Wander Stars and the Power of Words: How the Japanese Belief of Kotodama Shaped a Battle System Post a Comment Category: Games August 6, 2025 Wander Stars and the Power of Words: How the Japanese Belief of Kotodama Shaped a Battle System Andie GalloArt Director & Narrative Designer, Wander Stars Summary Wander Stars is a turn-based JRPG where you can combine words to create powerful attacks. Kotodama is the Japanese belief that words and names have power of their own. Wander Stars will be available for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on September 19. Would you ever consider the idea that the words you use have the power to shape your reality? Well, in Wander Stars, words quite literally have power. In this turn-based JRPG inspired by ’90s anime, the goal is to collect as many words as you can to combine them into powerful attacks and defeat your enemies in Kiai battles. Kiai (気合, きあい) is a term we borrowed from Japanese martial arts, which describes the shouts and exhalations performed during an assault. It’s also used extensively in anime, with characters sometimes calling out their attacks – which is what inspired us to create the word-building gameplay mechanic for Wander Stars. Kiai itself also falls under the category of another Japanese concept called Kotodama (言霊, ことだま), which is the belief that words and names have power of their own. The term kotodoma is composed by the kanji for word (言) and soul/spirit (霊), and it’s often literally translated as “the spirit of language” or “the power of words”. It is closely tied to Shintoism – the worship of nature and spirits, considered to be Japan’s indigenous religion, which shares the belief that saying positive words can have a favorable impact and negative words can bring bad luck. Explore a Vast Universe The idea that words have power is not uniquely attributed to the Japanese. There are many examples in cultures across the world of magical words and incantations used in fantasy, religion and ancient rituals. In Wander Stars, we set out to create a multi-cultural universe in which our protagonists can run into many different characters and all sorts of situations, while also borrowing heavily from our own Latin American background and the sort of post-earth monoculture often seen in sci-fi where space travel becomes the norm like Cowboy Bebop and Star Wars. Our intention when we started developing Wander Stars was to have a game with two solid foundations: gameplay and narrative. The word-building gameplay mechanic came first, and it shaped the entire world of Wander Stars and the way the characters interact with it through the concept of Kiai and the power of words. This new word-building battle system is very much inspired by classic turn-based games like Dragon Quest and Pokemon, but instead of choosing from a list of predetermined moves, you actually get to create what your next move will be. The word-building mechanic can be divided into three different types of words, starting with Action Words that dictate what you do during your turn, like “punch” or “kick”. That’s followed by Elemental Words that add an elemental property to your action, like turning a simple kick into a “fire kick”, which can also inflict a status effect like burn. And, lastly, Modifier Words can add many different perks to any action, like “special,” which adds +2 damage, or “wide,” which lets you target two enemies instead of one. The words are simple and self-explanatory for the most part, so the act of combining them in many different ways can be a very fun and intuitive way to discover new strategies and effects. Ringo And Wolfe – Unlikely Allies For the narrative, we set out to explore a story where the characters navigate a world in which words can make or break the connections between them. Ringo is a young martial artist who lives with her grandma. Brash and quick-tempered, Ringo often says things she doesn’t really mean. She soon finds herself roped into an intergalactic adventure with the mysterious scoundrel Wolfe as her partner in the search for the Wanderstar map. In contrast to Ringo, Wolfe is quite sharp with his words and isn’t above lying and stealing to get his way. As he reluctantly accompanies Ringo in their quest, the truth about his character and motivations will become clear. As they travel through an endlessly expanding universe, Ringo and Wolfe will meet other characters who will join them in their adventure. Like the lines we make up to connect the stars and create constellations, they’ll learn how to give shape and meaning to their own connections through the power of words. Make sure you also join in the quest for the Wanderstar map as Wander Stars makes its way into Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on September 19. Wander Stars Fellow Traveller ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ Get it now Join Ringo, a young martial artist looking for her brother, and Wolfe, a mysterious scoundrel running from his past, as they join forces in an unlikely partnership to collect the pieces of the fabled Wanderstar Map. Across 10 “episodes” of anime-inspired adventure, Ringo and Wolfe will have to work together to find answers, make up for past mistakes, and travel across the universe in search of their goal. And who knows, maybe they’ll learn how to get along at some point! Trained in the ways of Kiai, a magical form of martial art and also the universe’s most exciting form of televised entertainment, Ringo can combine words to create customized attacks in intense turn-based battles. Defeat or befriend a cast of fearsome space pirates, mysterious scoundrels, cute witches, high school delinquents, talking crows, and skilled martial artists on your way to becoming a Kiai master. USE YOUR WORDS Create custom attacks by combining words up to the limit of your spirit level. The more spirit you have, the more slots you have to place words into and the more powerful and complex actions you can take. All words have cool downs and opponents might be weak or strong against specific attacks or specific elements. You won’t know which until you engage them in battle so you need to be prepared to improvise. COLLECT THEM ALL With over 200 words to collect across the game there is a near infinite number of possible unique attacks to make. As you expand Ringo’s vocabulary you’ll need to carefully select which words you take into battle, building strategies around your mix of categories, blend of offensive and defensive words, giving yourself options to manage your opponents weaknesses and strengths, consider optimizing the juggling of cool downs and, of course, which attacks sound the coolest. The result is an accessible, immediately fun but deep combat system. STEP UP WITH PEP UPS The core ethos of the Kiai martial art is to fight with honor. Defeating an opponent with honor can turn the most heated of rivals into the fastest of friends! Befriend your rivals to earn their words of encouragement in the form of useful Pep Ups which can be equipped to give you special bonuses in combat. THE STARS CALL Travel the universe on a rollercoaster adventure as you seek the pieces of the Wanderstar map, Ringo’s lost brother and the answers to Wolfe’s mysterious past. UNLIKELY ALLIES Along the way you’ll build a found family of colorful characters, each with their own thing going on. They might not all get along at first, but that’s nothing a thrilling space adventure can’t fix! And even with the trail gone cold, take heart, for these wandering stars are bound to find each other… AN ANIME YOU CAN PLAY Inspired by anime the developers grew up watching, Wander Stars plays out across 10 “episodes”, each one taking between 60-90 minutes to complete. Each episode features a map to explore with procedurally generated battles, special events and other secrets to find along with the main story events. Play an episode at a time, or binge the whole thing in one go! You can even replay episodes to find all the side adventures, NPCs, and party member banter you might have missed! Try new paths as you explore ever-changing maps with randomized special events, lurking rivals, and tantalizing treasures. The experience is never quite the same! 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Category: Games August 6, 2025 Wander Stars and the Power of Words: How the Japanese Belief of Kotodama Shaped a Battle System Andie GalloArt Director & Narrative Designer, Wander Stars Summary Wander Stars is a turn-based JRPG where you can combine words to create powerful attacks. Kotodama is the Japanese belief that words and names have power of their own. Wander Stars will be available for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on September 19. Would you ever consider the idea that the words you use have the power to shape your reality? Well, in Wander Stars, words quite literally have power. In this turn-based JRPG inspired by ’90s anime, the goal is to collect as many words as you can to combine them into powerful attacks and defeat your enemies in Kiai battles. Kiai (気合, きあい) is a term we borrowed from Japanese martial arts, which describes the shouts and exhalations performed during an assault. It’s also used extensively in anime, with characters sometimes calling out their attacks – which is what inspired us to create the word-building gameplay mechanic for Wander Stars. Kiai itself also falls under the category of another Japanese concept called Kotodama (言霊, ことだま), which is the belief that words and names have power of their own. The term kotodoma is composed by the kanji for word (言) and soul/spirit (霊), and it’s often literally translated as “the spirit of language” or “the power of words”. It is closely tied to Shintoism – the worship of nature and spirits, considered to be Japan’s indigenous religion, which shares the belief that saying positive words can have a favorable impact and negative words can bring bad luck. Explore a Vast Universe The idea that words have power is not uniquely attributed to the Japanese. There are many examples in cultures across the world of magical words and incantations used in fantasy, religion and ancient rituals. In Wander Stars, we set out to create a multi-cultural universe in which our protagonists can run into many different characters and all sorts of situations, while also borrowing heavily from our own Latin American background and the sort of post-earth monoculture often seen in sci-fi where space travel becomes the norm like Cowboy Bebop and Star Wars. Our intention when we started developing Wander Stars was to have a game with two solid foundations: gameplay and narrative. The word-building gameplay mechanic came first, and it shaped the entire world of Wander Stars and the way the characters interact with it through the concept of Kiai and the power of words. This new word-building battle system is very much inspired by classic turn-based games like Dragon Quest and Pokemon, but instead of choosing from a list of predetermined moves, you actually get to create what your next move will be. The word-building mechanic can be divided into three different types of words, starting with Action Words that dictate what you do during your turn, like “punch” or “kick”. That’s followed by Elemental Words that add an elemental property to your action, like turning a simple kick into a “fire kick”, which can also inflict a status effect like burn. And, lastly, Modifier Words can add many different perks to any action, like “special,” which adds +2 damage, or “wide,” which lets you target two enemies instead of one. The words are simple and self-explanatory for the most part, so the act of combining them in many different ways can be a very fun and intuitive way to discover new strategies and effects. Ringo And Wolfe – Unlikely Allies For the narrative, we set out to explore a story where the characters navigate a world in which words can make or break the connections between them. Ringo is a young martial artist who lives with her grandma. Brash and quick-tempered, Ringo often says things she doesn’t really mean. She soon finds herself roped into an intergalactic adventure with the mysterious scoundrel Wolfe as her partner in the search for the Wanderstar map. In contrast to Ringo, Wolfe is quite sharp with his words and isn’t above lying and stealing to get his way. As he reluctantly accompanies Ringo in their quest, the truth about his character and motivations will become clear. As they travel through an endlessly expanding universe, Ringo and Wolfe will meet other characters who will join them in their adventure. Like the lines we make up to connect the stars and create constellations, they’ll learn how to give shape and meaning to their own connections through the power of words. Make sure you also join in the quest for the Wanderstar map as Wander Stars makes its way into Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on September 19. Wander Stars Fellow Traveller ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ Get it now Join Ringo, a young martial artist looking for her brother, and Wolfe, a mysterious scoundrel running from his past, as they join forces in an unlikely partnership to collect the pieces of the fabled Wanderstar Map. Across 10 “episodes” of anime-inspired adventure, Ringo and Wolfe will have to work together to find answers, make up for past mistakes, and travel across the universe in search of their goal. And who knows, maybe they’ll learn how to get along at some point! Trained in the ways of Kiai, a magical form of martial art and also the universe’s most exciting form of televised entertainment, Ringo can combine words to create customized attacks in intense turn-based battles. Defeat or befriend a cast of fearsome space pirates, mysterious scoundrels, cute witches, high school delinquents, talking crows, and skilled martial artists on your way to becoming a Kiai master. USE YOUR WORDS Create custom attacks by combining words up to the limit of your spirit level. The more spirit you have, the more slots you have to place words into and the more powerful and complex actions you can take. All words have cool downs and opponents might be weak or strong against specific attacks or specific elements. You won’t know which until you engage them in battle so you need to be prepared to improvise. COLLECT THEM ALL With over 200 words to collect across the game there is a near infinite number of possible unique attacks to make. As you expand Ringo’s vocabulary you’ll need to carefully select which words you take into battle, building strategies around your mix of categories, blend of offensive and defensive words, giving yourself options to manage your opponents weaknesses and strengths, consider optimizing the juggling of cool downs and, of course, which attacks sound the coolest. The result is an accessible, immediately fun but deep combat system. STEP UP WITH PEP UPS The core ethos of the Kiai martial art is to fight with honor. Defeating an opponent with honor can turn the most heated of rivals into the fastest of friends! Befriend your rivals to earn their words of encouragement in the form of useful Pep Ups which can be equipped to give you special bonuses in combat. THE STARS CALL Travel the universe on a rollercoaster adventure as you seek the pieces of the Wanderstar map, Ringo’s lost brother and the answers to Wolfe’s mysterious past. UNLIKELY ALLIES Along the way you’ll build a found family of colorful characters, each with their own thing going on. They might not all get along at first, but that’s nothing a thrilling space adventure can’t fix! And even with the trail gone cold, take heart, for these wandering stars are bound to find each other… AN ANIME YOU CAN PLAY Inspired by anime the developers grew up watching, Wander Stars plays out across 10 “episodes”, each one taking between 60-90 minutes to complete. Each episode features a map to explore with procedurally generated battles, special events and other secrets to find along with the main story events. Play an episode at a time, or binge the whole thing in one go! You can even replay episodes to find all the side adventures, NPCs, and party member banter you might have missed! Try new paths as you explore ever-changing maps with randomized special events, lurking rivals, and tantalizing treasures. The experience is never quite the same!
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