Family Computer 1983-1994 Book Review - Gaming Historian

While doing research, I occasionally come
across new books to pick up for my library. My most recent pickup is a book
that only came out in Japan. And keep in mind... I can't read Japanese.

But all of the text in this book has
already been translated into English. This is "Family Computer 1983-1994" by the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. Published by Ota Publishing in 2004, it may just be the greatest book
about the Famicom ever made. It contains pictures and information on
every single Famicom game released, as well as interviews with
big-time Japanese developers.

Let's take a look! Let's start with the outside. There's a paper cover on the front with a nice
black-and-white shot of Super Mario Bros. When you remove the paper cover, it's just plain red. Not very exciting, but I'm more concerned with what's inside.

Within the first few pages, we find an introduction
written by former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who passed away in 2013. Now, I don't think I've ever come across
anything written by Yamauchi before, and he was known for being somewhat
harsh and intimidating while running Nintendo. Well, that definitely shines through in this write-up, as he recalls that the video game crash was
caused by a flood of games that were, quote, "trash." It's a good read, as he takes you
through the days of the Famicom, as well as what he thinks of the
future for video game consoles. So the core of this book is comprised
mostly of information about Famicom games.

The more notable ones get full-page coverage, while the smaller ones get a little
paragraph or just basic information. In the header of each write-up,
you'll see the title of the game, release date, publisher and maybe my favorite part: the price of the game when it was released. It was interesting to see the price differences, especially between cartridges
and disk system games. The write-ups on the games themselves are varied.

Some are pretty basic and just
describe the game in general, but even these are written in an entertaining way. Others offer some pretty good insight. As I said earlier, every single Famicom game is in here. Although many of the games are
grouped together in one big photo.

My favorite part of the book is,
of course, the interviews. "Family Computer 1983-1994" features
interviews with several big names, including... Shigeru Miyamoto,
creator of Mario, Satoshi Tajiri,
the creator of Pokmon, Shigesato Itoi,
the creator of Earthbound, Yugi Naka,
the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Hideo Kajima,
the creator of the Metal Gear series. The interviews are centered around
their experiences with the Famicom, but they do talk about their own works as well.

This is really good stuff, and I'll definitely be using these
interviews for research in future episodes. There's also a hardware section, but it's not very exciting. It's just a large photo of different hardware
with basic explanations of each item. I feel like this section should have had
more information and history on the Famicom.

In the back, there a few write-ups
from Japanese game journalists. One in particular that I like focuses
on the evolution of baseball games. Most may not find this fascinating, but it goes into a lot of detail about
my favorite baseball game ever: R.B.I. Baseball, also known as Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium.

The book ends with an index section. However, it's completely in Japanese. So if you can't read kanji, you won't get any use out of it. Now, the English translation isn't perfect, but you'll still be able to understand everything.

And, in a way, the spotty translation
adds some charm to the book. For the vast information on Famicom games, as well as the developer interviews, this book is well worth it. Now, you will have to import it from Japan but, surprisingly, the price is reasonable. I was able to get my copy for $30 and...

That included shipping. Now the book is out of print, so you will
have to search Amazon or eBay for a copy. "Family Computer 1983-1994" is so well done, and it's very clear the writers
have a passion for the Famicom. I urge you, if you do not already have this book, go get it before it's too late.

That's all for this episode of Gaming Historian. Thanks for watching! [Clarinet jazz music].