RPGs in Japan

[AsenRG]

I don’t care to larp either but my point was anyone mocking one’s fellow nerds as if their hobby is any sillier than sitting at a table and pretending to be a mighty warrior or superhero is fooling themselves.

You mean, like the people who mock other nerds for pretending to be Japanese Anime-style maids and butlers?

 

[Doc Sammy]

I wonder if World of Darkness has any fans in Japan?

I know of all the RPG's from the West, Call of Cthulhu is the most popular in Japan while D&D is fairly middling in its popularity compared to CoC, Japanese RPG's, or even GURPS (if I remember correctly, there were a lot of GURPS books exclusively released in Japan in the 90's and early 2000's)

But I am curious if WoD gained any traction in Japan at all?

I know it is surprisingly super-popular in Europe, continuing to be a popular game in both Scandinavia and Eastern Europe long after White Wolf's heyday in America had ended and WoD became a punchline among most American gamers.

I get the feeling that World of Darkness (at least the classic pre-Revised/pre-Onyx Path stuff) would either be somewhat popular in Japan (though not as much as Call of Cthulhu or Japanese RPG's) or be totally obscure to the point of non-existence. Most likely it'd the latter option.

That being said, I would love to see a "classic" Vampire: The Masquerade or Werewolf: The Apocalypse game that blends the old-school setting of early White Wolf (1E and early 2E) with Japanese teen culture, especially the Harajuku street fashion and subculture stuff.

I wouldn't mind seeing a WoD that keeps the clans, Disciplines, and early lore but is more rooted in stuff like Visual Kei, Aristocrat and Lolita fashions, and the Japanese style of Gothic-Punk than the American punk scene (I never liked the American punk subculture), and of course, if I were to ever do a game like that I would keep all that awful metaplot out of the game completely and declare it never happened.

Rule Zero is a wonderful tool to keep thematic purists, Achilli sympathizers, and whiny Onyx Path drones out.

 

[Lessa]

Doc Sammy doc, I doubt World of Darkness doesn't enjoy some popularity in Japan. Shinobigami even mentions it in its replay, in a comedy way, when explaining his own, ninja version, "World of Shadows". I suspect the entire Saikoro Fiction line is inspired by it in soke degree - the article even says some games are compatible between themselves and allow cross-splats, again exactly like WoD do.

And yeah, I would love to see a niponic World of Darkness.

 

[Ladybird]

That being said, I would love to see a "classic" Vampire: The Masquerade or Werewolf: The Apocalypse game that blends the old-school setting of early White Wolf (1E and early 2E) with Japanese teen culture, especially the Harajuku street fashion and subculture stuff.

I wouldn't mind seeing a WoD that keeps the clans, Disciplines, and early lore but is more rooted in stuff like Visual Kei, Aristocrat and Lolita fashions, and the Japanese style of Gothic-Punk than the American punk scene (I never liked the American punk subculture), and of course, if I were to ever do a game like that I would keep all that awful metaplot out of the game completely and declare it never happened.

It sounds like you're looking for a nicer-spirited version of Bloodsucker : the Angst.

 

[Lessa]

Also, a lot of my interest in Japanese RPGs is that they are kind of like Australian animals. They evolved in such a different atmosphere and without a lot of the same influences than Western RPGs, and even though there is some parallel evolution there is a lot of interesting and, from the perspective of Western RPGs, bizarre concepts.

Totally this. My group is planning a Japanese arc of games to experiment exactly what you're talking about . Tenra Bansho, Shinobi, Ryuutama, Maid, Double Cross, etc. and play them in the spirit intended by the author/book, so we get a better glimpse of that culture.

By the way, can we say Japanese are contained Italians? I think I've heard this somewhere and the last string of jap media I consumed (Nier Automata, Nobunaga Ambition: SOI, Shinobigami, Naruto Shippuden, Inuyashiki the Last Hero) all have this strong emotional or enthusiastic element that feel pretty exaggerated/melodramatic/emotive. Like if their rigid, historical, social customs have made their hearts bigger and anxious to blow out at every moment. Makes sense?

*Fake edit* now I'm curious for Japanese Movies. What are some interesting ones you know? I've seen a couple Kurosawa ones (7 Samurais and one other) but I'm more curious for stake of life and dramas/non-action ones.

 

[Séadna]

I can actually get Ryuutama cheaply enough, would any of you recommend it?

 

[Zak Smith]

I can actually get Ryuutama cheaply enough, would any of you recommend it?

It's one of the worst games I've ever seen at its level of production (obviously there are one-page RPGs someone put on their blog that're worse) --the amount of hand-holding in the rules to do super basic things seems like it's there largely for people who enjoy being told by the rules to do things they were going to do anyway like "Yay! I'm following rules!" combined with a real lack of new ideas or content.

On the other hand, genrewise, it's one of the few games like it in English, period, so if you are interested in the genre of cute comforting fantasy you might put up with all that anyway.

 

[Voros]

*Fake edit* now I'm curious for Japanese Movies. What are some interesting ones you know? I've seen a couple Kurosawa ones (7 Samurais and one other) but I'm more curious for stake of life and dramas/non-action ones.

The Japanese have one of the richest film traditions in the world. Mizoguchi, Ozu, Naruse, Kobayashi, Teshigahara, Imamura, Shinoda, Oshima are all major filmmakers worth checking out. Of the modern era Kore-eda is excellent, his latest is Shoplifters. They also have an amazing tradition of horror, yakuza and exploitation films with their own great directors and films if you're interested. Maybe give me a better idea of your tastes though.

I'd agree there is a tradition of intense emotionality in Japanese art that can strike us as melodramatic. The French surrealists were a big influence on their writers from the 30s on as well as I think their taste for blunt sexuality, violence and dreamlike narrative fit well with their own national sensibilities.

 

[AsenRG]

I don’t care to larp either but my point was anyone mocking one’s fellow nerds as if their hobby is any sillier than sitting at a table and pretending to be a mighty warrior or superhero is fooling themselves.

I agreed with the point. In fact, I used the same argument.
My point was that I don't like LARP and feel weird when at a boffer one, but it's not because of perceived manliness of the people playing it (which is doubly pathetic as an argument, given that at least half in both groups are women)!

 

[Dirk Remmecke]

There's a massive hole in the market for someone who can translate Japanese RPGs, has good taste, and has the guts to tell the abusive fans and moral panic brigade to go kick rocks and not rely on them to carry their signal. A mainstream company like WOTC or Modiphius or an indie publisher could make serious bank if they brought over something they could sell as THE manga/anime game without all that baggage.

There have been various projects to translate Sword World and similar games, but iirc they've never really went anywhere beyond half-finished wikis.

The "problem" with Sword World is that it is - bottom line - a traditional fantasy RPG, with a few anachronistic twists. It doesn't even has great art. Well, it has great art, just very, very little of it - basically just the covers. The books are tiny and walls of text.
(I'd love to see a translation, anyway. But I like traditional fantasy.)

It's a bit like Das Schwarze Auge in Germany or Drakar och Demoner in Sweden - hugely successful and influential in their countries but I can see why English language gamers are a bit disappointed when they see a translation. "What's so special about them?"

That's why "novelty items" like Maid or Yuuyake Koyake or Tenra Bansho Zero look like better candidates for a translation, because they bring something different to the market.

 

[EmperorNorton]

On the subject of "something new and different" I'd love to see Meikyuu Kingdom get an official translation. That is another of those games that just has a cool and weird concept. Basically, some kind of magical cataclysm happened, and the whole world is turned into dungeons. Everything is now RPG dungeons. You play as Landmakers, which are basically adventurer-kings with the force of will to restore order on portions of the universe. Your party starts with a small patch of land you've carved out and several dozen normal people who rely on them, and they work to build it bigger, establish politics with various other landmaker kingdoms, and adventure to gather the things they need in the endless dungeons.

There is an unofficial translation floating around out there, but I'd love to see a fully produced official one.

 

[Ladybird]

On the subject of "something new and different" I'd love to see Meikyuu Kingdom get an official translation. That is another of those games that just has a cool and weird concept. Basically, some kind of magical cataclysm happened, and the whole world is turned into dungeons. Everything is now RPG dungeons. You play as Landmakers, which are basically adventurer-kings with the force of will to restore order on portions of the universe. Your party starts with a small patch of land you've carved out and several dozen normal people who rely on them, and they work to build it bigger, establish politics with various other landmaker kingdoms, and adventure to gather the things they need in the endless dungeons.

There is an unofficial translation floating around out there, but I'd love to see a fully produced official one.

Apparently an official translation was being worked on, but the project seems dead now.

 

[Lessa]

Very interesting this Meykiiu Kingdom sounds. Thanks for bringing it up.

 

[Lessa]

Anyone knows Tokyo Nightmare? As a fan Persona/Shin Megami series, the modern day supernatural with classes based on Tarot cards picked my interest.

Also, about the proliferation of these fast/one-shot games, I heard Japan working hours average is really high and that the young adult population doesn't have enough free time to engage in long activities such as we do here in the west. Makes sense?

 

[EmperorNorton]

Japan working hours are on average longer, but from the times I've been there, and from conversing with coworkers that have lived in both societies (one of my coworkers is from Indianapolis, but worked for about 5 years in Japan), a lot of people go out nearly every night after work.

I think it has to do more with the fact that entertaining at home is much less common there, as space is at a premium. I mean, I've been there multiple times, and the only one of my coworkers/friends places I've been to is French, not Japanese (I went to his board game night while I was in town, and the entirety of his board game group was also not Japanese).

 

[Runeblogger]

But I am curious if WoD gained any traction in Japan at all?

(...)

I wouldn't mind seeing a WoD that keeps the clans, Disciplines, and early lore but is more rooted in stuff like Visual Kei, Aristocrat and Lolita fashions, and the Japanese style of Gothic-Punk than the American punk scene (I never liked the American punk subculture), and of course, if I were to ever do a game like that I would keep all that awful metaplot out of the game completely and declare it never happened.

I don't really know, but it looks like there is a Japanese RPG dealing with supernatural beings like vampires, werewolves, fairies, angels, etc. who fight each other in secret in the modern world: Beast Bind. The current 3rd ed. is called Beast Bind Trinity.

 

[JELEINEN]

On the subject of "something new and different" I'd love to see Meikyuu Kingdom get an official translation. That is another of those games that just has a cool and weird concept. Basically, some kind of magical cataclysm happened, and the whole world is turned into dungeons. Everything is now RPG dungeons. You play as Landmakers, which are basically adventurer-kings with the force of will to restore order on portions of the universe. Your party starts with a small patch of land you've carved out and several dozen normal people who rely on them, and they work to build it bigger, establish politics with various other landmaker kingdoms, and adventure to gather the things they need in the endless dungeons.

There is an unofficial translation floating around out there, but I'd love to see a fully produced official one.

Meikyuu Kingdom just got a new edition. (https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4040728955/ref=pe_1776962_365900112_em_1p_1_ti)

Anyone knows Tokyo Nightmare? As a fan Persona/Shin Megami series, the modern day supernatural with classes based on Tarot cards picked my interest.

I have Tokyo Nova, which is a cyberpunk-ish game that uses the same system, and is on my short list of games I most want to play/run. It uses regular playing cards, and the tarot card use is minor (from what I've read, Nightmare doesn't even include the rules for tarot cards in the base game).

One thing I didn't see in this discussion that i think is different in Japanese games to US games is the structure, especially scene play. I'm really curious on how this structure works with a non-Japanese group.

 

[Voros]

Necroing this thread to continue the discussion on Japanese rpgs, in translation or otherwise.

EmperorNorton gave me a heads up on Picaresque Roman, a PvP crime/yakuza rpg.

Seeing how the Japanese approach a yakuza rpg alone would have sold me on it but the Quickstart indicates it is a solid looking game as well.

 

[Lessa]

Necroing this thread to continue the discussion on Japanese rpgs, in translation or otherwise.

EmperorNorton gave me a heads up on Picaresque Roman, a PvP crime/yakuza rpg.

Seeing how the Japanese approach a yakuza rpg alone would have sold me on it but the Quickstart indicates it is a solid looking game as well.

Looks great! These PvP games are my favorite ones these days, specially ones with systems to meddle with other players in creative ways (just look at the "skills" section of the KS page). Reminds of Shinobigami and Undying, actually.

Thanks for bringing it up, Voros.

 

[EmperorNorton]

I would say it is less yakuza and more conman/heist. The basic idea is that everyone is a thief of some sort all targeting the same mark. You wheel and deal with each other while trying your various schemes, team up with others and betray them, all in the furtherance of being the one who comes away with the most of the marks money.

Oh also, one of the players may secretly be working for the mark as well.

It really is made for oneshots more than campaign though. But I think that is a strength considering the concept.

 

[yosemitemike]

The game I'm most excited about trying some time is Ryuutama.

I have been trying to scrape together 4 players to play Ryuutama for ages.

That’s what I figured as well. It simply makes sense when you want to have games that work in short sessions and probably grows out of CoC and cinematic play.

It’s also interesting that they also arrived at the preference for 2d6 mechanics you see in PbtA and other games.

That was actually caused by gambling laws that made other kinds of dice hard to get and stupidly expensive back then.

I wouldn't mind seeing a WoD that keeps the clans, Disciplines, and early lore but is more rooted in stuff like Visual Kei, Aristocrat and Lolita fashions, and the Japanese style of Gothic-Punk than the American punk scene (I never liked the American punk subculture), and of course, if I were to ever do a game like that I would keep all that awful metaplot out of the game completely and declare it never happened.

Rule Zero is a wonderful tool to keep thematic purists, Achilli sympathizers, and whiny Onyx Path drones out.

There's a game called Dracurouge that's a very Japanese anime take on the whole playing vampires thing.

Dracurouge - Entropic Dreams

Today we’ll take a look at Dracurouge, a TRPG set in an Everdark country. With the evil sun vanquished, vampire knights are now the protectors of the people. First of all, the artwork and the ambience it creates is absolutely amazing. The style it affects through language is very immersive, but...

entropicdreams.com