Professor Renegade
Banned
All of this boils down to competent game design.
I think it's artistry. Japanese games are influenced by other Japanese forms of media like manga and anime which have their own distinct flavors, tropes and style. And it's generally less grounded in reality preferring to have a bit more abstract stylization. But also I think you have more singular visions as well. The west produces something akin to Super Hero movies, big budgets, hundreds of people and lots of studio influence to sell, whereas Japanese games are often a bit smaller and a bit more focused with a particular person who has more influence heading it up. This tends to give a less "focus group" feel, they will specifically target some audiences over others and when those match up with your personal tastes it feels much more special than the everyman type of fare.
All of this boils down to competent game design.
Japanese games for me tend to have better/deeper gameplay and less emphasis on cinematic stories while generally being more creative. It's a shame so many are trying to copy western style games and we get total stinkers like FFXV.
That's largely what I was going to post too.Exactly what I was going to post.
To generalize (and therefore be wrong on many counts, but still), Japanese developers seem to prioritize game design, even in the midst of whatever wackiness the game might otherwise have.
Western developers perhaps put presentation as the #1 priority, more often than the game itself.
I definitely share this preference, but I wonder if people agree with me in thinking that indie games seem to ignore this "rule".
I'm REALLY enjoying For Honor, to my surprise, but if I don't count indie games, I honestly have no idea of what was the last western game I liked. Maybe The Last of Us? It's been a while.
If I do count indies, though, then Hyper Light Drifter was amazing, and I blindly recommend it to people who only enjoy japanese games.
"Magic" also works here too.Is this the same as the "heart" Nintendo fans always like to cite when asked why they like their games?
They focus on the shit that matters
Same. I didn't even realize I liked Japanese games until I was 13 or 14 despite playing them throughout my childhood. There's something about the way Japanese games look, handle and feel that's ingrained in me as the type of video game I like.Being the age I am, early 30s to be exact, I remember video games as being something intrinsically Japanese growing up I guess. There's a specific feel to that that I'm not sure how to describe.
When I play something like Nioh right now, it really brings me back to the quirkiness and idiosyncrasies of all that and it touches on a certain type of enjoyment factor in me. I guess it feels familiar and comfortable.
I've never given it enough thought to be honest to be able to really link it to mechanics or anything like that. One thing I do appreciate though are the seemingly more ridiculous anime/anything goes stories and themes.
Love me some チーズケーキ
The philosophical approach. I think they go for headier concepts, even if they often don't stick the landing. I appreciate the attempt and love the outcome.
Xenogears, Chrono Cross, MGS2, so on.
They made me think about things differently, and when I was younger I didn't know what "good execution" looked like so I was blown away.