Did not work right
Interesting game. But early into play, images were not fitting into their own frame. I may need to update to the latest iOS, I don't know. Using iOS 18.3.2.
Feedback
Red is the intentional color for getting something wrong. Also if you click one kanji another lights up. Fix the core interaction before adding anything else
Interesting concept, but no iPad version?
The iPad has been around for over 13 years, and pretty much every app has shipped with iPhone and iPad versions for well over a decade.
This somehow does not. So while it's an interesting concept the lack of iPad support renders it useless. A shame.
This somehow does not. So while it's an interesting concept the lack of iPad support renders it useless. A shame.
fun game
fun little game for learning kanji
Apple watch never opens
Forever loading
What's going on?
I have to agree with the other review - it's really unclear what's happening. There are so many items I don't need (and I don't even know how to use them) and skills too? Where are they? Apparently answers are timed but I can't see where that timer is supposed to be. Why are there three paths? What's at the end? What's the difference? Is there a point to completing the path? What "combos" are there supposed to be in the game?
Clearly a lot of love went into this project and it looks well made, I just have no clue what I'm looking at. Maybe put a guide or introduction on your website?
Clearly a lot of love went into this project and it looks well made, I just have no clue what I'm looking at. Maybe put a guide or introduction on your website?
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Meh
Not that great
Great concept, unfortunately unplayable
Hello! Perhaps due to your optimizing it for the newer and thus larger devices, the screen size doesn’t actually allow me to see all the options on the kanji/kana wheel, meaning I only see the top of a そ or 水 or whatever it is, it’s sort of cut off at the bottom of my screen. Although I can sort of guess what’s down there it kind of defeats the purpose and renders the game unplayable. Shame though cause the concept seems really interesting!
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Good for practice
Good to practice things you already know, and the rouge-like elements seem to work ok.
Things like the booster cards, and how much hp you have left are kind of a mystery.
Also the game has crashed a couple of times when I was close to the chest.
Things like the booster cards, and how much hp you have left are kind of a mystery.
Also the game has crashed a couple of times when I was close to the chest.
Response from developer
I’ll take a look at the crash reports. Is there anything that would help to make it more helpful in learning? https://kanjiapocalypse.com/feedback/
Doesn’t teach
The game mechanics are good but it doesn’t actually teach you anything you guess the answers until you get it right and remember it with the little time you have
Response from developer
Try the sloth card, it’s the favorite for the levels that are hard to master. Also it’s always a battle between how well you want to do this round vs next play session.
Free play is a lie
Once you’ve unlocked all the skills available in the free version, you can’t proceed any further. You get locked on the skill tree and can only spend your points to continue. But if all the free skills have been acquired, the only option is to pay. You can’t progress without spending skill points.
Ran into issues with definitions of some words
Not that they're necessarily wrong, but the definitions were worded poorly. I'm about N2 level and got some very simple words wrong due to this. Therefore I don't find this a very effective way to study right now and don't see why it's premium only. The way the game plays though is rather fun for a kanji game.
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Premium isn’t optional
After playing for about ten minutes (barely past the tutorial), I reached a point where I can’t make any progress or go back without spending a skill point, and the only available cards are premium cards. It was fun up to this point and I was looking forward to playing more, but I have no interest in premium and cannot continue playing. Please implement a way to progress without using skill points or be honest about the app costing money up front.
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Stuck on Skill Points
Without premium you will be stuck on the skill selection point screen. You MUST spend skill points to continue; however all of the skills require premium to actually spend the points… good for about 5 minutes.
Response from developer
5 minutes seems quite short. I'll try to make sure it becomes way way more than that!
Awful
Terrible app with cheesy awful music.
Buggy and only a trial version
After a short while the game locks you on a screen and the only option is to pay for premium. You can’t go back and you can’t go forward unless you pay. Also, in the time I could play, the game was stuck doing the tutorial over and over and so could only really practice the kanji for a few numbers. Not worth the download time.
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Interesting but ultimately confusing
This is the second time I have to write this out because the App Store crashed and lost my last review haha.
I was really looking forward to this app. The concept was interesting, the fact I could play it on my apple watch too made it enticing. I’ve been looking for a Wanikani substitute that’s gamified and this was it. Unfortunately, there are too many problems at this stage for me to make the switch.
Initially the rules were quite confusing. The tutorial added isn’t really well explained, just text that sometimes changes before I can read it, and vague explanations as to what you’re doing. The app doesn’t explain that you need to know hiragana and katakana before you start.
Learning in this game is quite difficult due to a few features. To gamify the experience and add value to successfully answering questions , a timer is added. If you run out of time, you lose all progress for that level. Every time you select a correct or incorrect character/kanji, the positions of the selectable characters changes, which is really disorienting. Overall, it’s a disorienting feeling where I feel like I’m struggling through. Tapping on the wrong character opens a menu where you can read about related meanings (used on its own or with other characters) but the timer decreases here too.
The bidding system for cards that help is somewhat confusing too as to it’s purpose. I’d personally prefer to buy the cards.
So in reality, you’re not able to learn at your own pace unless you use these cards, and even then it’s just a hassle.
In its current state, I can’t recommend it for people who want to learn from scratch.
I was really looking forward to this app. The concept was interesting, the fact I could play it on my apple watch too made it enticing. I’ve been looking for a Wanikani substitute that’s gamified and this was it. Unfortunately, there are too many problems at this stage for me to make the switch.
Initially the rules were quite confusing. The tutorial added isn’t really well explained, just text that sometimes changes before I can read it, and vague explanations as to what you’re doing. The app doesn’t explain that you need to know hiragana and katakana before you start.
Learning in this game is quite difficult due to a few features. To gamify the experience and add value to successfully answering questions , a timer is added. If you run out of time, you lose all progress for that level. Every time you select a correct or incorrect character/kanji, the positions of the selectable characters changes, which is really disorienting. Overall, it’s a disorienting feeling where I feel like I’m struggling through. Tapping on the wrong character opens a menu where you can read about related meanings (used on its own or with other characters) but the timer decreases here too.
The bidding system for cards that help is somewhat confusing too as to it’s purpose. I’d personally prefer to buy the cards.
So in reality, you’re not able to learn at your own pace unless you use these cards, and even then it’s just a hassle.
In its current state, I can’t recommend it for people who want to learn from scratch.
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No walkthrough or explanation of how to play
Was really keen to get into this, but there is absolutely no way to get started if you haven’t played something similar to this before.
No tutorial
Looks cool but I have no idea what is going on. You are throw right into the game without explanation. Also the questions are the same each round and the entire screen shakes everytime you input a character. A confusing mess right now.
