Koe (声): Part 1

About

"Koe : Part 1" is a narrative-driven JRPG-inspired language learning game, where you play as a high school exchange student in a rural Japanese city. As you make friends and learn the language, you discover a peculiar shrine that transforms you into a warrior. In the world of Koe, your words are your weapons, and you'll use them to battle and explore while returning to Sakurachou to strengthen your arsenal. The game aims to introduce players to the Japanese language and culture.

Genres & Tags

Role Playing

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 34 reviews

atmosphere2 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game offers a rich immersion experience with plenty of listening practice and the ability to toggle between English and Japanese translations.
Koe is praised for its blend of JRPG elements and language learning, showcasing the developers' dedication and effort in creating an enjoyable educational tool.
Constant updates and improvements enhance the gameplay experience, making it a valuable resource for those looking to refine their Japanese skills.

The game suffers from slow pacing and excessive loading times, which detracts from the overall experience and engagement.
Many players feel that the battle system does not effectively reinforce language learning, as it lacks meaningful translation challenges.
The game is criticized for not adequately introducing language concepts, making it less suitable for beginners and potentially frustrating for new learners.

graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The game's graphics reflect its 10-year age, showcasing a mix of impressive environmental art and character detail alongside noticeable glitches, such as floating NPCs and odd animations. While these issues detract from the overall experience, many players believe they can be patched out, leaving a generally positive impression of the game's artistic elements.
- “Graphically, the game is alright; it's definitely showing its 10-year-old age, but I'm surprised at how jam-packed with environmental art and characters the game is.”
- “I saw some graphical issues, like NPCs flying instead of walking, but it doesn't matter because I see that all details were included in everything connected with characters and learning.”
- “There are a few graphical glitches, but nothing absolutely terrible (characters floating, gliding, popping in and out of existence, weird animations). I'm sure that the majority can be patched out.”
- “There are a bit of graphical glitches but nothing absolutely terrible (characters floating, gliding, popping in and out of existence, weird animations). I'm sure that the majority can be patched out.”
- “Graphically, the game is a mixed bag.”
- “I saw some graphical issues, like NPCs flying instead of walking, but it doesn't matter because I see that all details were included in everything connected with characters, learning stuff, etc.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay is criticized for being excessively slow, initially resembling a visual novel before awkwardly incorporating a battling mechanic that utilizes learned words. Reviewers found the battle system unclear and felt that it detracted from the overall experience, leading to a lack of engagement.
- “However, the gameplay is incredibly slow and starts out as a visual novel, then tries to introduce a battling mechanic whereby you use the words you learned to do combat.”
- “However, the actual gameplay was lacking, and the battle system wasn't clear on how you're actually learning the language.”
- “However, the gameplay is incredibly slow and starts out as a visual novel, then tries to introduce a battling mechanic whereby you use the words you learned to do combat.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users consistently highlight memory performance as the primary optimization issue, indicating that it significantly impacts the overall gameplay experience.
- “The biggest issue is memory performance.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is marked by some graphical glitches, such as characters floating and popping in and out of existence, but these issues are not considered severe and are likely to be addressed in future patches.
- “There are a few graphical glitches, but nothing absolutely terrible (characters floating, gliding, popping in and out of existence, weird animations). I'm sure that the majority can be patched out.”
- “There are a few graphical glitches, but nothing absolutely terrible (characters floating, gliding, popping in and out of existence, weird animations). I'm sure that the majority can be patched out.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users noting that it feels immersive and polished, resembling a well-crafted JRPG rather than a typical edutainment title. This attention to detail enhances the overall experience, making it engaging and enjoyable.
- “I completely forgot this was an edutainment game--the atmosphere is great, and it's clear the developers put in the effort to make a solid, polished JRPG, not a 'vocab-tool-shaped-like-a-JRPG'.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is engaging and well-developed, with enjoyable characters and combat, typical of a standard JRPG. Overall, players find the narrative compelling and immersive.
- “Honestly, I was enjoying the story, characters, and combat even if it was just a normal JRPG.”