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 freely explore a stylized 3D Japanese city environment, searching for a variety of shops, signs, and environmental details to photograph. They can toggle between displaying the Japanese text, romaji, kana, or kanji for the objects they capture.
As players photograph items, the game adds them to an in-game photo album as "flashcards." Each flashcard displays the Japanese word, English translation, and an image of the photographed object. Players can review their flashcards, mark words they have mastered, and flag words they need to practice more.
In the "Find Mode" minigame, the game presents players with a Japanese word and challenges them to locate the corresponding object in the city environment and photograph it. This tests their ability to actively recall and apply the vocabulary they have learned.
The game also includes a "Quiz Mode" where players are tested on their knowledge of the vocabulary words, phrases, and grammar patterns they have encountered. They must select the correct English translation from multiple choice options.
As players progress, they can earn in-game currency to unlock new camera filters, frames, and decorations for their flashcards, allowing for a degree of personalization and rewarding their learning efforts.