KANA コンビニ

Most learners finish hiragana and katakana in a week. It took me a month. And even after finally getting those down, there's kanji waiting - 2,000 characters minimum to read everyday Japanese. That number haunted me.

I tried everything. YouTube tutorials, apps, textbooks. My motivation would spike for a month, then drop off completely. I'm not a good learner. But I am a good player.

Roguelikes keep me coming back. Wildfrost, Monster Train, Slay the Spire, Balatro, Hades, Brotato - I've sunk hundreds of hours into these games. The "one more run" feeling is addictive. What if learning felt like that?

The idea hit me in June 2025. I was sketching game concepts in my notebook - something I'd been doing for years without ever finishing anything. But this one felt different. A konbini. Customers lining up. Japanese characters as the challenge. Roguelike progression. It all clicked. And it wouldn't leave my head.

For months I kept thinking about it - on trains, before sleep, during work. If there was ever a game I could actually finish, it had to be this one.

By October, I started building. This is a solo side project - about 3-4 months of nights and weekends so far.

Every moment spent on this, I kept asking: "Would this make ME want to keep playing?"

Three months later, here it is. This might be the game I keep playing, until I master Japanese. Hope you enjoy it too.

— billbkk