Learn Japanese To Survive! Katakana War

94%
Game Brain Score Based on 308 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
Learn Japanese To Survive! Katakana War Game Cover
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"Learn Japanese to Survive! Katakana War" is an educational game that teaches players the Katakana writing system of the Japanese language. It's the sequel to Hiragana Battle and is designed for players with no prior knowledge of Japanese. This immersive game provides a fun and interactive way to learn a new language, with a journey full of action, adventure, and intrigue. No prior experience or additional resources are needed to start learning with this game.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

94%
Audience ScoreBased on 308 reviews
story23 positive mentions
grinding10 negative mentions
  • The game effectively teaches Katakana through engaging gameplay, making it a fun way to learn the characters.
  • Improvements over the previous game include better graphics, a more polished combat system, and the ability to see enemies on the map, reducing random encounters.
  • The inclusion of an affection system and character interactions adds depth to the gameplay, making it more enjoyable and immersive.
  • The voice acting is often criticized as cringey and does not match the subtitles, detracting from the overall experience.
  • Some players found the story and characters to be underdeveloped, lacking depth and engagement.
  • There are occasional bugs and performance issues, particularly during cutscenes and when managing character affection levels.
  • story117 mentions

    The story in "Learn Japanese to Survive: Katakana War" is generally considered underwhelming, with many reviewers noting it as simplistic or juvenile, yet some appreciate its humorous elements and character interactions. While the narrative serves primarily as a vehicle for educational content, it has seen improvements over its predecessor, offering more characters and side quests that enhance the learning experience. However, inconsistencies and a lack of depth in the plot detract from its overall impact, leaving players more focused on gameplay and language acquisition than on the storyline itself.

    • “The story, the art, and the overall feel is way better than the previous game; the dialogue made me chuckle a couple of times.”
    • “It teaches you katakana while you are having fun, and the storyline is amazing.”
    • “Katakana Warriors has educational quests that help to learn Japanese grammar such as verbs and adjectives beyond just katakana words, and a quest log that allows players to see what each quest was about.”
    • “The story is very flat, though.”
    • “The antagonist of the story made no sense, but sure, we'll go with it.”
    • “I completely tuned out of the redundant storyline very quickly, and fortunately you can easily skip all the cut scenes and dialogue; however, there's surprisingly a lot of the latter considering the game's remit is teaching you a writing system, and the sheer volume you have to click through gets a bit wearing after a while.”
  • gameplay74 mentions

    The gameplay has seen significant improvements over its predecessor, with enhanced fighting mechanics, a more engaging story, and a streamlined interface that facilitates learning katakana through turn-based combat. While the repetitive nature of the gameplay aids memorization, some players find it time-consuming and suggest that the focus on RPG elements sometimes detracts from the educational aspect. Overall, the game successfully marries language learning with JRPG mechanics, making it a more enjoyable and effective tool for mastering katakana.

    • “The main gameplay loop of fighting katakana enemies forces you to memorize each character, and is a great way of revising what you've already gone over, especially since every character you've learned can show up to a fight.”
    • “They kept all of the things that made the last game good - the ease of learning, effective memory techniques, and amazing music - and also increased the gameplay element, which was a bit lackluster before.”
    • “The gameplay has received some improvements, like boss battles and being able to see the turn order, and the boost of presentation is nicely improved, with great character portraits and some voice acting.”
    • “The gameplay is very repetitive and basic; the music is decent and serves its purpose, but the voice acting is mediocre to bad.”
    • “The gameplay focuses too much on being an RPG instead of actually learning like the first game did.”
    • “The gameplay consists of study sessions where you learn characters used in combat against obake ('monsters') in a somewhat streamlined way of playing, but there are only 20 very simple side quests, totaling around 10 hours to complete the game in its entirety.”
  • music30 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its catchy and improved soundtrack compared to the previous installment, while others criticize its repetitiveness and abrupt looping. Many players appreciate the variety and higher production quality, particularly in battle and boss themes, but some find the overall composition lacking and the voice acting mediocre. Overall, the music serves its purpose in enhancing the gameplay experience, especially for learning katakana, but opinions on its quality vary significantly.

    • “The game graphics and music are both much improved over the original, with the visual novel style working well for laying out the story.”
    • “Awesome music collection.”
    • “This game is a good RPG, has a good combat system, has an excellent soundtrack, and the characters are amazing.”
    • “The music can be repetitive, and the storyline is not very interesting.”
    • “As far as gameplay features, the music doesn't loop very well and ends and restarts abruptly.”
    • “The voice acting isn't great and the soundtrack is absolute garbage but turn those down and it achieves what you'd hope.”
  • graphics19 mentions

    The graphics in the game have seen significant improvements over the original, featuring a beautiful art style that enhances the visual storytelling. While the visuals are reminiscent of classic systems like the Super Nintendo, they are more polished and engaging, despite some optimization issues that can affect performance. Overall, players appreciate the enhanced graphics and the charming aesthetic that complements the game's educational focus.

    • “The game graphics and music are both much improved over the original, with the visual novel style working well for laying out the story.”
    • “The graphics are superior, the art style is significantly better, the characters are more likeable, since this time you can actually befriend them.”
    • “The graphics are awesome, the kind of old school type, reminds me of 'Zelda'.”
    • “Plus the graphics look like something from SNES or Game Boy Color.”
    • “It has better visuals, even though it still has that 'RPG Maker' look; it clearly looks much better than the first game.”
    • “It was pretty good, learning-wise, not so much gameplay, voice acting, story writing, or graphics.”
  • humor15 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with initial moments of genuine hilarity giving way to more forced and cringeworthy attempts as the story progresses. While many players appreciate the lighthearted dialogue and comedic elements that make even the educational parts enjoyable, others find the humor to be overly simplistic or annoying. Overall, the game manages to deliver some laughs, but its comedic effectiveness varies significantly throughout the experience.

    • “In my review of the first game, I said it was a masterpiece of 'ironic drama' because it made me cringe so hard that it was funny.”
    • “Most dialogue with characters is humorous in some way, and the game makes sure that there are a few jokes before each lesson to make sure that even the driest parts of the game are still enjoyable.”
    • “There is some really dumb humor, but it's so dumb that it's actually funny.”
  • grinding10 mentions

    Overall, players note that while grinding remains a component of the game, it has been significantly improved in terms of enjoyment and purpose. The removal of random enemy encounters and the introduction of a more versatile companion system make grinding feel less tedious and more rewarding, especially for learning katakana. However, some players still wish for a more balanced leveling system to avoid being stuck with the same party members throughout the game.

    • “I played the previous version, Hiragana Wara, but stopped playing it because grinding was tedious and it felt not that fun to play.”
    • “It has pretty sub gameplay, story, and music, but for the purpose of learning katakana, it gives you a story to keep grinding for - and you have to learn to progress.”
    • “I wished all the members of your party leveled up with you, though, so you wouldn't be stuck using the same members you chose at the beginning of the game just to avoid hours and hours more of grinding.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is inconsistent, with some users reporting severe CPU usage and poor performance despite minimal graphical demands, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. In contrast, another title, Katakana War, is praised for its solid optimization and quality of life improvements, although it still suffers from slight performance issues in specific areas.

    • “With Katakana War, the game is fairly well optimized, with lots of quality of life improvements that are non-existent in its predecessor: no more random encounters, a more simple and fluid leveling system, achievements, an endless dungeon for easy drilling of everything you've learned, and even lots of scenes that are fully voice-acted, which was an extremely pleasant surprise.”
    • “The characters are fun and cute, and the gameplay itself is very optimized compared to Hiragana Wars.”
    • “All in all, a very good price-performance ratio makes this game very attractive to anyone wanting to learn Japanese.”
    • “It's not optimized for computers; the options provide a choice to use the WASD keyboard configuration, but it doesn't work. Despite being no more graphically intense than a Super Nintendo game, this game eats up CPU like crazy, making it hard to run.”
    • “I didn't even crack a smile once the whole time. I try to skip through as much of the dialogue as I possibly can, and even that is slow because of how poorly optimized this game is.”
    • “There are more than one way to run a 'fake fullscreen mode' that makes the game look like full screen mode, but has the performance of windowed mode.”
  • emotional3 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is enhanced by its beautiful character art and heartfelt voice acting, despite some moments being perceived as cringy. The transition from traditional battles to a more interactive approach, where players engage enemies by touching them, adds a unique and touching layer to the gameplay experience. Overall, the combination of visual novel elements and character interactions contributes to a warm and engaging emotional atmosphere.

    • “Happily, this game improves upon hiragana battle with wonderful art of all the characters, voice acting (which I admit is sometimes cringy, but heartwarming all the same), and a little bit of visual novel action too.”
  • stability3 mentions

    The game has been reported to experience frequent crashes and glitches, particularly during key events such as cutscenes, where players have noted issues like freezing while audio continues. Overall, stability appears to be a significant concern among users.

    • “I've read in the comments and other places that the game sometimes has glitches.”
    • “It's good, but it crashes a lot and there are quite a few glitches.”
    • “During the final affection event of a character, is it just me, or does the cutscene freeze after they finish talking, while the audio continues in the background?”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the modern and appealing character designs, while others criticize the voice acting and character depth as lacking. Many feel that the characters are poorly written and fail to engage players, with clichéd designs and insufficient backstory contributing to a sense of disconnection. Overall, the execution appears rushed, leaving players dissatisfied with the character development aspect.

    • “The character designs are modern and appealing.”
    • “The story so far is quite good, though the playable characters and voice acting aren't to my personal taste; the very cutesy and annoying style of voice acting and character design detracts from the experience.”
    • “There are incorrect phonetics and pronunciation references, half-hearted kana stroke order representations, and terrible voice acting. The character design is filled with overused clichés, and I found myself not caring about the characters at all. The character bios were poorly written and made no difference in the game, not even in relation to other characters.”
    • “The character development feels rushed and incomplete, with 'half-baked' monologues that fail to engage. Overall, the release feels extremely rushed and 'half done from the get-go'.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    The game's replayability is enhanced by the addition of voice acting in cutscenes, a variety of playable characters for player preference, and improved combat flow that allows for more strategic decision-making. Additionally, the removal of random battles in favor of visible enemies on the overworld and in dungeons provides players with the option to engage or avoid encounters, further increasing the game's replay value.

    • “The addition of voice acting in cutscenes and more playable characters allows for a fresh experience with each playthrough, as players can swap characters based on their preferences.”
    • “Improvements to the flow of combat, such as turn order being based on character speed, enhance the strategic elements of the game, making each replay feel unique.”
    • “The removal of random battles and the visibility of enemies in the overworld and dungeons provide players with the choice to engage or avoid combat, adding to the game's replayability.”
    • “The game lacks significant changes in story or gameplay mechanics upon replaying, making it feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
    • “Once you've completed the game, there isn't much incentive to go back; the side quests and collectibles don't offer enough variety to warrant a second playthrough.”
    • “While the initial experience is engaging, the lack of meaningful choices and consequences means that replaying the game feels redundant.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

13hMedian play time
13hAverage play time
13-13hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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