Play EZ-Talk : Shokyuu Hen 2 Online

Ever tried learning Japanese from a Game Boy Advance? EZ-Talk: Shokyuu Hen 2 makes it weirdly enjoyable—like someone mashed up a textbook with an old-school handheld. You’ll tap through simple dialogues, match hiragana to words, and play these little memory games that somehow stick in your brain better than staring at a vocab list.

The graphics are straight out of 2003 (because they are), but there’s something satisfying about the beeps and bloops while you practice. I kept it in my bag for train rides—way less awkward than flipping through a phrasebook. Just don’t expect Duolingo’s polish; this is more like a scrappy, pixelated tutor that won’t judge you for forgetting "arigatou" for the tenth time.

If you’ve got a GBA collecting dust and a vague desire to learn Japanese, this is the weirdly specific solution you didn’t know existed.