Shashingo is an edutainment game that teaches you Japanese through virtual photography. With your trusty camera, take photographs of the fictional streets of Japan to capture new words and images as fully translated flash cards!
Players can explore a beautifully crafted 3D Japanese city environment and take photographs of various objects, buildings, and scenes. The game immediately translates the name of each captured item into both Japanese and English, allowing players to learn new vocabulary words in an immersive, context-rich setting. Reviewers praise this unique approach, where players associate words with visual representations, as an effective and engaging way to build vocabulary.
After taking a photograph, the corresponding flashcard is added to the player's photo album. These flashcards display the Japanese and English words, as well as related vocabulary words, providing additional context to reinforce the learned terms. Players can then review and test their knowledge through a "Find Mode" mini-game, where they must locate the items they have photographed around the city.
Each player's photo album and flashcard collection is unique, as it is based on the specific items they have photographed in the game world. This personalized approach helps to strengthen the connection between the words and their visual representations, making the learning process more meaningful and memorable for individual players.
The game tracks the player's progress, marking "mastered" words with a gold star and those that need more practice with a purple exclamation mark. This feedback system allows players to focus their efforts on the vocabulary they are struggling with, promoting efficient and targeted learning. Players can also mark favorite words and save them to a dedicated page, further customizing the learning experience.
Alongside the core photography and flashcard systems, the game includes beginner-friendly Japanese language lessons and important phrases. These additional resources provide a more well-rounded learning experience, catering to players with varying levels of Japanese proficiency.