Lacking confidence in your writing skills? Worried that your kanji look like chicken scratch? Aggravated that you know how to write a character, but can't write it well?Then look to DS美文字トレーニング on the Nintendo DS for all your artistic needs. In comparison to the majority of kanji software out there on the market that test your writing skills for tests like Kanken, DS美文字トレーニング allows you to dot your is and cross your ts by learning the ins and outs of how to write kanji like a pro. For somebody like myself who was just considering some formal lessons that would round out to about 30,000 yen (about $300), this software package is a timely--and economic--alternative.
As you practice writing characters, you'll be shown the proper angle to draw strokes, how to line up radicals, and how to preserve a sense of balance. With over 3000 characters (including hiragana) packed in to practice, it looks like you'll be able to make good use of this software for quite a while.
DS美文字トレーニング also comes with some extra features like a dictionary showing the origin of kanji and how they've changed over time. You also get a cool brushlike stylus. Everybody's a winner.
DS美文字トレーニング hits shelves on March 13, 2008.
18 comments:
I'm not sure if this would actually working. Writing in the touch screen very different from writing in paper.
You don't have enough space to support your hand, and tactile feedback from the stylus is completely different from a pen.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm skeptical on this one.
pazu,
Thanks for the comment. That's an excellent point. I'm looking forward to seeing how well their special stylus does in simulating a real pen.
I've been using the Nintendo DS a couple years now to study kanji, and while it does feel different than holding a pen or pencil, I've still had positive results overall. It also looks like the software teaches concepts that should be easily transferred from stylus to pen--or whatever writing tool you use.
I meant to blog about this myself, but haven't gotten around to it.
I was surprised to finally see this on Nintendo's site. They announced it in 2006, and it had never materialized. I'm excited to get my hands on it next week.
I've been using KanjiGym Light on a palm pilot for studying my RTK and, as far as stoke order practice goes, a stylus seems to work okay. I haven't had any problems translating that to pen and paper.
Chris, I've read through most of your reviews and they're great but I'm a little confused. I'm just starting out in Kanji and whilst I've been able to figure out how to use a few of the programs, I would LOVE to find one with either a) an english interface b) english meaning or romaji sounds for the kanji...
you seen any???
anonymous,
Thank you for your comment!
Unfortunately all the games out now are made by Japanese developers and do not have English interfaces.
One possible option would be the software, but keep in mind this is a dictionary, not software for learning kanji.
Perhaps I'll come across as bitter and jaded because it is easy to confuse my sobriety level when looking at my Kanji, but does it really benefit you to know the proper angle for strokes?
How often does one find oneself in the situation where proper stroke order is not enough to convey meaning? Is the audience really there?
And it comes with a special pen! Looks interesting! Looking forward to the review.
Stroke angle doesn't matter so much with a pen, but when you're writing with a brush, it makes a big difference. I'm very much a beginner at calligraphy, but even I recognize that.
Thanks for the review!~ Hehe.. i just ordered this game too :)
No new updates? This is a great site; it'd be a shame to see it die! :(
Oh, has this site been abandoned?
Awesome, I'm going to give this a try for sure. My kanji never looks right. It's always really obvious that when I'm writing my kanji, I'm thinking about each individual radical, because they all end up seperated and don't look like one kanji in the end. Hopefully this can help me.
It's too bad this blog appears to have died. I'm going to post some similar items in my blog which is updated daily.
hey you guys, where are you?? it's september and nearly time to send in an application for the JLPT (next friday, right?) are you going to help a girl out??
Bimoji training is MUCH better than I expected. It actually analyses your drawing stroke-by-stroke, as well as overall balance and composition, and give counseling like “your strokes would match the lengths better if you’d draw a bit slower” or “pay attention to the overall shape of this character”. Good stuff!
I don’t know much Japanese yet so I lose some details, but still found bimoji very useful. I heartily recommend this to anyone post-3kyuu who’s interested in Japanese calligraphy.
Hello. Your game summaries are really good :D Thank you! Do you know if there any new Japanese-study games released lately?
estella,
My Japanese Coach was just released. It's the first Japanese learning game aimed at English speakers. You can read my reviews here.
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