I grew up with JRPGs, I learned a lot and I shared powerful emotions and incredible adventures: they're my greatest passion, second only to my love for tabletop RPGs.
I felt hatred for Kefka and his laughter; I screamed and cried during "that scene" with the kind Aerith and the brilliant Sephiroth; I felt the smell of gasoline and clanging of metal as I piloted Fei Fong Wong's mech and the Monado gripped in my hands with each of Shulk's strikes; I jumped through time together with Crono, Marie, Lucca and Robo; I was among the Stars of Destiny in Tir's Liberation Army; I smelled the gunpowder from Squall's gunblade; I was moved by Vivi's existential crisis and I fell in love with Tifa.
My whole generation fell in love with Tifa.
Whenever I finished a JRPG, I felt an emptiness inside. I wanted the plot to continue, I wanted the protagonists I loved and villains I hated to stay with me: every single time, I wished again and again for a tabletop RPG that would allow me to keep those stories and emotions alive.
I tried many systems; I hacked and pasted together rules from different games, reskinned like there was no tomorrow, created house rules, but it never worked.
I wanted an accurate way to play the JRPGs I loved, to create and experience new stories in the style of my favourite genre with the people at my table, but I could not find anything that truly satisfied me.
Now, when I finish a JRPG and feel that familiar emptiness, I can simply schedule a session of Fabula Ultima and fill it whenever I want.
I am very happy that Fabula Ultima is the first roleplaying game entirely produced by Need Games. I still remember when Emanuele told me how they wished to write a tabletop RPG based on JRPGs: I said "I know we're small today, but I'd love for this Fabula Ultima to be our first original game!".
And so it was.
To quote the greatest villain in the history of JRPGs (yes, of course I mean Kefka Palazzo): "Son of a submariner!!!" You're still reading the foreword! Come on! Go ahead, an airship awaits you to set sail for endless adventures...
Nicola Degobbis