often let you pause cutscenes while the subtitles are still on screen, offer additional subs for minor dialogue or let you pick from a number of fonts. It's always a good idea to check out all options in the settings menu first and see if you can maybe make live a little easier for yourself.
I found that you start to play games differently if you use them as language learning tools or added motivation. The Layton games are written in a polite tone and offer furigana, but as you said the puzzles can be tricky. I don't think there's any shame in using a guide when you don't understand the question and focus on picking up some math or science terms along the way for your flashcards.
It takes time, but the more you play of a series the easier the games become to understand since you slowly become familiar with a particular writing style and the recurring terms. Long series like DQ, Ace Attorney or Layton are ideal for that. I'd say AA is the most complicated out of those three but really fun when you start to understand the wordplay and idioms. And while I haven't played them yet, I can promise you that the Starfy games will become easier to understand from game to game :)
