Depending On Your Stance On Smorgasbords of Delicious Facts
Earlier this week we informed you of a Kickstarter going on from the good people at Third Editions. Presently, they’re looking for funding to translate the second volumes of a series of books into English. This is all well and good, but how are you to care of such things, if you’re not sufficiently invested in the series already? Thankfully for you, I have acquired copies of the first books in each series. I can say, with a modicum of authority, that these books are worth the translation costs.
First up is The Legend of Final Fantasy VII: Creation – Universe – Decryption. For those of you who have played FFVII, you know that the story isn’t exactly light and breezy. In fact, I had to play through it multiple times in order to get a proper idea of what the hell was happening. Even then, it feels like there’s some gaps in my understanding. This book seeks to answer any lingering questions you may have about the plot, while bombarding you with facts and histories. Even if you’re a bonafide superfan, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter some new information while reading this book.
Next we have Zelda: The History of a Legendary Saga Volume 1. Like the other books, there’s gonna be hordes of information in here you’ve never seen before, unless you’re an obsessive gaming historian. If you are, there’s a chance you’re actually one of the authors of these books. For example, I knew that Miyamoto based the original Legend of Zelda on, among other things, his own explorations and journeys as a young man. I did not know that the game was originally going to be a coin-op arcade title. The rest of the book is an assemblage of interviews and quotes pulled from every possible source. Everything from the character’s names to the world maps to the dungeons is discussed in great detail. As a lifelong Zelda fan, this book is a treasure trove of information.
Finally, there’s Dark Souls: Beyond The Grave Volume 1. Many people play these games without touching on even a fraction of the lore. The reason for this being that it’s not easy to find. You need to do a lot of searching to find every part of the Dark Souls story, scattered as it is among items and NPCs. This book gathers said lore from each of the first three games, along with the history of their creation. On top of that, more so than the other two books, there’s a focus on gameplay. You can’t dive into something like Dark Souls without spending a lot of time on the mechanics. Without those essential bones and muscles, these games wouldn’t be the industry-changers they’ve become. Fair warning, however: Reading too much of this book will likely see you diving into the games themselves. Unless the prospect of losing days and weeks to this formidable series is an enticing prospect. In that case, have at ‘er, I guess.
The Kickstarter campaign is already making excellent progress, and there’s still a month or so left. The lowest tier you can select will get you one of the new books, though it’s a bit of a hefty buy-in as a result. Still, if the first books in each series are any indication, it’s a sound investment. If nothing else, they’re a convenient assemblage of all the lore and history you could ask for on some landmark franchises.