Toggle Background Color
----------------------------------------------Test Intro----------------------------------------------
Thread Title Ideas:
1) Word Crimes: Let's Play Love Language Japanese
2) Oppai and Adverbs: Let's Play Love Language Japanese
3) I Majored in Anime: Let's Play Love Language Japanese
Welcome to… whatever weeaboo crap I’ve decided to subject everyone to this time. I had like three different ideas for SSLPs to do after Sweet Fuse: At Your Side and then for some reason I saw this on Steam and was like “This is the one.”
Story
“Your new life in Japan awaits you! Everything is going your way and the most prestigious Japanese school for young foreigners open its door to you...That is until they uncover your little deception. Live a full adventure of discovery, learning, love and face many challenges to become a true student of Koto Gakuen.” – Steam Store Page
Okay, so it’s clearly a run-of-the-mill dating-sim. Why would you choose this?
Love Language Japanese is indeed a run-of-the-mill dating sim… at least I heavily assume so. Steam is absolutely littered with the things.
What supposedly makes this one different, however— Well, let’s just take a look at part of the intro spiel on the store page:
“Love Language Japanese is the very first Visual Novel/Dating Simulator offering a learning experience to start your journey in the world of Japanese language.
Created to help you bootstrap your Japanese language learning ability, Love Language is a fun way to start your studying adventure!”
Do you think it can actually deliver on that?
We’re going to find out. Personally, I have my doubts. I’m sure it can be helpful for teaching the absolute basics (as in pronouncing the individual characters/letters), but stuff like Duolingo can do that too and that is free (and also contains 95% less T&A).
Are you qualified to point out and correct any inaccuracies with the language teaching portion of the game?
Hahaha! That’s a good one! Several people would say I’m barely qualified to correct any inaccuracies with the English, and I’m a fourth-year major in it.
I have only been studying Japanese for about two years, so always keep in mind that I am not speaking authoritatively on apparent mistakes in this game. That said, without more information on the developers’ qualifications I can’t say for sure how accurate any of this will be. Also, as user Polsy put it, there’s a big gap between “getting the basic information right” and “delivering a good lesson plan.”
From what I can see on the game’s website, there was involvement from a Japanese tutor. How much she was involved and to what degree she had control over the teaching aspect of this game is not explained. I also don’t know what her qualifications are outside of “has been teaching Japanese for X number of years.”
Either way, if you find yourself getting serious about learning Japanese, then consider taking university courses or hiring a private tutor. If we happen to learn a little bit of Japanese from this game, then great! But take what you read here with a large grain of salt. Some Steam reviews state that this game is littered with typos (that get worse/more frequent as the game goes on), so there’s no telling what kind of bad habits or incorrect information the game may pass on.
Any other details?
The creation of the game is a strange one, not simply in terms of its concept. I’ll talk more about that in a mini update or something to avoid dragging out this intro.
Will TCG be needed for naughty content?
“Love Language Japanese” uses the art assets of a few unrelated Japanese Visual Novels which are definitely porn. Usage of all those art assets seems to have been legitimately licensed or sanctioned by the developer of those titles, however.
None of the adult content from those games appears to have made the transition to this game. VNDB has this game tagged with “No Sexual Content”, so we should be fine. That said, the screenshots do suggest some risqué CGs exist.
So yes, I’m sure TCG will be back. I will use him liberally to cover up anything suggestive (or just not bother showing it if it’s too much to cover). Judging by Steam screenshots, I would say we’re probably looking at something in the mid-“M” range of ratings.
Regardless, always remember:
Dbac
TCGがあなたを見守っています。 (TCG is watching over you.)
TCGが見ています。 (TCG is watching.)
TCGはあなたを見ています。 (TCG is looking at you.)
TCGがあなたを判断しています。 (TCG is judging you.)
----------------------------------------------First Update----------------------------------------------
Update Ichi: Stupid Gaijin
Who’s ready for linguistics?! 
…Anyone? What if I told you there was an anime dating-sim involved?
I’ll just shut up before the audience for this LP gets even smaller than Sweet Fuse’s was.
So right away, I feel like I should point out that the music is super generic and almost immediately started bothering me. Before I left the title screen, I turned the Master volume down in the game settings to like 25% so that I could still hear it with my headphones sitting on my desk in front of me.
Friendly tip: Crank the Master Volume way down before you start. Or just don’t put your headphones on/play this when anyone on your street is trying to relax.
That's a negative 11.1db and the music is still rubbing up against red.
The intro movie for this game uses the same music from the title screen, but it blasts it at like 1.5x the normal volume. Have you ever played Civilization VI? Remember how the Firaxis/2K logo music tries to simulate the experience of a 747 landing in your ear? It’s like that except with an overly enthusiastic brass section.
Anyway, while my eardrums are taking a moment to recover, let’s meet our main character.
Geez, my back hurts. That flight felt like it took forever. The seats were really uncomfortable. I need to make sure to use a different airline the next time I come here.
Insert your own joke about shitty airlines here. I’ve flown Air Canada and Westjet before and both of them have been fine in my experience. I hear a lot of horror stories about the various US airlines though.
Japan… I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time. HERE I AM! YIPPEE!! Wait, pull yourself together, man! People are looking at you like you’re some kind of weirdo…
You just unironically yelled YIPPEE at the top of your lungs, so that tracks.
You got into The University of Tokyo? Wow! You lucky bastard.
I was worried at first… What if they don’t like me? What if they ask me a bunch of questions…? Then I decided, “Nah, I’ll figure something out. Schools are made for learning, so I’m going to learn my ass off!”
What airport did you arrive at exactly? The Kosei Line is a real rail line in Japan, but that one runs from Kyoto to Shiga.
…Okay then.
The game jump cuts to a school campus and we go from the Morning of April 4th to the Afternoon of April 4th, at which point the protagonist narrates that it’s now two and a half hours later. Off to a great start.
I’m an idiot. How did I manage to miss my stop THREE times on a direct line? If it weren’t for this nice old man, I would still be traveling in circles…
I’m pretty sure that’s not a real place. There is a Kyoto Gakuen with an international program, but that is obviously out in Kyoto, not Tokyo.
I worked three jobs for months to get here, so I need to make sure I don’t screw it up now! The pamphlet says that admissions are open from two to five, so that means I have plenty of time to look for the office, it’s only… WHAT?! It’s already 4:50! I gotta hurry up!
That was a long-ass two and a half hours. Even the most generous interpretation of “Morning” would not be 2:20pm.
Maybe it’s a Sweet Fuse situation where he got here at 1pm but then stood around for nearly 4 hours doing nothing.
Faster!
He then runs headfirst into something. The text box shakes a bit, so that’s my best guess.
Are you alright?
WHAT?! WHERE?! ADMISSIONS?!
Three words in a row. I guess that means your brain is still functioning. This is the admissions office. Come with me.
I… I’m sorry… I got held up on the train, and…
I see. Anyway, welcome to Koto Gakuen. Shall we proceed with your admission?
Yes, please! I can’t wait to get started!
Youth is a beautiful thing. I hope our school will live up to your expectations.
Please. “Youth.” What are you, 28?
Let’s see… All your information’s in order, but…
Is there something wrong?
Well, this is rather unsettling… You’re on the list, but it appears you were never assigned a room.
How the hell did you mess that up? In my experience you typically pay the first month of dormitory fees upfront. How did he even get a student visa without confirmation of lodgings?
Nothing to worry about, however. I’ll take a look at the register and get you a room assigned.
Phew! You scared me there for a moment!
What! That’s impossible… …
…
What? But… but… I have nowhere else to go…
It’s unfortunate, but the person in charge of the dormitory won’t be back until later this week. There’s nothing I can do until she gets back.
Why the fuck is your dormitory manager out of town in the leadup to the start of a semester?
But don’t worry, we will find you a nice hotel nearby until everything is in order.
Good evening, Professor Saito. This young man is the last student to arrive.
You look like you’ve just seen a ghost, young man. Is everything alright?
They keep saying “young man.” Are we not getting a name for this guy?
Just a little mix-up with his housing situation. He won’t have a room to stay in until the end of the week. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make some phone calls and try to find him a room in a nearby hotel.
Okay, yeah. We’ve got a FFX situation here.
I…
Yes!?
Why would that matter to him? Unless… Are you planning on making him pay for a hotel room despite this being your school’s mistake?
The most prestigious university for foreigners in Tokyo, ladies and gentlemen!
…
What’s the matter? Did I miss something?
Haha, don’t worry. He’s not going to talk, but I think I know the problem.
…
What? You came here without any money? Japan is an expensive place, young man. This puts us in a very difficult situation, you realize.
Also suspect: He somehow scored a student visa despite not being able to prove he had adequate savings to live there. In order to even apply for a student visa at your home country’s Japanese Embassy, you need what’s called a COE (Certificate of Eligibility). A COE is issued by the Japanese Immigration Bureau to the school you plan to study at, who then send it on to you (the school is your agent, basically. They handle this part of the application on your behalf once you’ve provided the required documents to them).
One of the documents that the Immigration Bureau requires before it will issue a COE is a Statement of Financial Viability, which asks you to provide proof that you have enough money in savings or are being sufficiently funded by a third-party in order to live in Japan for your applied length of study.
How much you need depends on a bunch of factors such as school, whether your school has an exchange partnership with the Japanese school, location, and stuff like that. It can range from ¥100,000 (roughly $1,000-$1,200) per month of stay all the way up to ¥300,000 ($3,000-$3,500) per month or more. If you planned to study there for a year, you’d be looking at building up a savings account with anywhere from $12,000 to $40,000 in it.
If I may… I might have a solution. It’s definitely not the best option, but it should do for the time being.
Oh well. It’s stupid anime bullshit. What are you gonna do?
Besides, who knows? Maybe the main character did provide proof of his savings, but then blew 12-grand on a first-class ticket over here. Given the level of intelligence we’ve seen thus far, that wouldn’t surprise me.
My sister owns a guesthouse downtown. She’ll probably have some vacancies.
It would indeed by very kind of her to accommodate this young man. Are you sure she will be fine with it?
I’m pretty sure she’ll be more than happy to have a new guest. Let me give her a call and I will take you there.
This game is selective with its scene changes, by the way. Sometimes the background CGs will fade out gently to transition to the next one, but other times the image will just change without even attempting a transition. It can be pretty jarring.
!?
You all knew what you were getting in to when you saw the thread title. Don’t pretend you didn’t see this old chestnut coming from the other side of the planet.
If Dean Oyama knew that, she would have never let you stay here. She is rather strict, you see.
Yeah, she sure seems like a ball buster.
Anyway, I expect that you will behave and you won’t try anything stupid because you’re surrounded by pretty young girls. Do I make myself clear?
I have someone on hand to ensure that. Don’t worry about it, Saito.
I promise, ma’am. I will do my best to stay out of trouble.
Very well. Let’s get going then. It’s getting late.
Faaancy. What do you think a place like this would go for near downtown Tokyo? I’m guessing somewhere in the neighbourhood of several millions of dollars.
It’s a very nice building.
Well don’t get too comfy. It’s only temporary, and the dormitory is a bit… colder.
Personally, the dormitory sounds nicer if that’s the case.
I’m not a summer person, in case that wasn’t clear.
It’s only about a ten minute walk to get to the school from here. I’m sure you’ll find that very convenient. I expect that you’ll remember what we talked about earlier. Don’t make me regret this decision.
*Doorbell ringing noise*
[???]: Yes?
[???]: Hmm, interesting… Is he plump? We’ve been short on meat lately.
WHAT?!
[???]: Hold on a few seconds, I’m coming out!
Well, well. You brought me a rather cute specimen this time. Your eyes are getting better.
…
Haha, don’t worry darling, sarcasm runs deep in this family. But where are my manners? Do come in.
Sorry, I’m gonna have to take a rain check. Need to get ready for tomorrow. I’ll stop by again soon. Don’t be too harsh on him, he’s a sensitive guy. Oh, and tell your girls that I will be waiting for them tomorrow. On time, if possible.
Will do. Well then, follow me young man. It’s getting cold out there.
Jesus, way to fucking undersell this place.
Thank you very much, Ms. Saito. You saved my life.
No need to thank me. I’m happy to help. I’m pretty sure sis already told you this, but this house is normally a girls-only establishment. I’m counting on you to be on your best behavior.
Sure thing, Ms. Saito. I will be the best guest you’ve ever had.
Well aren’t you just the cutest little thing. I think I already like you.
You certainly lead by example. “Just be responsible. Outside of that, I don’t particularly give a shit what you do. You’re not my responsibility.” 
I tend to worry a lot, so please be careful.
Duly noted.
And on that note, I think it’s time to introduce you to your new housemates. Sarah! Helen! Miyuki! Please come downstairs and welcome our new guest!
I’m counting on you to be nice to him and treat him like any other guest.
Hi! I’m Sarah, and this is Helen! We’re both first years at Koto Gakuen. What about you?
I will be entering the program as a third year.
Wow! Well, since you’ve gone through everything we’ve done, I hope you’ll be able to help us!
Cough… Sure, it’ll be my pleasure.
You doing okay there, my man?
It’s so nice to have a new housemate! Don’t you think so, Helen?
*And Helen books it*
That girl… She’s always busy with something. By the way, Sara, have you seen Miyuki? She didn’t come down. Have you seen her?
That’s not my mistake by the way. The game did just spell her name as “Sara” instead of “Sarah”.
Oh! I saw her going out earlier. She was mumbling something leaving something at the dojo?
I see. Well, you’ll probably meet her sooner or later.
That didn’t take long.
?!
Miyuki, this young man will be staying with us for a few days. My sister called in a favor, and I said I would help him out. I hope you two will get along.
WHAT?! This place is girls-only, isn’t it? Why would you let a boy in here?!
Standard Anime Procedure.
I know, I know. But I wasn’t going to just let him live on the streets. Besides, it’s only for a few days.
Ahh, it wouldn’t be stupid anime bullshit without the token tsundere. Looks like I’ve found my hate-sink for this LP.
But…?!
Miyuki!
I’m tired. I’m going to bed.
*Asshole then leaves the scene*
My my… She’s usually such a sweet girl. I wonder what’s gotten into her tonight…
Don’t worry, Ms. Saito. I understand where she’s coming from. I’d be a bit upset too given the situation.
Anyway, I’ve prepared you a room. It’s not much, but it’s what I could do on such short notice. We’ve already had dinner, but I prepared some sandwiches for you. You’ll find them in your room.
I mentioned it in the intro post but prepare yourselves for a healthy dose of spelling/grammar errors and strange English sentences. Some user reviews on Steam state that there are quite a few of them and it only gets worse as the game goes on. Unless it’s a regional thing, I’ve never heard someone say “it’s what I could do on such short notice.” I’ve only ever heard it phrased “it’s all I could do”.
Thank you so much, Ms. Saito. I’m actually starving, to be honest.
Well, rest up for tomorrow. Your room is the second on the left upstairs. I still have a few more things to take care of, so I’ll see you in the morning. Sarah, could you show him to his room please?
Absolutely!
Thanks, Sarah. Though it looks a lot less… “feminine” than I thought it would.
Well, Ms. Saito said that this is her husband’s home office. Since he spends most of his time abroad, it’s normally used as a storage room.
Well, it’s perfect for me!
Alright then, I’ll let you get settled in. Ms. Saito promised to teach me how to make bento tonight! See you tomorrow morning!
Yeah, good night.
Night!
It’s like Lady Luck decided to smile down on me! And all these girls… I think I’ve met more girls today than in the last few months combined. Professor Saito and Dean Oyama are two really beautiful women. They both look scary at first, but they seem to be really kind once you get to know them.
Sarah and Helen are both around my age, and they’re really cute, too. Sarah is especially nice. Refreshingly so. And Miyuki… Well, she looks cute, but she definitely seems a but on the angry side… Many, they’re all so great. I don’t even know who is my favorite so far…
Are you here to study Japanese or are you here to live out your little otaku fantasies?
…Well, it’s not like this game doesn’t wear its heart on its sleeve. We know what it’s all about. So, who are we going with?
Psyche, it doesn’t actually matter in this case. …Okay, that’s not entirely true. We do get a bit of an affection boost from this choice towards one of the love interests.
It ain’t much. Also, yes. I selected Professor Saito for the sake of moving things forward.
Here’s the deal with the dating-sim aspect of this game: You apparently need to devote yourself entirely to 1 character right from the starting gun. Some of the comments from users on Steam seem to suggest that it’s near impossible to max out an affection gauge unless you focus 95% of your attention on a single lady. Apparently it’s very easy to finish this game without getting any kind of payoff or ending on the dating-sim front. There’s a very slim margin of error, in other words.
So, who should we have the MC pursue? I know, I know, none of these people are compelling. But if we want to have any shot at getting something approaching an ending, then we need to lock in a choice now.
But that should be the least of my concerns right now. I should focus on the task at hand: my Japanese studies! Alright, time to go to bed and dream about what tomorrow will bring!
*Knock knock*
Huh? Wh-What time is it…?
Late. Sorry to have to wake you up, but if you don’t get a move on you’re going to be late for your first day of school.
…Ugh. I was so excited that I went to bed really late. Thanks for waking me up.
Don’t worry about it, darling, but you can thank me later. Hurry up!
I’ll be downstairs in a minute!
Are we in the same house? I could have sworn I saw a dining room near the living room in the other CG.
Here, take it with you.
Has everyone left already?
‘Fraid so. Now get going! Good luck!
See you later, Ms. Saito!
Now to figure out where the third year classroom is… West wing… second floor. Okay, got it. I’m already getting used to that feeling of déjà vu. It seems like I’m running whenever I’m here… Alright! Let’s get going!
Alright, pull yourself together… prepare your best smile… 3… 2…
Dude, nobody gives a shit. These are third year students in university… I assume… Maybe? The opening shows school uniforms, so maybe this is a high school. On the other hand, the game opens with a “EVERYONE IS 18+! HONEST!” message, soo… 
Oh, well. Not like it makes a difference, they still won’t care that—
[???]: Stop right there, young man!
WAH! Dean Oyama, you scared me! I was so into getting ready that I didn’t notice someone was here. Is something the matter?
Haha! You’re in trouuuuble!
…Yes, dean.
…
Yesterday’s incident was a first in the history of our school. Since I’m the one in charge of this institution, I would like to apologize.
Nothing to worry about. Things happen.
Indeed. In order to try to understand where the error occurred, I took the liberty of reviewing your profile last night. While I didn’t find what I was looking for, I did find something very peculiar. Would you like to say anything before we start?
…
Very well. I researched some of the information you provided on your application, and discovered some discrepancies. I called a few of your previous schools, and nobody seems to know anything about you.
Oh, shit. Is this really going where I think it is? 
Since I do not believe in paranormal activity, I have to assume that you fabricated a great deal of your history.
I… I…
Just admit it so we can move on.
HAH!
That’s what I figured. That is also a first for our school. We allowed a student with a fake application to enroll here. Common sense would dictate a swift expulsion from the institution.
But…
I’m not done yet. You can speak when I am finished. Honestly, I should just expel you. Lying is not tolerated at Koto Gakuen.
…
I should. But I have decided not to. Not yet.
That is being extremely generous to him. Not reporting income on my yearly taxes shows that I’m very eager to save money and was willing to do whatever I had to in order to be thrifty, but it’s still illegal as fuck and I don’t think the Canadian government would let me off with a wag of the finger and some kudos on my zeal (unless I was rich, of course).
You have spirit, and I like that… But I hate liars even more. Accordingly, I would like to offer you a compromise. First and foremost, you will be demoted to first year. That’s where you belong.
…
Second, you will have to prove yourself to me.
Man, and I thought having a final exam worth 50% was rough. I can’t imagine the stress that would go into having only a single shot at passing an entire semester.
But as part of this compromise, you will have an assessment test every week on Saturday based on what you learned that week. Pass the test, and you stay. Fail even once, and you will find yourself expelled and banned from this school.
…
Do we have an agreement?
…Yes.
Yes, Dean Oyama, we have an agreement. I will do my very best to not betray your trust.
That’s better. Now, class is almost over. You will go introduce yourself properly to Professor Saito in the first year’s classroom. You will tell her exactly what I am about to tell you. Do not try to sugarcoat it.
Did you get all that, or do I need to repeat myself?
Crystal clear, Dean Oyama.
Very well. Go. And try to look sorry for what you did.
I feel like that’s a good place to stop. We’ll get to see our main character deservingly humiliated at the start of the next update.
Just so everyone is clear about what happened: Our supposed protagonist fabricated his application details in order to get access to the most elite school for foreigners in Tokyo, simply assuming that a school like that wouldn’t carry out their due diligence and actually follow up on his references (which they miraculously didn’t).
On top of that plan, he also thought to present himself as having the Japanese language ability of a third-year student even though it would appear (based on the education part of this game) that he doesn’t even have a basic understanding of the language.
And on top of that, he figured that he’d be fine showing up in a foreign country without any money to support himself (even temporarily).
Our hero protagonist audience viewpoint character, ladies and gentlemen. It should go without saying, but let’s be clear just in case: You would be fucked if you got caught pulling this in real life. He hasn’t gone into details (and the game probably won’t get into it), but there’s a good chance that this guy committed visa fraud, and he may also be guilty of fraud by misrepresentation if his fees at Koto Gakuen were paid for by a government program or through scholarships. The consequences for those things are not going to be good. Forget getting banned from that one school, he’d likely be banned from entering Japan for a few years and he’s pretty much ensured that he can never use his education at Koto Gakuen as any kind of reference to help him get a job or get into another school. Getting caught makes that a bridge which has to be burned, because if it isn’t then there’s going to be some serious consequences storming across it at some point in the future.
Also, there’s definitely some mutual ass-covering going on here. Dean Oyama would be in deep if it came to light that she didn’t properly vet this easily exposed fake until after he had already been accepted.
----------------------------------------------First Lesson----------------------------------------------
If you get lost, please let me know. I’ll try to help you as much as I can. Each lesson will be written on the board. I will explain each part and add context to what you can see. You can ask me to restart the lesson at the end if you ever missed something.
There is no failure here, even if you get this small test all wrong just retry!
So there are no stakes on these lesson tests. You can try as much as you want and fail as many times as you want (I think). Game Overs will only trigger if you score under a 50% on the Saturday tests. Those are the ones that count.
Granted, there is no true penalty for failing those either since you can save at any time and just reload, but you get the idea.
Once you think you’ve got a good understanding of the lesson, just let me know, and we will end the class for the day. One more thing. I’ve given each of you a notebook. This is your personal Koto Gakuen notebook. Each lesson will be recorded here, so if you need to review past lessons, you’ll be able to.
Game Notice: “Your notebook is now available through the Note button.
Technically it’s always been available, but whatever. This is the point where an actual lesson will appear in it.
Unless there’s any more questions, let’s get started!
In the below sentence, you can see an example of hiragana, katakana, and kanji all in use in the same sentence. ピザ is in katakana, を is in hiragana, 食 is in kanji, and べます is in hiragana. Hiragana is primarily used for particles (small words that indicate relations of words within a sentence), conjugation endings, and Japanese words not written in kanji.
Pizza is also a loanword in English. This is true for a lot of words in the English language. We appropriate a ton of words from other cultures.
Also, I should point out that “を“ is not pronounced as “wo” (as if you were saying “whoa”) in this case. “を“ is being used here as a particle (this one is used to refer to the direct object of a sentence) and is simply pronounced as “o”. If you are trying to read that English translation out loud to yourself, you should be saying “piza o tabemasu.”
Hiragana and katakana represent sounds in Japanese. Kanji represents not only a sound, but also a unique meaning. About 2,200 kanji are used in daily life.
From what I read in Steam reviews, this game doesn’t touch kanji. That’s probably for the best considering that your objective when first starting out should be focused on stuff like sentence structure and phonetics.
Let’s start by learning the 46 hiragana first.
I have to pause here for a bit, so bear with me on this. The game provides little voice clips to listen to in order to tell what the pronunciation is like. That is a good thing, because A, I, U, E, and O do not translate 1:1 with English.
A = pronounced like the “a” in “father”
I = pronounced like the “e” in “meet”
U = pronounced like the “u” in “dude”. If you know IPA, it mostly matches up with “ɯ” (a close back vowel)
E = pronounced like the “e” in “hey”
O = pronounced like the “o” in “tow”
It doesn’t come across well in written form, so I’d recommend looking up a pronunciation video on YouTube to get a better idea.
With that out of the way, there’s a bigger point I wanted to touch on regarding the voice clips provided by the game. The pronunciations of “blue” and “picture” are smooth. The clips for “love” and “house”, however, have noticeable pauses between the vowel sounds. While it doesn’t cause problems right now due to the fact we’re dealing with vowels, slight pauses are something that Japanese makes use of and it’s important to understand its usage.
The phenological name for it is gemination and it deals mostly with the usage of double consonants. A lot of languages use gemination to varying degrees. English has a few examples in words like “bottom” or “unnerved”.
Japanese uses a specific character called a “sokuon” (as represented by a small “っ” in hiragana and small “ッ” in katakana) for gemination. The sokuon is also used for other purposes (such as to signify a glottal stop), but one of its main purposes is to signal a very slight pause as a result of double consonants. As an example, おと(音) (oto) can be used for “sound”, but pausing slightly results in おっと(夫) (otto), which can be used for “husband”.
Again, we’re dealing with vowels right now and not consonants, so it’s not a huge deal. But this is something to keep an eye on as the game progresses. If the voice clips do this later on with words that do have a geminated counterpart, then that could be a problem. Imagine what would happen if you were learning English as a second language and were taught that “bookkeeper” was pronounced like “bookeeper”, except “boo-keeper” was its own separate word that meant “grave digger” or something.
Anyway, back to learnin’.
Now look at the board and try to remember them all.
All of these audio files sounded fine. I have no idea if these were recorded individually, or if the developers just had the lady record some vowel and consonant clips and then stitched them together later like a voice synthesizer.
Let’s try some example sentences! ゲームがすきですか。(ge-mu ga suki desu ka) Do you like games? かれはマイクですか。(kare wa maiku desu ka) He’s Mike? Look closely at the white board and remember these hiragana.
Worth noting, the game does get the spelling of “wa” correct here in the English translation. “は” is normally “ha”, but when it’s being used as a particle (such as in the case above), it is pronounced “wa”. Confusingly, there is also a hiragana for “wa” (わ), but… well, we’ll wait until the game actually gets around to that.
Anyway, that’s the end of the lesson! We can choose to replay it, to continue with the game, or to take a Pop Quiz. Let’s try the Pop Quiz and see how that works.
We get 60 seconds to answer five questions. This is beginner stuff mostly focused on vowel sounds.
I won’t show the correct choices in the screenshots in order to give people reading along a chance to try for themselves.
Here are the correct answers to those questions (according to the game): #1: Love, #2: A, #3: あい, #4: Autumn, #5: えき.
I tried the Pop Quiz again and was given a different set of questions, so it seems that there is some diversity for each quiz which discourages you from simply brute forcing it. That said, I don’t know how deep the question pool is for each quiz.
That said, you can see that the game apparently loves to reuse possible answers for questions. Take a good look at the question screenshots and you’ll notice that some wrong answers are thrown up on the board up to 3 times (like in Questions 3, 4, and 5). No telling yet if this can happen to correct answers, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Let’s move on. Lesson 1 is now in our notebook, so it can be repeated whenever the mood strikes us.
Well, that’s it. My very first Japanese lesson. I’m positive that I’m going to do great.