game girl advance: Losing in Translation

Losing in Translation

Chris Hecker emailed me last week: "Masaya Matsuura sent us a copy of Mojibribbon. Doug and I are going to play it. But you need to come translate."

This is one game that won't be ported to North America or Europe. It's far too Japanese. Developed by the auteur Masaya Matsuura at his niche company NanaOn-sha (home of the inimitable Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy), it's a game in which you write kana to the rhythm of a Japanese rap.

Yeah, it's as weird as it sounds. But more beautiful than you can imagine.

Gameplay is devastatingly simple to pick up: you use the analog stick to create words in rhythm. You move it up to ink your brush, and press down to write. If you don't have enough ink on your brush, the letter are light and hard to read; if you have too much, they letters are blotchy. If you press down too lightly you skip a letter; if you press too hard, the letters come out thick and clumsy. I've never seen a game before that made aesthetic harmony the goal of the game.

The goals of the game are reminiscent of the artistic values of "the superb aesthetes in the twilight of their rule" to borrow Helen McCullough's phrase from the preface to her translation of the medieval romance, Yoshitsune. The Heian/Nara period saw a flourishing of refined elite culture among court aristocrats. Men and women of rank judged each other on their skills in poetry, dress, and calligraphy. Mojibrobbon draws from that culture, not only implicitly through the leveling-up conditions but also through the storyline, which is written in an old-fashioned classical style and references Japanese mythology.

The game also makes you a poet: the player can create new files with new words, which the in-game voice recognition software will chant out for you during gameplay. It is possible to write in English, although you must specify whether you'd like the voice to try to speak the words or just say the letters. After unlocking level nine, it becomes possible to send your poems as playable levels to your friends through the Mojibribbon network. This is also an echo of the poetry-exchange tradition in aristocratic circles in Japan. Sei Shonagon, the genteel author of The Pillow Book, carried out entire epistulary love affairs through poems passed back and forth. Not only were the words critical, of course, but she judged the writer also on his hand, his choice of paper, and his timing.

That rarefied world of aesthetic refinement has faded from the earth. The values of a class that was dying even then, overshadowed by the vigor of provincial warriors who studied the blade, not the pen, are disappeared. But perhaps a trace of that remains, improbable as it may seem, in this beautiful, lighthearted, playful game.

The Bell of Gion Monastery tolls
The impermanence of all wordly things
The color of sal blossoms shows the truth that
Even the most prosperous inevitably decline
The proud will fall like a dream on a spring night.
The valiant must perish, too, as
Frail as dust blown by a puff of wind.

- Heike Monogatari

Posted by jane at December 17, 2003 11:21 AM

That rarefied world of aesthetic refinement has faded from the earth.

Was it ever ON the earth?

Not to go all Marx about it, but the only reason those palace fops could spend their days folding paper and perfecting their calligraphy was that masses of average folks worked long and hard to maintain the luxeries of their pampered class.

I will say the game looks enchanting. It would be nice to see a "What the hell..." release in the US. Alternately, you could do a Western alphabet version, I think. How about one with old Nordic Runes or hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt?

Posted by: BrainFromArous on December 18, 2003 05:36 PM

Not to go all Smith about it, but those Hollywood fops could only look so young and fabulous because of the masses of average folks who worked long and hard for their movie ticket. Not to mention the politicians and government contracts, Enron and your retirement money, the CEO taking 1000x your salary...

And my fellow American fops with their big gas guzzling cars, their insane water/water/food/energy waste, rampant consumerism can only sustain such gluttony on the back of masses of developing world factory workers, and the lungs of our grandchildren.

Inequality is still with us today. But we're at a time where the cultural output of a long extinct exclusionist class can be enjoyed by most. And we can be thankful for that. Now my peasant self is now going to see the 'Return of the King', and picture myself in it.

Posted by: mfb on December 18, 2003 06:47 PM

Inequality is still with us today. But we're at a time where the cultural output of a long extinct exclusionist class can be enjoyed by most.

Another thing to thank Capitalism for. :)

I still think the game might sell here. Not GTA3 numbers, to be sure, but with the right approach, you could interest people in it.

I know quite a few people who are fans of Opera yet do not speak Italian. Perhaps a similar appeal could be made, based on the visual appeal of the writing?

PS - Enron never got a dime of my money. I knew it was a house of cards from the get-go.

Posted by: BrainFromArous on December 18, 2003 07:43 PM

Plus, NTSC-UK has a good review if you want to know more.

It's sad that NanaOn-Sha don't have a decent fansite anywhere - I want to know about the exact differences between the US and Japanese versions of Um Jammer Lammy, I want someone to host streaming versions of some amazing Parappa and Lammy music videos I saw at GDC once, and I want to know more about the Parappa anime which showed in Japan - it's out on DVD now over there, but I've still never seen a fansub anywhere :(

On the plus side, Rodney Greenblat does have an excellent personal site - just check out some of the amazing goodies in his store which are Parappa or Lammy related. I guess he didn't have anything to do with Mojibribbon, mind you.

Posted by: simoniker on December 18, 2003 10:20 PM

I'm one of those "fringe" generic-white Americans wo would LOVE to see a game like this hit the shelves (I'm so sick of raceing/gun/sports games).
Something fresh needs to be injected into the American game market. I haven't seen anything all that "innovative" lately (although the amount of exercise I get from DDR is something I can newly appreciate-no more flabby thighs for me)!
As for cultural seperation-it's the only way for humans to be able to function. The "equality amongst everyone" was tried before-it was called Communisim. Looks good on paper but will never work (human nature won't allow it to). Which, quite frankly, is fine by me-I'm a HUGE commercialistic consumer and I LOVE it! I plan on being so for a VERY long time :)
So-now I'm gonna' set my burgoise butt down in the middle of a 4 story mall w/ a load of credit cards and go shopping for this holiday we farceingly call "Christmas"...and you know what? I'm savor every minute of it w/ pure, unadulterated glee.

Posted by: Momo on December 19, 2003 07:05 AM

Let me preface this comment by saying I haven't played mojibribbon yet.

However, I doubt the game pines for Heian aethetics as much as you make it seem. Your review seems more like a love affair with your Japanese literature courses than a critical examination of the game. Poem exchange, etc. continued way beyond the Heian aristocracy. How do these "implicitly [heian]" level up conditions really reflect the hallmarks of Heian aesthetic? Furthermore, it is obvious and somewhat trite to bring up, but a game focused on kana is a bit different from mainly manyoogana and chinese texts of the period. I am not saying that you aren't right, but I am saying that bringing up a McCullough translation, Sei Shonagon, and Heike does not a game review make. If you want to talk about Heian in games, talk about Heian IN GAMES.

Posted by: JP Kellams on January 1, 2004 09:08 PM