Limited Run Games

Gameplay Harmonies (Hardcover)

Gameplay Harmonies (Hardcover) - Main image
$16.49 $24.99 In stock

Category: Books

Gameplay Harmonies: Japanese Recording Artists and the Video Games About Them by Brian Clark

Enter a bygone era of interactive entertainment when popular Japanese recording artists starred not only in films and music videos but in video games as well. Although these works rarely appeared outside of Japan, they spanned a wide array of genres including action platformers, adventure games, edutainment, and multimedia software. Often strange, always fascinating, these games mixed pure creativity and bizarre design decisions. Historian and translator Brian Clark has broken down the surprising links between Japan's video game and music industries in a decade-by-decade survey from the Nintendo Famicon to Sony's PlayStation 2 and beyond.

Customer Reviews (4.8 / 5 · 4 reviews)

Hannah M. ★★★★★

The cover art alone sold me, but the chapters on those obscure 90s tie-in games are what kept me up reading past midnight. As a hardcover it actually lies flat on my desk, which matters when you're flipping back to the artist discography at the end.

Sophia ★★★★★

I had no idea so many J-pop stars actually appeared in games back in the day, and the interviews here are genuinely fun to read. Ended up googling half the tracks it mentions.

Edward W. ★★★★★

The hardcover binding feels solid and the paper quality is better than I expected for the price. I had no idea how many Japanese recording artists actually starred in video games back in the day, and the photos scattered through the chapters are a nice touch.