Katakana Rocks! — Demo

You're on tour in Japan. Nobody in the band speaks Japanese.

Your guide Makiko walks you through it, one level at a time — and somewhere around minute ten, you realise you're reading.

Katakana first. Japanese uses three scripts. Katakana is the one used for foreign words: コkoーヒhiー is coffee, ホhoテteルru is hotel, タtaクkuシshiー is taxi. Start there, and you're reading real Japanese words almost immediately, instead of grinding for a month before anything clicks. Then come hiragana, then a handful of genuinely useful kanji.

36 levels, told as a story: quiz sessions, a rhythm minigame, kana battles, a sticker collection to fill, and a final "street" level where you read actual Japanese signage.

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What's in this demo

The first 5 levels, free, no sign-up, nothing to install: story, quiz, rhythm, battle and stickers. Play it in your browser, or download it for Windows, macOS or Linux below.

Your progress travels with you — export it at the end of the demo and import it into the full app.

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The full game

Out 31 August 2026 on iOS and Android. One-time $4.99.

• No subscription. No ads. No in-app purchases.
• Works entirely offline — planes, subways, anywhere.
• Nothing leaves your device.
• A real story, with a real ending. You finish it, and then it's yours.

→ katakana.rocks

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About

A solo project made in Bordeaux, France, with original music and a story written for it — shaped by a small circle of French and Japanese friends who tested every iteration. 🎸