Evaluation: Kana Quest (Nintendo Change)

I’m within the gradual strategy of studying Japanese. With the assistance of Rocket Languages and my continuous immersion into Japanese video games, motion pictures, and music, I’m attending to the purpose the place I can sometimes dispute the English subtitles on the display. I can hear the distinction between the Japanese phrases for “paper” and “god.” I do know “wa” from “ga.”

However I can’t learn Japanese. That’s the place I’m hoping Kana Quest will help. With out complicating issues (and sure getting the reason incorrect, anyway) the Japanese alphabet consists of syllabaries: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The latter makes use of symbols to symbolize a complete phrase or which means. Hiragana and katakana use symbols for syllables—one for monographs (ka, ki, ko), two for digraphs (kya, kyu, kyo).

Am I boring you already? Sorry. The purpose is that there are a number of kana to study, to not point out all of the overlap. It’s robust, however Kana Quest desires to assist. And it does…to an extent.

Kana Quest makes use of match-em puzzle mechanics to show you the symbols and their sounds. The aim is to attach the kana by their shared sounds in as few strikes as potential. The image for Ka, for instance, can match subsequent to any tile that begins with the Okay sound and ends with “ah.” So, for instance, it could possibly match up with the symbols for ku and na. Slide all of the symbols collectively, and it’s on to the subsequent stage.

After all, it’s not going to be that simple, as there are two components at work. First, it’s essential to acknowledge the kana. That’s the place the tutorial half comes into play. Kana Quest lets you faucet a tile to listen to its pronunciation at any time, and also you’ll have to depend on this early and infrequently.

Symbols might finally follow repetition, but it surely’s simple to overlook them should you don’t stick with it. I reached the purpose the place I may determine sounds with their tiles whereas enjoying the sport, however couldn’t write the character from reminiscence when not enjoying.

It’s additionally price noting that Kana Quest doesn’t do a lot with phrase building or definitions. You’re studying to determine symbols, however you’re not placing them collectively in a method that teaches you to learn them. It will be unfair to count on the sport to supply that stage of training.

What you’ll be able to count on, nevertheless, is a reasonably enjoyable puzzle sport. You may’t simply drop the tiles wherever you need; they’ve to slip within the cardinal instructions to the touch or swap with others. So, when you’ve recognized the tiles that ought to match, you need to determine get them subsequent to one another in a method that lets you correctly chain the tiles on the board. Some tiles can’t transfer in any respect, forcing you to convey the others to them. Some hold shifting till they hit one other object. Some may be merged to create new kana.

Kana Quest does a very good job of ramping up the problem with new tile mechanics, and the builders don’t overlook you’re presupposed to be studying right here. They decrease the puzzle problem as new kana are launched that will help you get snug with the symbols. Additionally, there are not any assessments; as with most puzzle video games, you’re graded on the variety of strikes you took to resolve every stage. Simply continue learning and enjoying. And should you’re having bother, you’ll be able to all the time rewind or restart a stage.

All of that is introduced with colourful, cheerful graphics that might really feel proper at house on the Sport Boy Advance. The visuals clearly have an Japanese aptitude, and who would’ve thought that merely including little legs and arms to tiles would give them a lot persona. Within the arms of a U.S. academic developer, they’d’ve ended up with sun shades, bandanas, and attitudes in an try to be cool. I recognize this scaled again, friendlier method.

I’m unsure how useful any of this will likely be with out supplemental academic supplies. Paired with my Rocket Languages classes, nevertheless, I discovered Kana Quest to be a good way to get some image memorization follow in. And yeah, so far as match-em puzzles go, the gameplay is enjoyable and pretty distinctive. Some could also be entertained even when they’re not studying Japanese. Recognizing and matching symbols is what we’re doing in mahjong, in any case; Kana Quest simply makes that step a part of the problem.