Learning another language is never an easy job. It's certainly not helped when said language not only doesn't use your alphabet, but has three different writing styles of its very own! Fortunately the Nintendo DS, with its portability and dual touch screens, makes for a great tool to learn from. That is if, of course, you've got the right software to help you out. Enter Ubisoft. With My Japanese Coach the publisher hopes to get you off to a flying start.
The game (or software, depending on your point of view) contains 10,000 words and 1,500 phrases, with voice recording to help with pronunciation. It also features the Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana writing scripts for you to start learning plenty of meat for a beginner to sink their teeth into.
The game is structured as 100 lessons. Each contains a series of grammar points, complete with a series of words to learn. To keep things fun, the lessons are broken up by mini-games that reinforce the lessons you've learned. One of the great strengths of the game is the inclusion of lessons and mini-games relating to the drawing of Japanese characters. Not much use knowing how to speak a country's language if you can't get to grips with the road signs as you wander around, is it?
