InfoGenius Systems: Berlitz French Translator

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story | gameplay | my thoughts |
level structure | controls | options

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BASIC INFO:
Title ....... InfoGenius Systems: Berlitz French Translator
Players ..... 1
Genre ....... nongame
Subgenre .... language software, foreign language aid, french
Platform .... Game Boy

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STORY:
None.

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GAMEPLAY:
Choose a "side" of the dictionary/translator: English-to-French or French-to-English. Whichever side you choose, you are prompted to choose "WORDS", "PHRASES", "NUMBERS", or "CONVERSATIONS". Further explanation below:

WORDS: Type in a word to get the French (or English) equivalent. For example, after choosing English-to-French, a search for "LIGHT" gives the response:
ALLUMER (V)
CLAIR (ADJ)
LÉGER (ADJ)
LUMIÈRE (F)
One assumes that ALLUMER is the verb "to light", CLAIR and LÉGER are adjectives, and LUMIÈRE is a feminine noun. There is no distinction made between the two adjectives, so the reader has to guess which mean "not heavy" and which means "not dark".

Male nouns are indicated with the parenthetical notation (M). Adverbs are indicated with (ADV). Articles with (ART), and so on.

PHRASES: If you have ever looked at a "Pocket guide to French", you can pretty much guess what this part looks like. There are 7 basic options (BASICS, TRANSPORTATION, RELAXING, SHOPPING, EMERGENCIES, EATING OUT, or ACCOMODATION), each of which opens up to 3 more options. Once you find the actual phrases, 3 clicks in, you must press down and up on the control pad to look at different ones. (For the record, "I DON'T UNDERSTAND" is under BASICS: LANGUAGES.)

NUMBERS: Type in a number on a number pad. You will get the written equivalent in either French or English, depending on which side of the dictionary you are on.

CONVERSIONS: Currency and metric converters. The currency converter is hilariously outdated and useless, though kind of quaint. The metric converter is actually useful. The English-to-French side will convert miles to kilometers, M/H to KM/H, and Fahrenheit to Celsius; the French-to-English side does it in reverse.

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THOUGHTS:
This may be interesting to the advanced English/French student, particularly if French is the L1. If my experiences with Spanish textbooks from the era are anything to judge by, it's possible that the French word bank contains words or phrases that were humorously outdated at the time the game was published; it's also likely the word bank was inconsistent in what Francophone countries it took vocabulary from.

It may also be of interest to the average language nerd. It gives a snapshot of what sort of phrases, in 1991, were considered "basic" to the traveler. It also shows you what sort of words and phrases were not yet considered words (internet) or culturally important enough to be worthy of inclusion (video game, videogame). Even the censored words are interesting.

LEVEL STRUCTURE:
No levels here.

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CONTROLS:
D-pad .... move cursor
select ... return to previous menu screen
start .... choose menu option; enter word/number
A ........ choose menu option; choose letter, choose number
B ........ backspace

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OPTIONS:
Nope.

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