Book Reviews › Character › Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life
Honest review · Character
Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life
by Chris Kohler
Why Japanese games, Mario, Final Fantasy, Pokémon, shaped the medium: storytelling, cinematics, character. Scholarly and fan-friendly.
Read it if…
you want a cultural history of Japanese games.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want business.
Try instead: Homo Ludens →
Three things you will actually use
- Story and character sell.
- Craft travels across cultures.
- Play is universal.
Do this first
Read the chapter on Miyamoto.
Our verdict
Japanese games' influence.
See the book →
Compare with other Character books
Browse all Character book reviews or get the free Reality Code Cheat Sheet.
As an Amazon Associate, WisdomDeck earns from qualifying purchases. Links marked “Click to see” go to Amazon. We are not paid for opinions, prices and availability are not shown here and change on Amazon, and we never see your purchase details. Nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice.



