King Of RPGs Volume 1
When I was around eight years old, I first got my hands on an RPG and ever since then I’ve been addicted to them; same goes for collecting rare battle cards, getting my first Warhammer kit, and now watching anime and manga. What King of RPGs does is take all of these activities and merge them into a story – but is this quest worth taking or will it torture you from beginning till end?
King of RPGs is written by Jason Thompson who is best known for his work on ‘ Manga: The Complete Guide’ and has edited various English editions of manga like Naruto, One Piece, and Shaman King. The artist is Victor Hao, who gives the art more of a Western manga feel.
The story starts off with a quick prologue introducing the main characters. Shesh Maccabee is a hardcore gamer so obsessed with games that he has to have months of therapy; his friend Mike is more into Japanese console role-playing games and anime. After they have graduated, they move on to study at the University of California in Escondido. There they are introduced to the board gaming community and to Theodore, who is immersed in various board games as he aims to run the best Mages & Monsters game ever.
Thompson knows his popular culture references. I managed to find so many of them from different RPGs and JRPGs (Skies of Arcadia to The Elder Scroll games) card games (Pokemon to Magic The Gathering) and other popular gaming series (Grand Theft Auto to Metal Gear Solid.) Even though I haven’t played many role-playing board games, I still managed to keep up with the work’s imagination and humour.
The art is more western-based than a regular Japanese manga. It captures the American college atmosphere, with small dorm rooms and bustling game communities. Also when the main characters play their board or card games, you see them with their imagined characters and world; wherever it’s a fantasy or sci-fi setting, it looks fantastic, making the art feel interesting and fun.
Where King of RPGs really succeeds is in its humour; the characters and dialogue are full of laugh-out-loud moments and slapstick comedy, especially when Shesh’s internet addiction gives him a crazy, obsessed-on-winning personality. Thompson uses many internet themes and successfully spoofs them to make you know they’re funny.
Problems are minor, with the only case being that the chapters feel unnecessarily long. It wouldn’t hurt if Thompson could have split the chapters up to give the reader a rest. Plus the dialogue can be protracted when explaining different subjects like the board games themselves, but it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment.
At the end of the manga you are treated to a Tribute Art Gallery, some notes about the creators and what they have done in the past.
In Summary
The first volume of King of RPGs is a great start and sets us up for future adventures. If you have any interest in RPGs or any of the references I have mentioned, then I recommend you pick this up – and even if you’re not, it’s a well crafted, humorous story.
