Marvelous Entertainment’s upcoming Wii title, Oboromuramasa is presenting many creatures and legendary figures of Japanese myth in beautiful 2D rendering.  I am a huge fan of Japanese yokai, or spirits, and felt this slow news day was a good chance to give some background on the different creatures that appear in the game.

	Karakasa or Kasa-obake A spirit of an umbrella which reached the age of 100 years.  There are several such spirits which were once inanimate objects, but were blessed with life on their 100th year.  They are known as tsukumogami.  The Karakasa in Oburomuramasa wields a single katana and wears geta sandals.  Unlike its traditional representation, it also has a second leg.
	Gaki, Preta, or Hungry Ghost One of the six realms of rebirth according to Buddhist lore.  Preta are tormented creatures whose hunger and thirst will never be sated.  They are normally not visible to humans.  The torment of the Preta is a direct result of a past life spent with too much emphasis on desire.
	Kappa An intelligent creature that lives in small bodies of water such as rivers or streams.  They are mischievous by nature, and have been known to eat people, usually children that wander too close to their watery homes.  The top of a Kappa’s head must remain filled with water or it won’t be able to live on land.
	Yuki-onna (snow woman) A spirit that appears to those wandering ice-covered mountains.  She resembles a woman and uses her appearance to get close enough to people to breathe on them, freezing them to death instantly.  Yuki-onna is best known from a story out of the Kwaidan in which she falls in love with a woodcutter.
	Umibozu (Sea monk) A large sea monster which appears along the coast of Japan.  It is known to capsize ships, or in some situations request a ladle from the ship’s crew, and proceed to fill the ship with water until it sinks.  Traditionally these monsters are depicted as large black shapeless forms.  Since they are always hairless, they get the nickname of monk.  While they may appear violent, they seem to respond well to clever remarks.

This is just a few of the many spirits and demons that will be appearing in Oboromuramasa.  I like how each one is just a little different than how they are classically represented.  I can tell that Vanillaware is definitely putting their own touch on Edo era Japan.

Related Entries:
History of Video Game Weapons Part III: Ninja Gear
Oboro Muramasa Y?t?den Video
Oboromuramasa: New Video and Japanese Release Date

These changes can range from story and character overhauls, to the deletion of unique cultural aspects.  In the latter case the reasoning is slightly understandable since an explanation of such aspects may require further programming which can become costly.

One aspect of games that almost always undergoes a dramatic change is the cover art of video games.  This topic was first brought to my attention while wasting some time on 4chan’s /v/ message board.  At first I didn’t think much of it, but then it really began to bug me.

Why do video game companies fear that which is Eastern in origin?  Do they really think that we as consumers are incapable of accepting a foreign culture?

Here are 3 covers that were brought to my attention by 4channers and by my own digging:

Suikoden
Publisher: Konami
US release date: 1996

The left cover is the original Japanese cover, and the right is the North American cover.  The 90’s are marked by a high level of xenophobia when it comes to localizing games.  You can plainly see that the anime style art has been replaced by hideous art western in nature.  The localizers may have been trying to pass the game off as a WRPG rather than a JRPG.

Ico
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
US release date: September 24, 2001

It is important to note here that everywhere but North America received the left cover art.  Everywhere.  The left cover art puts the emphasis on the castle, the game’s setting, and arguably the most important element of Ico’s story.

Making people the focus of art has long been a western tradition, whereas making people’s surroundings the focus (with little to no emphasis on people) is a common element in Eastern art–especially brush painting and sumie.

The Japanese cover was painted by Fumito Ueda, the creator of both Ico and Shadows of the Colossus.  His inspiration for the piece was the surrealist works of Giorgio de Chirico.  As for the other piece, I can only think that SCEA wanted to show off the graphics of the game, so they decided to go with CG.

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wnderer
Publisher: Chunsoft, localized by Sega
US release date: March 4, 2008

Here is a game near and dear to my heart.  It is the most recent of the 3, possibly making it the most relevant.  The Japanese cover art features smooth anime style art complete with tranquil looking characters.

The North American cover art is quite different.  All three featured characters (I am including Koppa the weasel) look angry.  Even the reddish background suggests rage.  Also, the art looks much more western.  Even Shiren’s sword doesn’t look like a katana–it appears straight.

The only reasoning I can conclude for these covers to differ so dramatically from their originals is that the localizers fear the game will not be received well, and they won’t make money.

Such a fear today seems ludicrous.  Gamers do not purchase a game based on the box art.  Speaking for myself, purchasing a game is based on brand loyalty, research, and genre.

Many Western gamers seem to appreciate the influx of Japanese or Eastern culture in their games.  Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 for example brings the player into the shoes of an (almost) average Japanese  school student.  All cultural references to Japanese food, religion, etc. were retained, and yet the game was immensely popular.

So c’mon, America!  Give gamers some credit.  We can’t stand anymore garish cover art!

Related Entries:
Final Fantasy VII as a Reflection of Modern Japanese Society
Know Your Video Game History: Persona: Revelations

As many die-hard Atlus fans know all to well, Persona 2: Innocent Sin will most likely never be making its way to the West. In Japan Persona 2: Innocent Sin was released prior to Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, and while the stories were different, they still had many cohesive elements which created one great gaming experience.

Only the later chapter; Eternal Punishment, was localized in America. The former; Innocent Sin, is considered by most fans of the series to be the better of the two, but still Atlus has refused to bring it over. There is hope on the horizon for us poor English speakers, however.

A fan of the series going by the psuedonym Gemini has begun the incredulous task of creating a translation patch of the entire game. All menus, all characters and spells, all story and dialogue… Did I mention incredulous?

Currently his translation is at 68%, and Gemini believes it is possible to have it completed around Christmas. The patch will allow fans to create burned versions of the game entirely in English as well as run the game on PSX emulators.

If you are as excited as I am (but not nearly as poor) you should check out his site and show your support!

*NOTE* Be weary of a flood of overpriced burned copies of the game appearing on e-Bay–it may be cheaper to make your own.

Related Entries:
Know Your Video Game History: Persona
All Kotowari entries on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 can be found here.

So Crisis Core comes out for the PSP today in the states. I gotta say, I have mixed feelings about it. I keep hearing that is has an outstanding story, which accents Final Fantasy VII. For this reason I am very excited. However, I don’t know how I feel about the addition of some new bad guys who are supposedly as bad-ass as Sephiroth… I guess I will wait and see what everyone thinks.

To celebrate I want to explain the underlying elements of Japanese thought which are persistent throughout the game. Before getting into it, this post assumes the reader has played Final Fantasy VII and is familiar with its themes and major events which occur in its world. If you have NOT played the game, reading on may spoil parts of the game and be a tad confusing.

Let us start with Makou, or Mako energy, a substance which is contained in all life on the face of the planet (including the planet itself). Bugenhagen, Red XIII’s “father” explains that when a creature dies, its mako returns to the earth, and is transferred into a new living being. Unlike most energies, it is extinguishable when consumed by Shin-ra’s reactors AND there is a limited amount of it.

The cyclical aspect of mako “life”, is very similar to life as seen in eastern religions such as Buddhism’s idea of samsara or reincarnation. Life does not have a clear beginning and end like it does in the west. There is no heaven and no hell,–just transition. In addition to Buddhism, mako also has characteristics of nature seen through Shinto, Japan’s native folk religion. According to Shinto all elements of nature have a kind of energy and purity to them. Therefore tampering with nature, effectively destroys this purity or energy.

The fact that mako is consumable by Shin-ra’s reactors is where things get a bit more complex. Japan began modernizing rapidly during the Meiji restoration, and going on until the Taisho era. This time period marked an increasing dependence on industrialization. The earth was scoured for resources, forests were cleared, and enormous factories were constructed. The Japanese government was the main force pushing these advances, and part of the force behind the government were Zaibatsu, or mega-corporations, which existed since the early Meiji period.

Shin-ra can be seen as one of these Zaibatsu or mega-corporations, advancing the world of the game with their industrial technology, the mako reactors, by consuming mako, or the planets life-fource. While these parallel events were taking place in Japan, there was a sense that this advancement came at a cost. A character in the village of Kalm explains her feelings to Cloud:

“Mako energy’s made things a lot more convenient…..”
“But it seems like a lot of plants and animals have been
disappearing at a rapid pace.”
“I think the old life was better.”
“Don’t you think so?”

_{credits to Little Chiba}

The world of Final Fantasy VII was once home to the ancients, a race of nomadic people who could speak with the earth and understand its deeper workings. As time went on, some members of the ancients stopped wandering and began settling down, losing the ability to communicate with the earth. These individuals are who became the populace of the earth, and eventually the ancients all but died off. As the situation on earth becomes more dire, the characters in Final Fantasy VII turn to their ally Aerith, the last remaining ancient for guidance.

In modern Japan the ancients would be those who mastered a craft hundreds of years ago and whose teachings have been passed down for generations. These crafts can be anything from gardening to knowing how to put on a kimono properly. The more people keep up their busy lifestyles, the more these trades are forgotten, thus the ancients are still dying in Japan today.

Modern Japan regrets what it lost during the process of modernization. For this reason many forms of Japanese pop-media portray this struggle between convenience and losing touch with nature as well as a longing for simpler times. To those who get their hands on Crisis Core: do you notice any of these themes?

Maken Shao is an action RPG developed by Atlus with character designs by Kazuma Kaneko. A bad action RPG suffers from a few main faults: unimaginative storyline, monotonous battle system, and awkward controls. Any one of these three is enough to ruin an otherwise good title. Well luckily Maken Shao suffers from none of these setbacks. If anything, its only problem is that its localization was not taken very seriously. It was released in very small numbers in the West, and the voice acting and translations are considered by many to be atrocious.

The world of the game is a bleak one. China and the US battle each other for superiority via means of terrorism. In Japan, a team of scientists attempt to awaken an ancient entity known as Maken, or demon sword. Just as the team succeeds in awakening the sword, an unknown creature breaks into the research lab and kidnaps the head scientist. The iconic girl in red on the cover, Kei Sagami, is the daughter of that scientist. She decides she will take up the Maken to rescue her father by traveling the world, hunting down whatever forces set these events into place.

While you may think that Kei is the main character, Atlus would surely correct you. The game is actually the story of the Maken, traveling from body to body ultimately unraveling the mysteries of the evil powers of the world. That’s right; you can transfer bodies. The Maken gives the player the “Brain Jack” ability which lets you drop whichever sack of skin and bones it’s currently attached to, and upgrade to a new one. There are around 20 playable characters, each with their own weapon (the Maken changes shape when held by different people) and skills.

So what is the combat like? Well perhaps it’s best to just show you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As you can see there are quite a few familiar elements to most action titles. Attack, block, lock-on, dodge-roll, and you can even deflect enemy attacks.

If you are interested in snagging a copy, you are in luck, it shouldn’t cost you a whole lot. It pops up every once and while on eBay for around $10.00, but usually its location is the UK. Be sure to check that the seller ships to America before bidding. If you are one of the lucky few who still has a Sega Dreamcast floating around you can instead purchase Maken X, which is basically the same game, but with a first person viewpoint. It should only run you around $5.00 on eBay. If possible though, I would recommend the PS2 version, since there are some issues with the first person mode.

Part III – Ninja Gear

I am afraid I may make some enemies with this post, as I may be dissolving much of the mysticism surrounding Ninja-lore that the Ninja themselves worked hard to establish. The role of the Ninja was generally to infiltrate an enemy castle/fife and then gather information, i.e. espionage. In feudal Japan, espionage meant blending in with the faceless masses, therefore running around in a black outfit with a sword hurling shuriken would not have been the best idea. True Ninja tactics were much more subtle.

Shuriken

Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII wielding a giant shaken

In the Final Fantasy series, as well as many video games, characters portraying Ninja generally throw shuriken. These shuriken are flat, sharp, star-shaped discs thrown with a quick flick of the wrist. This style of shuriken is actually called a shaken, and historically were rarely used in combat by actual Ninja. Such a weapon, if captured, would immediately give away one’s intentions of causing harm.

It is possible that Ninja may have used some type of throwing weapon, but most likely, it would have been bo-shuriken. The definition of a bo-shuriken is anything metal, sharp and around 6-10 inches long. They could have been nails, or other objects one could find in a hurry. They would not be thrown unless absolutely necessary, since, as we will learn, the Ninja’s primary skill was hand to hand combat. A bo-shuriken had the versatility of being thrown or being used as a dagger, but they were also subtle. If captured, a Ninja could quickly come up with a story about being a wandering carpenter for hire or etc. This subtlety and versatility would make a bo-shuriken a much more ideal weapon to a Ninja than a shaken.

Sword

Hotsuma wielding the legendary Akujiki on the cover of Shinobi for PS2

The game Shinobi features a Ninja with a cursed blade that drains his life. A sword to a Ninja would probably be the dumbest thing to carry around. In Feudal Japan, only those in the Samurai class (and in some cases Merchant class) were allowed to carry swords. When attempting to invade an enemy territory, illegally wearing a sword would attract much unwanted attention. There is some evidence to suggest that Ninja may have carried short, straight swords, but most likely it was not during infiltration.

Kunai

An Assassin in the MMORPG Maple Story throwing “steelies”, a weapon modeled after the pop-culture notion of a Kunai.

Many video games and anime feature characters throwing kunai with great accuracy as weapons. Actual kunai were designed as blunt, crude tools used for digging, and possibly masonry. Their metal was very low quality, and they were heavy and unbalanced so throwing them would have been clumsy. I can not entirely discount the use of kunai as a weapon by Ninja for the same reasons I mentioned earlier. They were versatile since they could be used as a stabbing tool, and could be sharpened easily since their blades were made with poor quality metal. Also, they were subtle since they were a popular tool of the sixteenth century. This made them easy to find in a pinch, and offered a valid alibi if captured. Since they were used in a number of professions, such as masonry and jobs involving horticulture (like medicine making, a job that often required travel) it wasn’t hard to come up with an excuse for having a kunai.

Magic

Sheena Fujibayashi performing ninja summoning magic in Tales of Symphonia

Many games such as Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden have characters that can use Ninja abilities such as elemental attack. The Ninja themselves enjoyed spreading the belief that they had supernatural abilities. One common belief was that Ninja could transform into animals. Some Ninja would dress animals up to perpetuate this very notion.

The Ninja’s true strength came from their unconventional method of getting things done. During the era that the ninja thrived, fighting was very structured. There was always a winner and a loser, and the loser always died. It was an accepted fact, but costly in terms of lives. Since Ninja often had to relay important information, their death would mean their mission was a failure. To prevent this, they began utilizing a variety of techniques that emphasized survival. To the average Japanese warrior of this era, their tactics seemed cowardly.

If threatened with capture or death, a Ninja’s primary goal would be escape. This meant hiding, or employing misdirection. Misdirection could be something as simple as throwing something to create a sound down an adjacent alleyway or etc.

If that wasn’t enough, Ninja-style martial arts had many debilitating blows. This meant attacking tendons, muscles and pressure points which would leave an enemy nearly paralyzed.

If captured, a Ninja’s next goal would be to create an alibi to inflict doubt among his captors. This could often be more psychological than one could imagine.

Since these tactics were never seen in feudal Japan, it is understandable that they may be seen as supernatural or magical. Being skilled at hiding creates the myth of invisibility, creating doubt in captors becomes mind control etc. As stories are passed on by word of mouth, they become more grandiose and eventually become legend.

Previous articles:
- Part 1: Lances and Spears
- Part 2: Katana

The Ryu Ga Gotoku (known in America as Yakuza) series has reached the third chapter in Japan with the March 6th release of Ryu Ga Gotoku, Kenzan! for the Playstation3. Above are some screens from this week’s Famitsu magazine and a trailer for the game featuring some story elements and gameplay. This installment in the series is a milestone for the sandbox genre of games.

The player assumes the role of Kiryuu Kazumanosuke, the great, great, great, great grandfather of Kiryuu Kazuma from the first game in the series. The story takes place in Gion during the Edo period, in the year 1605. Kiryuu is an elite mercenary who will do anything for money, and people often come to him when they need someone bumped off. One rainy day, a little girl named Haruka approaches asking :

“Is it true that you’ll do anything for money?”
“Yea, thats right.” replies Kiryuu.
“I want you to kill Miyamoto Musashi.”

It turns out that Haruka sold herself into a life of being an oiran, or Japanese prostitute, just so she would have enough money to hire an assassin to kill Musashi. Unfortunately for Kiryuu, his alter ego is that of Miyamoto Musashi. According to the Famitsu article on the game, “someone” told Haruka to ask for Kiryuu specifically. Who could it have been? Thus the game begins.

(Sidenote: For those who don’t know, Miyamoto Musashi is a famous swordsman, known for wielding 2 katana. He also wrote the famous book of budo, The Book of Five Rings. )

Since the game takes place during such a unique time period, there are a number of authentic Edo period activities Kiryuu can take part in:

• Turtle Racing
  • Find turtles, raise them, mate them, race them, and gamble on them!
• Cho-han Bakuchi
  • a traditional style of dice gambling in ancient Japan
• Oiran (Japanese Prostitutes…. rough translation)
  • There are three different brothels the player can frequent to spend time the girl of their choice. Doing so offers some erotic yet comical scenes. The three girls vary in terms of price, so you may have to spend a lot if you are very particular.
• Shogi
  • Japanese-style Chess.
• Over 100 people and animals to interact with (that’s right, animals)
  • Get involved with the lives of many minor characters, and help them out if you wish. Doing so may bring great rewards, such as new abilities and variances in the story.
• Multiple ways to fight
  • Use 2 blades as Musashi, 1 as Kiryuu
  • There is also an Odachi and the option of fighting barehanded

There is so much to do in this game it is simply mind-boggling. The game’s main web page can be found here.

Given the minor success of the first Yakuza and the numerous Japanese cultural aspects of the game, I am not positive Ryu Ga Gotoku, Kenzan! will be released in English, but I remain hopeful (the PS3 sure could use a decent exclusive). One thing is for sure… we won’t be getting this beast.

The second installment of the Yakuza series is scheduled to be released in America sometime in 2008. Definitely watch out for this one!

Since man first realized that swinging a stick or throwing a rock could inflict bodily harm, there has been fighting. As these fights became more and more important, so too did the sticks and rocks. I have decided to start a several part post on the history and myth behind legendary weapons in some of our favorite video games to get a better appreciation for the thought that goes into weapon design.

Part II –Katana

The development of the sword in Japan is quite unique in that the end result, the katana, is arguably the most deadly melee weapon man has ever created. Each sword being meticulously folded and pounded creating a perfect balance of blade flexibility and sharpness. So much work went into the construction of a katana, that it was believed that a bit of the bladesmith’s soul inhabited the weapon. For this reason many blades were simply named after the forger. Two of the most famous bladesmith’s had a bit of history, for this reason I will lump them into their own category:

The Legend of Masamune and Muramasa

A legend tells of a test where Muramasa challenged his master, Masamune, to see who could make a finer sword. They both worked tirelessly and eventually, when both swords were finished, they decided to test the results. The contest was for each to suspend the blades in a small creek with the cutting edge facing the current. Muramasa’s sword, the Juuchi Fuyu (10,000 Winters) cut everything that passed its way; fish, leaves floating down the river, the very air which blew on it. Highly impressed with his pupil’s work, Masamune lowered his sword, the Yawaraka-Te (Tender Hands), into the current and waited patiently. Not a leaf was cut, the fish swam right up to it, and the air hissed as it gently blew by the blade. After a while, Muramasa began to scoff at his master for his apparent lack of skill in the making of his sword. Smiling to himself, Masamune pulled up his sword, dried it, and sheathed it. All the while, Muramasa was heckling him for his sword’s inability to cut anything. A monk, who had been watching the whole ordeal, walked over and bowed low to the two sword masters. He then began to explain what he had seen.

“The first of the swords was by all accounts a fine sword, however it is a blood thirsty, evil blade as it doesn’t discriminate as to who or what it will cut. It may just as well be cutting down butterflies as severing heads. The second was by far the finer of the two, as it doesn’t needlessly cut that which is innocent and undeserving.”

This simple story reflects on the Japanese duality of the weapon. Should it be used for protection or for killing?

• Masamune(??): A blade typically representing holiness or the pinnacle of Katana craftsmanship.
• Found in: Final Fantasy VII, wielded by the games major villain, Sephiroth. Obviously Sephiroth does not represent holiness in any form. However, his ideals of cleansing the world of humans by summoning a meteor, could be seen as considering himself to be like a God. These delusions of grandeur stem from his lineage with the Ancients, a race of nomadic people in the world of the game.

• Muramasa(??): A blade said to be cursed with a never ending blood-thirst.
• Found in: Final Fantasy Tactics, the blade, when equipped is a crimson red color. The Iado (or draw out) ability of the Muramasa causes the souls of each person who died to the sword to attack the enemy, and cause confusion and death sentance. The Samurai who uses the ability shouts: “Summon all ghosts of the sword! Attack! Muramasa!”(??????????????? ??????????) In comparison the Masamune when drawn out casts haste and regen on allys within range.

If this article interested you, come back next Wednesday for the third installment of History of Video Game Weapons: Part III – Ninja Gear!

Previous articles:
- History of Video Games Part 1: Lances and Spears

Revelations: Persona (?????????)

Whoever was in charge of the localization of Revelations: Persona was probably a xenophobe. The irony being in the linked Wikipedia article on xenophobia, Japan appears at the top of the list. Certain elements of the story have been altered so the player believes the game takes place in America. This includes changes to the name of towns and cities, and the conversion of Japanese Yen as the games currency, to the American Dollar.
Possibly most controversial, is the altering of all the characters in the game. Not only were their names changed to sound western, but their sprites and any other images were changed to make the characters appear Caucasian, or in some instances African-American:

Here we have Inaba Masao(????) in the Japanese, changed to simply…Mark. Can you spot the differences?

Here are a few more name changes just for fun:

• (????) Takahisa Kandori, the game’s main enemy, and cause of demons being set free on the city. His name was changed to Guido Sardenia. A name that sounds suspiciously Italian. Possibly revealing further racial prejudices by whoever localized the game.
• Sakeo Takami, the beloved teacher of the games main cast, changed to Ms. Smith. A sub quest revolving around her was removed from the American version as well. This sub quest allowed players to pursue a different story path, making the game less linear and more difficult.
• (?????) Kirishima Eriko, as well as several other characters got new hair styles. Mainly, this meant changing hair color from black to blonde or, in the protagonist’s case, red.

Since man first realized that swinging a stick or throwing a rock could inflict bodily harm, there has been fighting. As these fights became more and more important, so too did the sticks and rocks. I have decided to start a several part post on the history and myth behind legendary weapons in some of our favorite video games to get a better appreciation for the thought that goes into weapon design.

Part I –Lances & Spears
The benefits of these weapons are fairly obvious: increased range. That scary looking guy in the picture is a Yamabushi (??), or roughly mountain monk. They were known to typically use naginata (??) or a Japanese style of spear which had a long curved blade at the end. These are also the guys who would live in the mountains, meditate under waterfalls, walk through fire, and die on their feet. They chose to use naginata as it gave them the advantage of range. In a country where the most fearsome adversary (a Samurai) uses a katana (?), a mid-length weapon, that little difference in range can present a huge advantage.

Japan is not unique in the spear being an impressive element of military technology. Each nation who experienced the early stages of warfare, can vouch for having made the same discovery. For that reason there are a variety of famous or legendary spears which you may have noticed in the video games you play:

Longinus

• The spear that is believed to have stabbed Jesus in the side while he was on the cross per John 19:31. The Roman soldier wielding the spear was named Longinus, thus his spear carries his name as was customary at the time, though the actual Latin would read: Lancea Longini, or “The Lance of Longinus”. Since the lance was covered in Jesus’s blood, it is generally given a holy attribute in games.
• Found in: Disgaea 1 & 2. The Longinus, or Holy Longinus, is the second best spear in the game, meaning that if you want to acquire the best spear in the game, you will need a Legendary Longinus.

Gungnir

• According to Norse mythology, Odin–the God of all Gods–carried the spear Gungnir. Its name is roughly translated to “Unwavering One”, as it never missed its target, and would always return to Odin’s hand. The spear was forged by the Sons of Ivaldi, a group of blacksmith dwarves. The supreme power of Gungnir is what led to a rival group of dwarves to forge Mjolnir, or Thor’s Hammer.
• Found in: Final Fantasy Series. When you summon Odin in some versions, like Final Fantasy VII, Odin will perform “Gunge Lance” or “Steel Bladed Sword” (zantetsuken) depending on the battle. Gunge Lance is just a bizarre translation.

Gae Bolga

• A spear carried by a legendary Irish warrior by the name of Cuchulainn. The spear’s name means “notched spear”, as it had a series of notches along the blade. These notches made extracting the weapon from an unlucky individual especially painful. For this reason, the spear is occasionally given a thunder attribute in games. The spear was made out of a single bone taken from a dead sea monster by the name of Coinchenn.
• Found in: Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Cu Chulainn is a demon who you can get to join your Protagonist in battle. He is equipped with the Gae Bolga.

These are only a few legendary spears, but they are the ones which appear the most in video games. Try to keep your eyes open for them! If this article interested you, come back next Wednesday for the second installment of History of Video Game Weapons: Part II –Katana!