Overgear Studio

Kotodama Quest 言霊クエスト

A role-playing game where every Japanese word you remember is a spell. Battle yokai across five provinces, from JLPT N5 to N1.

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Coming to iPhone and Android. Free to play.

A battle in Kotodama Quest: the umbrella yokai Karakasa-obake blocks the road, with Attack, Defend, Retreat and Special commands below

The story

The yokai have stolen Japan's words. Every word you remember is a kotodama, a word with a spirit, and a spell against them.

You set out from the Village of Beginnings as a traveller with nothing but the few words you know. Each province holds a level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, its vocabulary and grammar, and the yokai that guard them. Win the words back and the road opens to the next.

Karakasa-obake, a one-eyed paper umbrella yokai sticking its tongue out

How a battle works

Turn-based fights, the classic way. Except your sword is your Japanese.

Ways to answer and how hard each one hits
Way to answerWhat you doDamage
選ChoosePick the right meaning from four×1
打TypeType the answer yourself×1.25
書DrawWrite the word in kana with your finger×1.5
話SpeakSay it aloud in Japanese×2

The road from N5 to N1

Five provinces, one for each JLPT level. Each has its words and grammar, three yokai on the way and a boss at the end.

  1. Rice fields, a red bridge and thatched houses below mount fuji
    N5

    始まりの村

    Hajimari no Mura · Village of Beginnings

    Understands some basic Japanese. About 800 words and 100 kanji.

    • Karakasa-obake唐傘お化け
    • Chōchin-obake提灯お化け
    • Mamedanuki豆狸
    • Kappa, province boss河童

      Boss. Guardian of the river crossing. Bow politely and the water in its head-dish may spill.

  2. A bamboo grove with a stone lantern and a thatched teahouse
    N4

    竹の里

    Take no Sato · Bamboo Hamlet

    Understands basic Japanese. About 1,500 words and 300 kanji.

    • Bakeneko化け猫
    • Kodama木霊
    • Ittan-momen一反木綿
    • Amanojaku, province boss天邪鬼

      Boss. A small demon that always says the exact opposite of what it means.

  3. A castle and pagoda over a lantern-lit street at sunset
    N3

    城下町

    Jōkamachi · Castle Town

    Understands everyday Japanese to a certain degree. About 3,750 words and 650 kanji.

    • Rokurokubiろくろ首
    • Noppera-bōのっぺらぼう
    • Kamaitachi鎌鼬
    • Kyūbi no Kitsune, province boss九尾の狐

      Boss. A nine-tailed fox who has bewitched the lord of the castle.

  4. Misty mountains with a waterfall, a rope bridge and cranes
    N2

    霧の峠

    Kiri no Tōge · Misty Pass

    Understands everyday Japanese and a wider range of situations. About 6,000 words and 1,000 kanji.

    • Yuki-onna雪女
    • Yamauba山姥
    • Nue鵺
    • Ō-tengu, province boss大天狗

      Boss. Lord of the pass and teacher of forbidden sword arts.

  5. A palace on the clouds under a full moon, with floating lanterns on the water
    N1

    月の宮

    Tsuki no Miya · Moon Palace

    Understands Japanese in a wide variety of situations. About 10,000 words and 2,000 kanji.

    • Ushi-oni牛鬼
    • Tsuchigumo土蜘蛛
    • Ōmukade大百足
    • Yamata no Orochi, province boss八岐大蛇

      Boss. Eight heads, eight tails, and the last of the stolen words.

Start where you are

Already know some Japanese? Prove it at the checkpoint and skip ahead.

At the start you choose N5, or take a short checkpoint test for N4, N3, N2 or N1. Get five of six right and the road opens from there. New travellers can warm up in the dojo against a straw scarecrow that hits back gently.

A pixel-art checkpoint gate with a wooden palisade, banners and mountains behind

Raids: five giants, fought together

Team up with other travellers and hold a real conversation in Japanese. Every good reply strikes the boss.

Take turns replying to each other; good replies hit hard, and alternating speakers chains them. Raids pay five times the XP of a province boss, and each giant guards a treasure.

The raids screen: gather, talk, strike, and the first raid boss Ōnyūdō
  • Ōnyūdō大入道

    N5 raid · 1,000 HP. A monk the size of a hill. The longer you stare up at him, the taller he grows.

  • Shuten-dōji酒呑童子

    N4 raid · 1,400 HP. King of the oni of Mount Ōe, and never without his sake cup.

  • Gashadokuroがしゃどくろ

    N3 raid · 1,900 HP. A giant skeleton built from the bones of the unburied. Its teeth rattle in the dark.

  • Umibōzu海坊主

    N2 raid · 2,500 HP. A black giant that rises from a calm sea. If it asks for a ladle, give it one with no bottom.

  • Daidarabotchiだいだらぼっち

    N1 raid · 3,200 HP. A giant so vast that its footprints became lakes.

Between battles

言葉帳Word book
Every word you meet, with its reading and voice. A right answer moves a word up one of five boxes; a miss drops it two and sends it back to battle sooner.
仮名Kana spring
Practise hiragana and katakana by choosing, typing, drawing or speaking. Every right answer heals you.
番付Leaderboard
Travellers ranked by level like a sumo banzuke. Add the ones you meet as friends.
茶屋Teahouse
Spend the mon you win in battle, dress your traveller and equip what the bosses drop.
言語Your language
Play in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese or Korean.
The word book: N5 words such as 水 water and 山 mountain, each with a button to hear it
The kana spring: choose hiragana or katakana and how to answer

Free to play

Free account

  • Your progress saved to your account, on any phone
  • An ad after some battles
  • Daily limits on healing at the inn and the kana spring

Monthly pass

  • No ads
  • No daily limits
  • Bought and cancelled in the App Store or Google Play

Coming to iPhone and Android

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Tell me when it launches