10 Most Essential Japanese Video Games
Utterly phenomenal games everyone should play.
When it comes to video games, the Japanese gaming industry is responsible for taking things to the next level. We had the furtive likes of Atari blowing up with Pong and a slew of titles across the 70s, but after the gaming industry crash of 1983, video games as a worthwhile pastime went out the window.
It wasn't until Nintendo took a risk with the NES, shipping physical press stands and consoles to retailers for free - in an attempt to get people through the door - that the gaming industry we largely know today was born.
Injecting some much-needed creative and artistic flair to a medium crying out for care and attention, the likes of Mario and Zelda revitalised gaming and set it on a path that's still fascinating to engage with today.
With Nintendo and PlayStation both absolute titans of the industry - and plenty of third-party games flying the flag for Japan proudly - there are simply some Japanese video games everybody should play.
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Note: We're talking individual games, not entire franchises, and a franchise can only appear once, just to keep things interesting.
Honourable Mentions: Silent Hill 2 & Resident Evil
Konami's answer to Resident Evil's more gung-ho, action-oriented approach to monsters and scares in general, Silent Hill was all about atmosphere. About caking the screen in fog, making it so you could barely tell what was coming your way... then shattering that tension in an instant when some ungodly horror broke through a window.
Resident Evil is also, obviously a MASSIVE deal, but its inception involves largely ditching Eastern horror and identity in favour of being massively influenced by George Romero's zombie movies.
If we're talking essential Japanese video games, Silent Hill and Resident Evil are in there, but as you'll see from the 10 I've chosen, swapping any of the following feels impossible.