Poketan is a game focused on helping Japanese speakers improve their English vocabulary. This game was designed almost exclusively for the PlayStation . Poketan can download hundreds of words onto a memory card for reviewing on the go. With the Specter, the scholastic ghost from England, as your mentor, you will progress through sixteen levels worth of vocabulary. Each level packs one hundred words, giving this game a total of sixteen hundred vocabulary words. The game has two modes: card mode and test mode. In card mode, you can choose to receive flashcards going from either Japanese to English or English to Japanese. You will first see either a Kanji or English word, and then after making your guess as to its counterpart in the opposing language, you can find out exactly what that word is with the touch of a button.
Particularly difficult words to pronounce or easily confused (e.g. ear, air), have an option to hear a sound clip giving the appropriate pronunciation.
Test Mode will test your knowledge of what you've learned from card mode. You will be faced with Kanji and have to input the correct corresponding English word. A wrong letter will be corrected. As you progress through the provided vocabulary, Specter transforms into various shapes, car, dog, rain, etc., and uses the words learned in a variety of sentences.
While playing on a PlayStation , you will essentially play on a giant simulated Pocketstation. If playing on a Poketan -compatible device (such as a Pocketstation), you can upload your results, and Specter's transformations can be watched through the PlayStation .