Should clearing a higher JLPT level unlock all the badges below it?

Bunpro
#1

Hello folks!
I came back to Bunpro 115 days ago after a long absence, and I’ve been doing lots of studying in the meantime. I tried out one of the mock JLPT N2 exams a while back, and managed to pass, earning myself a shiny Badge in the process.

However, I couldn’t help but notice that the N5-3 badges are still locked. So for kicks, I just sped through an N5 practice test, used about 25 of the allotted 80 minutes, and got a whopping one question wrong (got hit by a classic move of someone in the listening section saying one thing but then correcting themselves, only I didn’t hear them correct themselves because I had already zoomed to the next question. Oops!).
And while seeing how far I’ve come over the past decade or so was a cool little confidence booster, I don’t really feel like taking an N4 or N3 practice exam, probably ever. However, given I’ve already cleared an N2 practice one, it should be clear that I could pass them if I really had to.

So here’s the big question: should passing one practice exam unlock all the badges below it?
Like if you pass N4, you get the N4 and N5 badges, passing N3 would get you the N3, N4, and N5 badges, 2 would get you 2, 3, 4, and 5, and passing N1 would unlock them all.

Overall it’s not a huge deal since they’re just little digital badges that don’t really mean all that much, but what can I say? I’m like a little magpie that wants as many shiny badges as he can get.

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#2

Tbh I don’t think it should

2 Likes
#3

Do you have any reasoning behind this?

#4

Cause the badge is there to show you completed the test. I dont want to receive a badge for something I didn’t do, even though I theoretically am capable of achieving that badge since I passed a higher level.

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#5

Yeah. When you look at it that way, it’s a slippery slope. What next? If you pass the N2 test should you also unlock badges for all the N5-N2 grammar and vocabulary?

Because you could do it, right? Even though you haven’t?

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#6

Looking at it from the perspective of the actual JLPT, when you pass one level, you are recognized as having the qualifications of all of the lower levels as well. No employer is going to look at your N1 certification and say “come back when you have an N2.”
Sure, you don’t get the actual N2 certificate, but it’s included in the qualification. There’s no reason to go back and take a lesser level after passing a higher one, so Bunpro may as well give you the badges in my opinion.

#7

Right, but you don’t automatically get sent the certificates for all the lower levels when you pass n1, either. To me that’s functionally the same.

#8

It’s kind of like a videogame I guess… if your purpose is just to max out on badges, even if you’ve finished the game, you might do an achievement run. If being a completionist is important to you, I don’t see why you wouldn’t mind doing the lower tests ig. Especially because they’re still good practice all in all.

#9

I would disagree; when I went back and revisited Bunpro I went through and marked all the grammar points and vocab terms in the JLPT decks that I already knew as “Mastered” right off the bat. I knew the vast majority of N5 terms, sure, but not all of them. So, until I went through and learned them, I wouldn’t get the stamp of approval and I wouldn’t earn the JLPT N5 Grammar Badge. I still don’t have the N2 Vocab one (though I will in like 4 days).

So while you could technically go through and study all the N1 terms without ever learning the N5 ones (very awkward and painful, but doable), I really don’t think you could pass a level of the JLPT without also being able to pass one below it, because unlike just studying grammar points via Bunpro, you have be proficient in Japanese both at and below that level in order to pass.

I believe I passed the first mock JLPT N2 test before getting the N5 grammar/vocab badges. I was ok with that, because I hadn’t learned all of Bunpro’s grammar for N5 yet–just enough to pass the N2.

I think the JLPT grammar/vocab badges and the mock test badges are entirely separate animals.

#10

You can probably speedrun the lower levels if you want the badges to be fair :sunglasses:

#11

Sure, you don’t get the actual N2 certificate, but it’s included in the qualification. There’s no reason to go back and take a lesser level after passing a higher one, so Bunpro may as well give you the badges in my opinion.

To continue the video game analogy, if a game has an achievement that says “beat level X on hard mode” and you beat it on very hard mode, it’s bad game design if it doesn’t give you the achievement.

Doing an achievement run in this circumstance would be like going back and doing all the grammar points and vocab that you never did before passing N1. Learning new vocab and grammar is genuinely useful for studying for the real world, but going back and doing easier tests probably isn’t that helpful.

Overall, though, yes, this is not a huge deal. It’s a matter of me going back through to

if I really want them, but I only kinda want them. So maybe one day I’ll have the idle time to knock them out, who knows, but for now I’m hoping the devs will just throw me a bone lol.

#12

Lets keep it going with the game analogies. If you skip a pokemon gym and go hit up a harder gym, that gym leader isnt gonna give you the badges for the previous gyms even if they are easier. The badge is a symbol of completion, not ability.

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#13

Except that in general with Pokemon Gyms, in canon they’re not generally considered “easier” or “harder”–at least not officially by the League. If I may nerd out a bit, while in the games (most of them) they force you into a certain order for story reasons, so they make the first one they railroad you into the easiest one, the second one the next hardest one, etc.
In the Pokemon Origins anime they explain this away by saying that each gym leader checks how many badges you have already and changes their team out accordingly to give you an appropriate challenge.

All of this is to say that it’s not an accurate analogy–the JLPT are levels above each other; if you can pass N1, you should be absolutely be able to pass all the ones below. But just because you beat one Gym, there’s no expectation that you absolutely should beat another; especially given type matchups, etc.

Plus, I don’t think you can necessarily claim definitively that the Bunpro JLPT badges are a symbol of completion and not ability.

But let me flip this question on its head:
If tomorrow the devs were to announce that everyone that had a higher JLPT badge would get the ones below it included, what (if any) negative effects would that bring?

#14

Think of it like a question. If the badge is “Pass a Bunpro N4 Mock test” ask yourself, “Have I passed a Bunpro N4 mock test?” If no, you don’t get the badge.

Its not a qualification, so whether you passed an N1 mock test is irrelevant. Its simply to say you used this feature on their website and you passed it.

TECHNICALLY, and I don’t actually believe this is a significant reason or even a reason I personally think is good (but it does make a case for why they wouldn’t want to go down that path), but people paying a sub to use this app have a finite amount of time, and JLPT mock tests consume that time, so it could be argued that it cuts into their profits.

A better counter to this point tho is that there would be little to no effect if they DON’T make the change, so not doing anything is the logical outcome.

The cynical reason is that they want more money.
The simple reason is that the badges are just a symbol of completion of certain features they spent time and money building into the app for their users.
Your reason turned back on you is that they have no reason to change it due to a lack of negative effects.

#15

I apologize if it seems like I’m moving the goalposts, but then the question should be “should they change it to say 'pass a bunpro n4 mock test or harder.” That’s the essence of what I’m getting at; Just because the description of the badge is a bit different doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth changing.

I’m a lifetime sub, so correct me if I’m mistaken, but people pay for a period of time in which they can access the site indefinitely, right? I’m not necessarily sure that people would opt to do an extra JLPT test in lieu of reviews; only on top of reviews. I of course don’t have any data or anything concrete to back that up.

This is fair; I mentioned myself in the original post that it’s not that big of a deal.
However, badges overall aren’t the direct purpose of the site, so what’s the point of having them at all? In general, the point is that they’re extrinsic motivation (if I used that term right) to make people say “hey, if I keep going, I can earn a badge” or “wow, I just earned a badge! I feel great!” Even if in the grand scheme of things badges mean nothing.

So if that is the purpose of badges, then I genuinely think there would be a reason to give someone that extra boost of motivation by stacking the badges. Like, “hey, if I pass N4 first over N5, I’ll get TWO badges?!” is better than “hey, if I pass N4 first over N5, I’ll get one badge,” so it overall would motivate people (even if the effect is slight) to push for higher goals.

Since I’m heading home soon I’ll put a button on my thoughts for the day, but I’m kind of surprised to see all this pushback. I understand not wanting badges you haven’t earned, as that defeats the purpose of using them for motivation in studying, but don’t y’all feel like you earned a lower level JLPT badge by passing a higher level one? I sure do.

#16

Badges are essentially achievements. Achievements were added to games to increase player time using the games and/or the perceived content for said game (and of course the dopamine rush). More time playing a game with a sub means it will take longer to complete and/or encourage them to keep subbing or even pay for lifetime. I am also lifetime, but there are many who aren’t.

At the end of the day, 2 things are true…

  1. A developer is almost certainly never going to reduce content required for completion for the sake of a few completionists.
  2. In the time you have spent arguing the case for this, you probably could have finished your n4 mock test :stuck_out_tongue:

Good luck to you though :slight_smile:

1 Like
#17

TRUE

1 Like