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Because RPGs Weren't Shameful Enough Already Once upon a time, a bunch of Japanese nerds sat down and started playing their dog-eared imported copy of OD&D or Traveler or GURPS or some other drat thing, wrote down what happened, and posted it to the primordial internet or sent a transcript to their other nerdy friends and it became a thing. Suddenly there was a thriving community of replay transcripts, sort of like P&P RPG versions of Let's Plays. Some of them even got popular enough to get published in magazines, or merchandized. The big one was Record of Lodoss War, which got serialized in 1986. It got big enough to make a vast series of animated knockoffs. At the same time, TSR was in its "sue the poo poo out of anyone who even looks funny at our IP" phase, shutting down fan sites and publications. TSR gets approached by the Lodoss folks, who have this ready-made market, and all they had to do to make a hell of a lot of money was draft some new interior art, pay one of their new associates to do the translation and shut the hell up. TSR doesn't like that one bit and tells them to get bent, so the Japanese market loses out on most western P&P games for a hell of a long time and becomes this weird Galapagos of RPG development. (Case in point, nearly every system in Japan relies on some kind of d6 mechanic, like d66 systems, or Xd6 and roll under a stat, or 2d6 divided by a stat and compared to a chart, like some even worse version of THAC0. Astonishingly, this has a straight-forward reason behind it - pretty much nobody makes anything but six-siders in Japan. It's still weird as hell to flip through a book in a language you can't read and see tables with entries from 11 to 66.) You should care about this parallel development because of what it's done to the general idea of RPGs in Japan. As a generalization, JTTRPGs focus more on light play rules. There are probably J-grogs out there who slave over their translated and annotated editions of GURPS: Vehicles and Hackmaster or their locally-grown equivalents, but by and large the games play more like FATE or Fudge, maybe nWoD on the outside, rather than D&D or Shadowrun. Mix the emphasis on player-produced content with the weird poo poo Japan produces and you get some really interesting results. Not always good, but interesting. Which is not to say that GURPS or D&D or Shadowrun are totally unknown - some of them have actually been translated and published in Japan, from the aforementioned games to things like Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1e, Earthdawn, Tunnels and Trolls, Traveler and many others. Most of the importation happened during the 90's, though, so don't stroll your porky rear end into Comiket with a box full of nWoD books looking for a game. Wikipedia's list of JTTRPGs. Apart from all the licensed properties, there are a tons of original games. Much like in the West, you're not going to hear about the good stuff in favor of someone's half-assed Geimu ohvu Saronzu port 99% of the time. Games I Know Even Slightly Something About Record of Lodoss War/Sword World  Sword World, First Edition Cover The Ur-JTTRPG. Sword World and the Lodoss War setting is to D&D as Final Fantasy is to Wizardry and the SSI Gold Box games. The thing started as a replay of D&D in an old computer magazine and sort of spiralled out from there. It was published by Group SNE, a body very loosely comparable to TSR, in the sense that they created the big names that people recognize in the context of TTRPGs and then a whole bunch of other crap of varying levels of forgettableness, up to and including a lot of licensed garbage. Sword World is the Lodoss setting from the replays, plus the actual rules you'd need to play a game. It's got the cultural clout of D&D over in Moonland, which is about as useful there as it is here. Sword World is the one that uses the weird d6-THAC0 system I mentioned, and it's had a ton of sales in addition to being the subject of a truly staggering number of officially-published replays on top of all the fan dreck. A second edition was published relatively recently, presumably to much complaining on 2chan about how the game was ruined because now you could play as a Lilldraken and how it was spitting on E. Hitoshi Yasuda's grave. Potsticker on Sword World 2.0. Maid RPG Shut up about Maid. Ryutama  Ryutama, apparently the all-natural RPG A game about adventures, in a sense someone who is not a filthy participant in our hobby would recognize. Characters are focused more on journeys and travel, a little like Oregon Trail, rather than murdering monsters for their loot or licking the wizard's curly-toed boot. One of the less common games to use more than just d6s, and filled with adorable art. Go click that link and look at everything. Unfortunately, while translated editions exist, they're intentionally crippled so as to not deprive the game's creators of sales from lunatics in the West who'd buy such a thing, and the translation isn't for sale anyway. Here's an example of play, just to rub it in. Ryutama in Japanese, free for the taking. ProfessorProf posted:Started a Ryuutama campaign yesterday over roll20 with some online friends and my own jumbled translation of the rules. It was very nice, in a way that I'm not used to tabletop games being. Andy's back to take your money! Pledge over at the Ryuutama kickstarter today! Tenra Bansho Zero  There's some cyborgs behind the ninja girl if you squint What would happen if Japan vomited in your face and there were dice stuck in there somewhere. Set in a far future where an isolated group of colonists have recreated their society based in a very approximate fashion on the Sengoku period of Japanese history. Samurai and cyborgs are equally valid character archetypes in this game. Play is very big on theatrical motifs, and it's rules-light.  Kickstarter is live and funded! Buy it anyway! YIP YIP ALL YO YENS Kickstarter is ludicrously well funded and books are going out soon! Hooray!Buy TBZ here! Golden Sky Stories  It's another loving cover, what do you want from me A slice-of-life RPG, in which the players are helpful spirits assisting the people of a rural town. It has no dice, no resources, and likely no competition. I want to play it purely because I want to give John Tarnowski an aneurism at a great distance. But it also looks like a cool game with good production values. GSS Kickstarter is up! Go forth and spend. Here's the first GSS supplement for free, if you can read moon runes. Arianrhod Ewan Cluney on Arianrhod, part one part two. Meikyuu Kingdom  MK Second Edition Cover The world is a giant dungeon, and the PCs are members of the court of a tiny kingdom carving out a slice of it for their own. Some lunatic took every weird JRPG cliche and made it into a TTRPG, loaded with puns and painfully dorky jokes. The name of the thing is a broken pun in English, for chrissakes. It looks rad as hell, and since I'm intentionally guilting Mikan into writing about this thing, I'm going to leave it at that. Ewan Cluney on Meikyuu Kingdom. Bitchtits and Rasamune's translation project. Mikan on MK. Mikan shows off his copies, the bastard. Meikyuu now has its own thread! Go here for more details of the ongoing localization, and to nag Fax. Feedback loop Thanks to the miracle of all the weird poo poo the internet brings us, something peculiar has happened. Really, really recently, a handful of Western nerds have started making games based on Japanese TTRPGs, which in turn are based on Western RPGs. Magical Burst is the one that got me interested in all this crap, so go read Dareon's writeup from the FATAL and Friends thread if you haven't already. Other brilliant or terrible creations of this bizarre trade are more than welcome. Other Links A shorter, much better summation of what the hell's going on over there, from the Ryutama translator. Cheap Trick goes to Yellow Submarine. DiamondSutra translates a whole bunch of stuff and talks about behind-the-scenes bits. Diamond Sutra and friends talk about JTTRPGs and other things on this podcast. Post about games that came from somewhere around the eastern shore of Asia. Corrections and new stuff to put in the OP are always good. grassy gnoll fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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May 17, 2012 11:31
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Ewen Cluney posted:e: Oh, and thanks for the shout-out about my games and stuff. I think of myself as having Traditional, Indie, and Japanese as the three pillars of my RPG design influences, though the game of mine with the most Japanese influence (Slime Quest) is going to involve a ton more work. Thanks for contributing. This'd be a real quiet thread real quick otherwise. And hell, I'll give you my firstborn child if it means I can buy a totally legit copy of MK. How is Slime Quest going to differ from Slime Story mechanically? I was a little surprised at how relatively complex Story is to a lot of your other games. Potsticker posted:How awesome, this thread comes on the heels of me ordering the Sword World 2.0 books a little while ago. I got a crush on the system after finding out that character building/stats works a little similarly to Cadwallon. (which would be the game I would pick if I could only ever play one fantasy TRPG ever again) This weekend I'll be introducing it to a bunch of college kids, and I've been shopping it around a couple of friends to see if I can't get some traction into getting them to try it out. I don't really want to give it to my current gaming group yet, as I'm already running Danger Patrol and I don't want to distract them with something new. How is SW 2.0 different from the first one, and what's it play like? As far as the books, it seems like your best bet is to order from Amazon.co.jp and just buy a bunch of stuff all in one go, either to soak the costs for yourself, or split the costs as part of a group buy. If anyone has any better suggestions, I'll stick it in the OP.
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May 17, 2012 23:11
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When you get a contract to put out a game in English, and you're dealing with one of the semi-indie publishers, what kind of support resources do you get? Like, are you stuck with a blank template and some stock art, or do they send you their ready-to-publish files for you to alter as you see fit? E: Drox posted:Nobody mentioned it in this thread, but Ryuutama is supposed to be out in English/French sometime around July or August. Where from, and where will it be available?
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May 20, 2012 22:23
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That makes me wonder, does the cult of "readability" have a lot of sway in JTRPGs? Is it more important to have clarity of rules and presentation or having a truly epic toilet read when it comes to rulebooks over there?
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Jun 14, 2012 20:31
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Potsticker posted:Looks like the Tenra Bansho kickstarter is just about upon us. http://www.tenra-rpg.com/blog/?p=241 Hell yes. Not only for the Tenra launch, but... Ewen, is the GSS Kickstarter still going up after the TB release?
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Jul 28, 2012 17:51
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I'm going to slap the Tenra Kickstarter in the OP as soon as it launches. Anyone know of anything that should accompany it?mikeycp posted:I am also way down to throw money at those books. There were at least two projects working on it, one in this thread and someone slightly more official at least considering it. Whether anything's happened I dunno, 'cause it's been all quiet on the Meikyuu front ever since.
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Aug 7, 2012 22:03
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Kickstarter link is in the OP. That $2800 mark is seriously cool, and a tiny pathetic part of me is a little sad it got sniped before I got around to it.
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Aug 18, 2012 00:35
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Dice plus campaign setting plus the bonus content plus Director's Cut! You totally want the $70 level. It's what I did.
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Aug 18, 2012 01:05
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shoplifter posted:Seriously, do this. It'd be a crime for a book as pretty as Ryuutama not to have a super-snazzy physical copy, and I want to throw money at such a project as hard as my noodley little nerd arms can manage.
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Aug 21, 2012 23:28
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Must use only two six-sided dice. ProfessorProf, I put your description of Ryuutama into the OP. I'm psyched up for the Tenra release, but more than anything, I hope it opens up a flood of J-games for translation and distribution, so we all get to try this stuff. E: Also if the high school monster fighting package doesn't get called Tenra Bancho Zero, I'm gonna cry.
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Sep 9, 2012 21:31
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I got hit with the payment hiccup too, but I also had to cancel and reissue my credit card in the interim. Anyone know how long you've got to change your payment information before you're shut out of the pledge? E: For anyone else with similar problems, word on the internet is that you've got about a week to fix your order. grassy gnoll fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Sep 17, 2012 |
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Sep 17, 2012 01:12
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Okay, I'm still reading through the rules, but something's striking me as really weird here. Karma, at first glance, is a really cool system for experience. A little surprisingly fatalistic, since you buy the farm at 108, but you get to play that knife edge game of increasing power at the risk of sudden death/demonification. That's really cool, and I'm really liking it. Fates as a method of managing your karma works too, on the surface of things. But why exactly is changing your fate by doing nothing with it in the system that manages your karma? Parts of it are perfectly sensible - you defuse your karma buildup by accomplishing your long-term goals, like killing your sworn enemy, or building the castle, or falling in love, etc. But why can you sublimate stuff you've been given by other players because you just haven't used it or cared much for it? Say I'm Joe-san, a peasant dragged away by his lord's armies to fight in the wars. I decide Joe's fates are to kill the lord that caused his misery in the war, and to return to his village and resume his life, two Goals. Bob, my fellow player, decides that Joe-san has a dark Secret. I need the aiki, so I agree, but secretly think this is a dumb idea. I sublimate the Secret next chance I get, and I get to knock off some karma because of it. Was I just rewarded for being a disagreeable jackass, or am I missing something?
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Oct 8, 2012 11:22
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DiamondSutra posted:Hope that helps. Somewhat. It's good to know that aiki is a lot more common than I'm assuming. I guess the tl;dr version is that it's great that you get a mechanical reward for resolving your fates in-game, and it's great that you can ditch fates that aren't interesting anymore, but it seems weird that you get rewarded for getting rid of the uninteresting stuff just as much as if you'd put time and effort into playing out that fate in the game.
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Oct 8, 2012 21:40
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Fair enough. Given that I'm basically demanding to know why I'm not being told to work harder for my fun, I'm gonna chalk it up to it's me, I'm the grognard, etc. Game owns bones otherwise, though. Andy, have you gotten any proofs in? Is it possible the books are going to be just as lush and pretty as I hope?
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Oct 8, 2012 23:25
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Sort of on that note - Mikan, how long were you guys playing for, and does it seem like once everyone is familiar with the system, you really can run through a whole adventure in four to six hours?
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Oct 11, 2012 00:09
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I think you'd have to ask Ewen or Andy, 'cause I don't know of that many people who've played Ryuutama. Is there a translation kicking around out there, apart from the old limited release? Hey, Ewen, any further news on GSS? I'm guessing you've been busy with Channel A lately.
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Oct 18, 2012 06:29
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DiamondSutra posted:(Kickstarter) Coming Early 2013! (after Tenra is "book in hand") I knew that was in the pipe; I'm already saving my pennies for some high level of backing I probably can't afford. Is that going to have a similar turnaround time as Tenra? Ewen Cluney posted:For GSS we're currently nailing down final details for the Kickstarter and getting final proofing done on the layout. I know I've been saying "Soon!" forever, but we are in fact inching closer. It's at a stage where I have to depend on a bunch of other people, which means I get to play cat herder. Sweet. I am also looking forward to coughing up money for GSS as well. I guess I've got the same question for you: how far along is the project once it goes up on Kickstarter? Will you be waiting for final funding tallies and then straight to the printers, or will there be more work to do?
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Oct 19, 2012 02:00
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Now is as good a time as any to mention that Andy and company have a podcast about this weird little subset of the hobby, at http://j-rpg.com/ If you're reading this thread you probably backed TBZ, and already got that email. But hey, what the hell.
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Dec 4, 2012 01:19
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If you guys can post a list of things you need done, I'd be glad to stick it in the OP. I may also be able to help out, depending on what you need.
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Jan 6, 2013 22:27
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For the record, is there any commercial Meikyuu translation project going on right now?
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Mar 27, 2013 02:56
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Say I want to get my hands on an original copy. Is Amazon Japan going to be my best bet? Are there digital options?
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Mar 27, 2013 06:08
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Bitchtits McGee posted:The core books I scanned are still up on Dropbox, if you're looking to try it yourself. I might be terminally stupid, but I can't find a link in the thread. Could you post it or PM it to me? At the very least, I know a translator friend of mine who's out of work at the moment. I figure it's worth it to see how many decades of buying their drinks this would take. Unrelated to Meikyuu, are we gonna see a transcript from today's GSS thingy?
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Mar 28, 2013 00:15
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Congratulations on getting funded, Ewen. I'm going to chip in once I get off work. First post's been updated with the Kickstarter link.
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Apr 19, 2013 03:23
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At the risk of being nosy, if you're hurting for stretch goals, why not eventually make all the settings and have them pop every however-many-thousand bucks? Concentrate on releasing them as digital material to keep your costs down initially, and then if you really want them in print form, make that a stretch goal too. If you compiled them as a softcover in black and white, like the little Dungeon World supplements, it'd probably be pretty doable on the cheap. You can still keep the voting, even, just make it into release order.
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Apr 20, 2013 20:45
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Mikan posted:Mine came in today If you've got time to gloat, you've got time to ship my copy of Last Stand!  Director's Commentary is pretty great, especially for something as weird as translating an RPG, let alone developing one. I'd like to see more of this stuff in my RPG bonuses.
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May 16, 2013 19:41
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TBZ came in, it owns, but now I want Ryutama even more. If you aren't reading ProfessorProf's writeup, you're missing the hell out.
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May 25, 2013 21:58
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Those look really awesome, and I wish my upgrade hadn't disappeared into the ether*. I'll admit I'm a little afraid about the long-term durability of a big fat paperback. All the more reason to spend big on Ryutama, I guess. (*I really thought I'd bought the post-KS upgrade, but nothin' on my statements and no confirmation email, so I guess I got brain worms or something. Nothing on Andy or the fulfillment process here.)
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May 29, 2013 01:32
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How does the typical Japanese TTRPG match our notions of creator-owned properties, anyway? I'm getting the impression the indie RPG scene in the West, where developer, layout artist and publisher are often the same person, doesn't have a direct analog. BTW, Ewen, since the game isn't officially out yet, what's your stance on someone running a forums game of GSS? Presumably everyone playing wouldn't be a total bastard and would be official backers, but there's no absolute controls on that kind of thing.
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Jun 22, 2013 01:46
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OP is updated with Meikyuu and Ryuutama links to reflect the ongoing development and translation of each. As always, if anyone else actually knows what the gently caress they're talking about, unlike myself, you are welcome to forge a new thread.
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Nov 4, 2013 03:53
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boblemoche posted:Just chiming in to say I just bought the french edition of Ryuutama, and it is both gorgeous and very interesting. I cannot properly express the degree of my envy right now. At least Andy's got good turnaround time when Chinese New Year isn't rearing its head. Unrelated, is the general consensus that the DX supplement is worth it? I'm not entirely decided on picking it up, since my money's on fire right now.
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Dec 4, 2013 03:23
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It's Christmas in Christmastime! The Ryuutama rough cut is out for backers!
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Dec 24, 2013 07:28
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The books haven't gone to print yet, so nothing's totally final. Andy's a pretty stand-up guy, and if you contact him directly and explain that Paypal gave you the shaft, you might be able to work something out.
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Dec 27, 2013 06:43
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That'd be tremendously convenient, but is it strictly legal?
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Mar 13, 2014 23:51
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Don't worry, friends! Come the Meikyuu Kingdom, mechanics will be interesting AND enjoyable! Can I get an amen? In seriousness, I have to wonder if it's down to a difference in national culture or game culture. On one hand, you've got a situation where you basically play one-shots in wherever you can find enough space, whenever you can scrounge the time, so maybe there's not enough time to really suss out what's weird or not working with any given system. On the other hand, I feel like the authors of these systems make some assumptions that are just not in line with what I'm used to - I haven't had to reread rules sections of any of my wRPG books like this since I was into Rifts. Or hell, maybe it's just weird translations sometimes.
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Mar 17, 2014 21:19
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Isn't the version of TBZ we got the second iteration, though?
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Mar 18, 2014 03:37
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The time has come to run a game of Ryuutama, but I dno't really know where to start. "You are here, go here" doesn't seem to really have that magic spark. Anybody have any experience with this thing, and what worked and what didn't?
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Jun 21, 2014 15:28
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ron_paul_its_happening.gif.png
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Jun 27, 2014 02:50
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Eagerly anticipating Sword World Next and Lodoss 2016.
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Jul 2, 2014 15:12
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Or hell, make an entirely new JTRPG thread if you feel like it. Pretty much all I'm going to do with this one at this stage will be to update the OP when translated stuff is announced or released.
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Aug 5, 2014 17:18
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CBG Spender should not be rendered as an anime, thank you. As content, who is Ver. Blue? I guess I'm used to the other major translators posting here.
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Aug 8, 2014 16:46
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