Shy's buddy lists are always a pleasure to read and this year is no different, featuring writers discussing everything from Unlimited Saga to the planet Jupiter to Still House Plants and much more. While there's plenty to discover, the reflections here are equally as moving as they are enlightening

Next month: Finally moving away from Alfa System, I'll be writing about Namco's 2D fairy-tale RPG, 7: Molmorth no Kiheitai (2000), a beautiful game about children, heroism, and mythology, narrated by none other than Maki Nomiya of Pizzicato Five.

another year, another 20+ translated Japanese game developer interviews published by @shmuplations.bsky.social at shmuplations.com —the final updates for the year just went up, so allow me to run down what's been translated over the course of 2025, from most to least recent: (thread)

Raito's soundtrack is so good. I especially love how ethereal this song is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKjf...

Next month: Finally moving away from Alfa System, I'll be writing about Namco's 2D fairy-tale RPG, 7: Molmorth no Kiheitai (2000), a beautiful game about children, heroism, and mythology, narrated by none other than Maki Nomiya of Pizzicato Five.

the High Impact Awards 2025, the most important awards ceremony that i just came up a few hours ago, is here. it's a list of media i like a lot but haven't had the time to write about them as full posts. i hope people discover new things out of it: mimidoshima.neocities.org/main/posts/2...

Great thread and timely as well considering that Soraya Saga just announced her retirement. I’ve always preferred the density and strangeness of Saga’s writing in the earlier Xeno games, but the XBC series is not without its own charms.

Here's a Christmas treat, from me to you (via @pcgamer.com) :D www.pcgamer.com/games/relax-...

4gamer's end-of-year roundup's up: 194 devs sharing their games, media & persons of interest for 2025 & their plans for 2026 https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999905/20251219044/ 🇯🇵 just gonna go through and pick out whatever catches my eye (thread)

Recently, a fellow writer accused my own writing of being poor and claimed that I was also relying on A.I. I do not expect this to be the first or last time such accusation is levied against me. So I have published our exchange, taking care to anonymize said person: ogrerun.com/2025/12/26/a...

Witch on the Holy Night (Type-Moon, 2012).

We also get coverage of Angelique 2 whose limited edition came with a travel set including a toothbrush. However, I want to highlight the now obscure and extremely ambitious RTS Quo Vadis 2 which really pushed the limit and style of the Saturn. Voice acting + loads of animated cutscenes.

A cool issue and an ode to the diversity of games on the Saturn. Here’s Koei’s Dark Hunter, a supernatural thriller that was part of a larger franchise aimed towards teaching players English. The scenario was written by none other than Kaoru Kurimoto of Guin Saga fame!

Happy holidays! In December's post, I was inspired to debunk some supposed mistranslations from Final Fantasy XIII. I've only ever played in English, so this was an amazing opportunity to see the wonderful translation work behind this beautiful game. annacairistiona.wordpress.com/2025/12/22/d...

The only guarantee in life are taxes, dungeon-crawling, and death. My new article on Alfa System and MARS Corporation’s OreShika is now live! Free to read on Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/ore-no...

It's the Christmas issue of Famitsu, so that means many Japanese gaming industry folks gave their personal Game of the Year lists. I'll update this thread periodically since there's a lot of them once again.

Nihon Falcom's Xanadu Next is an incredible game. Charming art direction, a tight battle system coupled with rewarding exploration, and just long enough to not overstay its welcome, it's just a really engrossing dungeon crawler. Plus, a great bonus dungeon for real masochists!

Following Andes, here are my own J-Drama recommendations. Wounded Angels (1974): Two bumbling and broke gangsters with hearts of gold moonlight as private detectives for a syndicate with dubious morals and an eye for profit.

gonna make some jdrama recommendations in this thread for folks curious about the medium. most of these aren’t streaming officially, though…

While I understand why publishers were formerly wary of how commercially successful visual novels and various simulation games (dating, military, business, raising) could be abroad, Sega should absolutely re-release the original Sakura Wars tetralogy. Time has shown that the audience exists.

The only guarantee in life are taxes, dungeon-crawling, and death. My new article on Alfa System and MARS Corporation’s OreShika is now live! Free to read on Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/ore-no...

This includes what appears to be a story set in the Jerusalem setting of Roads to Lord (1984), Tsukuda Hobby’s genre-defining TTRPG that predates Sword World. Furthermore, readers are encouraged to participate in the narrative by mailing in their own created characters and choice of actions!

Witch on the Holy Night (Type-Moon, 2012).

Bruno writes so eloquently and with such depth on the most fascinating games and their creators.

A delightful film. Kojima has been expressing his reverence for Oshii for decades now. More recently, he invited Oshii to his “Brain Structure” podcast where the two talk about cinema and games: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CFS...

Games about, by, and starring women are successful, historically significant, and a lot of fun to play. In a just world this article on Angelique Special would be one of hundreds on the series: kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2025/02/21/a...

Last month, SB Creative announced they’ll be localizing Jonathan Green’s historical overview of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, You are the Hero. Just as in the U.S. and the U.K., in Japan, these original gamebooks were part of the 1980s RPG boom: www.4gamer.net/games/758/G0...

Mediascape announce Cantarella: Dominion of Qualia, a dungeon-crawling RPG centered around killing and recruiting aberrations. Seems like there’ll be narrative choices, build variety, and perma-death: store.steampowered.com/app/4077880/...

In light of discussions as to what constitutes an independent game, here are some game programs that appeared in the November 1982 issue of Technopolis, written by who I have to strongly presume is Nasir Gebelli of Final Fantasy fame.

In light of discussions as to what constitutes an independent game, here are some game programs that appeared in the November 1982 issue of Technopolis, written by who I have to strongly presume is Nasir Gebelli of Final Fantasy fame.

Last month, SB Creative announced they’ll be localizing Jonathan Green’s historical overview of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, You are the Hero. Just as in the U.S. and the U.K., in Japan, these original gamebooks were part of the 1980s RPG boom: www.4gamer.net/games/758/G0...

Great article on the perception of JRPG's in the West, and the 'prestige' awarded (not to mention the actual awards) to Expedition 33

Brilliant article, though I will never, in all my days, understand why JRPGs are denigrated by so many. Maybe it's my love of stories, since many JRPGs have a narrative focus, but I've always thought the genre was viewed too harshly and dismissively by people.

Thread for keeping track of J-Drama actors I run into. Here’s Akira Nakao, known for his role as Uchiyama in the live-action GTO (1998), playing the police chief in episode 25 of Tantei Monogatari (1979).

New article! I write at length on the history of JRPG reception in the West, Clair Obscure, and genre expectations: ogrerun.com/2025/12/14/a...

This includes what appears to be a story set in the Jerusalem setting of Roads to Lord (1984), Tsukuda Hobby’s genre-defining TTRPG that predates Sword World. Furthermore, readers are encouraged to participate in the narrative by mailing in their own created characters and choice of actions!

The featured image is from SOLDIERS DesireWing (Tokumeikibou, 2025), a contemporary freeware RPG made in Rm2k3.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (Atlus, 2003).

New article! I write at length on the history of JRPG reception in the West, Clair Obscure, and genre expectations: ogrerun.com/2025/12/14/a...

The Tragedy in the Devil-Mask Village (Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, 1978)

Group TAC’s 2003 Blame! ONA which has no interest in straightforwardly adapting the original manga but rather in capturing its disorienting atmosphere with a droning soundtrack, scuffed visuals, and of course, an opaque narrative. A style that will infect your brain like a virus in the Netsphere.

Great recommendations from Andes in this thread, especially a few RPG Maker games like Ruina.

Excellent news. For those wanting to play the game sooner, an English guide has long been available on GameFAQS: gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/918608-b...

I will be publishing an additional piece on Alfa System’s dungeon-crawling, deity-breeding simulator, Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke (1999), towards the end of this month.

Thank you to Critical Distance for featuring my article on Gunparade March. This roundup also includes further reading on other mecha and social sim RPGs that I think pair well together.

I find Kimimi’s argument well put and, considering this game’s reputation, provocative. As they write, “Dreams are strange, yes, but they’re always intensely personal…”

I will be publishing an additional piece on Alfa System’s dungeon-crawling, deity-breeding simulator, Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke (1999), towards the end of this month.

Enjoyed this piece from Baxter that touches on the experience and ritual of watching the rarely screened Gothicmade. Reminded of Barthes writing on the erotics of the film theater.

At this time, discourse on RPGs seemed not to have made strict distinctions between fantasy & sci-fi. In the August 1983 issue of S-F Magazine, Hitoshi Yasuda would introduce American SF games by way of D&D. Furthermore, some of the earliest RPGs produced in Japan emerged from SF.