A glorious digital tome collecting concept art and creator commentary from the development of the newest entry in the Samurai Shodown saga. Since 1993, SNK has rocked the fighting-game world with the visceral combat, iconic characters, and dynamic settings of Samurai Shodown! Now, The Art of Samurai Shodown offers unique insights into the making of the long-awaited revival of the classic fighting franchise. This volume contains nearly 700 documents and illustrations that were used to create the blockbuster game, showcasing this latest episode in thrilling hyper-detail! Dark Horse Books and SNK welcome you to explore this beautiful and dangerous world with this striking, in-depth look at the game that embodies the samurai spirit!

The third in a series about home video games, this detailed reference work features descriptions and reviews of every official U.S.-released game for the Neo Geo, Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16, which, in 1989, ushered in the 16-bit era of gaming. Organized alphabetically by console brand, each chapter includes a description of the game system followed by substantive entries for every game released for that console. Video game entries include historical information, gameplay details, the author's critique, and, when appropriate, comparisons to similar games. Appendices list and offer brief descriptions of all the games for the Atari Lynx and Nintendo Game Boy, and catalogue and describe the add-ons to the consoles covered herein--Neo Geo CD, Sega CD, Sega 32X and TurboGrafx-CD.

After John Blackthorne shipwrecks in Japan, he makes himself useful to a feudal lord in a power struggle with another and becomes a samurai.

With nearly three years of research utilized to compile game lists and thousands of hours used to play and review the games listed within, Video Game Bible is the most comprehensive source of information on video games released in the U.S. since 1985 ever created. Prices are based on realistic figures compiled by interviewing hundreds of large collectors and game store owners, and offer a realistic guideline to be followed by both collectors and video gamers looking to complete their collections. While numerous guides have been compiled on the subject of classic video games, this book offers coverage of video game consoles releases after 1985, known as the "neo-classics". With 39 systems in total, Video Game Bible offers the largest guide to date. With the recent proliferation of video game collecting into the mainstream, it is necessary to have a standard by which games are valued. This is the first installment in a series of guides intended to offer full coverage of every video game ever made worldwide. Video game consoles are grouped together by the company that made them for easy reference. In addition to the table of contents, which lists each section separately, there are corner tabs to make browsing the guide even more convenient. Thousands of new facts are offered within the pages of this book, as are thousands of reviews and overviews. Written in a lighthearted manner, chapters of this guide that may not pertain to a particular collector will still be enjoyable for intelligent readers. An easy to use reference guide suitable for any age, this guide is sure to be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in video game collecting, video game history, and even for the casual video game fan interested in learning more about the hobby. Editor-In Chief: Andy Slaven Staff Writers: Micheal Collins, Lucus Barnes, Vincent Yang Contributing Writers: Charlie Reneke, Joe Kudrna

The Video Games Guide is the world's most comprehensive reference book on computer and video games. Presented in an A to Z format, this greatly expanded new edition spans fifty years of game design--from the very earliest (1962's Spacewar) through the present day releases on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC. Each game entry includes the year of release, the hardware it was released on, the name of the developer/publisher, a one to five star quality rating, and a descriptive review which offers fascinating nuggets of trivia, historical notes, cross-referencing with other titles, information on each game's sequels and of course the author's views and insights into the game. In addition to the main entries and reviews, a full-color gallery provides a visual timeline of gaming through the decades, and several appendices help to place nearly 3,000 games in context. Appendices include: a chronology of gaming software and hardware, a list of game designers showing their main titles, results of annual video game awards, notes on sourcing video games, and a glossary of gaming terms.

Discover the path to the big leagues It's time to prove all those people who said “video games are a waste of time” wrong. Esports has rewarded top gamers with prize money, glory, and even college scholarships. Want to get in on the action? This book puts you on the path to get your share of the growing world of esports. It helps you figure out the gear you need to be competitive, the games that drive esports, how to break into competitive play, and how to use online platforms to get attention. Written by the esports program director at the first Division I university to field an esports team, this book defines and demystifies the complex world of competitive video gaming. Get the gear for your first esports battles Gain recognition for your skills online or in tournaments Discover the path to earning scholarships in esports Build your online identity Get the insider tips you need to make your name in the esports universe.

Christians are a tiny minority in Japan, less than one percent of the total population. Yet Christianity is ubiquitous in Japanese popular culture. From the giant mutant “angels” of the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise to the Jesus-themed cocktails enjoyed by customers in Tokyo’s Christon café, Japanese popular culture appropriates Christianity in both humorous and unsettling ways. By treating the Western religion as an exotic cultural practice, Japanese demonstrate the reversibility of cultural stereotypes and force us to reconsider common views of global cultural flows and East-West relations. Of particular interest is the repeated reappearance in modern fiction of the so-called “Christian century” of Japan (1549–1638), the period between the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries and the last Christian revolt before the final ban on the foreign religion. Literary authors as different as Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, Endō Shūsaku, Yamada Fūtarō, and Takemoto Novala, as well as film directors, manga and anime authors, and videogame producers have all expressed their fascination with the lives and works of Catholic missionaries and Japanese converts and produced imaginative reinterpretations of the period. In Holy Ghosts, Rebecca Suter explores the reasons behind the popularity of the Christian century in modern Japanese fiction and reflects on the role of cross-cultural representations in Japan. Since the opening of the ports in the Meiji period, Japan’s relationship with Euro-American culture has oscillated between a drive towards Westernization and an antithetical urge to “return to Asia.” Exploring the twentieth-century’s fascination with the Christian Century enables Suter to reflect on modern Japan’s complex combination of Orientalism, self-Orientalism, and Occidentalism. By looking back at a time when the Japanese interacted with Europeans in ways that were both similar to and different from modern dealings, fictional representations of the Christian century offer an opportunity to reflect critically not only on cross-cultural negotiation but also more broadly on both Japanese and Western social and political formations. The ghosts of the Christian century that haunt modern Japanese fiction thus prompt us to rethink conventional notions of East-West exchanges, mutual representations, and power relations, complicating our understanding of global modernity.