MetalliCabombination
Member
Quirks.
Jp devs just 'get' combat.
Less explsions in their games
Jp devs just 'get' combat.
Less explsions in their games
-
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What is that "certain something" that makes many of us enjoy Japanese games so much?
- Thread starter Imp the Dimp
- Start date
RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
Maiden in Black is best waifu.
As someone who grew up in Japan and cut her teeth on Japanese games, and who still loves them very much, I think it's important to to acknowledge that the way women are portrayed in many Japanese games is absolutely unique and it is a draw for many people. You can put your fingers in your ears all you like, but that doesn't change anything.
Different people have different tastes, and some people's taste is simply to be contrarian. Personal preference is a hell of a thing.
I've personally never been less interested in the broad scope of Japanese developed games than I am right now, with the exception of Nintendo. But then I'm not really about Western AAA either.
But that's a false comparison. The Witcher 3 is an RPG, not a character action game.
Try DotA2, or CS:GO few things more precise than those.
I've personally never been less interested in the broad scope of Japanese developed games than I am right now, with the exception of Nintendo. But then I'm not really about Western AAA either.
But that's a false comparison. The Witcher 3 is an RPG, not a character action game.
Try DotA2, or CS:GO few things more precise than those.
This is another really good point. I can't remember the last time I found myself humming a tune from a Western AAA game. Maybe Skyrim?
This part is a little confusing to me. Not that you have a wrong opinion. Just in general though if a Japanese game is given a bigger budget the graphics can look nice. The animations in Japanese games are usually the opposite of stiff though.
Tal Shiar Agent
Member
I've played a grand total of three Japanese games on my PS4.
The Legend of Korra
Godzilla
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
I think the reason I haven't gotten into any others it because the character design turns me off and I don't support the way women are handled in many Japanese games.
The Legend of Korra
Godzilla
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
I think the reason I haven't gotten into any others it because the character design turns me off and I don't support the way women are handled in many Japanese games.
1) Arcades are still an ubiquitous presence in Japan due to social circumstances and this makes a lot of games embrace a similar gameplay-first mentality, whether it's appealing to the customers or something that developers just grow up with and admire. While it doesn't stop story experiences they clearly draw from a much different playbook such as Japanese cinema, lore and even cartoons, rather than how we in the West covet very different depictions and genres.
2) As foreigners to Japanese culture I'd like to think that we find ourselves much more fascinated by things that come from a frame of reference we're not fully acquainted with. I feel this is the main reason Japanese horror games are so effective because horror is rooted in things we don't entirely understand, as well as incomprehension and the uncanny, something that we as audiences will probably fathom even less thanks to the difference in cultural idiosyncrasies. Usually it also creates a certain unique "charm" when Japanese game developers attempt to make something catered to/built around a western audience, because their understanding of it is heavily influenced by an admiration that we might not fully relate to.
2) As foreigners to Japanese culture I'd like to think that we find ourselves much more fascinated by things that come from a frame of reference we're not fully acquainted with. I feel this is the main reason Japanese horror games are so effective because horror is rooted in things we don't entirely understand, as well as incomprehension and the uncanny, something that we as audiences will probably fathom even less thanks to the difference in cultural idiosyncrasies. Usually it also creates a certain unique "charm" when Japanese game developers attempt to make something catered to/built around a western audience, because their understanding of it is heavily influenced by an admiration that we might not fully relate to.
Imp the Dimp
Member
Those don't even share the same perspective. Just pick a random Japanese RPG like Dragon's Dogma to contrast it with. Either way, 3rd person controls (as written in my initial post) are certainly better in Japanese games on average.
Disagree Guy
Member
There is not a funnier circus on the planet than a JRPG company
Games with that as their primary draw arent the ones topping charts.
But eh, bring on the weeb comments.
drotahorror
Member
I disagree. Not much of RE7 feels japanese to me. Definitely one of my favorite games in a long time but I didn't get very many Japan vibes from it.
Dragonslayer_023
Banned
I find that Japanese games are a much larger source of great female characters than Western games.There's a lot more variety and they're done a lot better. They just understand that you can have a great character and fanservice at the same time, whereas to most Western gamers it's a binary distinction.
J
JeremyEtcetera
Unconfirmed Member
I like how much detail good Japanese developers put into their characters and items, to a very high degree. I especially enjoy how much they make sure the animation looks smooth on most actions and character interactions. It transitions into how smooth and intricate their gameplay is. Some people might not enjoy the arcade feel some of their games give off but I'd take their gameplay in certain genres over others.
Many western games these days tend to feel a bit like an interactive movie, no matter if it's a somewhat linear experience or a sandbox experience. There isn't really any challenge, you just breeze thru the story thanks to the very forgiving gameplay.
While Japanese games still feel like, well, games. With very tight controls and if you mess up, you will die. And Japanese game soundtracks still sound like game soundtracks with strong melodies rather than some hidden underscore music like it was for a TV show or movie. The stories tend to have some interesting quirks as well (although sometimes they misfire and things just get more and more stupid as fuck). Just a shame a number of them ruin it with immature fanservice and boobs, and I am getting rather tired of playing as a male teen.
There are exceptions of course, but this is my general feel to it.
While Japanese games still feel like, well, games. With very tight controls and if you mess up, you will die. And Japanese game soundtracks still sound like game soundtracks with strong melodies rather than some hidden underscore music like it was for a TV show or movie. The stories tend to have some interesting quirks as well (although sometimes they misfire and things just get more and more stupid as fuck). Just a shame a number of them ruin it with immature fanservice and boobs, and I am getting rather tired of playing as a male teen.
There are exceptions of course, but this is my general feel to it.
For me it's generally just about the art and design of the game. Obviously not all western games are shoot bang open world games, but Japanese devs focus on art direction, and gameplay design is something that I admire. There are devs like that in the west (valve springs to mind immediately), I just wish more of them were comfortable with making games more gameplay centric instead of story centric.
I don't know. I don't think I get it. Yakuza and Nioh look like old dreamcast games to me with last-gen graphics and clunky looking UI. Resident Evil doesn't strike me as belonging in the same category. Never played a Souls game but I just picked up Bloodborne so we'll see how it goes.
Correctomundo
Member
There is?
Imp the Dimp
Member
Did you play any of them though? Nioh makes up for its unremarkable graphics with 60 fps and beyond godlike gameplay. Yakuza 0 is 60 fps too.
Strangelove77
Member
I like scantily clad ladies wearing very impractical outfits.
Also, swords.
Also, swords.
John Kowalski
Banned
I think people appreciate the culture shock
This is a big reason for me. Their games feel so much more out there and absurd which I greatly appreciate compared to Western games.
Because of the unique environments/settings. Western games tend to go for more realism in their games but i want the fantasy and craziness. Even the western fantasy that i used to love in my younger days are starting to get stale due to it being the same monsters recycled and not being used in interesting ways.
Spiral Insanity
Banned
They are less catered to the profile of a hot blooded American male teenager.
A huge point of what I like about games (or like in general I guess) is music, and I don't care much about the atmospheric, movie-like approach of many western big productions (unless they're horror 
).
I'll take this this or this over subtle, atmospheric every time. And stylized graphics.
That's why I'm mostly playing japanese and indie games I guess.
).I'll take this this or this over subtle, atmospheric every time. And stylized graphics.
That's why I'm mostly playing japanese and indie games I guess.
FarFromAnyGame
Banned
I've been playing Yakuza 0 and I like the premise of Yakuza and the story is interesting but the game is just unbearable! Invisible walls everywhere. There are no transition animations between different animations, that's immersion breaking! The combat is boring and just too wacky! money flying out of people and that glowing "heat"! This is why I don't like Japanese games. They're not for me.
It is a kinda dark story. I just wish the game was more grounded and realistic.
Even then, many cutscenes/conversations are not even voiced!
If you've told me it's a remastered PS2 game, I would've believed you.
Even MGSV is just that bad. Snake walks and animate like a robot outside of cutscenes.
Look at how well-animated western games are. GTA, Uncharted, AC, For Honor..etc.
The Last Guardian though has some of the most impressive animations.
Leaving aside stuff heavily marked to otakus as an edge case, the thing that makes Japanese games so interesting is their ability to turn from heavy melodrama/seriousness to bonkers wackiness on a dime.
It's that ability to rapidly pivot between the two, in both story AND gameplay areas, that makes Japanese games special.
It's that ability to rapidly pivot between the two, in both story AND gameplay areas, that makes Japanese games special.
Strangelove77
Member
Is this an insult? I've never been able to tell.
Adam_Vania
Banned
imo the cultural differences are a large part of the attraction. Japanese media has a way of taking western culture and twisting it or mashing it together in exciting and unexpected ways. i've found this to be true ever since i sat dumbfounded watching the surreal mutant nickelodeon of Super Mario Bros.
western (USA) culture has a lot of hang ups that aren't in Japanese media. i am also into Japanese music and the same holds for that as well as fashion and art. my favorite Japanese musicians (Cornelius and Pizzicato Five) both have this potent aesthetic that is like a hyper aware mashup of American nostalgia. in the end, it is something recognizable, something that has signifiers i understand, yet the contexts are all wrong, or weird or strange, and it's a beautiful thing.
western (USA) culture has a lot of hang ups that aren't in Japanese media. i am also into Japanese music and the same holds for that as well as fashion and art. my favorite Japanese musicians (Cornelius and Pizzicato Five) both have this potent aesthetic that is like a hyper aware mashup of American nostalgia. in the end, it is something recognizable, something that has signifiers i understand, yet the contexts are all wrong, or weird or strange, and it's a beautiful thing.
I see. No, I haven't tried them, but I'm enjoying Bloodborne so far.
They're far more likely to be quirky, less tied to realism, generally takes itself less seriously, all of which is great, because I just want the craziness generally speaking. Also they often go for unique art styles that I tend to just adore.
Like take Gravity Rush for example.
You control a superheroine who possesses gravity powers, yet she lives in the sewers in a world that utilizes a fake language and has floating settlements. It's weird as fuck, and I love that.
And in general, as others have pointed out, there's the whole culture shock of it all. Where you see some of the games they put out, and sometimes I can't help but think "What is going on over there in Japan?" lol
But yea, I've been noticing that I've always had a preference for Japanese games, whereas for Western ones, they usually have to have a very high amount of praise or acclaim (Witcher 3, Last of Us, etc.) before I feel compelled to pre-order or buy it at a later date.
Like take Gravity Rush for example.
I'm such a shill lol
And in general, as others have pointed out, there's the whole culture shock of it all. Where you see some of the games they put out, and sometimes I can't help but think "What is going on over there in Japan?" lol
But yea, I've been noticing that I've always had a preference for Japanese games, whereas for Western ones, they usually have to have a very high amount of praise or acclaim (Witcher 3, Last of Us, etc.) before I feel compelled to pre-order or buy it at a later date.
Mass_Pincup
Banned
It's just good gameplay.
Gameplay often takes less of an importance in Western games.
Gameplay often takes less of an importance in Western games.
As far as MGS5 is concerned. Snake might animate a little strange but it's so you can stop the character on a dime and have precision controls. The exact opposite of most western games.
You stop moving the controller and Snake immediately stops. In uncharted or GTA you stop and the characters are still in the middle of an animation. As a result the game doesn't feel tight or responsive.
FarFromAnyGame
Banned
I personally prefer that over unrealistic animations.