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| Yeah, I don't know why the side banner used the wrong color order, either. |
December 2047, Neo Kobe City. Currently, mankind is under secret attack by "Snatchers", bioroids that kill people & then take their identity using artifical skin, with their ability to sweat & bleed making them nigh-impossible to identify. To combat the Snatchers, a special police force has been formed called JUNKERs, or Japanese Undercover Neuro-Kinetic Elimination Rangers. A man is being chased after & even shot coming out of an alleyway into a crowd. Everyone sees the man, whose face is now uncovered to show that he's actually a Snatcher, before his head is blown up by the man chasing after him. When asked if he's a Junker by the police, the man only responds that he's a "Bounty Hunter". Meanwhile, Gillian Seed is meeting up with his girlfriend Jamie to tell her that he's going to become a Junker, much to her disappointment. The two suffer from extreme amnesia, with the only memory Gillian having being the word "Snatcher", so he thinks becoming a Junker will help him remember who he really is, even though Jamie is afraid that doing so will result in something terrible happening. A transport arrives to pick up Gillian & take him to Junker HQ, and while Jamie can't hear Gillian's words due to the transport's jets, she still waves him off & wishes him well.
In terms of the content of the manga itself, it does a good job setting up the basic idea of the Snatchers & giving Gillian & Jamie some sort of general introduction. The greyscaling is handled excellently, allowing the detailed & more realisitic artwork to remain just as appealing as it did in the original color version for the PC-Engine, though the Snatcher logo is removed from the first page, leaving just a giant white space between the two panels featured. While the note does bring up flipped artwork, it's generally hard to tell in the pages where it is done, as word balloons do take up the panel space that isn't already taken up by the characters, with the only truly noticeable panels being a pair that both feature a "Vuiiiiiiiiiiii" sound effect (for the transport vehicle), with the katanaka obviously mirrored in those two panels, plus one "Don!" for a gunshot, as shown above. The translation is also perfectly fine, though it's not like there was much given to really localize beyond what was likely a rather straight interpretation. Overall, while getting the original color version would have been awesome, the version that we got via the Sega CD release, which still remains the sole official release for Snatcher & now commands insane prices, is still great. If you really want to enjoy this mini-manga in the original color, though, you can find a "(re)translated" version of the PC-Engine original manga over at Junker HQ, the biggest Snatcher fansite out there.
Back in 1992, there was a lot of hype for Delphine Software International's Flashback: The Quest for Identity, which was then advertised as a "CD-ROM game on a cartridge" & has since become recognized by Guiness as the best-selling French game of all time. Without a doubt, original publisher U.S. Gold (which, amusingly enough, was a British company) wanted this to be a big deal, so it actually commissioned Marvel Comics to produce a 14-page introductory comic that would be housed in the manual for the Genesis, SNES, & Sega CD versions. Written by Jim Moore & penciled by Mike Harris (Punisher: The Prize), I remember first seeing this comic in full-color back in the day, as it was included in an issue or two of GamePro magazine when the game was coming out, or at least I swear I remember that happened (as I can't find any images of a colorized version online), but the version in the manual is, once again, in black & white, but at least this one looks to simply be the pre-colored version, & not simply greyscaled. With the manual being a total 28 pages, that makes the comic the entire first half of the booklet, which is impressive, but does that make for a good introduction to the idea of Flashback, or is it just a giant waste of time?Conrad "Flash" Hart is a graduate student trying to become a full agent for the Galaxial Bureau of Investigation, and is #1 in his class when it comes to athletics. He used to have the perfect partner in Ian, who was #1 in academics, but he suddenly left the GBI to go to the Titan Colonies. After realizing that he was late for a date with his girlfriend Sonya, he rushes to meet her, making sure to grab the Molecular Density Analyzer, a headset scanner that he & Ian were making that can register the density of matter. During their date, Sonya asks Conrad to help her make sure her friends don't get hurt during their plan to cause trouble at an upcoming political rally, and he agrees. While among the crowd at the rally, Sonya tries out the MDA when her friends start making trouble, and when she looks at the presidential candidate she sees something odd. She tells Conrad to check himself, and he notices that the density of the candidate & his guards aren't human-like, and the two sneak away, with plans to tell the GBI what they saw. Two days later, Conrad is unable to contact Sonya & knows that he's being followed, but while grabbing some holocubes gets shot & abducted, with plans to take him to Titan space station for "reprogramming".
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| "Hey Conrad, what's the MDA saying about his density level?" |
I'm a bit mixed on the Flashback comic, to be honest. As an introduction, it does introduce Conrad well enough & establish certain elements of the game, like him being an excellent shot, his relationships with Sonya & Ian, and the mystery behind who are obviously the villains. Other than that, though, there's just an odd feeling permeating all throughout the comic. Maybe it's Conrad being portrayed as possibly a bit too good (though, of course, he isn't the best at book smarts...), maybe it's the feeling that the universe of Flashback doesn't quite feel fleshed out enough, maybe it's the pacing feeling a little too fast, or maybe it's the artwork. Now I'm not saying that Mike Harris is a bad artist by any means, because overall it's fine. What feels odd about it, though, is the inconsistency with how characters are drawn. In short, when characters are taking up the majority of a panel, then Harris draws them with some nice detail, sometimes too much, while anyone else, even if only slightly behind them, are drawn in such a simplistic fashion that it just distracts, more than anything. I do feel that I was correct about a colorized version existing & shown in gaming magazines back in the day, too, because the artwork here feels as though something is missing, namely color. While black-&-white comics are certainly a thing, there is definitely a difference in execution when doing B&W compared to color, and Flashback's comic in the instruction manual feels like it's a color comic that wasn't properly finished & put into the manual as a cost-cutting measure, while the magazine-printed version was properly finished. As it is in the manual, this comic does its job, but not in the best way possible. If you are curious, though, Kleefield on Comics actually scanned the entire thing on his site back in 2010.
Originally debuting in 1986 in the pages of Death Rattle #8, Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales would go from being published by Kitchen Sink Press to seeing a short, full-color reprinting by Marvel Comics from 1990 to 1991 under the name Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, which in turn would lead to the creation of a 13-episode animated series produced by legendary movie writer Steven E. de Souza (Commando, Die Hard, Street Fighter) from 1993 to 1994, using the Marvel-created title. In turn, the animated series would then lead to two video games, both using this alternate title, one an arcade beat-em-up developed by Capcom that's become a cult classic, and the other an FMV rail shooter for the Sega CD & PC developed by the short-lived Rocket Science Games with the subtitle The Second Cataclysm. Inside the manual of the latter game, right after the table of contents, was a 5-page introduction in place of your standard text explanation. Sure, it's not a lot, but it's still a mini-comic included with a video game, so I'll count it![Fun Fact: Elon Musk worked as a programmer for the Sega CD game while studying business & physics at the University of Pennsylvania... Yes, THAT Elon Musk.]
In the year 2020, the First Cataclysm happened, an end-world event that resulted in billions dying & entire species going extinct. Any human survivors found life beneath the surface, with mechanics becoming the leaders of a new society. After hundreds of years, humankind returned to the surface, only to find that, somehow, dinosaurs had returned from extinction, so now the two former rulers of the Earth coexist on the surface. In time, cities were built on top of the wreckage of old metropolises, with one of them being the City of the Sea, which follows the Machinatio Vitae -- The Machinery of Life -- a mantra about preserving a balance between machine & nature. Going against that in secret is Wilhelmina Scharnhorst, one of the Governors of the City of the Sea, who wants to bring society to one that eschews nature for high-technology, and hires poachers like Hammer Terhune to stop those who go against her, like Jack "Cadillac" Tenrec & Hannah Dundee. Jack & Hannah are asked by the Grith, a highly-evolved underground race that on occasion asks for Jack's help, to prevent Scharnhorst's actions, as they will trigger the Second Cataclysm.
You know what, for a comic that is literally only five pages long & 17 panels in total, with barely any actual talking from the characters, I must admit that a lot of explained, because just look at how big of a synopsis I just wrote. Admittedly, I did also rely on the following three pages, which contain a Glossary & Cast of Characters, but that was mainly just to help with some details, like full character names & some details about who they are & their basic relations between each other. That being said, however, that's really all there is to this comic, because it literally is nothing more than a basic introduction. Hobb, the leader of the Girth, doesn't exactly give any sort of distinct reason as to what Scharnhorst is doing that will cause the Second Cataclysm, especially since you only have a single hour to beat the game before it happens, but the game does have some short, semi-animated cutscenes that likely helps explain things in a little more detail. As for who exactly did the artwork for the comic itself, there isn't anyone actually credited in the manual, but Page 1 does credit original creator Mark Schultz as having done the cover art, so it's probably not unreasonable to think that Schultz also did the five pages I'm covering. At the very least, compared to Snatcher & Flashback, this comic (& the entire manual, at that) is shown in full color, and it looks great. If this is indeed Schultz doing the artwork, then he has a great style, truly timeless stuff, and this mini-comic does double as a great advertisement for the comic, because this really does make me want to finally buy the comic; it was last released in 2013 as a single book by Flesk Publications under the simple title of Xenozoic. As for the Sega CD game's mini-comic, you can check it out for yourself over at GamesDatabase.org, as it's scanned in great detail over there.
We now suddenly jump ahead over two decades for a much more recent example, and for a game that has been a long time coming. Released in arcades back in 1989, Toki by TAD Corporation, known as JuJu Densetsu in Japan, was a bizarre platformer/run-&-gun fusion where you played as a man who was transformed into an ape-like creature, and you fight by spitting energy bullets at your foes. While there were some ports during the early 90s, the game never rose above anything more than a bit of a cult favorite, but there was enough love for it that France-based Golgoth Studio wanted to do a full-on remake in 2009, but continually found problems (apparently a lot of internal strife). A decade later, following the death of that company, some of the people involved teamed up with Microïds to finally release said remake of Toki this past December as a Nintendo Switch-exclusive. To go with the release was a special "Retrollector Edition" that included stickers, a couple of autographed lithographs, a DIY mini arcade cabinet to house the Switch in while playing (which really is as cool as it sounds), & a 16-page comic prologue titled Memories of Ammalerina, written by "Jacquet" & illustrated by "Porcel".Toki is the prince of the island of Ammalerina, and in an attempt at maintaining peace he chased away a few sorcerers who were dabbling in black magic. While keeping watch over them, though, he sees Miho, the niece of Vookimedlo, and the two eventually fall in love. When Vookimedlo tries to keep the two apart, Miho escapes to reunite with her love. In turn, the sorcerers take advantage of this opportunity to open the Gate of Moornah to release the God of Vengeance, Bashtar the Banished (who is literally just a heart & two pairs of feet & floating hands). Vookimedlo tells Bashtar to kidnap Miho in order to bring Toki out into the open, and when that actually happens, Vookimedlo uses Bashtar's powers to transform Toki into an ape; Toki manages to escape into the deep forest, but only barely. Luckily, though, along with Bashtar's release came his sister, the Goddess Bishra (who takes the form of a small whirlwind), and she not only heals Toki but uses the rest of her power to give him the power spit out balls of fire, as well as covertly leave artifacts that can power him up. With these new powers in hand, Toki starts his journey to rescue Miho, & stop Vookimedlo before he can restore Bashtar to full power.
Wow, just wow. The people behind this comic decided to really flesh out the backstory to Toki, of all games. For the past 30 years, all that was really needed for the story was that Toki & Miho were in love, but then the evil Vookimedlo kidnapped Miho & turned Toki into an ape-like creature that somehow could now spit fireballs out of his mouth. Granted, the Genesis version also had an expanded backstory in its manual, but it went in a completely different direction. What this comic does, though, is make Toki the prince of the kingdom, Miho into the niece of the villain, make all of the bosses fellow sorcerers, turn Bashtar into a bigger deal than before (whereas before he seemed to just be Vookimedlo's last resort), and actually explained where Toki's spit powers come from. Of course, when you add in these extra details, you also run the risk of adding in plot hiccups, especially if you think about too much. For example, the comic doesn't explain what exactly was wrong with Vookimedlo & the other sorcerers trying out black magic, so Toki banishing them seems a bit like a dick move, especially since Miho had just come under the care of her uncle, which in turn makes Toki come off as even more of a bad guy. For all we know, had Toki never banished the sorcerers, they could have possibly used their powers for the benefit of Ammalerina, but now Vookimedlo & the others want the prince dead! At the very least, Jacquet's writing is solid & obviously not meant to be taken 100% seriously (personally, I read Vookimedlo as though he had the voice of Alan Oppenheimer's Skeletor, and it fit), and Porcel's art is similarly cartoonish & fitting the general tone. Really, there was no need for a comic prologue to the story of Toki to ever be made, but the one that we wound up with is neat, as long as you don't think about the details of the plot too much.
Finally, we end with probably the most ambitious comic book prologue ever packaged with a video game, because while most of the others mentioned so far were (at best) barely able to make it into double-digits, this one here is a full on one-shot! Three years before they finally start becoming a big name in the industry with Demon's Souls, FromSoftware made its introduction to the seventh generation of home consoles with January 2006's [eM] -eNCHANT arM-, a JRPG for the Xbox 360, which had come out just a month prior in Japan. To help set up how the story began, a 48-page manga was made that came with the game, and when Ubisoft released it internationally later that year, with the much improved name Enchanted Arms, it also included a translated version of the manga as a "Limited Edition Graphic Novel". There was a port to the PlayStation 3 in 2007, but I don't believe that featured the manga in any way. Unfortunately, due to a lack of generalized information regarding the game, even in Japanese, I can't tell who actually drew this manga, as there is no credit on the book itself. It could potentially have been character designer Yoko Tsukamoto, but the art doesn't quite match her style, and it certainly looks wildly different from the CG artwork on the cover. Anyway, how does this fare compared to the previous four I looked at, and does the extra length really add anything?Atsuma, Kana, Toya, & Makoto are four students at Yokohama City's Enchant University, where people learn to use a magical science called Enchantment, which allows for the creation & control of creatures known as golems. After a class with Professor Kou, the four learn about a shipment of golems that are being stored on the fourth floor of the university for the next two months so that they can be used for the upcoming Golem Tournament during the yearly celebration of the creation of Yokohama City. Being the mischievous student that he is, Atsuma decides to sneak into the warehouse containing the golems after hours, pulling Toya & Makoto with him. When they find their way in, they come across Kana, who herself snuck into the warehouse while chasing after a little puppy. The four wind up being attacked by a seemingly self-sentient golem, and when Kana, Toya, & the puppy are in trouble Atsuma grabs the golem, seemingly absorbing it into his right arm; Professor Kou watches all this from above, though, saying that Atsuma is "definitely worth using". The guys then find out that Kana was accepted to study abroad in London, to follow in the steps of her late father, and when she heads out Atsuma promises that they'll all come to visit her one day.
Simply put, this prologue is a good one, though it's placement in the overall story is most definitely before anything in the game happens. I haven't played the game yet so, from what I can tell, the main story takes place two months later, when the festival starts up, as it involves those very golems in the warehouse going berserk & attacking citizens. In that regard, this manga does set up the characters well, which is really the main point. Atsuma is shown to be headstrong, brave, & having a mysterious power within him, but he's also intensely lazy & aloof. Toya is your traditional bookworm who's really smart, but deep down also has his own rule breaking personality. Finally, Makoto is the pretty boy of the group (though the instruction manual calls him a full-on "transvestite") & tends to avoid trouble, but deep down would likely be reliable if in a pinch. As for Kana, the manga really sets her up the most, explaining her backstory somewhat & showcasing the warehouse incident as the last real "adventure" the four would have as friends before she leaves for London, and it makes her out to be the seeming main character. That being said, though, Atsuma is definitely the lead in the game itself, and from what I can tell (without spoiling myself), the plot starts going once a Devil Golem called the Queen of Ice kidnaps Toya, incapacitates Makoto with ice, & leaves Atsuma detained by the police in London; I don't know when exactly Kana would come into play in the game. So, much like how the artwork, though very well done, looks absolutely nothing like how the game itself looks (I think Atsuma is the guy with the flame on the cover, but if so he looks about 30 years older than he does in the manga), the manga kind of feels like a completely different & unrelated story than what the game's story actually is like, though I'm sure reading the manga here helps contextualize some characterization in advance.
Unfortunately, though, Ubisoft kind of drops the ball with its handling of this manga, because it's not actually fully translated. I'm not talking about the sound effects, either, which are left in their original katakana forms (though they could have included a mini translation next to them, at least). No, what I'm talking about is all of the mini-text strewn about, which is meant to help add some flavor & (I'd imagine) extra humor to the conversations. Some of them are along the inside edges of word balloons, which should have made for an obvious translation inclusion, but the majority are simply included in the panels themselves, usually next to the characters saying them. In probably the most obvious instance, Atsuma & Kana are arguing, with giant kanji & hiragana being visible in the panels to help accentuate their respective screaming, and those blatantly obvious bits are left untranslated. What this results in is a lot of extra lines simply being left untranslated, which is simply unacceptable; I understand that including them would require extra work, but it just looks sloppy. In fact, there's even an instance where an entire word balloon was left completely blank, plus a couple of growth-like balloons also being left blank (though at least in those latter instances, you'd hope that they were simply included in the main balloon's translation). Really, the only instance where I can give it a pass is on the last page, where Atsuma is saying something, but Kana can't hear him as her boat sails away. Had this been the only instance of no translation being done, I would have accepted it, but it's simply the last of an entire slew of text being left in Japanese, which is sad. I really do appreciate Ubisoft for going through the effort of including this prologue manga for the initial print run of the original Xbox 360 release, and the story itself is fine (if a bit too simplistic), but it was simply done in what was obviously a cheap effort that screams of, "Just get it done with, ASAP."
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Of course, I highly doubt that these are the only examples of video games utilizing comics, but these are five that I could find at the moment. Should I find more example of this kind of thing happening, I may return to this idea for a second go-around, but it's kind of something that I wish had happened a lot more often. Back in the day, instruction manuals were often the only way the story for a game would be explained to the player, and in the end many people simply didn't bother to read them. Maybe if they were done in a more visual form, like via sequential art, then maybe the art of the instruction manual (pun intended, naturally) would have been more appreciated. To be fair, they'd still be the perfect bathroom reading material, but at least they'd would have been even better.
Snatcher © 1994 Konami
Flashback © 1993 Paul Cuisset
Cadillacs & Dinosaurs: The Second Cataclysm © 1994 Rocket Science Games, Inc. & Mark Schultz
Toki © 1989-2018 TAD Corp. © Anuman Interactive SA
Enchanted Arms © 2006 FromSoftware, Inc.
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