A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games

I was a huge fan of 'The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games' also published by BitMap Books, so it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to this, a strikingly similar book but with a core focus on the wonderful world of JRPG's.Honestly, its a weighty treasure trove, with an additional 100 pages on the CRPG book. Sure its got all the old favourites, your Final Fantasies, Dragon Quests, Persona and so forth, but hundreds and hundreds of weird and wonderful JRPG's that you may never of heard of - but left a lasting footprint on the industry.Clearly, this was another massive passion project and its not just individual games, the started section covers the interesting world of JRPG localisation (its not all one way either, some funny facts about the Japanese translation for western games like Undertale), music, tropes and so forth.As lovely as the cover image is, the bright pink book spine doesn't quite match the wrap-around art of the CRPG book, but that's the best criticism I can make. Like the CRPG book, this will be a reference bible for years to come, amazing work and kudos to the development team.