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.

Gunparade March - Additional Commentary.

On the Nameless World: Tagami is perhaps the most familiar character in the franchise, having appeared in Elemental Gearbolt, Castle Shikigami, and Kenran Butousai. While GPM stands on its own, a big appeal is in its lore and mystery.

My first article is now live. 5,000 words on the story, systems, and legacy of Alfa System's legendary RPG, Gunparade March.

Read here: ogrerun.com/2025/11/29/g...