Devil May Cry, Halo, and Kingdom Hearts have begun a trend that seems to be growing in the world of manga. Manga novelizations of the story plots to these games are becoming popular staples of bookstore shelves, and the reading schedules of those who enjoy both manga and video games. These manga not only condense what could literally be a hundred hours of game play into a few volumes, but give those who play such games for the story more than the action a way to bypass the several hours it would take to get through the entire game.

The concept of video game tie-in manga began with similarly themed graphic novels, though they were generally short runs, one or perhaps two volumes to encompass the plot of an entire game. More recently, these games have been novelized with a more detailed story line, just as one would get from playing the game, thus, the series is spread out in more books, up to twelve currently for the Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II series. Devil May Cry also has several volumes of manga in it, detailing the long, concentrated story that one gets in between bits of gameplay and demon smashing.

These tie-in manga series generally follow the plot of the games themselves. While they might leave out a few nuanced points, they are basically retelling the story. Originally, any tie-in manga for video games were stand-alone stories that worked on their own level, and were either about a side character, or an original story taking place outside the canon storylines established by the game and related material. So who are these manga for? Are they for the fans of the games, the fans of a good story, or simply for those who love manga and want to read something new?

The truth of the matter is that video game based manga can be for any of these people. Those who love the game can enjoy the story in a condensed form which he or she may rush through in order to finish the game and see how it turns out, or just read it to understand it better. Those who love a good story but do not play video games can experience the harrowing tales of famous heroes whom they might recognize but know nothing about them. Finally, those who love manga can be given a taste of some of the equally beautiful artwork of modern video games in the format they most enjoy.

So bring on novelizations of Final Fantasy X and Xenosaga, manga publishers. The world of manga is waiting for new stories to be told, even if we can play them out with a Playstation 2 or an Xbox.