Fun
I got the lite version to try it out because I didn’t want to pay for something I didn’t like, and I have to admit, it’s fun. The demo gives you a basic intro and lets you complete the airport section of the game which gives a really good feel for the game. It’s designed like old school Nintendo with the music and the graphics and that’s part of the charm. There are (at this level) basic sentences and characters to learn and there’s a book (I forget what the game called it, a diary maybe) where you can review, read over and even practice writing/tracing the characters as you come across them. I finished the intro in no more than 15-20 minutes I think which is plenty of time to see if you like something. It was fun and I actually felt like I was learning both how to speak Japanese and how to read it. The game did not hand hold, nor did it feel overwhelmingly hard. The design is fun and engaging with little missions and you are free to explore the small mission areas and interact with people. I’m probably going to buy the full game soon because this fun way of learning didn’t even feel like learning if that makes sense, and it is, based on this little intro, 100% worth it!!