It's no secret that over the last few years, Japanese video game companies have been struggling to attract and retain the same foreign audience that once swarmed to play their products. In the spirit of constructive criticism, IGN writers Erik Brudvig and Ryan Clements published a top ten list of foreign players' top ten complaints about Japanese role-playing games on Monday. Less than a week later, a stack of Japanese replies and comments have appeared on the anonymous sanctuary of the 2ch BBS system.
As expected, one country's "problems" are another's cultural pride and joy. Oh, the humanity.... People, can't we just get along? Read on for a translation of some of the highlights.
"What!? Fallout is the SAME THING! You fight the same enemies, collect the same items... There's no sense of exploring unknown territory or anything. No matter how much freedom the player has, that's all there is."
"Oblivion and Fallout fanatics are exponentially more annoying than any Final Fantasy fanatic."
"Hey foreigners: we find your first-person shooters boring as shit. What do you say to that?"
"When I see all the 'sniping' and corpse-desecrating 'teabagging' going on in US games, the thought of what what foreigners do when they get mad [in real life] freaks me out."
"I'm sorry, but the battle systems in foreign games are totally boring."
"Yeah, like Oblivion's. But I guess it isn't the main focus of that game."
"Japanese RPGs are created for the express purpose of letting one experience the blooming of their full powers from a total zero starting point. They're necessary for keeping public order in Japan."
"Okay, so give us some foreign RPGs that are more interesting than Japanese ones. I just don't find foreign RPGs interesting at all."
"Oblivion's okay, but foreign games lack subtlety. They lack detail, and the character design and stories are bad."
"Americans can't understand complexity so a lot of the best stuff doesn't get translated. Like Megami Tensei!"
"That bit about "The Road Less Travelled?" #7? That's a common complaint... of inexperienced gamers. Like, I felt that way when I was in grade school."
"So sorry, but I LIKE Japanese-style RPGs."
"The real problem with Japanese RPGs is that the storylines aren't written by pros, only gamers."
"Oblivion didn't fare that well here, and Japanese don't really get into real-time strategy games."
"I call 'cultural differences'!"
"Show me an American-made RPG that satisfactorily addresses all of these complaints."
"Do foreign companies even make RPGs anymore? The only games that come to mind are first-person shooter action games. If we followed this 'advice' to the letter they'd have us making Grand Theft Auto clones."
"Japanese RPGs are created for the express purpose of letting one experience the blooming of their full powers from a total zero starting point. They're necessary for keeping public order in Japan."
Seriously though IGN's suggestions seem like a great way to make a bunch of high-cost games that don't appeal to the core Japanese audience and then might not appeal at all to the American one. Result=bankrupt companies and an even faster slide to obscurity.
Yes these different markets influence each other and have a slow subtle cross pollination effect but it has to remain that. When people try to force it, it ends up half baked and 9 times out of 10 a poor imitation or clone of what they are going for.
Yes these different markets influence each other and have a slow subtle cross pollination effect but it has to remain that. When people try to force it, it ends up half baked and 9 times out of 10 a poor imitation or clone of what they are going for.
*cough* Resident Evil 5 *cough*
mass effect is the only good western rpg anyway
Enemies in Final Fantasy XIII have a much more important number attached to them than the mortal concept of “hit points”. The number is, uhh, well, there’s really no snappy little name for it. There’s a meter beneath an enemy’s name and life gauge (crucial: enemies have long, horizontal green life gauges; remember this (we are going to get back to it later)) with the word “BREAK” in big, shiny, italic capital letters. It starts out completely empty. Your goal is to fill it up. Whoa! That’s like the exact opposite of what you have to do to an enemy’s life gauge! Yeah, this game is really going to shift the hell out of your paradigm.
mass effect is the only good western rpg anyway
I always find it funny when the press pretends like it knows how to make or market games*. It's even funnier when they make recommendations for software that's engineered for an audience totally different from theirs.
* Protip: They don't, that's why they're hired as Community Managers.
Community managers :rofl
Cold as ice
:lolspoiler (click to show/hide)I'm not serious. :'([close]
I understand that changing the JRPG formula would be almost impossible at this point and would likely result in a big reduction in sales, but that doesn't mean I have to like the way the genre's going.
I understand that changing the JRPG formula would be almost impossible at this point and would likely result in a big reduction in sales, but that doesn't mean I have to like the way the genre's going.
I understand that changing the JRPG formula would be almost impossible at this point and would likely result in a big reduction in sales, but that doesn't mean I have to like the way the genre's going.
So, go play something else.
The reason why JRPGs and other 'culturally Japan' games have failed/will fail in the West, is because the gameplay mechanics and story telling aspects of Japanese games are incredibly outdated.
Western games have become simpler and more accessible while Japanese games have gone in the opposite direction. This is why the success of Demons Souls (in the West) was such a surprise, it literally contradicts Western game design in every imaginable way yet it still performed exceptionally well with critics and with retailers.
I think Final Fantasy 13 marks the official death of JRPGs in their current form. Only hype and franchise popularity can save the game from becoming one of the biggest disappointments of this generation.
I don't think I agree that Western games are more simple or accessible. I actually find starting a wRPG to be incredibly daunting. I have to choose my chin width and cheek depth and lip puffyness and oh god I just want to hit some fucking monsters over the head.
I don't think I agree that Western games are more simple or accessible. I actually find starting a wRPG to be incredibly daunting. I have to choose my chin width and cheek depth and lip puffyness and oh god I just want to hit some fucking monsters over the head.
[youtube=560,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vobp1r1BAzY[/youtube]
further proof that wrpgs are superior
[youtube=560,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vobp1r1BAzY[/youtube]
further proof that wrpgs are superior
I don't think I agree that Western games are more simple or accessible. I actually find starting a wRPG to be incredibly daunting. I have to choose my chin width and cheek depth and lip puffyness and oh god I just want to hit some fucking monsters over the head.
I don't think I agree that Western games are more simple or accessible. I actually find starting a wRPG to be incredibly daunting. I have to choose my chin width and cheek depth and lip puffyness and oh god I just want to hit some fucking monsters over the head.
Yes and no matter how long you put into the character creation system, they still come out looking like an ugly-ass mutant.
I don't think I agree that Western games are more simple or accessible. I actually find starting a wRPG to be incredibly daunting. I have to choose my chin width and cheek depth and lip puffyness and oh god I just want to hit some fucking monsters over the head.
Yes and no matter how long you put into the character creation system, they still come out looking like an ugly-ass mutant.
I dont see anything wrong with that EoE scene. Context please? Janson likes SO4 but reels at this little clip. Pretend you dont care any more... bro. Another Himuro, for sure
I don't think I agree that Western games are more simple or accessible. I actually find starting a wRPG to be incredibly daunting. I have to choose my chin width and cheek depth and lip puffyness and oh god I just want to hit some fucking monsters over the head.
Yes and no matter how long you put into the character creation system, they still come out looking like an ugly-ass mutant.
so whack the random button until you get one you like-ish, or go with the preset
it's your own damn fault if you spend too much time in the trivial parts of character creation, that cheek depth and brow width shit is there for the ocd freaks what LIKE it
Character creation is so tough and overwhelming! I wish BioWare and Bethesda would just make my characters look like lolis, that'd be so much easier.
so whack the random button until you get one you like-ish, or go with the preset
it's your own damn fault if you spend too much time in the trivial parts of character creation, that cheek depth and brow width shit is there for the ocd freaks what LIKE it
I find if I do that and start the game, once the character starts getting seen in various cut-scenes, there's always *something* hideous about them. Games with super-customization really need to have a "default" character that you know doesn't look terrible the way Bioware has done with ME2.
Yeah, I'm recalling the "people are fine with you entering their home and rifling their chests" complaint about JRPGs, and I've only seen a couple western ones make that distinction. Fable 2 and Fallout 3. I went through half of Baldur's Gate before I realized I was SUPPOSED to be robbing everyone's house because no-one cared and there was no character repercussions. Then again, I'm not much of a computer RPG fan.I don't understand. A lot of the complaints they list are more evident in JRPGs than WRPGs.
I think the lesson to walk away from this with is that people have a tendency to misunderstand other people's viewpoints, sometimes deliberately, sometimes not.
Personally I think jRPGs and wRPGs have more problems in common than they do different problems.
Yeah, I'm recalling the "people are fine with you entering their home and rifling their chests" complaint about JRPGs, and I've only seen a couple western ones make that distinction. Fable 2 and Fallout 3. I went through half of Baldur's Gate before I realized I was SUPPOSED to be robbing everyone's house because no-one cared and there was no character repercussions. Then again, I'm not much of a computer RPG fan.I don't understand. A lot of the complaints they list are more evident in JRPGs than WRPGs.
I think the lesson to walk away from this with is that people have a tendency to misunderstand other people's viewpoints, sometimes deliberately, sometimes not.
Personally I think jRPGs and wRPGs have more problems in common than they do different problems.
I dont see anything wrong with that EoE scene. Context please? Janson likes SO4 but reels at this little clip. Pretend you dont care any more... bro. Another Himuro, for sure
yeah, it was just goofy animu spazzo shit of the sort you see in every final fantasy or similar title. it is not even in the same ballpark as the FUCK AMAZING DINNER DANCE
I'm pretty sure Oblivion/Morrowind are the same.
yeah in Oblivion and Fallout, you would gain negative karma and be fined/jailed/attacked if a guard caught you. I think the AI "forgets" about it after 3 days though. It was actually pretty fun sneaking around pickpocketing and picking locks in those games.
The reason why JRPGs and other 'culturally Japan' games have failed/will fail in the West, is because the gameplay mechanics and story telling aspects of Japanese games are incredibly outdated.
Western games have become simpler and more accessible while Japanese games have gone in the opposite direction. This is why the success of Demons Souls (in the West) was such a surprise, it literally contradicts Western game design in every imaginable way yet it still performed exceptionally well with critics and with retailers.
I think Final Fantasy 13 marks the official death of JRPGs in their current form. Only hype and franchise popularity can save the game from becoming one of the biggest disappointments of this generation.
not sure if I agree or disagree....
You're saying that western rpgs will beat jrpgs in the west because they've allowed themselves to be dumbed down for joe 6 pack. Hmmmmmmmm....maybe you are right.
I dont see anything wrong with that EoE scene. Context please? Janson likes SO4 but reels at this little clip. Pretend you dont care any more... bro. Another Himuro, for sure
I did that once for the 'cheev, giggled, felt bad, reloaded. I play these games as a goody-two-shoes hero; I don't even like doing the other stuff to get the Neutral and Capital-E-Evil 'cheevs.yeah in Oblivion and Fallout, you would gain negative karma and be fined/jailed/attacked if a guard caught you. I think the AI "forgets" about it after 3 days though. It was actually pretty fun sneaking around pickpocketing and picking locks in those games.
the most fun is putting grenades or land mines in their pockets.