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A History of TRPGs in Japan – Part 8 – Stranger Aeons (2013-Present)
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<blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 9157975" data-attributes="member: 6680772"><p><strong>Group SNE</strong> went gangbusters in the late 1980s, but there were many other developments, as well.</p><p></p><p>First, in 1986, <strong>Hobby Japan</strong> released a Japanese translation of <em>Call of Cthulhu</em>. But at this time, fantasy role-playing was the taste of the day, and the release went relatively unnoticed. <em>Cthulhu</em> would begin a long slumber at the bottom of the RPG sea...</p><p></p><p>The dawn of RPGs in Japan was led by one company, <strong>Tsukuda Hobby</strong>, but soon Hobby Japan joined the fray, and by the end of the decade had become more prolific. While Hobby Japan focused on translating overseas RPGs (<em>Traveller</em> in 1984, <em>James Bond 007</em> in 1985, <em>CoC</em> in 1986, <em>RuneQuest</em> and <em>MERP</em> in 1987), Tsukuda Hobby focused more on original domestic releases. The only other major publisher was <strong>Shinwa</strong>, with the D&D line. But with <strong>Shakaishiso</strong>'s <em>Tunnels & Trolls</em> demonstrating that publishers could get in on the RPG action without the expense of box sets, other publishers soon entered the market. The biggest was <strong>Kadokawa</strong>, initially through its <strong>Fujimi Shobo</strong> imprint. But another company dipping its toe was <strong>Shinkigensha</strong>, a very young company (est. 1982), initially focused on computer-related publications. In 1988 it started its “Truth in Fantasy” series, which would explain the origins and antecedents of monsters and magic that often appeared in fantasy role-playing. In 1989, they published an “introduction to fantasy role-playing” book, with a simple original system in the final chapter. Shinkigensha’s contribution in the 1980s were these kinds of explanatory books that tapped into the market. But they would go on to become a major player publishing their own RPGs in the 1990s and 2000s.</p><p></p><p>One feature of Japanese fandom culture of the time was its strong creative component. This is particularly seen today in the West thanks to the Internet bringing fans together and providing a platform for sharing one’s creations, be that fan fiction, illustrations, or what have you. But in 1980s Japan, even without the Internet, “<em>otaku</em>” groups would not just consume their favored media, but also actively create and disseminate it. Gamers didn’t simply play games, they would design their own. And as seen by Group SNE, <strong>Yutaka Tama</strong>, and <strong>Naoto Kadokura</strong>, when the publishing companies wanted people to translate or design their games, they turned to these groups for their human resources.</p><p></p><p><strong>Masayuki Onuki</strong> was yet another example. Another fourth-year university student in a gaming group, he was tapped by Shinwa to do the Dungeons & Dragons translation. He gathered his like-minded and like-talented friends and formed a creator group called <strong>ORG</strong>. They handled the entirety of the D&D line and the official Japanese D&D magazine. Onuki and ORG were also apart of “Double Moon Legends”, a large play-by-post RPG adventure in Marukatsu Famicon Magazine that brought many Nintendo players to RPGs.</p><p></p><p>Onuki also spearheaded creation of <em>WARPS</em> (Wild Adventure Role-Playing System). WARPS was a “generic” system, with a name obviously inspired by <em>GURPS</em> (not yet released in Japan, but known among the cognoscenti). However, while <em>GURPS</em> was intended for play across a wide cross-section of genres, <em>WARPS</em> was a little different. It was intended to be plugged into anime/manga intellectual properties for a quick and easy RPG. It debuted in the <em>Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro RPG</em> in 1987, tying in with the popular anime movie of the same name. Tsukuda Hobby later released stand-alone rules in 1988.</p><p></p><p>For the design of <em>WARPS</em>, Onuki tapped <strong>Yukiko Kojima</strong>, making it the first RPG in Japan written and designed by a woman. The style of play was intended to be broad, heroic, and comedic. To that end, Onuki once said that most of the game rules didn’t really matter, except for these three:</p><p></p><p>1. <strong>Hero Points</strong> – These could be spent for Hero Effects, creating dramatic changes in the narrative. For example, by using the Hero Effect, “Actually, I Was There,” a character could appear in the current scene, no matter where he or she was the previous scene. “Actually, I Knew That” allowed characters to simply have needed information rather than have to find it. The Hero Effects were ranked so that as a character went up in level, they got access to more powerful Hero Effects.</p><p>2. <strong>Suppression Check</strong> – At any time in the game, the GM could call for a Suppression Check. If failed, whatever had been said or described by the player OOC was ruled to have been said or done by the character in the game.</p><p>3. <strong>Decision Check</strong> – Any time the GM felt that a particular action was out-of-character for a PC, he or she could call for a Decision Check, and if failed, the character could not take that action.</p><p></p><p>The goal of these rules was to emulate the zany, comedic aspects of the anime that <em>WARPS</em> was being used for.</p><p></p><p>Onuki established ORG as a stock company in 1991. Sadly, he died from ischemic heart disease merely two years later, at the age of 29. His wife took over management of the company, and remains in that role today.</p><p></p><p>Two more notable creator groups formed in 1987, and then incorporated in 1988. One was <strong>Yuentai</strong> (Role-Play Unit), which formed from various freelance translators and game designers that had been hired by Hobby Japan or Tsukuda Hobby. One prominent member of Yuentai was Naoto Kadokura, designer of <em>Roads to Lord</em>. When <em>Roads to Lord</em> was revised in 1989 with <em>Beyond Roads to Lord</em>, it was handled by Kadokura and Yuentai.</p><p></p><p>The other group was <strong>Adventure Planning Service</strong>, headed by <strong>Koji Kondo</strong>. Kondo was a regular contributer to Warlock magazine. In 1989, Adventure Planning Service and Fujimi Shobo began publishing the “Five Dragon Inn” series of “Fantasy RPG Quiz” books. In these books, the reader is cast in the role of a new adventurer visiting the Five Dragon Inn. A recurring cast of veteran adventurer characters would regale the reader with stories of their exploits, and at certain points asking the character, “What would you do in that situation?” After the reader chose an answer, they could read the veteran’s analysis of that choice. The Five Dragon Inn was set in the world of <strong>Yukiria</strong>. Kondo envisioned Yukiria as a vast shared world, and almost all content put out by Adventure Planning Service took place in it.</p><p></p><p>There was one more, pivotal development in Japanese RPGs at this time. In 1986, the first Dragon Quest game was released for the Famicon (NES). American Nintendo players would know it better as Dragon Warrior. It was heavily influenced by D&D and of course its computer descendants. It did...okay. But then a sequel was released in 1987. And Dragon Quest 2 was a certified hit, selling 5,000 copies a day, and 2.5 million overall. But then Dragon Quest 3, released in 1988...that was a cultural phenomenon. People lined up and camped out in front of stores the night before its release. Stores couldn’t keep it in stock. It sold over a million more units than its predecessor. Also released in December 1988 was the first Final Fantasy game. While this first game in the series was not as big a hit as Dragon Quest, or indeed even the later Final Fantasy games, it nonetheless contributed to providing cultural context to fantasy role-playing. These games were rising tides that lifted all TRPG boats.</p><p></p><p>Finally, a somewhat amusing episode. Some may be familiar with the BASTARD! anime currently on Netflix, or with the <span style="font-size: 9px">superior</span> straight-to-video miniseries made in the early 1990s. But it was originally a manga, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump starting in 1987. BASTARD! was extremely indebted to fantasy role-playing for its setting and aesthetic. It may very well be the first manga to take place in fantasy role-playing type world. Well, in the May 1988 issue, there was this panel:</p><p><img src="https://assets.st-note.com/img/1633177917416-0SYasvVWJt.png?width=2000&height=2000&fit=bounds&format=jpg&quality=85" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>And if you can read Japanese, you may notice that the creature is referred to as “Bihorudaa”. Yes, that’s a beholder, one of TSR’s prized trademarked monsters, in both name and image. There were some angry phone calls from Shinwa (who, through Onuki, later blamed it on TSR’s and America’s overzealous protection of copyright and trademarks), and when the issue of the manga was released in a bound collection that November, the panel now looked like this:</p><p><img src="https://assets.st-note.com/img/1633178165859-UlTjH9XiKl.png?width=2000&height=2000&fit=bounds&format=jpg&quality=85" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>And the beholder’s name has been changed to <strong>Suzuki Dogezaemon</strong>. The joke here is that <em>dogeza</em> is the Japanese term for apologizing on your hands and knees. Roughly, it’s as if the character’s name had been changed to “Johnny McApology.” My age 40 and above brethren will well remember those days when it was said that TSR stood for “They Sue Regularly.”</p><p></p><p>Ironically, the original Final Fantasy game got away with having both a beholder and a death beholder, called by those very names, in their game. However, the graphics were altered, and the monsters given the names EYE and PHANTOM for the American release. On later Japanese remakes of the game, the names “beholder” and “death beholder” are kept, but the new graphics are used.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/a-history-of-trpgs-in-japan-%E2%80%93-part-4-%E2%80%93-other-developments-in-the-late-1980s-1986-1990.700267/post-9159737" target="_blank"><strong>Next Part – The ‘90s Boom!</strong></a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Iosue, post: 9157975, member: 6680772"] [B]Group SNE[/B] went gangbusters in the late 1980s, but there were many other developments, as well. First, in 1986, [B]Hobby Japan[/B] released a Japanese translation of [I]Call of Cthulhu[/I]. But at this time, fantasy role-playing was the taste of the day, and the release went relatively unnoticed. [I]Cthulhu[/I] would begin a long slumber at the bottom of the RPG sea... The dawn of RPGs in Japan was led by one company, [B]Tsukuda Hobby[/B], but soon Hobby Japan joined the fray, and by the end of the decade had become more prolific. While Hobby Japan focused on translating overseas RPGs ([I]Traveller[/I] in 1984, [I]James Bond 007[/I] in 1985, [I]CoC[/I] in 1986, [I]RuneQuest[/I] and [I]MERP[/I] in 1987), Tsukuda Hobby focused more on original domestic releases. The only other major publisher was [B]Shinwa[/B], with the D&D line. But with [B]Shakaishiso[/B]'s [I]Tunnels & Trolls[/I] demonstrating that publishers could get in on the RPG action without the expense of box sets, other publishers soon entered the market. The biggest was [B]Kadokawa[/B], initially through its [B]Fujimi Shobo[/B] imprint. But another company dipping its toe was [B]Shinkigensha[/B], a very young company (est. 1982), initially focused on computer-related publications. In 1988 it started its “Truth in Fantasy” series, which would explain the origins and antecedents of monsters and magic that often appeared in fantasy role-playing. In 1989, they published an “introduction to fantasy role-playing” book, with a simple original system in the final chapter. Shinkigensha’s contribution in the 1980s were these kinds of explanatory books that tapped into the market. But they would go on to become a major player publishing their own RPGs in the 1990s and 2000s. One feature of Japanese fandom culture of the time was its strong creative component. This is particularly seen today in the West thanks to the Internet bringing fans together and providing a platform for sharing one’s creations, be that fan fiction, illustrations, or what have you. But in 1980s Japan, even without the Internet, “[I]otaku[/I]” groups would not just consume their favored media, but also actively create and disseminate it. Gamers didn’t simply play games, they would design their own. And as seen by Group SNE, [B]Yutaka Tama[/B], and [B]Naoto Kadokura[/B], when the publishing companies wanted people to translate or design their games, they turned to these groups for their human resources. [B]Masayuki Onuki[/B] was yet another example. Another fourth-year university student in a gaming group, he was tapped by Shinwa to do the Dungeons & Dragons translation. He gathered his like-minded and like-talented friends and formed a creator group called [B]ORG[/B]. They handled the entirety of the D&D line and the official Japanese D&D magazine. Onuki and ORG were also apart of “Double Moon Legends”, a large play-by-post RPG adventure in Marukatsu Famicon Magazine that brought many Nintendo players to RPGs. Onuki also spearheaded creation of [I]WARPS[/I] (Wild Adventure Role-Playing System). WARPS was a “generic” system, with a name obviously inspired by [I]GURPS[/I] (not yet released in Japan, but known among the cognoscenti). However, while [I]GURPS[/I] was intended for play across a wide cross-section of genres, [I]WARPS[/I] was a little different. It was intended to be plugged into anime/manga intellectual properties for a quick and easy RPG. It debuted in the [I]Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro RPG[/I] in 1987, tying in with the popular anime movie of the same name. Tsukuda Hobby later released stand-alone rules in 1988. For the design of [I]WARPS[/I], Onuki tapped [B]Yukiko Kojima[/B], making it the first RPG in Japan written and designed by a woman. The style of play was intended to be broad, heroic, and comedic. To that end, Onuki once said that most of the game rules didn’t really matter, except for these three: 1. [B]Hero Points[/B] – These could be spent for Hero Effects, creating dramatic changes in the narrative. For example, by using the Hero Effect, “Actually, I Was There,” a character could appear in the current scene, no matter where he or she was the previous scene. “Actually, I Knew That” allowed characters to simply have needed information rather than have to find it. The Hero Effects were ranked so that as a character went up in level, they got access to more powerful Hero Effects. 2. [B]Suppression Check[/B] – At any time in the game, the GM could call for a Suppression Check. If failed, whatever had been said or described by the player OOC was ruled to have been said or done by the character in the game. 3. [B]Decision Check[/B] – Any time the GM felt that a particular action was out-of-character for a PC, he or she could call for a Decision Check, and if failed, the character could not take that action. The goal of these rules was to emulate the zany, comedic aspects of the anime that [I]WARPS[/I] was being used for. Onuki established ORG as a stock company in 1991. Sadly, he died from ischemic heart disease merely two years later, at the age of 29. His wife took over management of the company, and remains in that role today. Two more notable creator groups formed in 1987, and then incorporated in 1988. One was [B]Yuentai[/B] (Role-Play Unit), which formed from various freelance translators and game designers that had been hired by Hobby Japan or Tsukuda Hobby. One prominent member of Yuentai was Naoto Kadokura, designer of [I]Roads to Lord[/I]. When [I]Roads to Lord[/I] was revised in 1989 with [I]Beyond Roads to Lord[/I], it was handled by Kadokura and Yuentai. The other group was [B]Adventure Planning Service[/B], headed by [B]Koji Kondo[/B]. Kondo was a regular contributer to Warlock magazine. In 1989, Adventure Planning Service and Fujimi Shobo began publishing the “Five Dragon Inn” series of “Fantasy RPG Quiz” books. In these books, the reader is cast in the role of a new adventurer visiting the Five Dragon Inn. A recurring cast of veteran adventurer characters would regale the reader with stories of their exploits, and at certain points asking the character, “What would you do in that situation?” After the reader chose an answer, they could read the veteran’s analysis of that choice. The Five Dragon Inn was set in the world of [B]Yukiria[/B]. Kondo envisioned Yukiria as a vast shared world, and almost all content put out by Adventure Planning Service took place in it. There was one more, pivotal development in Japanese RPGs at this time. In 1986, the first Dragon Quest game was released for the Famicon (NES). American Nintendo players would know it better as Dragon Warrior. It was heavily influenced by D&D and of course its computer descendants. It did...okay. But then a sequel was released in 1987. And Dragon Quest 2 was a certified hit, selling 5,000 copies a day, and 2.5 million overall. But then Dragon Quest 3, released in 1988...that was a cultural phenomenon. People lined up and camped out in front of stores the night before its release. Stores couldn’t keep it in stock. It sold over a million more units than its predecessor. Also released in December 1988 was the first Final Fantasy game. While this first game in the series was not as big a hit as Dragon Quest, or indeed even the later Final Fantasy games, it nonetheless contributed to providing cultural context to fantasy role-playing. These games were rising tides that lifted all TRPG boats. Finally, a somewhat amusing episode. Some may be familiar with the BASTARD! anime currently on Netflix, or with the [SIZE=1]superior[/SIZE] straight-to-video miniseries made in the early 1990s. But it was originally a manga, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump starting in 1987. BASTARD! was extremely indebted to fantasy role-playing for its setting and aesthetic. It may very well be the first manga to take place in fantasy role-playing type world. Well, in the May 1988 issue, there was this panel: [IMG]https://assets.st-note.com/img/1633177917416-0SYasvVWJt.png?width=2000&height=2000&fit=bounds&format=jpg&quality=85[/IMG] And if you can read Japanese, you may notice that the creature is referred to as “Bihorudaa”. Yes, that’s a beholder, one of TSR’s prized trademarked monsters, in both name and image. There were some angry phone calls from Shinwa (who, through Onuki, later blamed it on TSR’s and America’s overzealous protection of copyright and trademarks), and when the issue of the manga was released in a bound collection that November, the panel now looked like this: [IMG]https://assets.st-note.com/img/1633178165859-UlTjH9XiKl.png?width=2000&height=2000&fit=bounds&format=jpg&quality=85[/IMG] And the beholder’s name has been changed to [B]Suzuki Dogezaemon[/B]. The joke here is that [I]dogeza[/I] is the Japanese term for apologizing on your hands and knees. Roughly, it’s as if the character’s name had been changed to “Johnny McApology.” My age 40 and above brethren will well remember those days when it was said that TSR stood for “They Sue Regularly.” Ironically, the original Final Fantasy game got away with having both a beholder and a death beholder, called by those very names, in their game. However, the graphics were altered, and the monsters given the names EYE and PHANTOM for the American release. On later Japanese remakes of the game, the names “beholder” and “death beholder” are kept, but the new graphics are used. [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/a-history-of-trpgs-in-japan-%E2%80%93-part-4-%E2%80%93-other-developments-in-the-late-1980s-1986-1990.700267/post-9159737'][B]Next Part – The ‘90s Boom![/B][/URL] [/QUOTE]
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