Kanji Chosen (Work in Progress) – Looking for Feedback from Shmup Players

[gikonekos]

Hello everyone,

I’m an indie developer from Japan, currently developing an original shoot’em up called Kanji Chosen (Kanji hyper war).

The game’s concept is simple: the enemies are Japanese Kanji characters. It combines the feel of classic arcade shooters with a unique theme based on the Japanese writing system.

Please note that this game is still under active development. Many aspects are not yet finalized and are still being adjusted, including gameplay balance, enemy behavior, stage progression, and overall difficulty.

I’m not presenting this as a finished product. Instead, I’m looking for honest feedback from experienced shmup players while the game is still evolving.

Gameplay Video
https://www.youtube.com/live/3uZB3iFePII

Play in Your Browser
https://gikonekos.github.io/kanji-hyper-war/kc.html

Project Page
https://github.com/gikonekos/kanji-hyper-war

I’d greatly appreciate your thoughts on any aspect of the game, including:

* Gameplay feel
* Difficulty
* Enemy behavior
* Visibility
* Pacing
* Overall enjoyment

Constructive criticism is very welcome, and it will help improve the game during development.

Thank you very much for taking the time to have a look.

Kenkichi Motoi(gikonekos)

[TerminalInternet]

Heya Japanese indie game developer.

I first played your personal game project and game itself with the japanese words but it's top-down space shooter, It's very good game.

[gikonekos]

Thank you very much for playing the game and taking the time to leave a comment!

I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it.

The game is still under development, and I’m continuing to improve the gameplay and balance.

I really appreciate your support!

[Steven]

正直一番強い印象はプレイヤーのショットは遅すぎるということです。近くに行かないと敵を当たるのは不自然に難しくて悔しいです。これだけ直すとゲーム性が結構上がるだろうだと思います。プレイヤーの火力は・・・グラフィックを見てハレーズコメットみたいな武器を想像しましたので「えぇぇこれだけ？！」みたいな反応でした。勿論ハレーズコメットじゃなくてインベーダーみたいなショットでもっと丁寧に破壊できますので最初から設定して多分インベーダーみたいなショットは変わらないと思いますがそんな印象でした。

敵のショットですが避ける必要はあまりないと思います。敵はプレイヤーを狙わなくてワイドショットもないですから例えば動かないと当たる可能性が低いです。それが多分一番効率的です。もっと面白いパターンとかがあったらいいと思います。敵の動きもそうです。

日本人じゃないですが日本語が分かる人として一目で画数を分かるのは難しいですから何かの対策があった方がいいと思います。

[gikonekos]

Steven, thank you very much for your detailed feedback.

Your comment about the player's shot speed, especially that it stood out to you the most, was extremely helpful.
The feeling that "you have to get very close before your shots hit" may be causing more frustration than I intended, so I want to make reviewing the balance between shot speed and rate of fire a priority.

Your point about the weapon's perceived power also makes a lot of sense. There's a gap between what the graphics lead players to expect and how the weapon actually feels to use.

I want to preserve the *Space Invaders*-style approach of carefully picking off enemies, while adjusting the game so that the weapons feel a bit more satisfying in practice.

Regarding enemy bullets and enemy movement, I also recognize that it's an issue if "standing still is the most effective strategy."
Creating a stronger reason to dodge and making enemy patterns more engaging are areas I'd like to improve in future balance adjustments.

Your comments about the readability of stroke counts are also valuable, especially from the perspective of someone who isn't a native Japanese speaker.
I'll also look into ways to make an enemy's toughness more immediately understandable through the UI or visual effects.

Your comments were specific and constructive, and they've been a huge help.
I'll keep working on improving the game, so if you notice anything else, I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Stevenさん、詳細なフィードバックありがとうございます。
特に自機ショットの弾速については、一番強く感じた点とのこと、非常に参考になりました。
「近くに行かないと当たらない」感覚は、意図した以上にストレスになっている可能性があるので、弾速と連射のバランスは優先して見直したいと思います。
火力の印象についても、グラフィックから受ける期待と実際の手触りにギャップがある、という指摘は納得です。
インベーダー的な「丁寧に破壊する」方向は維持しつつ、体感としての手応えはもう少し上げられるよう調整を検討します。
敵弾・敵の動きについても、「動かない方が効率的」になってしまっている点は課題だと認識しています。
避ける必然性やパターンの面白さは、今後のバランス調整で手を入れていきたい部分です。
画数の視認性についても、日本語話者以外の視点として貴重です。
一目で硬さが伝わるような表示や演出の工夫も、あわせて検討します。
具体的で建設的なコメント、本当に助かります。
引き続き改善を進めていきますので、また気づいた点があればぜひお願いします。