A Japanese language learning game inspired by Pokemon. Explore a gym, challenge trainers and the gym leader, and defeat them by answering Japanese language questions correctly.
- RPG-style exploration: Walk around maps, interact with NPCs, and progress through rooms
- Battle system: Defeat opponents by answering Japanese language questions
- Multiple question types: Hiragana, Katakana, vocabulary (weather, greetings, actions), sentence forming, and particle usage
- Combo system: Answer correctly in a row to increase your damage multiplier
- Bilingual support: Switch between English and Japanese (kanji/kana) in settings
- Save & Load: Pick up where you left off (auto-saves after battles)
- Customizable settings: Adjust volume, resolution, and rebind keys
- Language: Java
- Framework: LibGDX 1.11.0
- Build tool: Gradle
- Serialization: Kryo (save data)
- YAML parsing: SnakeYAML (settings)
- Text rendering: LibGDX FreeType (dynamic fonts for Japanese characters)
All voice lines and question audio in this game are generated using VOICEVOX, a Japanese open-source text-to-speech engine.
The easiest way to play is through a pre-built release package.
- Go to the Releases page and download the latest
pokelingo.zip - Extract the zip file to any folder
- Double-click
run.cmdto start the game
Prerequisites:
- JDK 17 or later
JAVA_HOMEenvironment variable set to your JDK installation path- Git
Steps:
- Clone the repository and navigate into the project folder
- Run the build script:
python tools/build.py - This will create a
dist/folder containingrun.cmd - Double-click
run.cmdto start the game
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Move | W / A / S / D |
| Interact | Enter |
| Pause / Menu | Escape |
| Save Game | F12 |
| Repeat Voice | V |
Controls can be changed in the Settings menu.
- From the main menu, select Play Game to start
- Walk your character around the map using WASD
- Approach an NPC and press Enter to talk
- (In the Gym) After dialogue, a battle will begin. Answer the Japanese question correctly to deal damage
- Get consecutive correct answers to build a combo and deal extra damage
- Answer incorrectly and the opponent gains a combo against you
- Defeat all trainers and challenge the Gym Leader to complete the game
- Hiragana: Identify or match hiragana characters
- Katakana: Identify or match katakana characters
- Vocabulary (Weather): Japanese words related to weather
- Vocabulary (Greetings): Common Japanese greetings and expressions
- Vocabulary (Actions): Japanese action verbs and phrases
- Sentence Forming: Arrange words to form correct Japanese sentences
- Particles: Choose the correct Japanese particle (wa, ga, ni, wo, etc.)
The game supports two language modes, selectable in Settings:
- English (EN)
- Japanese (JP): Uses only hiragana and katakana notation
In every language mode, interactive objects and dialogue are shown together with romanization.
core/ : Core game logic, screens, actors, and question system
desktop/ : Desktop launcher (LWJGL3)
assets/ : Game assets (maps, audio, fonts, strings, dialogs, questions)
tools/ : Build script to package the game for distribution
docs/ : Developer documentation
./gradlew desktop:distThis produces desktop/build/libs/desktop-1.0.jar.
./gradlew desktop:runRequires JAVA_HOME to be set.
Private / Personal project