Play Katou Hifumi Kudan - Shougi Kyoushitsu (Japan) Online

Struggling through Japanese menus pays off when you're staring down a shogi puzzle, sweating over that one move that might save your doomed board—Hifumi Katou's AI somehow makes losing feel like progress.

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Game Overview

Ever tried learning shogi but got lost in all those Japanese pieces? Katou Hifumi Kudan - Shougi Kyoushitsu on the Game Boy Color is basically your patient, pocket-sized sensei. The menus are all in Japanese, but once you stumble through the first few tutorial screens (or just mash buttons until something happens), you’re face-to-face with Hifumi Katou’s AI—which somehow feels both brutal and weirdly encouraging.

The game looks about as fancy as you’d expect from a late-90s GBC title—think chunky pixel pieces and a soundtrack that sounds like elevator music for samurai. But the real magic? Those puzzle modes where you’re given a near-hopeless board and have to find the one sneaky move that flips everything. I lost an entire train ride to just one of those.

It’s not for everyone—if you don’t already like shogi, this won’t convert you. But if you’ve ever wanted to practice without digging out a physical board, this cartridge’s got more depth than its tiny shell suggests. Just don’t blame me when you start muttering “nifu…” under your breath at work.