Shujinkou News

Our fourth Metacritic-affiliated review is here! We got a review from Matt Sainsbury (Editor-in-Chief of Digitally Downloaded), scoring Shujinkou a maximum score of 5 stars—only the second one the publication has given this year!

[h2]Please give the full review a read here:[/h2]
https://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2025/02/review-shujinkou-sony-playstation-5




[h2]Excerpts from the Review[/h2]

• "(...) Of all the many “language learning” games I’ve played, Shujinkou is the one that “gets it” the best. And that’s precisely because it eases you into Japanese using it in context."
  
  
• "Because the game is there to teach, it actually has more of a narrative than most dungeon crawlers. Oh, and it’ll take you 70 or so hours to play through. This thing has substance, is the point."
  
  
• "The induction (...from too many tutorials at once) is likely to be at least mildly confusing to most players until they have taken the time to immerse themselves within the game itself and mess around with the systems personally." - Oops! We'll see what we can do about that! - Julian
  
  
• "It’s a testament to the quality of the game that it holds up perfectly well if you don’t want to be educated by it at all, but if you do take it seriously, it’ll actually progress you pretty far down the path to proficiency all by itself."

[h2]Review Conclusion[/h2]
"Shujinkou is a genuinely worthwhile language tool wrapped up in a genuinely worthwhile indie Etrian Odyssey-style dungeon crawler. It’s an inspired, intelligent idea and I hope people give it a chance despite being as indie as they come. On sheer ambition and creative energy, I would be hard-pressed to point to anything I have ever played that’s more impressive than this."

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed issue with a hanging black screen in the quest: Diversion Needed
• Fixed issue with bugged progression in the quest: Farewell My Friends
• Fixed minor typo and data issues with the quest: Shitano's Secret
• Fixed wrong name being used for an instruction in the quest: Seeking Momo
• Fix bug with certain Buff moves used by enemies unintentionally buffing allies.
  
• Fix complex trigger bug with the Rage, Fear, and Curse ailments.
  
• Fixed many player-reported typos with Blue Texts and in-game dialogue.
  
• Fixed a quiet exception (error) taking place when quitting Sakana Sensou mid round.
  
• Fixed a quiet exception (error) related to stroke animation of words and kanji when when interacting with Kanban in the second half of the game.
  
• Fixed a few typos for the romaji and furigana equivalents for some keys (the items).
  
• Added missing explanations for a few copula and particles in Okkake no Osakenori.
  
• Fix a couple typos found relating to the Fuu Lobby and Minigame system.
  
• Added better error handling for a bizarre crash with dialogue that has a 1-3% chance of occurring specifically when Sanrin is unlocked in the Nation Map. So strange...
  
• Refine the position of the Youkyuu ! icon and some speech bubbles for many of the NPCs in Town 6.
  

[h2]Polish / Quality of Life[/h2]

• Implemented new Update System for keeping players updated in-game when new updates such as "Patch Notes" are released.
  
• New Option: Default to Keyboard Icons (off by default)
  
• New Option: Select between 3 Glyph Sets on Steam Deck and PC
  

[h2]Balancing[/h2]

• To Heal Health - Bumped Cost from 30 TR to 75 TR.
  
• To Heal Mana - Bumped Cost from 25 MR to 40 MR.
  
• To Gradually Heal - Bumped Cost from 40 MR to 60 MR.
  

[h2]Our Biggest Feature / Fix Priorities[/h2]

• PS5 Save Data Transfer from Demo to Full Game (optional for those who want to use it).
  
• We've noticed the PS4 version crashing more often than we'd like—This is due to the device's memory issues, and we are investigating a fix as soon as we can.
  
• We plan on bumping the maximum quests from 5 to 10, 12, or 15 soon.
  
• Some of the grammar and word-based Kanban have long-enough sentences that it makes it hard to read on a smaller screen. We will be adjusting the UI for this.
  
• We are currently working on a proper fix to increase Inventory and Storage capacities for Material and Resource items.
  
• We are working to ensure that L3 / 1 can be used in any menu.
  
• We are working so that existing R3 / CTRL keybinds are changed and the R3 / CTRL keybind allows for display-changing across all four display types in any menu (like the Item Compendium menu).
  
• We've heard reports that the Tsuri (Fishing) minigame may not work properly, or the inputs are not clear enough, for certain PC players. We are investigating this.
  
• We got a request to add a new menu to the Party Menu that allows for players to revisit some of the lengthier lore displayed in the Loading Screens. We're considering implementing this.
  
• Lighting issues (areas are too bright) for a small subset of computers, specifically in labyrinths during Dusk and Night (sometimes Dawn), but also sometimes on the Nation Map.
  
• D-pad movement, especially with controller, as well as keyboard-only movement, can be slow and laggy, and not fun for dungeon-crawlers who are more accustomed to D-pad movement (instead of the L-stick, which currently is the smoothest working solution).
  

Thank you so much for playing Shujinkou.

We will be focusing on refining the experience based on player feedback so that Shujinkou can become as refined of a JRPG as it can be.

Don't forget that you can join our Discord Community (with over 500 members!), where fans are able to quickly ask questions, get help, and get directly in touch with the team at Rice Games. Link: https://discord.gg/UdCdvSuwpk


Thanks again, and we'll see you in your next crawling session!
Julian Rice

Our third Metacritic-affiliated review is here! We got a review from Pyre Kavanagh (NoisyPixel), scoring Shujinkou at a must-play 9.5 out of 10, tying their score for Monster Hunter Wilds! The reviewer put over 50 hours into the game and cleared the first half (Genya Story Arc).

[h2]Please give the full review a read here:[/h2]
https://noisypixel.net/shujinkou-review-jrpg-learn-japanese/




[h2]Excerpts from the Review[/h2]

• "We’ve got a script and game that loves all sorts of details, from extremely easy-to-miss Drakengard references to dungeon monsters that are closer to Mary Skelter than Etrian Odyssey, showing a wide focus, plus jokes about video game translation (I lost it during the Advent Children translation gag)."
  
  
• "One detail that is a real treat is the shopkeepers. It’s normal practice for an RPG to have item descriptions, sometimes with flavor text, but this title goes the extra step and offers flavor text directly from the merchants themselves. It goes a long way to fleshing out these minor cast members and making regular preparations more enjoyable."
  
  
• "I got blown away at so many points in this game. Sure, at first, it was a nifty dungeon crawler with a fun Japanese teaching gimmick, but it continued to up the stakes."
  
  
• "The dungeon crawling is very challenging, and while you can play on an easy mode to experience the fantastic story and characters fast, the incremental pacing of this genre really works well with the vastness of what the game is also teaching."
  
  
• "The level of integration this game has with its Japanese teaching content, script, and world makes it feel shockingly normal. It’s an incredible JRPG that also just happens to be an extremely enjoyable learning tool."
  
  
• "Shujinkou is a phenomenal game, easily making its way to the ranks of my favorite JRPGs. It has interesting characters, an in-depth and strategic combat system, and a learning gimmick that is flawlessly integrated."

[h2]Review Conclusion[/h2]
"Shujinkou is a masterfully crafted JRPG that seamlessly blends dungeon crawling, turn-based combat, and an innovative Japanese language learning system. With deep gameplay mechanics, rich world-building, and a clever integration of language education, it’s a unique experience for both RPG lovers and language enthusiasts. Though some mechanics, like ailments and demon negotiation, feel underutilized, the game’s engaging story, stylish UI, and immersive soundtrack make it a must-play."

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fix bug relating to storage and retrieval of weapons and armor if done in a certain way, and prevent storage of more than one of the same equipment at once at in the Confirm UI.
  
• Fix a couple of typos on some Kanban in the mid-game.
  
• Fix ぬ not being an ontological strike on the ヌー enemy. There has always been support for Hiragana and Katakana to both work on all enemies that have non-kanji names.
  
• Fix a soft-crash that can occur with under 3% chance when receiving a gifted item from an akuma after a successful negotiation.
  
• Fix other reported typos found in some Youkyuu
  
• Fix screen tearing on the PS5
  

[h3]Polish / Quality of Life[/h3]

• Added even better special effects for a big boss battle in Labyrinth 7.
  

[h3]Our Biggest Feature / Fix Priorities[/h3]

• PS5 Save Data Transfer from Demo to Full Game (optional for those who want to use it).
  
• A fix for Inventory and Storage to make it a little bit more forgiving / reasonable and allow for more items to be held at once (specifically: Resources and Materials).
  
• Allowing L3 / 1's "English Mode" to be usable on any and all menus in the game.
  
• Remapping a few instances of R3 / CTRL to other keybinds, and implementing QOL such that R3 / CTRL can be used to forcibly change every text to a certain display type (English, Japanese, Furigana, Romaji) to be usable on any and all menus in the game.
  
• New option to select the set of glyphs to use for PC and Steam Deck users (Microsoft set, PlayStation set, etc).
  
• New option to default to Keyboard glyphs EVEN if a controller is connected (rare case, but a desire for this was voiced by a gamer).
  
• Fix display issues and allow the game to run properly on all ultrawide monitors.
  
• Fix potential issue with soft-locking movement in Labyrinth 5 (have yet to reproduce this).
  
• Adjust Kanban that teach Grammar / Words so that the sentences on the top take the whole width, as this will reduce instances of "small font" present in some signboards.
  
• Lighting issues (areas are too bright) for a small subset of computers, specifically in labyrinths during Dusk and Night (sometimes Dawn), but also sometimes on the Nation Map.
  
• D-pad movement, especially with controller, as well as keyboard-only movement, can be slow and laggy, and not fun for dungeon-crawlers who are more accustomed to D-pad movement (instead of the L-stick, which currently is the smoothest working solution).
  
• Under certain circumstances, the Curse ailment does not always trigger in battle.
  
• Crash reports due to running out of memory on the PS4 (base console, not the PS4 Pro).
  

Thank you for playing Shujinkou. The team and I are excited to see more and more players progress through the game. Some of our players have finally cleared the first major story arc, and the feedback has been amazing and extremely reassuring. The team and I are excited to see what our players think of the second major story arc!

Thanks again, and happy dungeon-crawling!
Julian Rice

We got a review from Robert Allen (Tech-Gaming), scoring Shujinkou a very high 90%, their third highest score over the course of the last year! The reviewer put around considerable time into the game, mentioning the Kouryuu system, Kou's Theme (music), and other elements of Shujinkou that require the player making it through the majority of the Genya Arc.

[h2]Please give the full review a read here:[/h2]
https://www.tech-gaming.com/shujinkou/




[h2]Excerpts from the Review[/h2]

• "(...) There’s a heartfelt dedication from lead Julian Rice to his late mother. What follows through the next seventy+ hours is one of the most ambitious, independently-developed dungeon-crawling role-playing games since 1987’s Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei."
  
  
• "But between Brian LaGuardia’s majestic main theme and at least a dozen compositions built around traditional instruments like the koto, shamisen, and taiko, Shujinkou repeatedly soars. (...) At present, (Shujinkou) seems like a solid contender for one of this year’s best scores."
  
  
• "As someone who’s played everything from Influent, Kagami to Learn Japanese to Survive! Hiragana Battle to brush up on my skills, I can securely say that Shujinkou is the most comprehensive package."
  
  
• "Some small control issues can emerge, especially if you opt for mouse-and-keyboard input instead of a controller. Meanwhile, text can intermittently spill from dialog boxes and ultra-wide monitor support can be spotty. Yet none of these blunders fundamentally impair the experience and are mostly minor inconveniences."
  
  
• "Simply put, Shujinkou is nothing short of a marvel of indie game development. Not only has Rice Games bested the exploration and monster encounters of Etrian Odyssey with a far richer storyline, but the studio has also supplemented the adventure with an optional language learning component. Dungeon crawling with a side of Duolingo wasn’t something that I expected 2025 to deliver. However, Shujinkou is one of the single best surprises of the year."

[h2]Review Conclusion[/h2]
"Inaugural efforts can often be unrealistically ambitious. But miraculously, Shujinkou nails nearly every single one of its elevated goals. From engrossing dungeon crawling, a cast that remains compelling across an 80-hour storyline, to a capability for teaching you spoken and written Japanese, a new watermark for indie RPGs has been established."