Language and culture have become one of Japan’s biggest exports over the past 10 or 15 years. The popularity of Anime, Manga, and video games has given rise to an entire sub-culture in the west, a group very keen to learn about all things Japanese. With that in mind, I’d like to introduce a few DS games that might help with Japanese language study. Keep in mind that while there are a ton of study games on the market, the vast majority are targeted at native Japanese speakers who want to brush up on their own language skills.

Options are somewhat limited for beginners, but I’ve tried my best to lay out what I think are some useful titles. Seeing as how the Nintendo DS hails from the land of the rising sun, it’s only fitting that you give it a chance as your Japanese teacher.

1. My Japanese Coach

Standing above all other games on this list, My Japanese Coach is your meat and potatoes if you’re just starting out. Many websites have written about errors that exist in the game, particularly some stroke order mistakes. But the benefits of the game greatly outweigh these faults, and it’s still the only solid Japanese learning game for beginners that you’ll find on the DS. The lessons are well structured, giving you a chance to practice your handwriting and improve your vocabulary. There is even a feature where you get to record your own voice and compare it against the game’s pronunciation. My Japanese Coach allows you to keep things fresh by studying with a variety of mini-games: Flash Cards, Memory, and character practice to name just a few.

2. Mind Your Language: Japanese

Besides My Japanese Coach, Mind Your Language is the only other Japanese learning game I could find for absolute beginners. It’s not as deep as My Japanese Coach, but it is a little more leisurely, putting you in the role of a student who wanders around school looking for Japanese words to learn. It requires a little bit too much patience for my taste though, especially the grade 2 obstacle course which is darn near impossible. But then again, I never did hit my stride until grade three…

Update: See Blue Lightning’s review of Mind your Language: Japanese

Note: Titles 3 to 5 were designed for Japanese users, so you won’t find any English instructions or interface. But I do recommended giving them a try once you reach a higher level of proficiency.

3. Rakubiki Jiten

Once you’ve graduated past those first two, you can try moving on to Japanese language games. The first thing you’ll need is a dictionary, and Rakubiki Jiten is just that. While you could dish out copious amounts of cash for an electronic dictionary that has handwriting recognition, this is a far better choice. And there’s an indispensable bookmark feature useful for keeping track of words you need to reference quickly. See also Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten when you feel ready to move on to Kanji.

4. Hissatsu Kung Fu

It’s fitting that Kung Fu was chosen for a Kanji study game, as both Kung Fu and Kanji are terrifying arts originating in China. It’s true! Most students find Kanji terrifying. But Hissatsu Kung Fu is an amazingly fun way to study them. You’re presented with random Kanji and prompted to input the phonetic pronunciation in hiragana before the time expires. If you aren’t fast enough you’ll end up getting kicked in the teeth by one of the Kung Fu masters! Too many kicks in the teeth and your life meter will expire. It’s a very creative and enjoyable approach to learning Kanji, so much so that you almost forget you’re studying. And you gotta love that.

5. DS Bimoji Training

If recognizing Kanji doesn’t satisfy your ninja ambitions, you can move on to practice the fine art of Kanji calligraphy in DS Bimoji Training. This game will assess how well you draw a character and then tell you whether or not it’s up to par. If you do ok you’ll get a nice red check mark, and possibly even a beautiful certificate when you’re done. But more importantly, if you fail Bimoji will tell you specifically which part of the character you messed up. They’ve done a great job here in making the stylus simulate a brush, as the thickness of the line you paint varies with the pressure you apply to the stylus.

Photo credit: Tofugu.com, another awesome place to go for Japanese learning. Please check out his blog.

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