Why we built a language game that ends

Most language apps are designed never to finish. The streak, the daily notification, the subscription that renews while you feel vaguely guilty about lesson 12 — the business model is the design. You are not supposed to arrive anywhere because arriving means cancelling.

Katakana Rocks! goes the other way. It's 36 levels, it has a story, and the story has an ending. You finish it. Then it's yours, and you go read something real. At the end, you won't be fluent, but you'll have everything you need to make progress by yourself.

That single decision shaped everything else.

Katakana first, not hiragana first

Almost every Japanese course opens with hiragana. It's the sensible order — hiragana is the grammatical glue of the language, you can't get far without it. It's also the order that keeps a beginner from reading anything recognisable for weeks.

We start with katakana instead because katakana is the script Japanese uses for foreign words:

• コーヒー → kōhī → coffee
• ホテル → hoteru → hotel
• タクシー → takushī → taxi
• ビール → bīru → beer

You just read four Japanese words. That's the whole bet. Katakana turns your existing vocabulary into a reading exercise, so the first payoff lands in about ten minutes instead of a month. Hiragana comes next, then a small set of kanji that actually earn their place — the ones on station signs, menus and toilets.

A band, not a curriculum

You're on tour in Japan with a band, and nobody in it speaks Japanese. Makiko, your guide, translates less and less as you go. The levels are venues, train rides, an onsen, a convenience store at 2am.

This isn't decoration on top of flashcards. The story is the reason the vocabulary is ordered the way it is: you learn ラーメン before you learn 図書館, because you're hungry before you're studious.

No subscription, and what that costs us

The full game is a one-time $4.99. No ads, no in-app purchases, no account, no telemetry — it runs entirely offline and nothing leaves your device.

I'm aware this is a worse business than a subscription. It's also the only version of this game I wanted to make. A tool that teaches you to read should eventually stop needing you.

Play it

The demo covers the first 5 levels — story, quiz, rhythm, battle, stickers — in your browser or as a download for Windows, macOS and Linux. Your progress exports at the end, and imports into the full app.

The full game lands 31 August 2026 on iOS and Android.

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