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Play the free demo!

If you like the demo, buy the full game and continue from your last save point!

Learning should be an adventure

Dialogue changes from English to Japanese as you learn and progress in this comedic RPG backed by professional Japanese voice acting.

Learn Japanese RPG: Hiragana Forbidden Speech is aimed at anime fans with little to no Japanese ability, but any beginner may enjoy and benefit, even those who have studied Japanese and hiragana before. This is a full introductory Japanese course and adventure all in one. We've made the game we wanted to play when we were first learning Japanese.

What will I learn?

• How to read, write, and pronounce hiragana
  Hiragana is a set of characters used to write Japanese words.
  
• Over 240 common Japanese words used in anime
  
• Enough grammar to understand basic Japanese sentences

Is this game worthwhile if I already know hiragana?

If you can quickly read and comprehend the following sentences, then you are probably too advanced to benefit much. Otherwise, it should be a fun way to practice and gain additional skills.

でも、それ は ちょっと へん だった
この ちいさい おんどり は だれ だ？
もう この ふね が ひつよう じゃない
ここ は おもしろくない だろ？
また あの うま じゃない か！
もう あぶなくない よ
おれ は おまえ が ほんとう に きらい
まだ おわり じゃねえ！
おまえら は だめ な やつ だ
あいつ の なまえ は なに？
いいえ、だめ な ねこ だ よ！

How will I learn?

Mild Immersion
Our frustration with other Japanese learning games is that while they teach hiragana and words, they rarely (if ever) use these learnings in actual conversations. Almost everything is out of context. A random character, word, or sentence here or there. On the other hand, trying to learn Japanese by watching anime or reading manga is overwhelming (for a beginner).

We try to strike a balance between these two worlds. This game strives for “Mild Immersion.” We want to immerse you in Japanese as much as possible, but only beginner Japanese. We want you to feel confident that any Japanese that comes your way is something you’ve been taught and are capable of understanding at a basic level.

Small Step Immersion
This game also strives for “Small Step Immersion.” We want to immerse you in Japanese one small step at a time. After learning a new hiragana, you will soon learn words spelled with that hiragana and immediately start seeing and hearing those words in dialogue and battle. Slowly, but surely, your vocabulary and reading ability will grow as the game gently immerses you, more and more.

We believe context, immersion, and fun are key to effective learning. This game isn't just an RPG with Japanese flashcard-type battles. It is much more.

Steam Deck Compatibility

Works well! See for yourself by playing the demo. Official Steam Deck verification is pending.

The Adaptive Dialogue System and how it helps you learn

The Adaptive Dialogue System helps you learn by doing. It determines whether to show dialogue in Japanese or English based on your current knowledge. The more Japanese words and grammar you learn, the more dialogue will appear in Japanese!

For example, consider the following sentence: "doko iku?" (Where are we going?)

If you don't know one of the words "doko" (where) or "iku" (go, going), then this sentence will be shown in English. This is to avoid frustrating you with content you haven't yet learned.


However, if you know both words, it will be written in Japanese hiragana.

Pressing a button displays the "roumaji" of the sentence. Roumaji uses the English alphabet to describe Japanese sounds. A second press displays the English translation.

Features

• Professional Japanese voice acting (Over 4000 lines of spoken dialogue)
  
• Teaches Japanese starting from zero
  
• Teaches all the most common hiragana
  
• Teaches over 240+ Japanese words commonly used in anime
  
• Teaches word usage and Japanese grammar (over 50 tutorials)
  
• Adaptive Dialogue System gets you reading Japanese fast without being overwhelmed
  
• Real-time battles and humorous dialogue make learning fast and fun
  
• Gradual Reveal Dialogue System lets you conveniently check your reading comprehension
  
• All Hiragana Mode lets advanced adventurers immerse themselves instantly in a deeper Japanese experience
  
• Battle drills can be disabled at any time
  
• Level up controls allow you to adjust the pace of your learning
  
• Disable automatic voice over to practice reading comprehension easily
  
• 16-20 hours of gameplay

• Tremendous replay value. Game adjusts Japanese content to your level from the very beginning