HomeVideo GamesFind Learning Japanese Boring? New JRPG Koe (声) Aims to Solve That...

Find Learning Japanese Boring? New JRPG Koe (声) Aims to Solve That Problem

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As someone who studied Japanese for eight years during primary / high school, I can say from my own experience that learning the language from a textbook isn’t always the most practical way to become proficient in the language. While it is inevitable that hard work and conversations are key to becoming fully proficient, thanks to the power of crowdfunding we should see a new JRPG released next year which will at the very least help get you proficient in the fundamentals of the language.

Designed to be played as a game and not just another dull learning tool, the team at Strawberry Games have recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for Koe (声), which they have described as an “Introduction to the Japanese language in a game reminiscent of traditional JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Pokemon“.

Below is a small snippet from the Kickstarter campaign page, where Jitesh Rawal describes the objective behind the game:

Essentially, what I want to do in the game is give you an introduction to the Japanese language within the game itself. I know people who are interested in this style of gaming, as well as Anime and Manga, and who have wanted to learn Japanese because of it, but have no idea where they should start. So why not a fully-fledged story-driven JRPG that gives you a nice start with the language itself?

Before I lose you with the education side of things, I want to tell you that the game itself is a game before anything else, not a flash-card application nor a voice recognition translator, but rather I have put the game, and therefore the gameplay, before anything else. This means it plays like a JRPG, there are random battles, bosses, a story, pets, wizards, cities, houses as well as cats and you will play through collecting items, experience points, weapons and everything else that comes with a traditional JRPG.

While it won’t be all-encompassing, at launch they intend on covering the following components of the language:

  • The Japanese syllabaries, Hiragana (ひらがな) and Katakana (カタカナ) so you will be able to read basic Japanese.
  • Kanji (漢字) and their readings, as well as their use in words and sentences.
  • Japanese words. This will include nouns, verbs as well as some basic conjunctions. Most of these would be words you would find in everyday life, such as words for various food, animals, transport, locations, directions, etc.
  • Japanese phrases. This will include introducing yourself, various ways to end a conversation, asking for items and will cover conversational language.

The good news is that as of this post going live they have managed to achieve their Kickstarter campaign target of £35,000 with a total of £50,352 pledged with 14 days remaining. This means that they have also reached their first stretch goal of PlayStation Vita (and possibly other consoles) support with a £60,000 goal to provide a specialized Akihabara Battle Zone.

As someone who initially struggled learning Japanese with little more than a notebook and Hiragana Mnemonics, I am jealous of gamers who can begin their long quest with Koe.

Check out the Kickstarter page HERE for more information and to pledge funds towards the second pledge goal.

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

1 COMMENT

  1. I really want this game! It looks like it will be amazing. Bummer how I missed the backing period. Only if there was more information on the game itself and the development. 😛

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