Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs in the West

Review

This was great. Moher does three things with the book that I think really help it work well. First, it’s a history of JRPGs in the west. This both narrows the scope and focuses the target. The author doesn’t need to discuss the Japanese market much and can focus on things that made a big impact in the west. A valid criticism is that “the west” often refers to America, but I think that is to some degree inevitable with how fractured the European market for much of the JRPG’s history. The second thing that helps the book succeed is that within that scope he’s not trying to cover every game but highlight ones that he feels are interesting, worth discussing, and had an impact on the west. The last and I think most important factor is this story is told through Moher’s personal history, these are mostly games he connected with and having that offers a very strong through line. The book functions as a pop history book because of the author’s personal touch, not in spite of it.

Consumption history1

1. Jan 12, 2026

   Completed★ 4 / 5

   audio