VGChartz’s Evan Norris: “Thanks to Shujinkou, I know more Japanese than ever before. I have a basic understanding of sentence structure and logic, and can call upon a limited vocabulary. More importantly, though, I can say I’ve played a legitimately great RPG. Thanks to its lovable characters, addictive dungeon-crawling gameplay, meaningful side-quests, great music, and inventive syllable-based fighting mechanics, it’s both an outstanding video game and an effective teaching tool. Now, not everything is perfect. Some of the menus are clumsy, the Kanakae system can be overwhelming, and there are rare instances where the language-learning and role-playing aspects fight for control. But, in general, the game accomplishes its very ambitious goals. Julian Rice should be immensely proud of what he’s achieved here.”
