The Last Wizard
Member
Plot? Yes, plot is really great in Japanese titles
What is that "certain something" that makes many of us enjoy Japanese games so much?
- Thread starter Imp the Dimp
- Start date
-Pyromaniac-
Member
To me it's imagination and design.
Imagination in all ways including plot, design, characters, etc. Believ me ain't no western dev giving us Nier.
Imagination in all ways including plot, design, characters, etc. Believ me ain't no western dev giving us Nier.
Lmao true
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
While I don't tend to enjoy traditional Japanese games as much as I did when I was younger, I find what I've always liked about them is their quirkiness more often than not?
Playing the Gravity Rush 2 demo just gave me this instant Jet Set Radio vibe like when you first spawn in Shibuya. It was great. You just don't really see Western games that exude that vibe. Sunset Overdrive was probably the closest thing to a Western made Japanese game. Probably why I love it so much.
Playing the Gravity Rush 2 demo just gave me this instant Jet Set Radio vibe like when you first spawn in Shibuya. It was great. You just don't really see Western games that exude that vibe. Sunset Overdrive was probably the closest thing to a Western made Japanese game. Probably why I love it so much.
If this is becoming a general "Japan is better" thread, I'd like to add that generally these Japanese games that feel "better" really only feel better than the biggest AAA western games in terms of focus of design. I don't think that really applies to all western games, just the ones with design that's focus-tested and copy-pasted to death.
Within the context of consoles that may mean most western games, but I think within the context of just consoles we're also seeing western developers sort of out of their true element. Many of the biggest and most influential western developers in the console space today came from a PC background and have had to adapt to consoles. That means adapting to standardized hardware and and a game pad. Along the way I think these developers realized action games with pretty graphics do better in the mainstream marketplace and started making a bunch of those, sacrificing things like smooth controls as well as some of the things that made their PC predecessors great. Old PC franchises and genres got "consolized" with less player freedom and generally less of the "simulation-driven" approach PC games are known for. As such, a lot of western console games lost a bit of their identity.
Japanese developers on the other hand come from an arcade and console background. The ones that didn't go mobile stayed on consoles which is their natural habitat. Their games tend to feel better to play on a controller. I think the people here just suggesting that "Japanese games are better" haven't seen many western games other than the generic big-budget ones being released on consoles now.
Within the context of consoles that may mean most western games, but I think within the context of just consoles we're also seeing western developers sort of out of their true element. Many of the biggest and most influential western developers in the console space today came from a PC background and have had to adapt to consoles. That means adapting to standardized hardware and and a game pad. Along the way I think these developers realized action games with pretty graphics do better in the mainstream marketplace and started making a bunch of those, sacrificing things like smooth controls as well as some of the things that made their PC predecessors great. Old PC franchises and genres got "consolized" with less player freedom and generally less of the "simulation-driven" approach PC games are known for. As such, a lot of western console games lost a bit of their identity.
Japanese developers on the other hand come from an arcade and console background. The ones that didn't go mobile stayed on consoles which is their natural habitat. Their games tend to feel better to play on a controller. I think the people here just suggesting that "Japanese games are better" haven't seen many western games other than the generic big-budget ones being released on consoles now.
cm osi
Member
that may be.
but i love because they don't take themselves seriously, i love when they're crazy and whacky. anyone played a yakuza main quest?
also a japanese game is folded over 1000 times and can cut a western game in half
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Confirmation bias? Preconceived notions, elitism,...
blame space
Banned
Japan is not like it is in America where you can become successful by being an asshole.
Jaguar Victory
Member
What? LOL. I don't think you know much about Japanese business. There's assholes everywhere. Bullying is a thing and subordinates get shit on. Basically like the rest of the world.
I don't know what you know about Japanese culture. I'm sort of an expert...
(I just became this guy. Damnit)
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
ProgenitorCastle
Banned
Good question!
For me, its a few things, and they vary in each game, but generally here's the things that draw me in to Japanese games:
- Oftentimes, Japanese games are pretty colorful. Colors to me are like eye candy...gimme those colors! Atmospheric games as well
-Japanese games tend to be quirky!
Japanese games tend to have unique enemies...like creatures and such compared to human enemies prevalent in Western games
- Often, Japanese games have original ideas to them, gameplay wise and story wise to a lesser extent.
Even if a Japanese game takes its gameplay mechanics from another game, they tend to have them the most refined (example being RE1's gameplay derived from the original Alone in the Dark,)
-In general, Japanese games tend to feel the most "gamiest". Hidden collectibles in levels, upgrading your health bars, etc.
-Great music!
The things I listed I like apply to games from other places as well, say from France or the odd Western game here and there. Some indie games have these qualities to them as well.
For me, its a few things, and they vary in each game, but generally here's the things that draw me in to Japanese games:
- Oftentimes, Japanese games are pretty colorful. Colors to me are like eye candy...gimme those colors! Atmospheric games as well
-Japanese games tend to be quirky!
Japanese games tend to have unique enemies...like creatures and such compared to human enemies prevalent in Western games
- Often, Japanese games have original ideas to them, gameplay wise and story wise to a lesser extent.
Even if a Japanese game takes its gameplay mechanics from another game, they tend to have them the most refined (example being RE1's gameplay derived from the original Alone in the Dark,)
-In general, Japanese games tend to feel the most "gamiest". Hidden collectibles in levels, upgrading your health bars, etc.
-Great music!
The things I listed I like apply to games from other places as well, say from France or the odd Western game here and there. Some indie games have these qualities to them as well.
GoldCrusader
Member
Japanese games are just more fun to look at. I'm not talking about sexual stuff, but just that the general artstyle Japanese game uses to be more much more visually pleasing. I look at more big western games and I'm usually turned off by the style they use.
Of course character designs too. Japanese games just have better designs.
Of course character designs too. Japanese games just have better designs.
Chie Satonaka
Member
I mean, I grew up on Japanese games. My favorite genre is RPGs, specifically JRPGs. I think I just prefer Japanese style experiences in my games. I don't think it's one thing in particular.
It also helps that I like fanservice, but it's not like western games don't also do that.
It also helps that I like fanservice, but it's not like western games don't also do that.
Jaguar Victory
Member
Japan has such a dichotomy between their everyday morals/values and their otaku culture. People always think Japan is this wild and crazy place when in reality those things are just small pockets of Tokyo. Most of it is just run of the mill boring. Creative types go outside the norm and create these cool wacky things like manga, anime and videogames however and it's pretty damn dope.
We have amazing creative people in the west too but too often these types of projects go wayside by the rule of capitalism. Cater to the mainstream. Follow the money.
We have amazing creative people in the west too but too often these types of projects go wayside by the rule of capitalism. Cater to the mainstream. Follow the money.
â Narayan
Member
Definitely this for me. I also like more artwork and music featured in Japanese games.
Also this. Plays a big factor in generating preference.
GoldenCrow
Member
For me it is that they tend to stick to one thing and do that very well at the expense of almost everything else. The best Japanese games tend to be the ones that buck the trend of "jack of all trades, master of none" and the ones that are less successfully try to do everything just don't come together at all, i.e. MGS5 and FF15 but still have elements that are amazing.
I think this is also one of the reasons why we haven't seen a truly open world game from Japanese developers that is coherent as they are often about the smaller details rather than the whole. Often Western developers are the opposite.
I think this is also one of the reasons why we haven't seen a truly open world game from Japanese developers that is coherent as they are often about the smaller details rather than the whole. Often Western developers are the opposite.
Vulcano's assistant
Banned
More homogeneous. You can find things repeating in them often enough that you know where to find them, in the West games can be so different from one another that there is only one title that ever tried that one particular thing you liked.
Jonneh3003
Banned
To generalise things Western games use reality as an inspiration and Japanese game use imagination. Not true for everything but that's generally how I feel.
- More colors: I hate the American philosophy of "one color is more manly". Whether it be JRPG's or platformers, Japanese games always use more colors.
-Diverse settings: American games have overused settings and it's getting really boring. Tolkien fantasy (stop treating this guy as a prophet or something), overcomplicated future, American military (would like to play a FPS where you're not American. Thank god for BF1). Japanese developers like to be weird when creating worlds. You need more races for your game world? Have fun!
-No thirty something creeps as protags: American games kinda obsessed with being "manly", we almost never see a game with a protag at age between 15-25. Let's be honest, adults suck and they're boring. Seeing the worlds from the eyes of an amateur makes the game more fun.
-More nostalgia: Japanese devs do not fear going back a few years in time. Even numbered entries in well known series have a retro game from time to time. American games never do that. I've been waiting for a old school FPS game from ANY developer. Uber-realism sometimes puts me off.
-Diverse settings: American games have overused settings and it's getting really boring. Tolkien fantasy (stop treating this guy as a prophet or something), overcomplicated future, American military (would like to play a FPS where you're not American. Thank god for BF1). Japanese developers like to be weird when creating worlds. You need more races for your game world? Have fun!
-No thirty something creeps as protags: American games kinda obsessed with being "manly", we almost never see a game with a protag at age between 15-25. Let's be honest, adults suck and they're boring. Seeing the worlds from the eyes of an amateur makes the game more fun.
-More nostalgia: Japanese devs do not fear going back a few years in time. Even numbered entries in well known series have a retro game from time to time. American games never do that. I've been waiting for a old school FPS game from ANY developer. Uber-realism sometimes puts me off.
To Far Away Times
Member
Gameplay centric design vs cinematic setpiece design.
ZeroMaverick
Member
Read Chris Kohler's Power Up. It does a great job of answering this question.
poodaddy
Member
I honestly have been getting back into Japanese games a bit I must reluctantly admit, but honestly the weaboo shit is embarrassing and cringey. The objectification of almost every female character in Japanese games is indicative of a larger problem in Japanese culture in general and the awful scripts and overused anime like character archetypes have me rolling my eyes constantly, and that's not to even mention the disturbing loli shit that seems so prevalent in Japanese games. I find myself so disgusted with all of that....but I can't deny that the games are just fun to play and they feel good when the controller's in your hand. Something about the tightness of the controls in most Japanese games and the unabashed gameyness of it all is just inherently charming to me. Such a shame that anime is so inexplicably intertwined with Japanese gaming though....
SciencePilot
Member
Is there some slight element of racism? Maybe racism is the wrong word. I mean people may be prejudiced into liking certain games just by virtue of them being associated with Japanese culture, and not for a more concrete reason. I don't know what the right word for that is -- that the culture especially appeals to them.
ASHES IN THE HOURGLASS
Banned
They aren't interested in creating "realistic" or "cinematic" experiences, they embrace the abstract nature of the medium and thus their games age better than western games. Ironically, I would argue that Ueda is the only game designer who has adapted realism and cinematic techniques in his games without losing sight of the mediums nature. Obviously, there are masterful western games out there that follow this line of thought but they are few and far between.
What The Forest Taught Me
Member
This rings true in everyday life in general in Japan as well. The high level of homogeneity in Japan can result in a similarly high level of predictability across a vast number of situations and activities, even when drilling down to the typically more variation-prone area of social interaction. After a certain point, you're often able to predict, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, how even larger groups of people will react to what you say or do, and their response gestures and phrases (even their timing) begin to seem as though they're happening "right on cue," and as part of a "script" of sorts. It's hard to properly describe, but it's one of the most surreal things I've ever experienced!
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
This narrative is so weird because we like to ignore that tits and ass alongside blood and gore use to be the western game bread and butter for a good while there, especially in the early 2000s
ok hipster.
AzureFlame
Member
Gameplay, not realistic.
Generally speaking, I like Japanese games better on console and like my western games on PC. I think Japan did "console" game better back in the 80s and 90s and the modern consolification of western games last generation did not go over as well as that consolification of early PC games and arcade games.
The western games I like tend to be simulation or strategy games or they tend to have a similarly strong design ethos to the Japanese games I like.
I have huge holes in my experience, but largest on the non-strategy western game side. I like my puzzle games and shooters with high quality level design, but I haven't played enough of them, especially the latter.
I actually have almost no experience of western AAA because I felt pushed away pretty quickly by them.
TenCentCoast
Banned
Yeah, don't kid yourself. For most of these people it's boobs. See the amount of bitching about "censorship" that happens when a character is even slightly covered up.
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
I mostly prefer Japanese games and despise this aspect. (I don't think it's limited to Japanese games but that's a whole other topic of discussion)
You'll probably find many people here who feel the same. Look at any thread about Cidney (FFXV) or Quiet (MGSV) and you'll see a lot of people calling their designs garbage. There's been plenty of other reasons brought up in this thread that don't have anything to do with this at all.
KO Traveling Hobo
Member
Western games tend to be really ugly. A lot of them try too hard to be realistic, but it ends falling into the uncanny valley or something like it.
The layer of abstraction and stylization that many Japanese games utilize has the counterintuitive result of making the world qnd characters more believable and easier to immerse yourself in.
Also, I'm a sucker for serious, grounded topics being presented in extraordinary and fantastic ways. Like tackling depression and the tribulations of interpersonal relations in a cartoon about giant robots killing giant monsters.
Also, how many noteworthy Western game composers are there? I thought about making a thread for this, but it seems appropriate here. The JP games industry has a number of legendary composers, but I can't think of any Western equivalents.
The layer of abstraction and stylization that many Japanese games utilize has the counterintuitive result of making the world qnd characters more believable and easier to immerse yourself in.
Also, I'm a sucker for serious, grounded topics being presented in extraordinary and fantastic ways. Like tackling depression and the tribulations of interpersonal relations in a cartoon about giant robots killing giant monsters.
Also, how many noteworthy Western game composers are there? I thought about making a thread for this, but it seems appropriate here. The JP games industry has a number of legendary composers, but I can't think of any Western equivalents.
yeesh
You forgot to generalize and argue about the horrible culture and how it needs to westernize.
Crayon
Member
True story: I was visiting a store for awhile and all the guys there played games. But Everytime they brought something up I guess I turned my nose up and every time I mentioned something, they had never heard of it. So they started calling me a "weird gaming hipster". I thought about it and accepted the judgement.
TenCentCoast
Banned
Nah, but nice bait. That's not even remotely what I was even alluding to, nor is it something I believe, but great attempt at character assassination. It's possible to criticize the motives of people who like games that overwhelmingly feature scantily-clad, often young, women.
lvl99 Pixel
Member
They make some cute designs sometimes.
But then I played Ori and the Blind Forest and realized its been done better.
But then I played Ori and the Blind Forest and realized its been done better.
Take a look at the most critically and commericially succesful Japanese game and tell me there's a
large discrepancy with the west in regard to fanservice.
I don't have a preference personally, but to suggest fanservice being both the biggest draw and a much bigger issue(compard to the west) and ignoring the many differences in games created by a vastly foreign culture is dumb.
sure, but entering the thread with "most of you are lying and only care about anime titties, which those japanese games are obviously overwhelmingly about" is a pretty funny way to do it
DragonKnight
Member
They are good games.
But I do feel that japanese devs just get player movement and animation. Going from BB and DS3 to the witcher was ROUGH.
But I do feel that japanese devs just get player movement and animation. Going from BB and DS3 to the witcher was ROUGH.
KO Traveling Hobo
Member
Are western games not full of over the top sexualization and objectification? I mean, bikini armor is a traditional Western fantasy concept.
Look at Blizzard, look at League of Legends, look at Mass Effect. Big tits and asymmetrical clothing are rampant in some of the biggest Western games.
TenCentCoast
Banned
I'm not claiming that Western games are perfect. But comparing how likely a AAA Japanese game is to have a very overt emphasis on male fanservice to how likely a Western AAA game is in 2017, there's very clearly one that outweighs the other. The entirety of this industry and culture has a problem of bigotry of all kinds, including sexism.