REVIEW - Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography is a cute tool to increase your vocabulary

Learning Japanese is probably the dream of many video game fans like me. Being able to play a game in its original language, while fully understanding all those small details and idiosyncrasies that get lost in translation, is a beautiful goal to strive for. Also, since Japanese is one of the hardest languages to learn, every little step towards our goal of fluency is vitally important. Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography is a game that will aid anyone with a basic understanding of Japanese to increase their vocabulary while having fun exploring small but very representative Japanese streets.

As the title suggests, you will practice Japanese by taking pictures while exploring Japanese streets. Every pic you take creates a flashcard containing the English word for the object plus its Japanese equivalent. There is a button that will provide the pronunciation and you can customize your card with borders or filters. However, there is more on the back of the card.

If you flip your card, you can then access up to three adjectives or verbs related to the picture you just took. This feature is quite important as it allows you to increase your vocabulary by more than one word at a time. You can slowly, but surely, learn more words and soon you will be ready to practice with the two available minigames.

In Find Mode, the game selects a certain number of words and you then must explore the streets to find that object and take a picture of it. You can select which types of words you want to appear (such the newest or those you have usually gotten wrong), or you can choose if you want to only hear them. Additionally, you can select how many words you must find and how many tries you get.

At first it’s not that complicated, since you have few words, but when you have reached dozens of words, the challenge is increased. Also, after taking many pictures it becomes tricky to remember where you took each, so the fun is more prevalent which in turn helps with the learning.

The other minigame is Quiz Mode. Here you are presented with defining the three words that appear on the back of a flashcard you have created. Although you have the same options as in the other minigame, by default this one is easier since you are given three words to put in the blanks, so even if you only know two of them, you will get the third right. It’s still a nice way to practice, but Find Mode is more creative and highlights the uniqueness of this software compared to other games of its kind.

As a nice bonus, this mode shows you a summary at the end with the words you got wrong, so you can focus on them later. Getting a full card correct, or also finding the right pic in Find Mode, will earn you coins that you can later use in the Gacha Machines scattered around the city.

This Gacha provides different filters for you camera, so you can have more fun customizing your flashcards. You will never get a filter you already own, so there is always an incentive to keep spending your coins and taking more pictures of this picturesque piece of Japan. Weather changes and a day-night cycle also make the exploration of this very cute city more entertaining.

The actual area you navigate is small, but dense. More importantly, it captures the essence of what an urban piece of Japan is. You have big buildings and modern technology opposed to Shinto shrines or Torii gates. The game, by its own design, encourages you to pay attention to the smallest details as you never know where the next object to photograph will appear.

This fun exploration is complemented by the language tools present in the game. You have access to the kana (so you can see both syllabaries: hiragana and katakana), but, in my opinion, the game is designed for people who already have a knowledge of it. Sure, anyone can still try it, but it may be overwhelming for someone with no experience.

Additionally, the game features an extensive (and correct) use of kanji (adopted Chinese characters). Many tools for learning Japanese shy away from using kanji as it may scare learners. That said, kanji is ubiquitous in Japanese and many learners may find it frustrating that after feeling comfortable reading kana, it’s used mostly for particles, rather than verbs and nouns. For example, words like 車 (car), are never written as くるま (kuruma).

Instead, the game allows the option to use furigana, as it appears in many children books. Furigana is an aid consisting of kana written on top of the kanji so that readers are aware of its pronunciation. The game has other options such as using romaji (personally, I don’t recommend it), only kana, or only kanji, but furigana+kanji is my preferred option for learning proper Japanese. You can go only kanji later if you feel more comfortable.

The game also has a couple of grammar lessons, and while there are not too many, I do appreciate that they focus on real Japanese and explain how people talk in the real world. For example, in the first lesson they explain how people don’t really say さよなら (sayonara) in everyday conversation, instead opting for the more casual またね (matane).

Finally, the game is more enjoyable in short bursts, which is ideal on the Nintendo Switch. Being able to snatch some pictures, or practice some words, when you get some 15 minutes off, or before going to bed, is great. Perseverance and constancy are key when learning a language, so Shashingo may be a great tool to help you there.

Studying a difficult language like Japanese can be an uphill battle for many, so having a tool that provides some fun while doing so is very important. Shashingo is a small, but fun adventure set in the midst of Japanese streets, where you learn many words while taking pictures. I would recommend that you use it alongside your regular study of the language and soon your vocabulary will increase and our dreams of Japanese fluency will be one step closer!