Learn Japanese To Survive! Kanji Combat

83%
Game Brain Score Based on 198 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • grinding
Learn Japanese To Survive! Kanji Combat Game Cover
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"Learn Japanese To Survive! Kanji Combat" is a video game designed to help players learn Japanese kanji through an immersive combat system. In the game, players battle monsters by correctly identifying and writing kanji characters, improving their language skills in a fun and interactive way. With multiple levels of difficulty and comprehensive reviews, it offers a unique approach to language learning.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 198 reviews
story15 positive mentions
grinding16 negative mentions
  • The game effectively teaches basic Kanji through engaging RPG mechanics, making learning fun and interactive.
  • The character designs and voice acting are improved compared to previous titles, adding depth to the experience.
  • The town-building aspect allows for additional gameplay variety and reinforces the learning process by integrating Kanji into various game elements.
  • The story and dialogue are overly lengthy and can detract from the learning experience, making it feel repetitive.
  • The game lacks effective tools for learning pronunciation and context for Kanji, which may hinder deeper understanding.
  • Combat can become monotonous, as battles often follow a predictable pattern, leading to a sense of grind rather than challenge.
  • story65 mentions

    The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players feeling it detracts from the educational experience rather than enhancing it. While some appreciate the engaging plot and character development, others criticize the dialogue quality and excessive length of story segments, which can overshadow the primary goal of learning kanji. Overall, the narrative is seen as a weak point that could benefit from better writing and integration with the educational content.

    • “The story is engaging, and unlike the first game, the combat does not get in the way of the lessons - on the contrary, when combined with good note-taking, I found that the lessons stuck with me when playing kanji combat, and there's more to do besides learning the kanji as well!”
    • “This game more than makes up for its failure as a compelling JRPG by having both gameplay and story progression revolve around learning Japanese kanji.”
    • “The story is refreshing, characters are lovable, and dialogue is a little corny sometimes, but I like it.”
    • “The story seems to be the focus of these games; it's just a disappointing shame that they never gave the story to someone else to proofread their work or get a second opinion. To put it frankly, the story is bad, an improvement over the giant plot hole in Katakana Wars, but that was a low bar to surpass. Clearly, where the majority of time has been spent, but sadly the story still feels like someone's first attempt at writing a story.”
    • “But the story dominates over any kind of actual learning to be had.”
    • “The story segments between the actual lessons can get tedious, and the mnemonic devices for remembering the kanji can get a little silly.”
  • gameplay34 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is characterized by solid educational mechanics focused on learning kanji, complemented by a clear story and appealing visuals. However, many users feel that the gameplay has become repetitive and lacks depth compared to previous entries in the franchise, with some mechanics not effectively enhancing the learning experience. While the game successfully integrates learning with fun, it is criticized for its simplistic RPG elements and missed opportunities for more engaging gameplay challenges.

    • “The game has solid strategic educational gameplay mechanics, clear story direction, great soundtrack, and nice art direction.”
    • “Despite this, the general gameplay loop is fun and satisfying enough to help you learn kanji without it being a stressful, agonizing experience, like it is to learn from textbooks.”
    • “In each 'lesson', you get some excellent explanations of 5 kanji at a time, and each of its several components you have to learn (what it means, how to write it, what it resembles graphically, how to pronounce it on its own, and how to pronounce it with other kanji), and then the game helps you memorize them through gameplay.”
    • “I thought the developers would realize that and install certain mechanics, but the approach was honestly really lazy.”
    • “The actual gameplay requires you to match the prompt from an ever-expanding list.”
    • “My biggest problem: the gameplay just loops around in the same pattern for almost the entirety of the game!”
  • grinding16 mentions

    Reviews highlight that while grinding in the game can be tedious and repetitive, it is often framed as an educational experience, particularly for learning kanji. The RPG format and orb system make the grinding feel rewarding and less monotonous for some players, though others find it frustrating and overly complex. Overall, the necessity of grinding is acknowledged, with mixed feelings about its impact on enjoyment and learning.

    • “I'm a little dismayed that the gameplay involves a lot of grinding in a practice dungeon so one can survive the real encounters.”
    • “This game is also a lot more difficult than either Katakana War and Hiragana Battle, requiring a large amount of grinding in order to keep your character's speed up high enough to avoid getting pummeled by the obake before they get a chance to attack.”
    • “I personally felt it was more fun to just study a dictionary than to play this, but take this review with a grain of salt because I personally hate the extreme repetitiveness and grinding of these kinds of games.”
  • music14 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the varied and engaging soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. While some found the battle themes particularly enjoyable, others felt that certain tracks lacked impact and could be improved. Overall, the soundtrack is considered decent, contributing positively to the game's strategic and educational elements.

    • “The game has solid strategic educational gameplay mechanics, clear story direction, great soundtrack, and nice art direction.”
    • “I'm actually most impressed by the music.”
    • “The battle soundtrack was cool though.”
    • “The soundtrack is a 4/10; the music in this game is worse than the Katakana Combat one. I don't feel much during battles in Kanji Combat.”
    • “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
    • “The music is varied enough to not get annoying right away, but some of it is actually not bad. There's even a unique final boss song with vocals and a credit song!”
  • graphics9 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the detailed character models and beautiful anime-style artwork, while others criticize certain elements, such as poorly executed hand-drawn kanji and an overall overproduced feel. While the visuals are generally considered good, there are calls for improvement, particularly in moving away from RPG Maker aesthetics to enhance the overall experience.

    • “The character models in particular are detailed, with strong animations, and the artwork is beautiful to look at with authentic anime-styled drawings.”
    • “Music, graphics, and gameplay are all good, and the main focus is always on learning.”
    • “The current concept is good and definitely proves that the developers have learned from their mistakes from the previous series. If they are capable of improving the graphics and playtime by adding more events, stories, character developments, etc., it would be gold.”
    • “If anything, it feels overproduced compared to the graphics.”
    • “Few 'hand-drawn' kanji graphics were also bad; a single one even had a mistake.”
    • “The current concept is good and definitely proves that SD really learns from their mistakes from the previous series, but if somehow SD is capable of improving the graphics (not like the current RPG Maker style), it would be gold.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent freezes, crashes, and significant lag during gameplay, particularly during the intro sequence. Many players express frustration over the game's buggy performance, which detracts from the overall experience despite improvements in story and character depth compared to previous titles.

    • “I've tried twice now to get through the long intro dialog sequence, but the game always freezes before I even get a chance to save.”
    • “If the content wasn't like the way it is already, this game is buggy, laggy, slow, flows like spoiled honey, crashes so many times, and it feels like it is going to crash your computer.”
    • “The WASD option didn't work, along with the achievements, and it was buggier than the other games.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating the funny explanations for kanji that aid memory retention, as well as amusing character interactions and scenes. Overall, the humor adds a positive and engaging element to the gameplay experience.

    • “I admit that the little classes about the kanjis are somewhat entertaining; funny explanations to help you remember.”
    • “It's a bit funny, a good concept, and the characters have little scenes too, which is cool.”
    • “I also liked the humor that was present in the game.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development in the game is seen as limited and somewhat intrusive, detracting from its educational focus. While there are attempts at character growth, particularly with Hana's heart event, it feels underdeveloped and generic. Reviewers express hope for future improvements in character depth and storytelling to enhance the overall experience.

    • “The current concept is good and definitely proves that SD really learns from their mistakes from the previous series. If somehow SD is capable of improving the graphics (not like the current RPG Maker style) and playtime - adding more events, stories, character developments, etc., it would be gold, just like Koe.”
    • “There's exposition and character development and a generic RPG thrown in, but it really gets in the way of what should be a more straightforward educational game.”
    • “I understand that you can't expect full-fledged character development given the nature of the game, but in this case, Hana's heart event just seemed wrong.”
    • “The current concept is good and definitely proves that SD really learned from their mistakes from the previous series. If somehow SD is capable of improving the graphics (not like the current RPG Maker style) and playtime - adding more events, stories, character developments, etc., it would be gold, just like Koe.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The optimization of the game is criticized for its lengthy dialogues and ineffective kanji presentation, which includes multiple readings for each character, complicating the learning process for players at all proficiency levels.

    • “The dialogues are long and tiring, and we are presented with about three or four kanji at each level, which does not offer an effective performance. Coupled with the fact that there is more than one reading for the studied kanji, this makes it difficult for learners at the beginner level, as well as those at medium to advanced levels.”
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