Aside from the games of Mike Pondsmith and R. Talsorian, I often find that, for many gamers, few other names even ring a bell when it comes to Anime and Manga style RPGs published in America (or available here at least).*
Of course this is not true but as a good deal of time has passed since the height of Anime/Manga gaming popularity**, it is easy to forget all that came before. Let's see if I can refresh your memories.
Big Eyes, Small Mouth
Probably the most successful and most well known Western RPG that is not mecha focused, Big Eyes, Small Mouth (or BESM), was first published in 1997 by the Canada based company Guardians of Order (now since defunct). Utilizing its own rule system, known as the Tri-Stat System, BESM attempted to be a sort of Anime/Manga GURPS. It was touted as a universal RPG system but one that distinctly maintained the flavor of Japanese comics and animation.
BESM was quite popular in its time and spawned two later editions as well as numerous supplements. Some focused on a particular genre or subgenre, such as their Science Fiction sourcebook 'Big Robots, Cool Starships', or specific settings, like S. John Ross's amazing Uresia, Grave of Heaven.
In addition, the game generated a number of popular licensed sourcebooks for Anime being made available in the United States. Sailor Moon, Slayers, Tenchi Muyo and a good number of other titles came out as sourcebooks and later 'Ultimate Fan Guides', which weren't so much RPG products as much as what they're name implies, guide books on the shows for the fans.
In 2003, amid the D20 craze generated by the Open Gaming License Wizards of the Coast had made available with Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition, Guardians of Order jumped on the bandwagon to create BESM D20. Opinions on whether or not this was a good idea in the long run are of course mixed.
The game's third edition had been delayed quite some time due to Guardians of Order going into bankruptcy. The companies properties were eventually purchased by Arthaus, a subsidiary of White Wolf and BESM Third Edition was published in 2007.
While there is no denying the passion that went into making this game (it was by Otaku, for Otaku for sure), I never really took a shine to it in any of its forms. For one thing, for a game called 'Tri-Stat' (Which implied to me the simplicity of only three stats or attributes) it seemed a very crunchy and clunky system. While its basic mechanic was simple enough, roll two D6 and add the appropriate stat and/or skill as a modifier, the game was point based similar to Hero System or GURPS.
The idea was that you could take X amount of points and build a super agile, samurai sword wielding school girl while I took the same amount of points and built a telepathic, teenage mecha pilot. The problem was, for me, that while that's awesome for American Superheroes, is it necessary for Anime characters?
Furthermore, nothing amount the game's mechanics felt overly Anime and Manga-Themed. There were bits and pieces but it largely felt like the games creators and/or writers over analyzed the genre and tried too hard to translate the often over the top, ridiculousness of Japanese pop culture entertainment into exacting numbers.
BESM was a major player in the gaming hobby for quite some time and it remains a favorite for many trying to run RPG campaigns in an Anime and Manga influenced or even oriented setting. Unfortunately, it is not my personal cup of Sweat.
Matte, motto arimasu! Sugu ni modotte kuru!
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Barking Alien
*BESM comes from Canada.
**Bet you didn't know it had a height of popularity. Now you do.
I recently had the rare opportunity to run a one shot game for a good friend and his group, the majority of whom I knew but never really gamed with before. I was filling in for their regular GM who was unable to make their scheduled game day. As the group favors action oriented, multi-genre craziness such as superheroes, RIFTS and the like, I thought I would go old school-that-never-was and run a session of the Encounter Critical, my first ever stab as this game. Be prepared...I'm gonna open up a big o'can of Old School Renaissance blasphemy...
Now if you are not familiar with this rpg, please take a moment to read up on it before continuing on with my little tale of fail as I do not wish to cloud your judgement or opinion. Furthermore I want to go on record by saying that the game's creator, the amazing S. John Ross, is a genius of the highest order (and a darn nice guy).
If you're finished with your travels, please continue...
OK, so it goes without saying that I'm always up for trying something new and different, even if that new and different thing is an old school game styled similarly to the RPGs of yore. I have found memories of Gamma World, Metamorphosis Alpha and Space Opera, three games that combined together would make a gumbo that would somewhat resemble Encounter Critical. Sorta. Kinda sorta. Wait...I can't quite, with 100% certainty, picture Encounter Critical. That is, I can't see Vanth. Hmm...this could present a problem. I know its kind of got a Masters of the Universe/Thundarr the Barbarian vibe but...I never liked Masters of the Universe.
Oh crap...what am I getting myself into?
The rules have some awesome concepts (every other game with a Ranger or Scout class should look at EC's Pioneer class and tremble. D&D should just flat out beg forgiveness for calling their Ranger a Ranger). I like how each class can't raise a level until they achieve something significant to the class (Pioneer's must discover a new locale, Warlock's must transcribe a new spell into their grimoires, etc.). Largely though, for a one shot, only some of that matters. To the players it was just an old school D&D Basic era game with percentage skills. Unfortunately, it didn't wow anyone with innovation mechanically (I know, its not exactly meant to...read on).
So I had a world I couldn't get a lock on, rules that didn't really jazz us and I went in the completely wrong direction and played down the wonkiness in favor of trying to make the game 'make sense', at least to me. While the players had fun and laughs were shared by all, I was left feeling that horrible despair of a rare miss. I ran a game that was only...ok. What went wrong?
I spoke with the group afterward and they took a look at some of the materials (print outs of the PDF). All agreed that this was the wrong game for this group and this GM (me). What many see as a wild and wonky super-science meets magic world, these guys saw as hokey. Its strange but they had trouble taking the world of Vanth as something that could actually be. It was too weird and humorous for their "suspension of disbelief" but not humorous enough to be an actually comedy rpg. The group's average age didn't help either. These guys were in their 20's and 30's. They never played the old school games very much and grew up on modern comics, Manga/Anime and video games. Gamers my age may look upon EC with nostalgia and humor but these guys missed the in joke or simply didn't find it funny.
A major mistake I made was that I tried to create an understandable frame of reference so I opened with the group crashing their Traveller-esque Scout Ship on Vanth. After a while they felt like, "Dang. How soon can we fix the ship and get off this crazy planet and back to the Traveller universe?"
In the end, I like reading through Encounter Critical but I don't think I'll be running it again anytime soon. Some of the ideas in it are awesome but its just not my cup of joe. I'm going back to projects my players can take more seriously...like Galaxy Quest.
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Barking Alien
