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Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs in the West
Take a journey through the history of Japanese role-playing games—from the creators who built it, the games that defined it, and the stories that transformed pop culture and continue to capture the imaginations of millions of fans to this day.
The Japanese roleplaying game (JRPG) genre is one that is known for bold, unforgettable characters; rich stories, and some of the most iconic and beloved games in the industry. Inspired by early western RPGs and introducing technology and artistic styles that pushed the boundaries of what video games could be, this genre is responsible for creating some of the most complex, bold, and beloved games in history—and it has the fanbase to prove it. In Fight, Magic, Items , Aidan Moher guides readers through the fascinating history of JRPGs, exploring the technical challenges, distinct narrative and artistic visions, and creative rivalries that fueled the creation of countless iconic games and their quest to become the best, not only in Japan, but in North America, too.
Moher starts with the origin stories of two classic Nintendo titles, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest , and immerses readers in the world of JRPGs, following the interconnected history from through the lens of their creators and their stories full of hope, risk, and pixels, from the tiny teams and almost impossible schedules that built the foundations of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises; Reiko Kodama pushing the narrative and genre boundaries with Phantasy Star ; the unexpected team up between Horii and Sakaguchi to create Chrono Trigger ; or the unique mashup of classic Disney with Final Fantasy coolness in Kingdom Hearts . Filled with firsthand interviews and behind-the-scenes looks into the development, reception, and influence of JRPGs, Fight, Magic, Items captures the evolution of the genre and why it continues to grab us, decades after those first iconic pixelated games released.
The Japanese roleplaying game (JRPG) genre is one that is known for bold, unforgettable characters; rich stories, and some of the most iconic and beloved games in the industry. Inspired by early western RPGs and introducing technology and artistic styles that pushed the boundaries of what video games could be, this genre is responsible for creating some of the most complex, bold, and beloved games in history—and it has the fanbase to prove it. In Fight, Magic, Items , Aidan Moher guides readers through the fascinating history of JRPGs, exploring the technical challenges, distinct narrative and artistic visions, and creative rivalries that fueled the creation of countless iconic games and their quest to become the best, not only in Japan, but in North America, too.
Moher starts with the origin stories of two classic Nintendo titles, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest , and immerses readers in the world of JRPGs, following the interconnected history from through the lens of their creators and their stories full of hope, risk, and pixels, from the tiny teams and almost impossible schedules that built the foundations of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises; Reiko Kodama pushing the narrative and genre boundaries with Phantasy Star ; the unexpected team up between Horii and Sakaguchi to create Chrono Trigger ; or the unique mashup of classic Disney with Final Fantasy coolness in Kingdom Hearts . Filled with firsthand interviews and behind-the-scenes looks into the development, reception, and influence of JRPGs, Fight, Magic, Items captures the evolution of the genre and why it continues to grab us, decades after those first iconic pixelated games released.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2022
58 people are currently reading
640 people want to read
About the author
Aidan Moher
14 books203 followersAidan Moher is a Hugo award-winning writer and editor who has written about almost every niche facet of geek culture you can think of from Terry Brooks to Dungeons & Dragons. And whether he’s penning wildly read essays on Lunar: Silver Star Story, the undeniable lasting power of Chrono Trigger (the best RPG ever made), or the forgotten history of Magic: the Gathering, he manages to infuse deep, personal, endearing hooks into every story he tells. He’s written for outlets like Wired, Kotaku, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Uncanny Magazine, Fanbyte, Tor.com, and more.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
October 7, 2022
I loved this book. For me, a HUGE fan of JRPGs, it was pretty much unputdownable.
July 18, 2023
I can’t help but compare this book to my recently read Chasing the Dragon, which was about the history of Dungeons & Dragons from a business perspective. This book uses bigger words and lacks that new “Twitter-short” style of journalism. There are more second-hand sources. And since this is based on Japanese-originating content, no one’s going to have a bad word to say about anyone–everyone’s so polite. So there won’t be much conflict.
This author never had a bad thing to say about a JRPG. The whole thing is pretty much a long love letter to Square-Enix, which created Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. In fact, that’s mostly all the book is. There’s nothing meat and potatoes about it. It’s mostly fluff, describing the JRPG, its context around the release, some trivia, then moving on to the next game. It doesn’t go in-depth with the people who made them or how they got their ideas.
I’m not sure who this book is for or what its purpose is, other than a stroll down memory lane. I don’t know that this book needed to exist–it doesn’t say anything new or bold. Maybe there was just a lack of books about JRPG history? You won’t learn how the sausage is made from this, that’s for sure.
This author never had a bad thing to say about a JRPG. The whole thing is pretty much a long love letter to Square-Enix, which created Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. In fact, that’s mostly all the book is. There’s nothing meat and potatoes about it. It’s mostly fluff, describing the JRPG, its context around the release, some trivia, then moving on to the next game. It doesn’t go in-depth with the people who made them or how they got their ideas.
I’m not sure who this book is for or what its purpose is, other than a stroll down memory lane. I don’t know that this book needed to exist–it doesn’t say anything new or bold. Maybe there was just a lack of books about JRPG history? You won’t learn how the sausage is made from this, that’s for sure.
October 17, 2022
If you love JRPGs -but especially if you grew up playing JRPGs- you must read this book.
It will grant you a deeper understanding of their history, of their creation process, of the people behind them and, consequently, of the games themselves.
It will grant you a deeper understanding of their history, of their creation process, of the people behind them and, consequently, of the games themselves.
February 26, 2023
The book aims to narrate the arrival of JRPGs in "the West" (read, the US), mixing the writer's childhood memories with some historical trivia, developer quotes and statements from a few experts.
The problem is that the book clearly only covers things the author cares about - and he's somewhat of a nostalgic guy in his late 30s. He doesn't mention any pre-Dragon Quest JRPGs in Japan, and only talks about his generation/circle of friends discovering JRPGs in the 90s.
I am only a few years younger than the author, but I clearly remember the 2000s as an explosion of otaku culture online - an age where new generations got to discover JRPGs through forums, emulation, Flash games, parodies, RPG Maker, fan-translations, the Nintendo DS & Sony PSP, Pokémon, retrogaming, imports, anime, etc... There were multiple entry points, but the author only talks about his own journey, focusing almost exclusively on Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
I understand that not everyone wants an exhaustive catalogue like Kurt Kalata's "Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games", but I just don't see the value here unless you had the exact same experience as the author and want a shot of nostalgia, reliving the days you talked to schoolmates about FFVI.
The problem is that the book clearly only covers things the author cares about - and he's somewhat of a nostalgic guy in his late 30s. He doesn't mention any pre-Dragon Quest JRPGs in Japan, and only talks about his generation/circle of friends discovering JRPGs in the 90s.
I am only a few years younger than the author, but I clearly remember the 2000s as an explosion of otaku culture online - an age where new generations got to discover JRPGs through forums, emulation, Flash games, parodies, RPG Maker, fan-translations, the Nintendo DS & Sony PSP, Pokémon, retrogaming, imports, anime, etc... There were multiple entry points, but the author only talks about his own journey, focusing almost exclusively on Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
I understand that not everyone wants an exhaustive catalogue like Kurt Kalata's "Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games", but I just don't see the value here unless you had the exact same experience as the author and want a shot of nostalgia, reliving the days you talked to schoolmates about FFVI.
September 9, 2022
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Japanese RPGs saved my life. They made my life what it is today. Aidan Moher approaches the games with much the same passion and emotion, and his intimate analysis of the history and very experience of Japanese-influenced role-playing games make this book an incredible read. He delves with the full progression of the industry from D&D to Wizardry to the rise of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy for Nintendo, and continues from there right up to the present day with a look at MMORGs and the rising indie programming scene.
The amount of research involved is obvious and extensive, but the book never feels stodgy or academic. On the contrary, I felt like I was geeking out with a friend--and I kept feeling the compulsion to share trivia with my own best friend, my husband, when he was nearby. "Hey, did you know that..." He fully appreciated the data points. We've been married over twenty years and as a bride I walked down the aisle to the Final Fantasy theme. We are very much the audience for this book.
This book is a fond nostalgia trip and a must-read for JRPG lovers whether they've been playing for forty years or five months.
Japanese RPGs saved my life. They made my life what it is today. Aidan Moher approaches the games with much the same passion and emotion, and his intimate analysis of the history and very experience of Japanese-influenced role-playing games make this book an incredible read. He delves with the full progression of the industry from D&D to Wizardry to the rise of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy for Nintendo, and continues from there right up to the present day with a look at MMORGs and the rising indie programming scene.
The amount of research involved is obvious and extensive, but the book never feels stodgy or academic. On the contrary, I felt like I was geeking out with a friend--and I kept feeling the compulsion to share trivia with my own best friend, my husband, when he was nearby. "Hey, did you know that..." He fully appreciated the data points. We've been married over twenty years and as a bride I walked down the aisle to the Final Fantasy theme. We are very much the audience for this book.
This book is a fond nostalgia trip and a must-read for JRPG lovers whether they've been playing for forty years or five months.
September 7, 2022
This was an extremely informative book, and I enjoyed it tremendously.
It covers from the very beginning of JRPGs straight through this 2020. While it doesn't hit EVERY game (obviously, that'd be a long book) I believe it does well in explaining Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and the genre generally. While I knew a lot of the information going into this, I still learned some thing and had a good time reading.
Now, if you're not a JRPG or at least a gamer person, I'd probably pass. It's very technical, and probably not particularly enjoyable if you have no stake in it. It sometimes feels like an essay, so if you're already bored of the subject, I can imagine it would be boring that way as well. However if you like games, this is definitely a fun read, I already recommended it to me FFXIV Free Company.
I really enjoy that when the book mentions a game that it isn't focused on, it gives the game its own little segment and tells the synopsis and such for it, which is really cool if you're interested in picking up new titles.
My biggest issue was formatting. I have a Netgalley version that I got for free, so this may be different in the released ebook version, but the footnotes were all over the place and mildly distracting, as were those information points for not talked about games. I've seen how this usually looks in physical books, and I'd definitely recommend getting a physical copy over an ebook version.
Great read, regardless! I would be interested in reading more things like this!
It covers from the very beginning of JRPGs straight through this 2020. While it doesn't hit EVERY game (obviously, that'd be a long book) I believe it does well in explaining Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and the genre generally. While I knew a lot of the information going into this, I still learned some thing and had a good time reading.
Now, if you're not a JRPG or at least a gamer person, I'd probably pass. It's very technical, and probably not particularly enjoyable if you have no stake in it. It sometimes feels like an essay, so if you're already bored of the subject, I can imagine it would be boring that way as well. However if you like games, this is definitely a fun read, I already recommended it to me FFXIV Free Company.
I really enjoy that when the book mentions a game that it isn't focused on, it gives the game its own little segment and tells the synopsis and such for it, which is really cool if you're interested in picking up new titles.
My biggest issue was formatting. I have a Netgalley version that I got for free, so this may be different in the released ebook version, but the footnotes were all over the place and mildly distracting, as were those information points for not talked about games. I've seen how this usually looks in physical books, and I'd definitely recommend getting a physical copy over an ebook version.
Great read, regardless! I would be interested in reading more things like this!
April 10, 2024
I absolutely love books that cover and discuss video game history. JRPGs are some of my favorite games of all time, so I was absolutely excited when I saw this book in the bookstore.
Overall, this book uses the author's personal travel through JRPG history as a framework to explore and discuss the creation and evolution of JRPGs. This makes the reading very personal and readable. However, I think the framework also means that sometimes the perspective is lacking some of the industry perspectives I would really like.
The sources rely a lot on interviews with major creators, but these are interviews pulled by other sources and reporters, which means they lack granularity. It also lacks insight beyond the main creator/directors.
I still really enjoyed the book and got a MUCH bigger "to play" list thanks to it.
I don't think I gained more insight into the industry, but rather this felt like this was a fun conversation where a friend and I meandered about our journeys with JRPGs.
Overall well worth a read for people who want to read about the different eras of JRPGs, or if you want ideas for games to try.
Overall, this book uses the author's personal travel through JRPG history as a framework to explore and discuss the creation and evolution of JRPGs. This makes the reading very personal and readable. However, I think the framework also means that sometimes the perspective is lacking some of the industry perspectives I would really like.
The sources rely a lot on interviews with major creators, but these are interviews pulled by other sources and reporters, which means they lack granularity. It also lacks insight beyond the main creator/directors.
I still really enjoyed the book and got a MUCH bigger "to play" list thanks to it.
I don't think I gained more insight into the industry, but rather this felt like this was a fun conversation where a friend and I meandered about our journeys with JRPGs.
Overall well worth a read for people who want to read about the different eras of JRPGs, or if you want ideas for games to try.
October 12, 2024
"Fight, Magic, Item" is both a great book and disappointing. Mother pulls together a ton of interviews to tell the story of how JRPGs were made, but he also puts his own story into their telling. Sometimes this just adds flavor, but often it causes him to misread history. For example, he has a short diatribe about Final Fantasy IV and, even though he identifies many of its important qualities, ignores these qualities and heralds Final Fantasy VI as innovating aspects of games, such as story, pixel-art, and gameplay.
He's also obsessed with such innovation, such that he only talks about these games as being "cutting edge" or "completely revolutionary", even when many games remained firmly planted in what made their predecessors great. Everything "upends expectations" or "pushes the limits", which is part of the truth, not the whole truth. It also makes Moher's prose exhausting to read.
Further, many of the quotes are from bloggers or other writers, which on the one hand is nice (it's good to pull in your community of commentators), but Moher does it so much that it seems like the commentary is what is actually being discussed, not the games.
Finally, there are way too many grammatical or revision errors. Companies need to read these books over again before they publish them.
In the end, I put the book down. I had gotten 250 pages in but realized that I wasn't actually learning anything. Most of the book is fluff and personal reflections mingled with quotes from bloggers that don't actually say anything interesting or notable.
He's also obsessed with such innovation, such that he only talks about these games as being "cutting edge" or "completely revolutionary", even when many games remained firmly planted in what made their predecessors great. Everything "upends expectations" or "pushes the limits", which is part of the truth, not the whole truth. It also makes Moher's prose exhausting to read.
Further, many of the quotes are from bloggers or other writers, which on the one hand is nice (it's good to pull in your community of commentators), but Moher does it so much that it seems like the commentary is what is actually being discussed, not the games.
Finally, there are way too many grammatical or revision errors. Companies need to read these books over again before they publish them.
In the end, I put the book down. I had gotten 250 pages in but realized that I wasn't actually learning anything. Most of the book is fluff and personal reflections mingled with quotes from bloggers that don't actually say anything interesting or notable.
October 31, 2022
4.5⭐️
Read
September 15, 2023Muy entretenido y rápido de leer. Ahora bien, a poco que te interesen los JRPGs, es probable que ya sepas muchísimo de lo que se cuenta en este libro. En mi caso, no soy una fan hardcore (amo los JRPGs, pero me he perdido muchas obras importantes por falta de recursos y de tiempo), y recién hacia el 70% del libro leí cosas que no conocía, que correspondían a eventos y títulos más contemporáneos que no he podido experimentar.
Con todo, la estructura es agradable y sistematiza bien las generalidades de la historia del JRPG desde sus hitos más mainstream, aunque quizá peque de superficialidad en el comentario de las obras analizadas.
Con todo, la estructura es agradable y sistematiza bien las generalidades de la historia del JRPG desde sus hitos más mainstream, aunque quizá peque de superficialidad en el comentario de las obras analizadas.
August 9, 2024
Were we best friends growing up? Because I feel like we could have been. This book was a great trip down memory lane and touched on many of my favorite games. I've been a JRPG nut since I got my free copy of Dragon Warrior with a Nintendo Power subscription back in the 80s and to this day it's still my favorite genre.
February 1, 2024
The initial sections of this book are pretty interesting. There’s lots of biographical sketches of the people making early jrpgs, stories about small developer teams transcending hardware limitations to make truly stunning creative breakthroughs, and analysis of the creative and business decisions that went in to the creation of the jrpg genre. Unfortunately as the gaming industry gets bigger, the game budgets and development teams get larger, and the technology gets more advanced those early individual stories become less and less frequent, the analysis becomes less and less in depth, and the book loses a lot of its charm.
To my mind this book has three big problems. First of all it suffers from a real dearth of first hand interviews with the developers. The author spends a lot of time talking to game journalists and podcasters, but doesn’t seem to have actually interviewed any of the people that actually worked on the games he talks about. When he quotes these people it’s always coming from an article written by someone else. I’m sure there were good reasons for why this is so, but nevertheless why even bother with a project like this if you can’t get these people directly on the record yourself?
Secondly the author severely overestimates how interesting stories of him playing these games as a kid are. I’m around the same age as him, with nearly identical experiences with the genre, and even I found this stuff boring. I can’t imagine how dull these sections of the book are for anyone who doesn’t have the exact same childhood connection to SNES era Final Fantasy games that Moher does. It’s really hard to see what these parts of the book bring to the table besides an excuse to engage in nostalgia.
Finally, and this might be more of an audio book issue, there’s a very strange thing this book does where it will just occasionally stop in the middle of a discussion about one game to summarize another game that gets mentioned in passing. I assume these are footnotes, but they’re so clumsily implemented in the audio book that they just end up being incredibly distracting. This is especially annoying because there’s never any analysis or elaboration of ideas that are being discussed when this happens. It’s just a game title, a list of names of developers, and a plot/game mechanic summary that’s so surface level and uninformative that it’s fair to ask why the author even bothered.
I think if Moher had limited the scope of the book to the 8 and 16 bit eras (which are clearly where his passion for the genre is strongest) and gotten to sit down and actually talk to some of people he’s writing about he could have really had something special here. As it is, this all feels a little too shallow and scatter shot to be worth the time for anyone who’s already reasonably familiar with jrpgs.
To my mind this book has three big problems. First of all it suffers from a real dearth of first hand interviews with the developers. The author spends a lot of time talking to game journalists and podcasters, but doesn’t seem to have actually interviewed any of the people that actually worked on the games he talks about. When he quotes these people it’s always coming from an article written by someone else. I’m sure there were good reasons for why this is so, but nevertheless why even bother with a project like this if you can’t get these people directly on the record yourself?
Secondly the author severely overestimates how interesting stories of him playing these games as a kid are. I’m around the same age as him, with nearly identical experiences with the genre, and even I found this stuff boring. I can’t imagine how dull these sections of the book are for anyone who doesn’t have the exact same childhood connection to SNES era Final Fantasy games that Moher does. It’s really hard to see what these parts of the book bring to the table besides an excuse to engage in nostalgia.
Finally, and this might be more of an audio book issue, there’s a very strange thing this book does where it will just occasionally stop in the middle of a discussion about one game to summarize another game that gets mentioned in passing. I assume these are footnotes, but they’re so clumsily implemented in the audio book that they just end up being incredibly distracting. This is especially annoying because there’s never any analysis or elaboration of ideas that are being discussed when this happens. It’s just a game title, a list of names of developers, and a plot/game mechanic summary that’s so surface level and uninformative that it’s fair to ask why the author even bothered.
I think if Moher had limited the scope of the book to the 8 and 16 bit eras (which are clearly where his passion for the genre is strongest) and gotten to sit down and actually talk to some of people he’s writing about he could have really had something special here. As it is, this all feels a little too shallow and scatter shot to be worth the time for anyone who’s already reasonably familiar with jrpgs.
February 2, 2023
You don't need to know a lot about JPREG 's to fall in love with his book. Mr. Moher guides the reader through so much fascinating history of the games and the people who made them. He weaves the stories of the games and his personal life together in a masterful way. The book is very well-sourced and researched and the personal touch, again, of his own story makes the book really stand out. 5 stars!
January 21, 2024
A personalized history of JRPGs in the west. Quite a nostalgia trip, with lots of interesting information. Necessarily limited (subject is vast), but well done.
A note on the audiobook version: the narrator for this project (Eric Michael Summerer) is a perfect fit. He could make a phonebook listenable (not that it's needed here).
A note on the audiobook version: the narrator for this project (Eric Michael Summerer) is a perfect fit. He could make a phonebook listenable (not that it's needed here).
October 31, 2022
If you grew up playing JRPGs, or even if you just love video games - Fight, Magic, Items is for you. It's a love letter, a personal history, and a focused dive into the history of JRPGs all in one and it's a hell of a book.
January 30, 2024
Amazing informative and entertaining. I found it interesting to delve into the history of my favorite genre of video games and discover many things I've missed over the years.
I plan on making a list of the game mentioned through this book to check them all out.
I plan on making a list of the game mentioned through this book to check them all out.
October 6, 2022
An absolute gem of a history of JRPGs in the west framed as a walk down memory lane. Highly recommended, and don't skip over the footnotes.
June 14, 2023
I really dug this book! Granted, I'm a huge JRPG fan, and I loved the backstories of the creators and some of the games I'd undervalued or entirely missed.
July 29, 2023
Fantastic read! Not as comprehensive as I would have liked, but understandable given the sheer volume of jrpgs to cover, a fact even mentioned by the author. Highly enjoyed!
September 12, 2022
A book about JRPGs is an easy sell to me, but even so, Aidan Moher has done a fantastic job of making that history accessible and entertaining. By mixing his personal history and opinions into the genre's history, he avoids the book becoming a dry summary of events and instead creates a reading experience comparable to someone sitting across a table from you and speaking enthusiastically about something they love. His fondness for this genre comes through almost too well as I'd often find myself thinking, "Why am I not playing this game right now?" after reading a passage describing the merits of a specific title.
I wish he'd had access to some of the creators behind these games to provide more original insight from them. However, given that this is a book about a Japanese genre, it's understandable that such access wouldn't be easy to obtain. Instead, he does a great job drawing from other sources and weaving those quotes into a singular narrative.
I unexpectedly found myself immediately beginning to re-read this book after finishing it the first time, which is not something I often, or possibly ever, do. Fight, Magic, Items belongs on any bookshelf dedicated to the history of video games.
I wish he'd had access to some of the creators behind these games to provide more original insight from them. However, given that this is a book about a Japanese genre, it's understandable that such access wouldn't be easy to obtain. Instead, he does a great job drawing from other sources and weaving those quotes into a singular narrative.
I unexpectedly found myself immediately beginning to re-read this book after finishing it the first time, which is not something I often, or possibly ever, do. Fight, Magic, Items belongs on any bookshelf dedicated to the history of video games.
September 7, 2022
This book is my life in an alternative history. This is my life where my friends spent time with JRPGs instead of beat 'em ups and sports games. This is my life where I didn't spend most of my early 20s replaying Bioware games because of how much I enjoyed them (and due to a serious lack of funds). This is my life if I didn't spend most waking hours working in my early 30s. This book talks about the kind of experiences that I've tried to recapture despite never having most of them originally. It succeeds at capturing that nostalgia and allowing the reader to experience it along with the author.
I love reading nonfiction and specifically love history books. This is a history book filled with vignettes and anecdotes about different games, creators, and periods of video game history. It is also the history of a genre and the history of a medium that has adopted so many of the ideas that originate with or iterated upon by JRPGs.
This book both informs and makes me nostalgic for things I mostly never experienced. It's a combination that makes for a great read and provides a roadmap for experiencing some of the great JRPGs that deserve to be replayed or experienced for the first time.
I love reading nonfiction and specifically love history books. This is a history book filled with vignettes and anecdotes about different games, creators, and periods of video game history. It is also the history of a genre and the history of a medium that has adopted so many of the ideas that originate with or iterated upon by JRPGs.
This book both informs and makes me nostalgic for things I mostly never experienced. It's a combination that makes for a great read and provides a roadmap for experiencing some of the great JRPGs that deserve to be replayed or experienced for the first time.
September 7, 2022
Moher has a high understanding of JRPGs and their history. Through his writing it’s obviously how much joy he has had playing RPGs throughout his life and how much they mean to him. His enthusiasm made me dig out my own classic consoles and boot up some of the games he talks about in the book. It was a real pleasure reading his thoughts on some of the greatest games of all-time. If you have any interest in Final Fantasy, classic games, or how the video game industry works you owe it to yourself to pick up his novel.
June 2, 2022
Lovely book. The sections involving Dragon Quest are a highlight, providing a thematic core that makes me thankful for JRPGs in the first place.
August 12, 2022
**Many thanks to Running Press and Netgalley for an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of this book**
I grew up with JRPGs when I was a kid, and still love them today. When I saw this title on Netgalley, it went on the top of my reading list. And, it did not disappoint.
I never knew the history of JRPGs, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn all the ins and outs of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and other properties of Square Enix, as well as a few from other makers I had never heard of. Because of this book, I bought and downloaded RPG Maker MV for my Switch, and I have a deeper understanding of the work it takes to make an RPG... let alone a good one (or a decent one!). This book is such a fun read, and worth the time for any gamer.
It is very well researched; I can tell the author loves these games as much as I do! But, many might need to take breaks between readings though, because the information is (appropriately) dense to unpack.
All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot!
****One note that I will not fault the writer for: the format of the ARC I received, and possibly any digital copies. This book is best enjoyed in print form. Digitally, some sections of footnotes and "game-dropping" boxes (like name-dropping, only with the author's favorite titles that are pertinent to the information he discusses at the time) were confusingly out of order. Sometimes, I had to flip ahead several screens in order to read the footnotes, or the boxes of information popped up in the middle of paragraphs. It took me a bit to discover why that was: for the footnotes, the book was following the natural progression of printed book pages, and how page breaks would work, where the footnotes would be at the end of the page. Not sure about the game info boxes.
I grew up with JRPGs when I was a kid, and still love them today. When I saw this title on Netgalley, it went on the top of my reading list. And, it did not disappoint.
I never knew the history of JRPGs, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn all the ins and outs of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and other properties of Square Enix, as well as a few from other makers I had never heard of. Because of this book, I bought and downloaded RPG Maker MV for my Switch, and I have a deeper understanding of the work it takes to make an RPG... let alone a good one (or a decent one!). This book is such a fun read, and worth the time for any gamer.
It is very well researched; I can tell the author loves these games as much as I do! But, many might need to take breaks between readings though, because the information is (appropriately) dense to unpack.
All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot!
****One note that I will not fault the writer for: the format of the ARC I received, and possibly any digital copies. This book is best enjoyed in print form. Digitally, some sections of footnotes and "game-dropping" boxes (like name-dropping, only with the author's favorite titles that are pertinent to the information he discusses at the time) were confusingly out of order. Sometimes, I had to flip ahead several screens in order to read the footnotes, or the boxes of information popped up in the middle of paragraphs. It took me a bit to discover why that was: for the footnotes, the book was following the natural progression of printed book pages, and how page breaks would work, where the footnotes would be at the end of the page. Not sure about the game info boxes.
July 15, 2024
I made a horrible mistake while reading this book.
I read a few reviews of it here on Goodreads.
That turned out to be a bad idea because it gave me some criticisms to agree with while I was reading. Chief among them, despite the book’s apparent mission statement, the persistence of the question: “Why didThe West fall in love with the JRPG?” And those critiques got me wondering more and more: Who is this book for?
I came to this book because I’ve been hooked on the JRPG genre since I emulated a bunch of SNES classics in the 90s. And I wanted to learn more about the genre’s history and why it had caught on outside of Japan.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first source I’ve come to seeking answers to those questions, and it didn’t reveal much new information or insight to me.
Aside from the struggle Japanese developers had adapting to the HD console era. It turned out that their process before this graphical shift relied too heavily on developing and using in-house game engines. So I did learn about that.
But as a fan of the genre who’s read some articles and watched (too many) video essays on said genre, I already knew about Nintendo’s Dragon Warrior push, Final Fantasy’s initial cult success and later mainstream breakthrough with Final Fantasy VII, about the “dark ages” when everything in the genre seemed old and outdated compared to the rest of the gaming industry, and the rise of Indie-made titles from all corners of the world from the late 2000s to today. In chapter 22 I remember licking my lips and looking forward to more about the history of localizations in North America. Only, the few comments and reflections in that chapter were but a peek into such a history.
If I had just recently broken into the genre with the latest Final Fantasy or taken some random internet denizen’s advice to make Chrono Trigger or Earthbound my first RPG, I think I would have enjoyed this book quite a bit more. But as someone who has played those two and many other RPGs over the years while straying more towards what older consoles have to offer for the new RPGs I play, this book only helped to connect a few dots that I’d never seen the lines between before. Which was neat, but underwhelming given what I thought the book was promising. As it is, this book is just another title in the pile of sources I’ve engaged with to learn more about the genre.
On a more specific (and tot-sized potato) note, seeing Yoshiharu Gotanda’s name come up in the “Key Staff” listed in the info-box for Tales of Phantasia but be absent from Star Ocean’s info-box really poisoned my party. Yoshiharu Gotanda was a major force behind that game not only because he did the work to get credited with “Total Programming” and writing the novel-length work the game’s story was based on (as he had done with Tales of Phantasia), but because he was one of the three ex-Wolf Team members that went on to form Tri-Ace, the company that developed Star Ocean in the first place.
To me, this discrepancy is a prime example of the book’s lack of focus.
At first, it seemed that the book was going to track Moher’s personal journey through the JRPG genre. Then it seemed like it was going to try to cover the genre’s arc from the 90s to the 2010s. Unfortunately, it never commits to either, leaving the whole thing feeling thinned out. Likely because it tries to cover so much with little to no (unique) core thesis. I came to the book already aware that the rise of anime in North America and Final Fantasy VII’s big marketing push were factors in what made JRPGs popular here. And Moher repeated these facts back to me. That kind of confirmation is nice, but I came to this book expecting more new information and insights.
Unfortunately, a few small details and unanswered questions weren’t the only problems I had by the book’s end. I frequently found the prose to be dull and lacking in variety. It seemed that every few sentences started with the same sort of dependent clause, the kind that would lend action to the writing had this structure not been overused. Similarly, the metaphors and cliches that Moher tries to enliven with new spins often fell flat for me.
I will always find JRPGs fascinating though. And, while your opinion on them is sure to vary depending on the fandoms you include yourself in, Moher’s putting so many of them in one place does have some interesting, if uneven, results.
I read a few reviews of it here on Goodreads.
That turned out to be a bad idea because it gave me some criticisms to agree with while I was reading. Chief among them, despite the book’s apparent mission statement, the persistence of the question: “Why didThe West fall in love with the JRPG?” And those critiques got me wondering more and more: Who is this book for?
I came to this book because I’ve been hooked on the JRPG genre since I emulated a bunch of SNES classics in the 90s. And I wanted to learn more about the genre’s history and why it had caught on outside of Japan.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first source I’ve come to seeking answers to those questions, and it didn’t reveal much new information or insight to me.
Aside from the struggle Japanese developers had adapting to the HD console era. It turned out that their process before this graphical shift relied too heavily on developing and using in-house game engines. So I did learn about that.
But as a fan of the genre who’s read some articles and watched (too many) video essays on said genre, I already knew about Nintendo’s Dragon Warrior push, Final Fantasy’s initial cult success and later mainstream breakthrough with Final Fantasy VII, about the “dark ages” when everything in the genre seemed old and outdated compared to the rest of the gaming industry, and the rise of Indie-made titles from all corners of the world from the late 2000s to today. In chapter 22 I remember licking my lips and looking forward to more about the history of localizations in North America. Only, the few comments and reflections in that chapter were but a peek into such a history.
If I had just recently broken into the genre with the latest Final Fantasy or taken some random internet denizen’s advice to make Chrono Trigger or Earthbound my first RPG, I think I would have enjoyed this book quite a bit more. But as someone who has played those two and many other RPGs over the years while straying more towards what older consoles have to offer for the new RPGs I play, this book only helped to connect a few dots that I’d never seen the lines between before. Which was neat, but underwhelming given what I thought the book was promising. As it is, this book is just another title in the pile of sources I’ve engaged with to learn more about the genre.
On a more specific (and tot-sized potato) note, seeing Yoshiharu Gotanda’s name come up in the “Key Staff” listed in the info-box for Tales of Phantasia but be absent from Star Ocean’s info-box really poisoned my party. Yoshiharu Gotanda was a major force behind that game not only because he did the work to get credited with “Total Programming” and writing the novel-length work the game’s story was based on (as he had done with Tales of Phantasia), but because he was one of the three ex-Wolf Team members that went on to form Tri-Ace, the company that developed Star Ocean in the first place.
To me, this discrepancy is a prime example of the book’s lack of focus.
At first, it seemed that the book was going to track Moher’s personal journey through the JRPG genre. Then it seemed like it was going to try to cover the genre’s arc from the 90s to the 2010s. Unfortunately, it never commits to either, leaving the whole thing feeling thinned out. Likely because it tries to cover so much with little to no (unique) core thesis. I came to the book already aware that the rise of anime in North America and Final Fantasy VII’s big marketing push were factors in what made JRPGs popular here. And Moher repeated these facts back to me. That kind of confirmation is nice, but I came to this book expecting more new information and insights.
Unfortunately, a few small details and unanswered questions weren’t the only problems I had by the book’s end. I frequently found the prose to be dull and lacking in variety. It seemed that every few sentences started with the same sort of dependent clause, the kind that would lend action to the writing had this structure not been overused. Similarly, the metaphors and cliches that Moher tries to enliven with new spins often fell flat for me.
I will always find JRPGs fascinating though. And, while your opinion on them is sure to vary depending on the fandoms you include yourself in, Moher’s putting so many of them in one place does have some interesting, if uneven, results.
September 19, 2023
3.5 rounded up. Overall I enjoyed this book (and learned a couple fun facts I didn’t already know) but I had some caveats.
First nitpick out of the way: Moher asserts that “FFX truly flourished with the awakening of the ‘shipping’ fandom” which is an odd statement to make if you have done any academic work in fan studies. Like the timeline of shipping and the way in which that interacted with fandom and particularly video game fandoms doesn’t work for him to say that but whatever…
You can tell very early on that Moher is involved in and is interested in popular video game journalism. And as such it does appear that his analysis of JRPGs are viewed through a lens of his circle of knowledge within these spaces as much of his bibliography is based on online articles. Plus Moher quotes a noticeable amount of online articles for the purposes of sharing random people’s opinions and experiences of the games….not sure why but he does.
As a Final Fantasy fan myself, I know that it is impossible to discuss the series without sharing your opinion about your favourites! But, I was hoping for overall more insight into the gaming industry and contemporary reception of these games in the West (here meaning the Americas and less so PAL regions) over personal stories. I understand why they were included but it was more so than I expected based on how the book was packaged by its publishers.
Also three more nitpicks: 1) the book defines “space opera” for readers twice in separate two chapters. Unnecessary I would think and so I must assume an editor didn’t catch that 2) the author uses a lot of pop culture references to explain stories and make comparisons (eg he referenced Jurassic Park a few times) which was maybe not the best idea because it dates the book and also alienates some readers (like myself) who are much younger than Moher and have to google these references to understand what he’s getting at and 3) he called FFVII: CC a “pseudo-sequel”…it’s a prequel????
This was essentially a good book recounting Moher’s own experiences with JRPGs in Canada and then throwing in production and some industry context to frame these recollections. Not bad by any means but just not what I was planning to get out of this book when I picked it up.
Worth a read if you want to have some insight into the experiences of someone who grew up in the 80s/90s with these games in Canada and enjoy having game production team insight condensed for you from various online videos/articles. (Beware some spoilers though, including for FFVI if you haven’t played it yet).
If you’re looking for a more objective and academic exploration of the impact of JRPGs on the gaming industry in the Americas this maybe isn’t for you.
First nitpick out of the way: Moher asserts that “FFX truly flourished with the awakening of the ‘shipping’ fandom” which is an odd statement to make if you have done any academic work in fan studies. Like the timeline of shipping and the way in which that interacted with fandom and particularly video game fandoms doesn’t work for him to say that but whatever…
You can tell very early on that Moher is involved in and is interested in popular video game journalism. And as such it does appear that his analysis of JRPGs are viewed through a lens of his circle of knowledge within these spaces as much of his bibliography is based on online articles. Plus Moher quotes a noticeable amount of online articles for the purposes of sharing random people’s opinions and experiences of the games….not sure why but he does.
As a Final Fantasy fan myself, I know that it is impossible to discuss the series without sharing your opinion about your favourites! But, I was hoping for overall more insight into the gaming industry and contemporary reception of these games in the West (here meaning the Americas and less so PAL regions) over personal stories. I understand why they were included but it was more so than I expected based on how the book was packaged by its publishers.
Also three more nitpicks: 1) the book defines “space opera” for readers twice in separate two chapters. Unnecessary I would think and so I must assume an editor didn’t catch that 2) the author uses a lot of pop culture references to explain stories and make comparisons (eg he referenced Jurassic Park a few times) which was maybe not the best idea because it dates the book and also alienates some readers (like myself) who are much younger than Moher and have to google these references to understand what he’s getting at and 3) he called FFVII: CC a “pseudo-sequel”…it’s a prequel????
This was essentially a good book recounting Moher’s own experiences with JRPGs in Canada and then throwing in production and some industry context to frame these recollections. Not bad by any means but just not what I was planning to get out of this book when I picked it up.
Worth a read if you want to have some insight into the experiences of someone who grew up in the 80s/90s with these games in Canada and enjoy having game production team insight condensed for you from various online videos/articles. (Beware some spoilers though, including for FFVI if you haven’t played it yet).
If you’re looking for a more objective and academic exploration of the impact of JRPGs on the gaming industry in the Americas this maybe isn’t for you.
August 27, 2024
This book was a bit of a letdown. It starts off strong with a detailed and engaging view of the birth of JRPGs during the 8-bit era, focusing on dragon quest and final fantasy. This trend continues a bit but less detail with each new chapter. Then come the one about ff7 which was great! After which it becomes a lazy butt-kissing event where the author couldn’t be bothered to give any attention to non-SquareEnix games save for a name drop. You would think he’s worshipping gods. Buzz off if you want any attention to your games and non-SE developers (except phantasy star he covers it multiple times which is good). Multiple sections and pages covering the team development of some of the final fantasy games. Oh you like kingdom hearts? “Oh wow Disney collab!” At least there are attempts to cover non-SE games but the coverage is clearly inferior.
Chapters get as short as like 6 pages, with repetitiveness to boot. “Can play in the palm of your hand” was repeated twice in the span of three pages! Wow a whole section dedicated to yoko taro? Oh boy I wonder what he talks about!
“NieR hard but good lol.”
Heck even with his main focus on being on dq/ff had spots. Went on and on about dragon quest 1 but nary a blip about the troubled development of dragon quest 2 and how that influence their motivation to make dragon quest 3 not bad.
Multiple times he starts a topic and goes “oh gee you could write a whole book on that! But I won’t actually talk about it.” Like dude you are the author!!! You can just write about it! The development of the ff spirits within movie? Nah just say it was crazy then go off about the impact. FF14 disastrous launch state? Just give it a sentence and then move on. Two chapters for handhelds and only going to go deep on Pokémon? But only for the first chapter? Like Pokémon is majorly influential yes and does deserve having a chapter focused on it, but just a rattling of names for the other chapter?
I will say, this book does give a history (albeit brief post-2000) of the genre, and yeah even at the end there was a bit of intrigue and charm. If you’re new the genre or just want to wank to nostalgia it’s a good book. Otherwise? You’re better with something else; even a video essay would get you further.
Chapters get as short as like 6 pages, with repetitiveness to boot. “Can play in the palm of your hand” was repeated twice in the span of three pages! Wow a whole section dedicated to yoko taro? Oh boy I wonder what he talks about!
“NieR hard but good lol.”
Heck even with his main focus on being on dq/ff had spots. Went on and on about dragon quest 1 but nary a blip about the troubled development of dragon quest 2 and how that influence their motivation to make dragon quest 3 not bad.
Multiple times he starts a topic and goes “oh gee you could write a whole book on that! But I won’t actually talk about it.” Like dude you are the author!!! You can just write about it! The development of the ff spirits within movie? Nah just say it was crazy then go off about the impact. FF14 disastrous launch state? Just give it a sentence and then move on. Two chapters for handhelds and only going to go deep on Pokémon? But only for the first chapter? Like Pokémon is majorly influential yes and does deserve having a chapter focused on it, but just a rattling of names for the other chapter?
I will say, this book does give a history (albeit brief post-2000) of the genre, and yeah even at the end there was a bit of intrigue and charm. If you’re new the genre or just want to wank to nostalgia it’s a good book. Otherwise? You’re better with something else; even a video essay would get you further.
May 18, 2024
the author’s note at the beginning tells the reader that this book is first and foremost a personal recollection through one man’s history of being a JRPG fan since the genre’s beginning. unfortunately for ME that man does not bring anything interesting to the table.
it’s a good overview for people whose brains aren’t already filled to bursting with extraneous knowledge about JRPGs, but it lacks a proper historian’s rigor and often feels like reading a really long blog post. the writer’s own personal history also isn’t interesting enough for him to keep going on about. i’m happy for you that playing chrono trigger age eleven blew ur mind but this book cost me eighteen dollars and i don’t care
it is a good overview though. it stays true to its title and brings the reader through the genre’s history through American eyes. it pays its respects to the developers and brings in their perspective as much as it can (the research seems limited to what was already in english). it tracks the genre’s from its origins, to its heights in the 90s through the rough spots in the 2000s and its sustained relevance today. the most interesting bit was recounting the origins of Square; learning about Final Fantasy 1’s lead programmer Nasir Gebelli, the Iranian-American who didn’t understand the appeal of RPGs or, for that matter, how to speak Japanese, was a highlight of the book. i just really don’t care whenever Aidan Moher starts narrating in the first person about anything as his opinions aren’t interesting. like the ONLY thing u have to say about Crusader of Centy is that there’s a Sonic the Hench-hog easter egg? that’s it?
uhh anyway i would read this book if u wanna get into JRPGs but also are the type of person who needs to know where fruit comes from before you eat it (proverbially speaking). u could also just play Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age and then, immediately after, play Dungeon Encounters
it’s a good overview for people whose brains aren’t already filled to bursting with extraneous knowledge about JRPGs, but it lacks a proper historian’s rigor and often feels like reading a really long blog post. the writer’s own personal history also isn’t interesting enough for him to keep going on about. i’m happy for you that playing chrono trigger age eleven blew ur mind but this book cost me eighteen dollars and i don’t care
it is a good overview though. it stays true to its title and brings the reader through the genre’s history through American eyes. it pays its respects to the developers and brings in their perspective as much as it can (the research seems limited to what was already in english). it tracks the genre’s from its origins, to its heights in the 90s through the rough spots in the 2000s and its sustained relevance today. the most interesting bit was recounting the origins of Square; learning about Final Fantasy 1’s lead programmer Nasir Gebelli, the Iranian-American who didn’t understand the appeal of RPGs or, for that matter, how to speak Japanese, was a highlight of the book. i just really don’t care whenever Aidan Moher starts narrating in the first person about anything as his opinions aren’t interesting. like the ONLY thing u have to say about Crusader of Centy is that there’s a Sonic the Hench-hog easter egg? that’s it?
uhh anyway i would read this book if u wanna get into JRPGs but also are the type of person who needs to know where fruit comes from before you eat it (proverbially speaking). u could also just play Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age and then, immediately after, play Dungeon Encounters
December 27, 2023
This is an overview of the history of what are known as JRPGs, combined with personal notes from the author about his own experiences with these games. There were definitely some parallels to my own experience, although Moher started a little later and seems to have remained more up-to-date than I have been. It starts with the influence of Dungeons & Dragons and of Ultima and Wizardry for home computers, which were popular in Japan. It goes on to tell the story of the development of several of the main JRPG titles up to the time the book was written, some of the early ones having been made by incredibly small teams. There are also sidebars for other notable titles that weren't quite as prominent. There's a narrative about the competition between Square and Enix, and how they ended up merging. Stuff like this often makes me feel like I missed out on some interesting games. There's a mention of Square Enix director Yoshinori Kitase saying that it doesn't make sense to have menu-based combat in modern RPGs. There's probably something to that, as the original intent was to electronically recreate the experience of tabletop gaming, and there isn't necessarily any reason to stick to that model nowadays. To counter that to an extent, most video games are action-based, and it's nice to have a genre that isn't quite as fast-paced. The change of games throughout time is interesting, and since the early days, it kind of seems like the stories and settings have gotten more complex, and the controls much less so. I played a bit of Ultima 4 a few years ago, and it's confusing because there are so many different commands, many of which are rarely relevant. There's some discussion of how many modern developers are inspired by their nostalgia for earlier games, and how that doesn't always work out, there have been some good newer games that are basically throwbacks.
October 5, 2022
[NOTE: Aidan is a close friend and critique partner, and I read drafts of this book before buying a published copy for myself.]
If you see the title FIGHT, MAGIC, ITEMS on the cover, stylized in white-bordered blue boxes, and know exactly what it means? You will love this book to pieces.
If you have vaguely positive associations with the phrase "Final Fantasy"? You will love this book to pieces.
If you like long, oral-historylike tales of visionary creatives pushing a medium forward, through initial skepticism, to eventual great public acclaim? Reliving warm childhood memories by resonating with the surprisingly similar, lovingly shared recollections of a like-minded soul? Grade-A, blue-ribbon, USDA Prime Nerd Material?
You will love this book to pieces.
Aidan Moher has captured the story of how an obscure, obtuse sub-sub genre of 1980s/90s media--made by and for young Japanese men and women, without a lick of thought towards western sensibilities or reception--not only produced many of the most globally beloved video games of all time, but forever changed the course all forms of digital storytelling. He's chronicled the genre's formative environment, and the lives and inspirations of its most influential creators. He's gone in-depth what made so many games great, important, or beloved. He's re-lived the meteoric arrival of "Final Fantasy VII" in North America, and the growth (and growing pains) of the genre thereafter.
Mostly, though, he's written a heck of a book. And I love it to pieces.
If you see the title FIGHT, MAGIC, ITEMS on the cover, stylized in white-bordered blue boxes, and know exactly what it means? You will love this book to pieces.
If you have vaguely positive associations with the phrase "Final Fantasy"? You will love this book to pieces.
If you like long, oral-historylike tales of visionary creatives pushing a medium forward, through initial skepticism, to eventual great public acclaim? Reliving warm childhood memories by resonating with the surprisingly similar, lovingly shared recollections of a like-minded soul? Grade-A, blue-ribbon, USDA Prime Nerd Material?
You will love this book to pieces.
Aidan Moher has captured the story of how an obscure, obtuse sub-sub genre of 1980s/90s media--made by and for young Japanese men and women, without a lick of thought towards western sensibilities or reception--not only produced many of the most globally beloved video games of all time, but forever changed the course all forms of digital storytelling. He's chronicled the genre's formative environment, and the lives and inspirations of its most influential creators. He's gone in-depth what made so many games great, important, or beloved. He's re-lived the meteoric arrival of "Final Fantasy VII" in North America, and the growth (and growing pains) of the genre thereafter.
Mostly, though, he's written a heck of a book. And I love it to pieces.
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