Tag: Dragon Quest

Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026

The World Video Game Hall of Fame has announced the games that will be competing for induction as part of their Class of 2026, and with five returning finalists, this year’s theme seems to be second chances.

So which games will get another chance to earn a plaque on the wall at the Strong Museum of Play’s World Video Game Hall of Fame? Rovio’s Angry Birds, Electronic Arts’s FIFA International Soccer, and Konami’s Frogger will all be going through the voting process for a third time, while NanaOn-Sha’s PaRappa the Rapper and Konami’s Tokimeki Memorial are both getting their second shot at induction.

That leaves seven newcomers to the process and they’re pretty impressive bunch. Konami’s Silent Hill could probably be considered something of a frontrunner after the excellent showing of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill F in recent years. But the Hall of Fame will also consider Enix’s Dragon Quest (released in North America as Dragon Warrior) for the first time, as well as Bethesda’s oft-re-released The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Namco’s Galaga, Riot’s League of Legends, Capcom’s Mega Man, and Jagex’s RuneScape.

The vote now goes to the Hall of Fame’s International Selection Advisory Committee, but the public will also get two chances to have their say in the final inductees.

As always, the Player’s Choice Ballot will be available until March 13th, giving the three games that receive the most votes equal standing with the ballots from the rest of the committee members. And for the first time this year, the World Video Game Hall of Fame is taking a road trip to the Game Developers Conference, where attendees will have the opportunity to vote for the games they’d like to appear on another public ballot.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 will be announced on Thursday, May 7, at 10:30 AM (Eastern Time). And if you’re unfamiliar with any of this year’s finalists, you can learn more about them after the break.

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Aidan Moher’s “Fight, Magic, Items” Will Tell the Story of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Other JRPGs in October 2022

The global recognition of the Japanese RPG can be placed squarely at the feet of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, which launched outside of Japan within 12 months of each other in 1989-1990. But interestingly, the genre itself goes back much further than you might realize, and you’d need to take a detour that goes through Sir-Tech’s Wizardry, Koei’s Dragon and Princess, and Tetris to get the full picture.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that Aidan Moher, a freelance writer with bylines across the Internet, is quite familiar with how the latter three add spice to the story, but we know for sure that The Big Two will be a major focus of Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs in the West, his upcoming history of the genre.

In addition to behind-the-scenes details about the development of those two franchises (as well as Phantasy Star, Chrono Trigger, and Kingdom Hearts), Moher has also conducted new interviews with some of the biggest players in the JRPG space:

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.

Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs in the West will be released by Running Press on October 4.

UPDATE (9/10/22): An excerpt from Fight, Magic, Items all about the shadow that Final Fantasy VII continues to cast across the entire gaming landscape can be found at Gizmodo.

UPDATE (11/9/22): Just ahead of the launch of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, a new excerpt from Fight, Magic, Items about the rise of “Pokemania” was recently published by Engadget.

Bite-Sized Game History: John Boyne’s Google Blunder, Localizing Dragon Quest Builders, and Remembering Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game

Google Bombing was a popular activity in the early 2000s, as coordinated groups of people attempted to link humorous results to seemingly innocuous searches.

The search engine had mostly put an end to the practice by 2010, which means that the top result for “miserable failure” no longer points to a WhiteHouse.gov page about George W. Bush. But quirks in the algorithm can still cause trouble for people who don’t bother to read beyond the first few links. Author John Boyne, probably best known for writing The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, learned that lesson for himself recently.

This edition of Bite-Sized Game History will look at Boyne’s blunder, as well as Dragon Quest Builders, and remembering Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game on its tenth anniversary.

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Bite-Sized Game History: Nintendo Power Survives Dragon Warrior, Doom’s Shareware Secrets, and Dirty Harry’s Bizarre Announcement

When you’re working with video games, you have to learn to be adaptable. In this edition of Bite-Sized Game History, we look at adapting in the face of a flop, adapting when you have a blockbuster fall in your lap, and adapting to the reality of creating game adaptations.

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