Should America or Japan feel ashame of the lack of "Jrpg"

[Ack]

Americans don't like Japanese games like they used to. Japanese games went from "fucking awesome" to "fucked up gay anime shit where the boys look like girls." It's very sad.

I've noticed this a lot lately on more mainstream game sites and it bothers me. There's a strong air of both xenophobia and homophobia in some people's remarks about Japanese games that gets under my skin.

I think that it's less a criticism of this overall and more a criticism of "why do we keep seeing this over and over?" Because...well, we do. JRPGs are considered stale in terms of plot devices, visuals, and gameplay. When I see a new one, I often ask myself if I've played it before. That's not to say there's not innovation, as I have seen some, but it's usually not implemented well. Plus, I am tired of seeing the lead character have generally the same overall appearance of weak pretty-boyness. I think it's time we get a scarred-up gruff guy to go stomp some goblins with.

[D.D.D.]

So how is any more valid than for any FPS?

[ZenErik]

Personally, I play JRPGs not necessarily expecting anything revolutionary. Same way I play shmups. I play them because I enjoy them. Sure, I have some that are just like nothing else, but I also have a lot that are not necessarily very innovative but are just plain fun.

I don't care if Hyperdimension Neptunia gets review scores of 1/10. It is the most enjoyable JRPG I have played this generation. Leagues ahead of Final Fantasy XIII. Although the 30 minutes I've play Xenoblade seem pretty promising.

There are still a fair amount of good solid RPGs coming out over here. From what I can think of, they are mainly being published by NIS America, Aksys Games, XSEED, and Atlus. And then there are some from Square Enix and Bandai Namco as well. Portables get the most, but the home consoles still get a fair amount.

[Gnashvar]

Americans don't like Japanese games like they used to. Japanese games went from "fucking awesome" to "fucked up gay anime shit where the boys look like girls." It's very sad.

I've noticed this a lot lately on more mainstream game sites and it bothers me. There's a strong air of both xenophobia and homophobia in some people's remarks about Japanese games that gets under my skin.

I agree that there's too much descrimination on people who enjoy these games.
I dislike what path japanese games are taking but that's because I dislike the "moe" or "cuteness" art. But that's my choice. I don't think the games should be called "fucked up" because of that.

[Flake]

Ack has pretty much hit the nail on the head. The Japanese are not exactly known for innovation. They tend to have one guy with a great idea and then run it into the ground. I used to love JRPG's until I realized three things:

- All the developers were doing with their subsequent iterations was updating graphics and moving the menus around. The core gameplay rarely evolved in a meaningful way.

- JRPG developers seem largely incapable of telling anything but the most infantile stories. It always comes down to the Bildungsroman archetype over and over again.

- Developers had it in their head that Long = Good and began to artificially lengthen their games with grinding and fetch quests instead of stepping up and creating engrossing content that would make the time needed to play a JRPG these days worthwhile.

In the final analysis, JRPG's ended up becoming derivative.

[Gnashvar]

I still like the Persona/Shin Megami Tensei games though. It has that "thin boys" thing but the stories are deep enough to overlook that if you don't like it.

[isiolia]

I think the problem is more that, in the face of shrinking mindshare, too many companies instead have chosen to cater to the otaku who are left rather than try to appeal to a larger crowd. While there's nothing wrong with targeting something to the super fans...it should be the exception, not the rule, if you hope to actually move a lot of units.

Part of the boom with anime is that it tends to be different from what people are/were used to. The eventual realization, with more exposure, that it's often just as derivative and cliche as anything else will result in some disinterest. Or, of course, there's always the typical backlash against more fringe media when the realization hits that other people like it too, and therefore it's mainstream and sucks.

Still, it's a similar problem to anime. The solution to anime becoming more niche is probably not more moeblob lolis, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the past few seasons of shows. Similarly, more cliche'ed games with piled-on stats/systems won't win many new fans.

If you look at the contrast, WRPGs, many are stripping away pieces that aren't essential to the point of the game/genre. By doing so, they're succeeding in making games that a broader audience can get into.

[Gamerforlife]

Part of the boom with anime is that it tends to be different from what people are/were used to. The eventual realization, with more exposure, that it's often just as derivative and cliche as anything else will result in some disinterest. Or, of course, there's always the typical backlash against more fringe media when the realization hits that other people like it too, and therefore it's mainstream and sucks.

That's pretty much it. Anime just isn't trendy and cool anymore and it seems to be the part of the gaming industry that people just want to hide in their closet now.

Japanese gaming was big here once because it's all we had. Now we have a stronger market with more competition and japanese development in general has not risen to the challenge of facing that competition. Japanese gaming is no longer cool by default. It's more like a washed up celebrity has been now

[Flake]

Japanese gaming is no longer cool by default. It's more like a washed up celebrity has been now

I've never heard a more apt comparison. It's like I can almost see the Final Fantasy series embodied. And it is wearing a very large clock on a chain around its' neck.

[wootcube]

I would buy more rpgs/jrpgs but it seems all the ones I really want (or at least the ones that feature the most innovation) are on portables at the moment...I don't mind that the visuals are scaled down, I'd just rather play games on a TV at home then on the go or something.