Kanji de Puzzle is one of those weird little Game Boy Color gems that makes you go, "Wait, this is actually kind of brilliant?" At first glance, it's just another falling blocks puzzle game—but instead of colored shapes, you're matching kanji radicals (those little brushstroke components that make up Japanese characters).

Here's how it clicks: you start seeing kanji break apart mid-air, and suddenly you're mentally rearranging strokes like "Oh, that left radical would pair perfectly with that water radical coming down next." It's oddly satisfying when you nail a combo and watch the kanji reconstruct itself. The music's got that classic early 2000s puzzle game vibe too—peppy synth beats that get weirdly intense when your stack nears the top.

Fair warning though, it's all in Japanese, so unless you're familiar with kanji, you might fumble at first. But honestly? After a few rounds, even non-speakers start recognizing patterns. My first session accidentally lasted an hour because I kept thinking "Just one more, I almost see how this one fits."

If you dig obscure puzzle games or want a fresh twist on language learning, this one's a surprisingly clever time capsule.