Big Eyes, Small Mouth (hence BESM, since that’s a lot to type) accomplishes what a lot of games want to - it’s a genre game that’s just the right amount of general (as opposed to too general or not general enough).
I’ll clarify that. Bubblegum Crisis from R. Talsorian Games, while an excellent game and a good introductory piece for the Fuzion” line, was an anime role-playing game that expected you to play the Knight Sabers (creation rules for other character groups were in the back of the book). Teenagers From Outer Space, while obviously anime-influenced, managed to sprawl over at least three genres (adolescent gaming, like Cybergeneration; American cartoon gaming, like Toon; and anime gaming). BESM has one goal in mind: to be the ultimate anime role-playing game. It pulls it off, too; it’s genre-specific while being as broad as possible, its rules are broad enough to be encompassing but tight enough to be playable, its attitude is more playful than most gamers, and it sells for $14.95.
I’ll say that again. $14.95. In an age where gaming supplements run $20-30, Guardians of Order has managed to bring us a polished game for just under fifteen dollars. (Oddly, the supplements cash in at a dollar more than the game itself.)
The book is laid out well. It has a logical flow to it, moving from an introduction to the book and a basic introduction to anime to character creation, which takes up much of the rest of the book. (It’s a small book, which makes it all the more impressive.) Creation involves the Tri-Stat system, where characters have Body, Mind, and Soul, and then use Skills and Advantages to beef up those stats. At the end is a lexicon - the authors are anime fans, as befits writers of an anime RPG, and thus use a lot of Japanese and jargon words - and a bibliography, which also recommends some anime to watch, to get into the mood.
The system is also simple; roll 2d6. If you roll lower than your Stat (plus modifiers), you succeed; roll higher, and you fail. A 2 always succeeds, and a 12 always fails. Combat tends to be just as simple; roll initiative (only 1d6), then attack or defend (2d6 vs. the character’s Attack or Defensive Combat Value). Damage is meted out, and a new round begins.
End result? BESM is a lot of fun. For an otaku (fanboy) like me, it’s great to have a chance to play a character in universes I’ve watched and read so many times. It’s a good system, too, and fun to read. Truth be told, the game I was supposed to review was the first (mecha-building) supplement, Big Robots, Cool Starships; it was on the strength of that supplement that I decided to lay out the cash to buy the main book. I haven’t for one moment regretted it.
The game also has two supplements, Big Robots, Cool Starships - mentioned above - and Hot Rods and Gun Bunnies, which I’ll be reviewing later in the month. Keep an eye out.
Free Trader EDG signing off.
