Skip to main content

Shujinkou

You won’t become fluent in Japanese by playing Shujinkou, but it will introduce the basics of both hiragana and katakana to you in a game that features the best bits of the Etrian Odyssey series in a very clever way. The combat system is solid enough that not even the counterintuitive menus could keep me from diving back in for more.
Shujinkou Game Cover
61%Game Brain Score
story, music
gameplay, stability
93% User Score Based on 14 reviews
Critic Score 70%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCPlaystation 5Mac OSPlaystation 4Steam DeckWindowsPlayStation
Buy Nowfrom €38.93
Buy NowGet on Steam €38.93
Shujinkou Game Cover

About

Shujinkou is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Rice Games Inc and was released on February 13, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

Learn one of the world's hardest languages while immersed in this JRPG adventure. Shujinkou is a story-driven, turn-based dungeon crawler that provides players with the opportunity to learn Japanese. Play as Shu, Jin, and Kou as you try to save the world from the Akuma!

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Shujinkou screenshot
Shujinkou screenshot
Skip User Reviews

93%
Audience ScoreBased on 14 reviews
story6 positive mentions
stability3 negative mentions
  • The game effectively combines dungeon crawling with Japanese language learning, making it a fun and engaging way to study the basics of hiragana and katakana.
  • The battle system is innovative, allowing players to exploit enemy weaknesses through a unique mechanic tied to the characters' names, enhancing the overall combat experience.
  • The game features a rich and diverse world with memorable music, unique biomes, and a likable cast of characters, contributing to an immersive gameplay experience.
  • The game suffers from bugs and crashes, particularly during specific interactions, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration.
  • Inventory management is cumbersome due to low item limits, making it difficult to engage with side quests and collect resources without feeling pressured to discard items.
  • The pacing can be slow, especially at the beginning, with important combat mechanics unlocking gradually, which may deter players looking for immediate action.
  • story
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is rich and well-integrated with its Japanese learning system, featuring a main quest and numerous side quests that evolve as players progress. However, many players find the side quests tedious and lacking in depth, often feeling more like fetch quests than meaningful narratives. While the main story is engaging, it may not evoke strong emotional investment compared to other titles in the genre, and the inventory management issues can detract from the overall experience.

    • “The Japanese is integrated perfectly, both in the game as a learning system and in the world and its story.”
    • “Lots of story, both the main quest and with town NPCs, which get new dialogue as you progress.”
    • “The art is good and has unique enemies in each section with a pretty interesting story thus far.”
    • “The quests mainly felt fetchy and although they had some story, they never really felt worth it to me.”
    • “In this game, the story and combat text is all in English.”
    • “It doesn't have the emotional weight for me that Gallaria had, yet, for instance, but it certainly is more story focused than any of the EOS or Labyrinth of Yomi.”
  • gameplay
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is praised for its foundational learning elements and unique mechanics tied to language acquisition, enhancing both combat and interaction within the game world. While it effectively integrates educational aspects, some players feel that the RPG mechanics can occasionally overshadow the learning experience. Overall, the game is noted for its polish and innovative features that set it apart from traditional dungeon RPGs.

    • “It's something of an 'edutainment' game, in that it features learning quite heavily in the mechanics and systems of the game.”
    • “While I have not gotten very far in this game, I can tell you that it has a good amount of polish and some very interesting new mechanics, most of which are connected to the language learning aspect of the game.”
    • “Additional language-related mechanics unlock over the course of the game, and each of them add some depth to the combat and how you interact with the game world (e.g. mini-games and non-combat activities).”
    • “Great for foundational learning, but it gets lost in the mechanics of being an RPG, which can hinder the learning experience.”
    • “It's somewhat of an 'edutainment' game, as it heavily features learning within the mechanics and systems of the game.”
    • “While the language learning mechanics add depth to the game, they can also complicate the overall gameplay experience.”
  • music
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its incredible quality, particularly during boss fights, where it enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the extensive soundtrack, which features unique themes for different dungeons and adds depth to the gameplay. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's immersive atmosphere and enjoyment.

    • “The music in this game is absolutely fantastic; I highly recommend keeping it turned up, especially when you're on bosses.”
    • “Amazing soundtrack, lots of good songs, and just a ton of songs in general, with each dungeon even having its own random encounter theme.”
    • “The music is incredible, especially during boss fights.”
    • “The music during the boss battle was so overwhelming that it left me speechless.”
    • “While the combat system is innovative and engaging, the music and art fail to immerse you in the world.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users report significant stability issues, with frequent game freezes impacting the overall experience.

    • “After this, the game freezes.”
    • “The game crashes frequently, making it unplayable.”
    • “I experienced constant lag and instability during gameplay.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express frustration with grinding due to limited item storage, which diminishes their motivation to gather resources for upgrading equipment or cooking. Additionally, while normal encounters are challenging without grinding, the overall experience is marred by tedious town navigation and side quests.

    • “If I had a larger item storage limit, I would probably be okay grinding a bit to have enough money/items to try powering up my equipment or cooking meals to resist elemental attacks, but I lost the will to do any grinding due to the inventory limitations.”
    • “On normal mode without any grinding, normal encounters are also never pushovers, many of them being able to throw out strong attacks and nasty status effects to keep you on your toes.”
    • “Town navigation and doing side quests feels rather tedious.”
  • graphics
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics are praised for their vibrant and detailed full-screen artworks that enhance key scenes, with many users noting that the visuals appear significantly better in motion compared to still images. The 2D character animations set against 3D backgrounds evoke a nostalgic feel reminiscent of titles like Paper Mario, distinguishing it from lower-quality games. Overall, the graphical presentation is a strong point of the game.

    • “Tons of CGs; pretty much every important scene has one or more great-looking full-screen artworks.”
    • “The graphics look much better in motion than they do in some of the stills. I was a little wary after seeing the trailer, but at least on my graphics settings, the 2D characters and movement on a 3D background feel more reminiscent of Paper Mario than, say, boomer shooters or cheap Unity platformers.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews indicate that replayability in the game is influenced by features such as furigana inclusion, Japanese voice acting, and the ability to replay audio and scenes. However, some users express uncertainty about the availability of replayable scenes, particularly in relation to cutscenes that may only be in English. Overall, the game's replayability appears to hinge on its language features and audio options.

    • “I don't know that scenes are replayable, but I also haven't hit any cutscenes with Japanese in them (they may only be in English).”
  • emotional
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is noted for being more story-focused compared to titles like "Eos" or "Labyrinth of Yomi," but it lacks the emotional depth found in "Gallaria."

    • “It doesn't have the emotional weight for me that Gallaria had, yet it certainly is more story-focused than any of the EOS or Labyrinth of Yomi.”
Skip Critic Reviews

70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
Skip Game Offers

Buy Shujinkou

100h Median play time
100h Average play time
100-100h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Shujinkou

Games Like Shujinkou

Astria Ascending Image
61%187reviews

Astria Ascending

2021Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+9
TROUBLESHOOTER: Abandoned Children Image
94%5.8kreviews

TROUBLESHOOTER: Abandoned Children

2020Casual Role Playing
PCWindows
Towers of Aghasba Image
76%983reviews

Towers of Aghasba

2024Open World Role Playing
LinuxPCPlaystation 5+2
Mary Skelter Nightmares Image
79%354reviews

Mary Skelter Nightmares

2018Role Playing
PCWindowsPlayStation+1
Learn Japanese To Survive! Hiragana Battle Image
92%1.3kreviews

Learn Japanese To Survive! Hiragana Battle

2016Role Playing
PCMac OSWindows
More games like Shujinkou
Skip Game News

Shujinkou's Enormous Soundtrack Is Now Available To Download

November 24 on nintendolife.com
Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Shujinkou is a role playing game.

Shujinkou is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, Mac OS and others.

On average players spend around 100 hours playing Shujinkou.

Shujinkou was released on February 13, 2025.

Shujinkou was developed by Rice Games Inc.

Shujinkou has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Shujinkou is a single player game.

Similar games include Astria Ascending, TROUBLESHOOTER: Abandoned Children, Towers of Aghasba, Mary Skelter Nightmares, Learn Japanese To Survive! Hiragana Battle and others.