Do many Westerners really dislike Japanese games for such shallow reasons as "anime"?
- Thread starter LilithSlave
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There are some Japanese games I love, FF7 and stuff like that. But I think Japanese games are in general pretty shit due to the fact that they are more often linear and not very open world. Not to mention all the franchise exploitation. Are they still making Mario games?
Does this mean I'll get to play something like Dark Souls, but voiced by Bruce Campbell?For.I.Am.Mad said:
I don't mind if something looks like anime, but when it feels like (a bad, cliched characters and story) or sounds like one, I rarely become interested. Besides most japanese games that come over here are FF type JRPGs that have fucking horrid gameplay.
I do like some animes though, like Tengen Toppa Gurren lagann, Hellsing (the original) and Cowboy Bebop etc. I tend to like older anime, TTGL being the exception because it is a parody of the modern shonen anime.
I do like some animes though, like Tengen Toppa Gurren lagann, Hellsing (the original) and Cowboy Bebop etc. I tend to like older anime, TTGL being the exception because it is a parody of the modern shonen anime.
Just join some otaku/weeaboo forum, they are filled with people praising everything Japanese and preaching how it is the superior culture. I'm not saying you are like this, but atleast you'd have someone who shares your views on these games.LilithSlave said:
The emotional depth of anime (and JRPGS) is definitely what I find appealing about it. A lot of Western games feel sort of dull and superficial in comparison. But, a lot totally don't as well...Robert Ewing said:
I seem to be a bit weird in that I don't actively pursue a particular medium for my consumption of fiction. I'll read graphic novels, manga, books, watch anime, western animation, any movies, and play any genre of video game. I just think, if it's good, it's good, and I'll enjoy it.
In the case of games, I've enjoyed many Japanese games, and have found others to be total crap. I'd definitely say the same about Western games. I've watched some anime I've loved, and watched some that I've hated. I have to say, I find the fanboys and anti-fanboys pretty annoying in this respect. All because something is ______, doesn't mean it's all awesome/shit.
So, I do think I get what the OP is saying. Writing something off completely without giving it a chance is pretty stupid. And, I'm quite confident that a lot of Western gamers do precisely that. "These guys look like chicks, fuck this!".
I'll admit the aesthetic can sometimes be a bit much... but so are the bull-sized lumps of twitchy testosterone in Gears of War. All because there are a few extreme examples, doesn't mean ALL Japanese games have casts of whiny girly men, and ALL Western games have casts of the aforementioned testosterone lumps.
Even if you've given it a chance and legitimately can't take it, though... why not just leave it at that? I know many do, but many also just complain about it whenever possible, expecting the entire Japanese entertainment industry to cater to their preferences. I mean, I hate country music, but I don't ask that it cease to exist and everyone who enjoys it just change their minds or something...
The impression I got from the OP, is that he really wants two things:
1) If you haven't already, approach it with an open mind.
2) If you find you still don't like it, just live and let live.
Those kinds of reason won't alone stop me from playing such games. It's just something I don't care for.
However is it less compelling from a story perspective to expect someone to believe some 15 year old kid is a protagonist that fights demons with a sword and has deep complicated romances and such.
A very generalized statement to be sure, but it gets my point across.
From what I've seen of anime and the like, much of the animation is very lazy. 3 frames for talking, no real backdrops, over exaggerated flashy effects, blah blah. Personal presence. I don't think it's shallow because I don't judge people who love it. It's just not my cup of tea.
One of my main problems is horrible interfaces and mechanics that are just downright tedious that make you want to scream WHYYYY!??!! while viciously savaging someone responsible.
Here is a great example.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EaGvRv6jqw
However is it less compelling from a story perspective to expect someone to believe some 15 year old kid is a protagonist that fights demons with a sword and has deep complicated romances and such.
A very generalized statement to be sure, but it gets my point across.
From what I've seen of anime and the like, much of the animation is very lazy. 3 frames for talking, no real backdrops, over exaggerated flashy effects, blah blah. Personal presence. I don't think it's shallow because I don't judge people who love it. It's just not my cup of tea.
One of my main problems is horrible interfaces and mechanics that are just downright tedious that make you want to scream WHYYYY!??!! while viciously savaging someone responsible.
Here is a great example.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EaGvRv6jqw
Well she obviously loves the games... I don't see why people who "blindly" love the games wouldnt be fun to talk to.tony2077 said:
(Captcha: Dear cookie)
That, too. I just think it's funny that there are people who think the RPG genre needs more action games.j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
It'd be more correct to say that I don't like a certain type of Nippon production, but that I have nothing against JRPGs in and out of themselves. I remember having great times with FF7 as a teen because of the way the mechanics were put together, but the whole "Sullen and Tortured Hero Finds Personal Redemption" thing got on my nerves long before I even started reading shitty fanfics.
I don't much care for the types of Japanese cultural products that feel like verbatim applications of TVTropes pages. Basically anything involving Yoshiaki Kawajiri's take on elderly sorts or the way he tends to depict his female characters as tortured Serious Waifus that spend the entire feature rejecting the Stoic Bastard's clumsy advances and finally cave in with the requisite Big Glittery Eyes of Emotional Turmoil. I barely tolerated DBZ because of how one-note everyone felt - but I've gobbled up Ghost in the Shell's movie and serial incarnations, along with more exotic stuff like Samurai 7 or Heat Guy J.
As far as games are concerned, I guess I'm just more culturally inclined to appreciate Western social codes and morals, is all. I've got no beef against games that want to extol the virtues of teamwork and friendship and all - but I'm still predominantly a lone wolf. Between a sunny Japanese production with a colorful cast of characters and a Western experience focusing squarely on one person, I'll go with the Western one.
As I've said in another thread, even our most teamwork-centric franchises still put a lot of emphasis on the Player Character. Mordin Solus might have interesting ethical quandaries to deal with, it doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day, his dilemma matters less than the way Commander Shepard reacts to it.
I don't much care for the types of Japanese cultural products that feel like verbatim applications of TVTropes pages. Basically anything involving Yoshiaki Kawajiri's take on elderly sorts or the way he tends to depict his female characters as tortured Serious Waifus that spend the entire feature rejecting the Stoic Bastard's clumsy advances and finally cave in with the requisite Big Glittery Eyes of Emotional Turmoil. I barely tolerated DBZ because of how one-note everyone felt - but I've gobbled up Ghost in the Shell's movie and serial incarnations, along with more exotic stuff like Samurai 7 or Heat Guy J.
As far as games are concerned, I guess I'm just more culturally inclined to appreciate Western social codes and morals, is all. I've got no beef against games that want to extol the virtues of teamwork and friendship and all - but I'm still predominantly a lone wolf. Between a sunny Japanese production with a colorful cast of characters and a Western experience focusing squarely on one person, I'll go with the Western one.
As I've said in another thread, even our most teamwork-centric franchises still put a lot of emphasis on the Player Character. Mordin Solus might have interesting ethical quandaries to deal with, it doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day, his dilemma matters less than the way Commander Shepard reacts to it.
I like a lot of Japanese games, and I quite enjoy the art style for a lot of them. Realism can tend to feel quite bland for me, though, so I suppose I can see the issue from the reverse perspective. Unless a game is truly hideous to the point of being offensive to look at, however, it won't factor into my enjoyment of the game.
Oh look, another person who thinks that all WRPGs are homoerotic macho-men testosterone inducing power fantasies. Its like....something we've never seen before or something.....yaaaayyy.....
Obviously from all the posts you understand that aesthetics are important, and that people have different preferences, so I don't want to bludgeon you with some more pseudo-philosophy. But You feel like westerners are criticizing and humiliating you for liking anime? Uh......huh? All my friends love anime and hate my criticisms of it to the point where they will not listen to anything negative about certain franchises. Lots of different people exist in America, and nobody is destroying your childhood because lots of DIFFERENT kinds of people enjoyed Mass Effect and Skyrim. Not everyone that enjoys western games is a Caucasian male. Everyone seems to forget how much of a melting pot of cultures America really is. You want to know how WESTERN CULTURE is ruining MY WESTERN INFLUENCED childhood? Michael Bay's Alien Ninja Turtles.
Obviously from all the posts you understand that aesthetics are important, and that people have different preferences, so I don't want to bludgeon you with some more pseudo-philosophy. But You feel like westerners are criticizing and humiliating you for liking anime? Uh......huh? All my friends love anime and hate my criticisms of it to the point where they will not listen to anything negative about certain franchises. Lots of different people exist in America, and nobody is destroying your childhood because lots of DIFFERENT kinds of people enjoyed Mass Effect and Skyrim. Not everyone that enjoys western games is a Caucasian male. Everyone seems to forget how much of a melting pot of cultures America really is. You want to know how WESTERN CULTURE is ruining MY WESTERN INFLUENCED childhood? Michael Bay's Alien Ninja Turtles.