Learning Japanese is difficult (obviously). It takes tons of classroom and study time to even get a grasp of the language. Without a classroom, it’s a nonstop commitment of tons of resources including books, applications, and even communication with peers online to have a chance of learning. Many resources attempt to gamify the experience, but most of these are simply supplements to the journey.
Japanese Romanji Adventure is the latest game that attempts to make learning Japanese an enjoyable game. It uses Romanji (Spelling of Japanese words with letters familiar to English learners) rather than kana (Actual Japanese characters) to teach basic phrases and words. Japanese Romanji Adventure makes the entire experience the form of a turn-based RPG where quizzes determine whether a battle is won or lost. This is obviously something that has been done many times before, so can Japanese Romanji Adventure do enough to stand out among the crowd?
It kind of does. The lack of kana throughout the game makes it impossible for players to actually read Japanese. The game does offer a decent tool for players to learn how to speak and identify basic words and phrases. A player that completes the game will at least have a solid foundation for starting their learning journey. At the end of the day though, players will only have a small grasp of vocabulary, with maybe 600 or so words learned throughout.
The game’s story is pretty basic for the genre. Japanese Romanji Adventure takes place in the Meiji period, where players are some of the first English speakers in Japan in quite some time. Before long, the player’s party sets out on a quest where they learn Japanese and encounter tons of enemies to reinforce the language.
The graphics are rather simple, looking like something that can be made in RPG Maker. This isn’t a bad thing though since the game allows for players to just focus on their education. The sound leaves a lot to be desired, with the audio for the words being a bit too quiet. The words are drowned out by the music and other sound effects, taking away the key part of the game.
As a tool for learning Japanese, Japanese Romanji Adventure is a solid choice as a supplement for vocabulary. It won’t teach players anything that they can’t learn from flashcards, but the RPG skin makes it easier to commit to. The audio issues are frustrating, but this is an otherwise enjoyable way to learn the language.
