With a dozen games released over the past 20 years, The Legend of Heroes is a mainstay of Japanese RPGs from pioneering game developer Nihon Falcom. Now, the gorgeous character art from the newest games in this legendary series is collected in this prestigious volume. Included in this collection are rough sketches, character artwork, expression charts, and more from The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Blue, Trails of Zero, and all three Trails in the Sky chapters.
"With a dozen games released over the past 20 years, The Legend of Heroes is a mainstay of Japanese RPGs [role playing games] ... the ... illustrations are collected in this volume. Included in this collection are pinups, story artwork and rough concepts"--Publisher's description.
The “golden brat” Reinhard von Lohengramm, a military prodigy and admiral of the Galactic Empire, has ambitions beyond protecting the borders or even defeating the empire’s enemies. He seeks to overthrow the old order and become a truly absolute—yet benevolent—dictator. His rival, the humble Yang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance, wishes to preserve democracy even if he must sacrifice his political ideals to defeat the empire. Their political and military battles play out over a galactic chessboard in an epic saga fifteen centuries in the making! -- VIZ Media
A Heart Divided is the fourth and final volume in Jin Yong’s high stakes, tension-filled epic Legends of the Condor Heroes, where kung fu is magic, kingdoms vie for power and the battle to become the ultimate kung fu master unfolds. China: 1200 A.D. Guo Jing and Lotus have escaped Qiu Qianren’s stronghold, but at a steep price: Lotus has been mortally wounded. The only one who could save her life is Duan, King of the South, a man skilled and renowned for his healing. But little do they know that danger awaits, including a plan to tear them apart. As the Mongol armies descend on China, Guo Jing will have to make the toughest decision of all—rejoin the people who raised him to avenge his father or fight against his homeland. The ultimate battle for China and Guo Jing’s future plays out in the sweeping, high stakes adventure of A Heart Divided, where one choice can change the world.
The epic Chinese classic and phenomenon published in the US for the first time! Featured in iO9's 2019 Fall Preview. Set in ancient China, in a world where kung fu is magic, kingdoms vie for power and the battle to become the ultimate kung fu master unfolds, an unlikely hero is born... in the first book in the epic Legends of the Condor Heroes by the critically acclaimed master of the genre, Jin Yong. After his father—a devoted Song patriot—is murdered by the Jin empire, Guo Jing and his mother flee to the plains of Ghengis Khan and his people for refuge. For one day he must face his mortal enemy in battle in the Garden of the Drunken Immortals. Under the tutelage of Genghis Khan and The Seven Heroes of the South, Guo Jing hones his kung fu skills. Humble, loyal and perhaps not always wise, Guo Jing faces a destiny both great and terrible. However, in a land divided—and a future largely unknown—Guo Jing must navigate love and war, honor and betrayal before he can face his own fate and become the hero he’s meant to be. Legends of the Condor Heroes A Hero Born A Bond Undone A Snake Lies Waiting A Heart Divided
In the thirty-sixth century humanity has conquered the galaxy and colonized countless star systems. The Galactic Empire, modeled along Prussian lines, and the democratic Free Planets Alliance are at war, and the fate of every human being in the universe hangs in the balance. This classic Japanese space opera, adapted into a legendary anime, is finally available in English for the first time. After a coup d'état erupts in the Free Planets Alliance, military strategist Yang Wen-li is ordered to use his tactical wizardry to put down the rebellion, but the ringleader holding the capital is someone he once trusted deeply. Meanwhile, in the Galactic Empire, Reinhard will soon face a new trial, as in the wake of the emperor's death he stands amidst an intensifying power struggle among the aristocracy. The unbeatable magician and the unstoppable genius: the battles these heroes wage will send shock waves across the galaxy!
A Snake Lies Waiting is the next in Jin Yong's high stakes, tension-filled epic Legends of the Condor Heroes series, where kung fu is magic, kingdoms vie for power and the battle to become the ultimate kung fu master unfolds. Guo Jing has confronted Apothecary Huang, his sweetheart Lotus Huang's father, on Peach Blossom Island, and bested the villainous Gallant Ouyang in the three trials to win the hand of his beloved. But now, along with his two friends and shifus, Zhou Botong of the Quanzhen Sect, and Count Seven Hong, Chief of the Beggar Clan, he has walked into another trap. Tricked into boarding a unseaworthy barge by Apothecary Huang, the three friends will surely drown unless Lotus—who has overheard her father's plans—can find a way to save them. Yet even if they are to survive the voyage, great dangers lie in wait on the mainland. Viper Ouyang, the gallant's uncle and one of the Five Greats of the martial world, is determined to have his revenge on Guo Jing for getting the better of his nephew, and bent on becoming the most powerful master of the wulin. Meanwhile, Yang Kang, who Guo Jing has come to trust, has yet to reveal the full extent of his treachery.
Discover all the secrets and mechanics of the famous Japanese video game Dragon Quest ! This book looks back at the entire Dragon Quest saga, tells the story of the series' birth, retraces its history and deciphers its mechanics. In this book, the author shares us all his expertise and his passion in Japanese gaming to decipher the creation and the story of this saga and his creator, Yuji Horii. EXTRAIT Even with only limited knowledge of Japanese and somewhat difficult technical conditions, the story was very well told. This was perhaps what surprised players most. Dragon Quest V is a large family cycle of emotions, as transparent as an epic tale by Alexandre Dumas, the author of famous works such as The Three Musketeers. In the end, I was lucky that my first taste of the series was this excellent episode, since VI was far more extravagant, with its tales of parallel universes and heroes traveling on flying beds. A slightly puzzling game, but not without levity nor offbeat humor. One of the most emotional moments of Dragon Quest V is when we end up going back in time to change the past, thus saving the future. The time travel theme has been so often used in science fiction, particularly during the 1980s, that it should have left me impassive. It was not even the first time I had experienced it in a video game. But this adventure, with its simple graphics and persistent melodies, glanced lightly upon feelings that leave no one unmoved. “What would I have done differently if I could have changed things” is a very common concept used in fiction, from A Distant Neighborhood by Jirô Taniguchi to the Quantum Leap series. Well-told, it is so simple and so effective that it affects each and every one of us. CE QU'EN PENSE LA CRITIQUE Un libre passionnant que j'ai dévoré au point de rogner sur mes heures de sommeil. Ici, l'auteur ne nous bassine pas avec des tartines de textes pour nous conter avec détails l'histoire de chaque épisode, les ventes incommensurables de la série ou encore un almanach des jeux estampillés DraQue. - Kaisermeister, Sens Critique Un livre plein d’anecdotes qui feront vibrer votre corde nostalgique et qui donne envie, une fois terminé, de replonger dans l'aventure. - neotsubasa, Sens Critique C'est une biographie très détaillée, riche en anecdotes et bien romancée, Yuji Horii est un personnage fascinant au CV bien rempli et la genèse de la saga est tout aussi passionnante à tel point que j'ai parfois eu du mal à décrocher. - Nixotane, Sens Critique À PROPOS DE L'AUTEUR Daniel Andreyev is an author and journalist of Russian origin. His career in video game journalism began twenty years ago, during the golden years of video gaming, with Player One, Consoles + and Animeland, with a particular interest in Japan. Having spent some time on translation, he is now part of the New Games Journalism movement, which places the player at the heart of the video game experience. He produces the After Hate and Super Ciné Battle podcasts. He also trades memories with his friends in Gaijin Dash, the Gamekult show on Japanese video games. He is a fan of far too many things to list them all here. But when he is not writing, not watching a movie, not reading comics and graphic novels, not climbing mountains or exploring ruined buildings, he might be cooking, exercising or dreaming of one day owning a dog.
Featuring over 80 full-color portraits of the pioneering legends of American comic books, including publishers, editors and artists from the industry’s birth in the ’30s, through the brilliant artists and writers of behind EC Comics in the ’50s. All lovingly rendered and chosen by Drew Friedman, a cartooning legend in his own right. Featuring subjects popular and obscure, men and women, as well as several pioneering African-American artists. Each subject features a short essay by Friedman, who grew up knowing many of the subjects included (as the son of writer Bruce Jay Friedman), including Stan Lee, Harvey Kurtzman, Will Eisner, Mort Drucker, Al Jaffee, Jack Davis, Will Elder, and Bill Gaines. More names you might recognize: Barks, Crumb, Wood, Wolverton, Frazetta, Siegel & Shuster, Kirby, Cole, Ditko, Werthem… it’s a Hall of Fame of comic book history from the man BoingBoing.com call “America’s greatest living portrait artist!”
Celebrating over 25 years of Ys, the flagship series of Japanese RPG publisher Nihon Falcom! Ys: The Art Book collects the fantastic artwork of more than a dozen titles in the Ys franchise, from the original game all the way up to the brand-new Ys: Memories of Celceta. Includes pinups, character designs, rare concept art, and more!
