Japanese Tabletop Roleplaying Games - A Diatribe on Culture

Japanese Tabletop Roleplaying Games are a unique, if strange, breed of Tabletop Games. Why are they the way they are?

My Website with the Games:
Music in Order:
Minne - Carless Love (1988)
24-Hour Cinderella - Yakuza OST
Rebellion - Hololive EN [ADVENT]
WHY AM I STILL IN LA - Joji ft. Shlohmo & D33J
Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Remix - Mahadevan Thampi

Breaking from our regularly scheduled madness, . . .

[AdlerMow]

Brazilian here! Up till mid 00s (and in rural areas to this day) "rpg" dice were almost impossible to find and they would cost you a fortune, because they were imported. So, like in most places outside N America and W Europe, D6s systems were lingua franca. Here we have our 3D&T, as well as many D6 adaptations of WoD, CoC, and D&D. We had many zines publishing homebrews, mostly 2D6 based. Americans underestimate how much of an issue this was, Tunnels and Trolls, Traveller and GURPS were huge hits elsewhere because of this. If the first rpg were created outside USA, I'm almost certain it would be a 2D6 system. I'm craving for your video on the Soviet Rpg, as well as exploring rpgs cultures outside the Anglosphere!

[EvilDoresh]

A fun thing regarding BattleTech and Japan is how a lot of the mech art for the Japanese release got _backported_ in the form of Clan "sequel" models for the mechs that they used to represent in Japan.

[stevemanart]

I've been feeling this for a while, but with the recent turn against WotC, I really do feel like we're finally actually for real close this time to popping the "watered down middle earth" as the baseline assumption. And I pray that it happening in such an interconnected time and right on the verge of actually good AI translation assistance it means we will get to see more JTRPGs flourish outside the islands. And with Brazilian TRPGs, and Eastern European TRPGS, and games that look at the history and folklore of S.E.A. from an insider's perspective.

[greemwitch]

I just want to add to this that in the Japanese trpg sphere there is two sides: the ones who plays irl and the ones who plays online (and often stream their sessions live on youtube or niconico douga). The ones who plays online have developped a whole culture of their own and the quality of everything (scenario, character design, roleplay, music, etc..) is extraordinary. I really recommend watching Takao Shinji or any of his Trpg pals doing live sessions on youtube if you can understand Japanese!

[knicknac]

a month late but i noted that you didnt include 3 other ttrpgs that took off in Japan -
1] GURPS [that even got its own japan exclusive setting "Runal" that was publised by group SNE
2] while you mentioned it in passing, Tunnels and trolls did get a Japanese release and is still popular today [in part due to only needng six sided dice]
3] Advanced fighting fantasy - also a six sided dice system and, like T&T, still has a loyal following in Japan to this day.
in both fighting fantasy and tunnels and trolls cases group SNE publishes a dedicate3d magazine "Warlock" which is still going to this day.

[trpdrspider]

So currently my group is playing SW (a rabbit hole from anons Goblin Slayer mention) and one thing i can say its the rules are very..stark, near draconian. But it got things rolling quicker then other systems.

[Gitjadas]

Thanks for referencing dog kobolds- this is representative of the b/x and becmi presentations of kobolds, which I understand took stronger hold in Japan over Ad&d. Thanks for such a great video!

[Kanezeran]

Yo awesome job presenting the JTTRPG scene my man! These retrospectives are probably my favorite thing you put out.

[Jakeop]

Fantastic video as always!! I figure it may be worth pointing a finger towards Lionwing Publishing, who is also a company bringing over Japanese TTRPGs (used to be board games, they have since pivoted their focus), has brought us three great JTRPGs thus far with Convictor Drive, Picaresque Roman, and now Fledge Witch! Each release has come with much love and care, and the kickstarter environment has worked well for them!

[JasonGodwin]

I love when a country affects gaming culture. Like how Arcades and locally made PS2 clones in Brazil are HUGE because of taxes. I wish more reaearch was done on this around the world.

[aidan_]

You should check out Dračí Doupě, it's an old Czech version of
D&D from 1990. Part of the default player races are "Barbarians" which are ugly humans and Kroll which are neanderthals with echolocation.

[JackDandyHG]

Lionwing have been putting out some really cool stuff lately!

[RobinLongshot]

Just recently started playing SW, and am loving it! There need to be more videos like this. Thank you! Surprised that there was no mention of LionWing though. They seem to be the main JTTRPG publisher these days.

[Kritfayle]

We have Ova and L5R on our channel. Both are Western RPG's in the anime feel. It would be cool though to get more actual Japanese RPG's over here as I think they have some different ideas. Though a lot of players I know see RPG's more as a game where you have to win and some of the Japanese ones I have seen it does feel more the journey rather than the destination. Which may not be popular with back end style of player

[erikblue]

You forgot Brazil also has an obsession with WoD/In Nominem/Kult. We have around 3 WoD clones and a 4th one being playtested while we speak.
Damn... We love WoD too much for our own good...

[AnActualRealPotato]

One of the games at 10:51 will be translated/is being translated right now. I don't wanna say which, but smaller games *are* getting some attention.

[Viehzerrer]

The troubles D&D had in Japan reminds me of Germany, where it had similar, but at the same time very different problems. A big games publisher (Schmidt Spiele) wanted to get into the newfangled RPG business and get D&D through a specialized company (Fantasy Productions) as middleman. but TSR demanded too much money for the license. So, they instead took the RPG that FanPro themselves were cooking, named it "Das Schwarze Auge" (official English translation calls it "The Dark Eye"), which then went on to become Germany's most-played TRPG.
Honestly, I think TDE's reign was a better time. Sure, it had the same issues with popularity that D&D does (many wanted to play nothing else; some tried to make their own TRPG while knowing nothing but TDE...), but it felt like other RPGs (particularly the also highly popular Shadowrun, CoC or World of Darkness) weren't too far behind and the German TRPG was a bit more diverse.
Now however, due to several factors (rise of D&D in mainstream, "globalization" of the internet that makes American things more visible internationally, Critical Role which combines these two aspects... also, TDE's latest edition is terrible), D&D has become the most popular TRPG in Germany as well, leaving others, not just TDE, in the dust. The gulf between it and other systems feels much larger than between TDE and other systems, back when it was still popular.

Man, D&D is, especially now, way too popular. And I say them as someone who actually likes it.

Also, I wonder how German RPGs actually differ from others. It doesn't seem like there's a common "feel", yet there kinda seems to be at the same time? Particularly fantasy RPGs (and German fantasy in general), like Midgard, The Dark Eye or Splittermond (although the latter is made by TDE veterans but is much more high fantasy) just seems to have something trying them together that I can't really put my finger on. Either way, D&D never gives me the same "homely" feeling that TDE does (haven't really played the other ones yet, but someday...), no matter how many names I switch with German(-sounding) ones.

...Man, I really miss playing The Dark Eye. Pity that my old group fell apart.

Also, in the 2000's, there was this strange trend of dark German RPGs with weird rules systems. Some of those systems were actually interesting (Chroniken der Engel), while others seem to be weird just for the sake of being different (Degenesis).

And I also wonder just what RPGs other countries have (not Sweden, I think that's covered enough). Like Turkey. A Turkish guy at the game club I frequent said that all RPGs there are in English and he always played with his group in English as well. Which... kinda makes sense (too unprofitable for translations), but that also sounds like there aren't any Turkish-made RPGs at all, which seems a bit strange.

Are franchise games very popular in Japan? It seems like every other Japanese TRPG I hear about is based on a manga/anime/LN/video game or whatever. In this video there are a few more. And years ago, I already learned about the existence of a Ys RPG (apparently they're making a new one?), Megami Tensei RPG and even a Wizardry RPG. And now, there's going to be a FFXIV RPG (although that one may be more Western).

Also, as German, I find ANY depiction of D&D kobolds weird, since... well, they have no resemblence to actual kobold folklore (unless you go far enough back when "kobold" can practically mean any goblin-like creature). But D&D's usage of names from myths and folkore can in general be really random at times (like the decidedly not very fishlike Bahamut).

[oldhatAN]

I have noticed that Japanese ttrpg are very structured in a way that Western ttrpgs generally aren't. The investigation part of games like Call of Cthulhu or Vaesen are pretty loose. I got a Super Sentai/Kamen Rider inspired Jttrpg called Convictor drive. It has an investigation phase but it's highly structured. Everyone gets their own investigation card. They have a specific goal and win condition on them. You flip over one card. You have to make this check to do that. One players does it. Once that is passed, the next card is flipped over. A different player does that one. So on until they are all done. Other players can come along ro role-play but only the one player can actually do thing is each mission. It's all very structured and specific.

[JoseJose-shfr]

didn't expect a Japanese culture lesson from this channel lol

[gablott]

Thanks for the history/context lesson.