I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely don’t understand the huge popularity of Japanese games I’ve honestly tried to give them a fair go with the likes of final fantasy, Nier automata and danganropa. They just seem to have endless boring dialogue and schoolgirls in short dresses. Can anybody suggest a game that might finally get me into this genre.
That’s not a genre, that’s an entire country’s wildly varied output.
Yep that’s a fair enough comment just haven’t enjoyed anything Japanese other than the major Nintendo games, maybe it’s just anime that I just don’t get
“Japanese games” is a pretty uh…wide net mate
Do you mean JRPGs? Visual Novels? Shmups? Fighting Games?
Like all 4 of the above a common “Japanese Game” genres
Maybe refine your OP and thread title to more accurately reflect what you (hopefully) mean
You named 2 JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games) and a Visual Novel (where the whole point is the dialogue). “Japanese Games” is not a genre lol.
Anyway, give Devil May Cry 5, Souls games (Elden Ring), and Dragon’s Dogma a try I guess lol. I tried to avoid dialogue heavy games with no “anime” here.
Avoid Yakuza if you were eyeing it. It’s extremely dialogue heavy.
To each their own but i like thoae tyoes of games although not every game in those anime ish games are great
It will be easier if you tell us first what games you like to show you similar. Like everyone said, Japan is a country, not a game genre.
I know, all the school girls in super Mario bros, Donkey Kong, Resident Evil, and Mega Man really rub me the wrong way.
I think using the word ‘genre’ was a mistake, maybe the Japanese culture would be a better way to word it.
Thanks for the advice, as that was a game I was considering.
I like a pretty diverse type of games, love western RPG s, turn based strategy games, walking Sims and lots of indie games ( everybody saves the World, tunic), map games! ( Assassin’s Creed odyssey).
Lol. You’re right, when I think Japanese games, I’m really thinking JRPGs. Never tried resident evil, is that conversation heavy or more action?
Even then I’d disagree, as someone who spent years studying Japan, it’s culture and language, and lived with a couple Japanese families, you’re being extremely reductive. The culture is as diverse and varied as any other.
You probably have jrpgs in your mind when you say Japanese games, and I’m 100% on the same boat as you. I’m pretty sure jrpgs if you live in the west, you either love them or hate them, I don’t know anyone that will play scarlet nexus for example just to say he played it, they are hard to get in to.
My theory is people who really enjoy jrpgs are a very vocal minority, because the ones that don’t really like them will just not talk about them, but maybe I’m wrong and they really are more popular than I imagine in the west.
Certainly never meant to offend anyone, never visited Japan but loved every other Asian country I’ve visited, both the culture and the people.
You’ve hit the nail on the head there. Glad it’s not just me then. Feel like I’ve accidentally stired up a hornets nest starting this thread.
It’s ok if you don’t like Japanese games or JRPGs, but you should understand their importance for the ecosystem.
Sure, the more diversity in games the better, since joining gamepass I’ve discovered loads of great games I would never have tried before. I just never understood the absolute love for JRPGs and was wondering what I was missing, that was what my original aim was for this thread before it turned into what it is now, probably due to my poor wording of my original question.
They have cutscenes yeah but they’re more focused on action and horror. If the games sound like something you’re interested in I suggest trying Resident Evil 2, it’s a remake of the original RE2 that released in 1998. It’s arguably the best RE out right now.
I dont like Final Fantasy either.
Anyways if you want to try strategy japanese rpg’s you may be pleasantly surprised. For old school i highly recomend Shining Force 1,2 and 3. If you want a modern japanese SRPG then play Valkyria Chronicles 1 and 4. VC2 is not as good but its still fun. Also note that its harder to hunt down.
You’re catching a lot of flack, but I’m somewhat inclined to agree.
Of course I realize “Japanese” is not a genre, but in my experience I also tend to dislike a disproportionate number of games from that country. Maybe it’s something about Japanese sensibilities that just don’t click for me. I don’t know.
Well, one thing I do know is that I intensely dislike the traditional anime art style. The hair, the eyes, the mouths… it’s just not for me, at all. Any game that employs that art style is usually an instant skip for me.
Apart from the anime art style, what don’t I like?
For starters, I really don’t care for the most Japanese of all genres, the JRPG. Regardless of art style, I generally find them quite dull. I thought I’d like Octopath Traveler, but I only lasted a couple of hours. It just didn’t keep me interested.
I also find many JRPGs to be melodramatic to the extreme. Although, come to think of it, that seems to not be dependent on genre. I have some tolerance for melodrama in something like Eternal Sonata, which I finally completed last year, but even Ace Combat has nauseating levels of it, and that’s just unnecessary.
But aside from JRPGs, I’m also not particularly fond of fighters or shoot-em-ups. The latter I straight up detest.
Oh, and there’s a cheerfulness in many Japanese games that I find pretty obnoxious too. I’m talking garish colour schemes, hyper cheery voices, overly cutesy character designs…
Anyway, I think I’ve made my grumpy point.
To cap off, I’ll point out that there are plenty of Japanese games that I really like, too. It’s just that on average, I definitely gravitate more towards Western game design sensibilities.
Personally, I’m quite fond of endless boring dialogue and schoolgirls in short dresses.