Invention and distinction

From exuberant Taiko drumming emulating complex rhythms of traditional Japanese songs to crafting errant earthbound objects into constellations, from gathering historical Chinese forces to simulate the fall of the Han dynasty and establishment of The Three Kingdoms to daredevil racing through crystalline landscapes of a distant future, the newest crop of Japanese video games has manifested a stunning diversity of inspirations and origins.

Presented by NewYork-Tokyo in association with the Asia Society in New York City, Gamers Nite Groove showcased thirteen new and recently released Japanese video games in a one night gaming adventure in mid-January. Koei, Burlingame, Calif., corporate sponsors of the event, created seven of the games, all of which were enthusiastically play-tested by novices and cognoscenti alike.

Fascination levels were soaring, but six games warrant particular mention for either sheer giddy inventiveness or elegant graphics bolstered by historical fealty. Drum Master from Namco, San Jose, Calif., released in the United States in October 2004, features an actual electronic drum ingeniously connected to the computer, against which a player frantically attempts—as songs get progressively harder—to match various Taiko beats to eccentric screen icons (dancing eels, spirits, talking drumsticks) and musical notes.

With an average game length stretching 40-100 hours, Dynasty Tactics, Burlingame, Calif.-based Koei's tactical, intellectual masterpiece of second century Chinese history can only be compared to chess, pure strategy governed by the pragmatic complexities of terrain, troop morale, weather patterns and military intelligence.

Sharing the same puzzle genre as Tetris, Wheeling, Ill.-based Taito's Bust A Move 3000, a new version of a beloved, decade old game, is addictively uplifting; set against a backdrop of levitating robots and randomly hilarious graphics of old film stills and modern parking lots, the player strives to match three identically colored bubbles in a row—as bizarre cartoon characters constantly manufacture more spheres from an improbably whimsical machine.

Elaborate and refreshingly bloodless, Dynasty Warriors 4, in current U.S. release, is a bracing, tactical recreation of tumultuous second century Chinese history, mutable now through endless variations based on actual battles, detailed in the game's surprisingly literate historical encyclopedia.

Assuming the persona of Captain Falcon, players of F-Zero GX, the most recent version of Redmond, Wash.-based Nintendo's vivid 2003 game, race through futuristic urban metropolises in fantastic vehicles that defy gravity and raise adrenaline.

Finally, a diversion for those less than enthralled by video games, Katamari Damacy (loosely translated as “Lump Spirit”), a spellbinding electronic fable by Namco, released in the US in summer 2004. After a drunken king disperses the heavens one night in a stupor, players are called upon to put the stars back in their rightful place. Against lush tones of big band swing, jazz, and bossa nova, one creates celestial bodies by gathering terrestrial objects; even the most erudite cannot help but feel omnipotent as they roll trees, cars, and buildings into balls—then transform them into stars.