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This year changed my perspective on Japanese games

AniHawk

Member
My first console was PS1, and I've never had a Nintendo console (yes, that means I haven't played Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc. either). I am considering getting a cheap WiiU so I can play BoTW, it looks fascinating

as someone who started gaming on a nintendo platform and has owned all of those, i don't recommend getting a wii u. at least not as the one to start. if you're looking for a botw machine, i think a switch is better considering it's going to get more stuff going forward, and should legitimately provide a good alternate experience for indie games.

if you seek out a wii u, i think the best part about it is the backwards compatibility with wii. although in that case, you'd be better off getting a wii since most are backwards compatible with gamecube. wii u is probably the cheapest it's ever going to be at this point. you need a gamepad (tablet controller) for it to function and there are only 6m in the us. with the system being region locked, it means there will be a dwindling supply as time goes on, and right now people are more eager to offload them because of the switch.
 

LAM09

Member
Yakuza 0 is my favourite game of the year so far and I enjoyed Nioh for the most part.

Can't wait for Yakuza Kiwami now.
 
as someone who started gaming on a nintendo platform and has owned all of those, i don't recommend getting a wii u. at least not as the one to start. if you're looking for a botw machine, i think a switch is better considering it's going to get more stuff going forward, and should legitimately provide a good alternate experience for indie games.
Cost is the main issue. I never buy consoles near release, usually 3 or 4 years later. Like I didn't get a PS3 till 2009 and only got my PS4 last year.

But BoTW sooner than later is tempting. It sounds like a proper action adventure with the design sensibilities of an immersive sim.
 

Jimrpg

Member
There was a time period around the start of PS3 where Japanese devs weren't technically as solid western devs. But that was a combination of the game industry in Japan which was stagnating at the time and also western devs pouring in more money into their games. When you have 500 devs working on the latest Assasins Creed game versus 50 people working on say a Dynasty Warriors game you're going to get some compromises. Then you had people like Phil Fish calling out Japanese games which was just straight up embarrassing because he seems to have missed the qualities that many other people saw.

But they've definitely gaining a lot of momentum right now, I mean the games were always there but the gap has been narrowed technically significantly. Things like Dark Souls III are huge games. Yakuza has found a way to be competitive as a large game by building on each one before it, (even if sales are low). Aside from the huge AAA games like Spider-Man, God of War, I think Japanese games are holding their own.
 

AniHawk

Member
Cost is the main issue. I never buy consoles near release, usually 3 or 4 years later. Like I didn't get a PS3 till 2009 and only got my PS4 last year.

But BoTW sooner than later is tempting. It sounds like a proper action adventure with the design sensibilities of an immersive sim.

i guess there are units out there (used of course) that are under $200. you probably would be lucky to find one in the wild since they're discontinued.

if you did get a wii u, i recommend nabbing a wii remote and nunchuck so you can play some of the better wii games. super mario galaxy 1 and 2 are on the machine's virtual console and sin & punishment 2 is up there as well. there's also a good variety of classic games on the wii u's and wii's virtual consoles, including chrono trigger, earthbound, the minish cap, mario 64, majora's mask, etc.
 

Fou-Lu

Member
This thread just keeps reminding me that I really need to play Yakuza 0. I wish it was less than $80 in Canada.
 

loudbill

Member
I just got my PS4 this year, so I haven't been able to play many games, but I played Yakuza 0 and Persona 5. Yakuza 0 is straight up one of my favorite games ever now, its just amazing.

I'm not too far into Persona 5, just got past the first palace. So far, its excellent. I've never beaten a JRPG, but Persona 5 has definitely grabbed my attention pretty well. I plan on getting Nier after I beat Persona.
 
I just got my PS4 this year, so I haven't been able to play many games, but I played Yakuza 0 and Persona 5. Yakuza 0 is straight up one of my favorite games ever now, its just amazing.
Yakuza 0 does dark gripping crime thriller and fun/weird/wacky side missions, and somehow both make sense tonally and character-wise. I don't know what black magic is going on to make it ride that line so perfectly, but it's impressive
 
Really has been a great year for Japanese games. In fact they owned it. I hope more years like this are coming soon but this year will be considered a classic I think when we look back.
 

Jimrpg

Member
Cost is the main issue. I never buy consoles near release, usually 3 or 4 years later. Like I didn't get a PS3 till 2009 and only got my PS4 last year.

But BoTW sooner than later is tempting. It sounds like a proper action adventure with the design sensibilities of an immersive sim.

I wouldn't get a Wii U, it's expensive for what it is and with so many titles getting a Switch release the number of must haves on Wii U keep diminishing.

At least get a Switch when the price is right for you. I don't think you'd save that much money in the long run getting a Wii U.
 

SephLuis

Member
Yakuza 0 does dark gripping crime thriller and fun/weird/wacky side missions, and somehow both make sense tonally and character-wise. I don't know what black magic is going on to make it ride that line so perfectly, but it's impressive

Fam...the next chapter will make you do the LTTP for sure. It was when i knew Y0 is the real deal.

You all have no idea how happy I am that people are finally discovering this series.

Can't wait for those LTTP threads.
 
I feel so blessed by these Japanese games. I always enjoy gaming and find something good to play, but my experience with Japanese games in the last 3 years have been a highlight for sure.
 
Between Persona 5 and Breath of the Wild, this has been the best year for gaming in a long time.

Still have other great titles to play: Tales of Besteria, Mario Odyssey, Sonic Mania, Ni No Kuni 2, Xenoblade 2, Gravity Rush 2, Splatoon 2.
 

HMD

Member
Would Nintendo games qualify as Japanese games? Because their quality never dropped and it should be what people focus on when mentioning Japanese games.
 
Japanese games have been great this year. In fact, the majority of what I'll be playing all this year is or will be Japanese games. I don't think I've played this many since the PS2 era.

Would Nintendo games qualify as Japanese games? Because their quality never dropped and it should be what people focus on when mentioning Japanese games.

Why wouldn't they? Most of them are made in Japan by a Japanese company, so...

unless we're talking about their western studios like Retro, then I would say probably not.
 

UrbanRats

Member
This is a little bit how I feel about the first one, though I was more exhausted by getting used to the camera swings and did finish it. I love all the things you listed as positives, but they sorta simply hide a mediocre game (level design/combat included) underneath. I did all of the sidequests in Remastered since there aren't many and the context for enough of them is fun for a chuckle, when not varied. I like the game and its core mechanic, but it's a less-than-sum overall.

Unfortunately, hearing from multiple sources that Gravity Rush 2 bloated itself so much versus its handheld-originating predecessor, I don't have much faith that the same trick can work twice and especially over such a greater amount of "content". I'll check it out eventually.

I finished the remastered to completion (ok, aside from that stupid "put out the fire" side mission), and it was a rollercoaster of high points and frustrating lows.
I excused it for two reasons: It was a handheld port; it was the first time they were implementing an admittedly very unique traversal mechanic.

With GR2 they fixed some things, definitely polished the controls (stasis is now almost over powered, instead of completely useless) but it's still missing things a lock on, that would make the game all that smoother to control.
Beside that, the bigger scope of the game does indeed mean that everything feels bloated and stretched too thin.

Their design approach to missions feels archaic (defeat wave after wave of uninteresting enemies! then read text off a stone tablet!) and in general are always dragged on to the breaking point.
It's emblematic that it takes more than one hour to exit the ugly start area.
But... the characters and the world are so damn lovable and charming, that it keeps you playing through the slog, and of course the gravity mechanic itself, though certainly not refined, is still a very interesting one, exhilarating at times.

Still, as you say, they masked a very mediocre game under very good art direction.
GR2 feel more polished and grand, but also bloated to the point where some of the design flaws became all the more evident.

The treasure hunts are the only parts of the game i enjoyed top to bottom, probably because they don't ask too much of the control system.
 
By the way OP, you should pick up Dragon's Dogma on PS4 when it comes out this year.

It's amazeballs.

I'm really looking forward to this. I loved the game in theory, but the technical issues on PS3 did it's best to bring my enjoyment down.

I know about the PC port but on my PC it would run even worse.
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Would Nintendo games qualify as Japanese games? Because their quality never dropped and it should be what people focus on when mentioning Japanese games.

I mean, for most people who enjoy japanese games (myself included), the quality of japanese games as a whole never dropped, it only migrated go handhelds, so I think it's fair to include Nintendo.

I think the thread is more about learning to appreciate the difference in approach that japanese games have regarding tone and game design rather than celebrate their comeback to the home console space anyway, and Nintendo are a great example of that.
 
As someone who has always played largely Japanese releases this gen has been a wonderful change compared to last gen. It feels like my interests are finally being catered to.

Yep!

And so much more still coming the rest of the year.

Gravity Rush 2 is the best evidence that the best way to make an open world enjoyable (besides being all systemic and emergent like a STALKER or Zelda) is fun traversal. Just mastering the movement and plummeting across the environments in Gravity Rush is endlessly satisfying

Agreed, so much fun.

Don't forget Tales of Berseria

Agreed, it's getting a bit buried under more greatness but this was a great game too.
 

petran79

Banned
It took some time for Japan to adjust to the realities of 8th gen.

Till GOW and TLOU2 release, they'll be in the spotlight,just like previous gen.
 

daevious

Member
Was RE7 made by Capcom's Japanese developers or did they outsource? I heard that at least for the story part it was outsource to western writers or something

I think they outsourced the writing to the same person who wrote Spec Ops: The Line, which is hysterical if true.
 
Gravity Rush 2 bored me to death. I gave up halfway I think.

Need to play Nier : Automata next.

But Yakuza 0 was the best in the series imo. Persona 5 was stellar. Nioh was godsent.

I wish japan would wake up for good.
 

Roufianos

Member
It's been a great few months with Resi 7, TLG, Nioh, Nier and Yakuza. I'm glad Japanese gaming has made such a strong comeback, too many western studios are putting out the same derivative open world garbage.
 

UrbanRats

Member
It's been a great few months with Resi 7, TLG, Nioh, Nier and Yakuza. I'm glad Japanese gaming has made such a strong comeback, too many western studios are putting out the same derivative open world garbage.
Yeah Resi7 and Nioh especially have NOTHING derivative about them!

I loved both games a lot, but damn is this nonsense annoying to read.
 

MoonFrog

Member
Switch is going to get you BotW and whatever holds for the future of Nintendo's stationary and portable lines of support. We don't know about Switch VC.

Wii U gets you access to BotW (which seems central to your Nintendo interest), Wii U, Wii, (GCN, modded), and VC games.

Neither gets you access to 3DS/DS. There are some GBA VC games.

Depending on Switch VC (if/when that happens), Wii U could be rendered various levels of redundant but it does have a LOT to offer someone who's never had a Nintendo.

A thing to remember though is that a healthy chunk of quality third party support for Nintendo is on their handhelds. Switch will inherit that.
 
Wait was the giant mec pic from EDF? I could've thought that EDF was a game about giant bug aliens invading earth, which is what turned me off from it.
 
Wait was the giant mec pic from EDF? I could've thought that EDF was a game about giant bug aliens invading earth, which is what turned me off from it.
That's only the start. Things only get more insane from there, with even more giant bug aliens mixed in

He has a pc so he cpuld still play it on his rig ;3
I have a mediocre two year old laptop :)

So yeah, waiting for PS4. I had played it a bit on PS3, but not much
 

zombieshavebrains

I have not used cocaine
I have similar thoughts. Japanese Single player games (Dark Souls/Final Fantasy/Platinum games)> Western ones. But Western Multiplayer games (Valve/Blizzard/Borderlands/GTA)> Japanese ones.

Japanese still act like they don't know what the internet or a PC is.
 

Zero-ELEC

Banned
I think they outsourced the writing to the same person who wrote Spec Ops: The Line, which is hysterical if true.

It's false. The writing and scenario is still mostly CAPCOM internal, as is true for all official Biohazard products. Richard Pearsey was hired as 'narrative consultant/designer', though what that entails is not clear.
 

danmaku

Member
Yakuza 0 does dark gripping crime thriller and fun/weird/wacky side missions, and somehow both make sense tonally and character-wise. I don't know what black magic is going on to make it ride that line so perfectly, but it's impressive

There's no black magic at all, they just jump from one tone to the other without giving a single fuck. If you just play the story missions and ignore all the side content it's a serious (though not exactly realistic) crime drama, if you add the side missions it gets a lot sillier and you tend to take the main story less seriously, which helps because there's a lot of absurd stuff in there.
 

Ascheroth

Member
Unfortunately I don't have a PS4, it'll be the Vita version with all its flaws for me!
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ will also be on PC if that's an option.
I have a mediocre two year old laptop :)

So yeah, waiting for PS4. I had played it a bit on PS3, but not much
Dragon's Dogma runs on MT Framework and MT Framework runs on toasters :p
It could run well on your laptop. But PS4 is probably still less of a gamble.
 
There's no black magic at all, they just jump from one tone to the other without giving a single fuck. If you just play the story missions and ignore all the side content it's a serious (though not exactly realistic) crime drama, if you add the side missions it gets a lot sillier and you tend to take the main story less seriously, which helps because there's a lot of absurd stuff in there.
Nah, it's more than that. So far, they're consistently good at matching those sillier situation with Kiryu's personality in a way that it makes sense why a guy like him would actually participate and help people out. Not giving a single fuck would have been simpler, see the dissonance of Michael or Franklin doing side missions in GTA compared to their personalities in the campaign and story missions.
 

BouncyFrag

Member
Persona 5 changed everything. That ending with that music is a top gaming moment for me. Incredible. I've never been into party based jrpgs and mostly play western games. I've now played through P4G and P3 FES in succession. I haven't even gotten into Yakuza 0 or Nier. On a whim I got a refurbished PS Vita and am blown away by this platform. Happy gamer is happy.
 

Peltz

Member
OP, did you try Zelda?

Edit: I see you addressed this. Personally, you can't go wrong with a Wii U or a Switch. If you can find a cheap Wii U, definitely grab it for Bayonetta 2, Pikmin 3, W101, SM3DW, Captain Toad, and Zelda.
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Nah, it's more than that. So far, they're consistently good at matching those sillier situation with Kiryu's personality in a way that it makes sense why a guy like him would actually participate and help people out. Not giving a single fuck would have been simpler, see the dissonance of Michael or Franklin doing side missions in GTA compared to their personalities in the campaign and story missions.

Yeah, side quests in 0 are fantastic because the way they're integrated feels like no matter how silly they are, you can picture Kazuma (and Majima) getting sidetracked by them and they actually add a lot to their characters because their personalities remain consistent with what you see of them in the main story.
 

danmaku

Member
Nah, it's more than that. So far, they're consistently good at matching those sillier situation with Kiryu's personality in a way that it makes sense why a guy like him would actually participate and help people out. Not giving a single fuck would have been simpler, see the dissonance of Michael or Franklin doing side missions in GTA compared to their personalities in the campaign and story missions.

That's because Kiryu is basically Yakuza Jesus so it kinda makes sense that he wants to help everyone (him being in the Yakuza makes a lot less sense but whatever). It feels more forced with Majima, and obviously a lot more forced in GTA because in GTA everyone is an asshole. But GTA is a big parody so it doesn't really need to follow certain rules for its characters.
 
The best tonal shift in the Yakuza series is the over the top violence paired with the Tom & Jerry-like consequences. Everyone's fine after the brawl and enemies always apologize.
 
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