NES exhibit catalog now available

TOKYO--Upset you couldn’t make it to the NES retrospective now in progress at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography? Well, fortunately for frustrated Nintendo fans not able to attend the show in Tokyo, Japan’s Ohta publishing has released a catalog for the exhibit, and is selling it on http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4872338030/ref=sr_aps_b_/250-9001530-1976223Amazon’s Japanese Web site.

Titled “Family Computer 1983-1994,” the catalog includes photographs and publication information for all 1,252 games included in the exhibit, with commentary on the most significant entries. This fascinating look at Japan’s gaming history also has interviews with game industry pioneers and forewords from Hiroshi Yamauchi (Nintendo’s CEO), and the exhibit curator, Yuki Denda.

There’s really only one fault with this volume: the quality of the English translation. Some of the game write-ups are difficult to understand, for example, the description of Gradius, which begins like this. “The more power you gained, the better it was. That allowed you to speed up the craft to the 4th gear, and fly like light to the border of the screen.” Moreover, although the catalog has an index of games, this useful feature wasn’t translated into English, so non-Japanese-speaking readers will have difficulty finding specific games.

Fortunately, a different translator seems to have handled the interviews; they are easier to follow and provide some interesting insights. For instance, Yuji Naka’s comments on the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog: “Obviously, it is not that easy to exceed [Super Mario Brothers], so we held a meeting and decided to create something using a different kind of sense, and not something similar to ‘Super Mario Brothers.’ Actually, there was one thing I didn’t like about ‘Super Mario Brothers;’ it was the sense of speed…”

Following traditional Japanese etiquette, the catalog also features an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer of Super Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong, and other venerable Nintendo franchises. Additional interview subjects include Hideo Kojima, Shigesato Itoi (of the famous RPG Mother), Yuji Horii, Kouichi Nakamura, and Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori of Pokemon fame.

All in all, the catalog is an attractive package that collects a lot of information one would be hard-pressed to find through other sources. At 2,500 yen ($23), it makes for a valuable additional to any gamer's library--or an interesting gift for the hardcore gamer on your list.