If you consider yourself a true specialist of video game history, you probably know that the roots of the Japanese RPG genre are directly tied to the nostalgic Famicom and NES eras. For the longest time, whenever someone asked what started the console JRPG craze, the default answer from most gamers would immediately be the original Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.
However, history has a funny way of hiding some gems beneath layers of obscurity! Out of the blue, a huge piece of gaming history has just been unearthed, as the actual, technical pioneer of the NES role-playing genre is officially making its way to modern platforms – marking its first-ever official release outside of Japan after a staggering 41-year wait.
A Next-Gen Arrival for an Ancient Classic
The game in question is the forgotten JRPG Bokosuka Wars, developed by Kōji Sumii and ASCII Entertainment. While the title technically got its start on the incredibly rare Sharp X-1 computer back in 1983, hardly anyone actually owned that hardware (not even back then).
It wasn’t until its release on the Famicom in 1985 that it truly cemented its legendary status, eventually getting a brief nod on the...
