Japan makes cooler characters than everyone else...
- Thread starter Sean Hollyman
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Ok, just so you know, Power Rangers was inspired by a Japanese version Spiderman, an American character, so you just disproved your own argument.Sean Hollyman said:
Second of all, watch Yahtzee's Final Fantasy 13 review, and behold as all those crazy characters and over the top plots you think are so awesome suddenly turn out to be cookie cutter remakes of previous games. The giant sword, planet busting, drug trip apparel shenanigans has been done to death so much that it's become a whole family of tropes (seriously go check out TV tropes. A good chunk of the stuff there comes from Japan alone)
HEY! Spartans are cool.
I'd say Japan is better at making characters, not just people. They have personalities, change, adapt, respond, etc. It's refreshing to play JRPGs because it's very much like playing through a novel, a very fun novel (most of the time). For example, the Tales of Symphonia characters are amazing. Each one has their own quirks, their own attitude, their own story, etc., which Americans just expect you to fill in with your choices and some mixture with your own life so as to get the "immersion" feeling.
I'd say Japan is better at making characters, not just people. They have personalities, change, adapt, respond, etc. It's refreshing to play JRPGs because it's very much like playing through a novel, a very fun novel (most of the time). For example, the Tales of Symphonia characters are amazing. Each one has their own quirks, their own attitude, their own story, etc., which Americans just expect you to fill in with your choices and some mixture with your own life so as to get the "immersion" feeling.
You do know that Japan weren't the first ones to start up the whole 'giant robot' thing right?
Do us a favour and read War of the Worlds and Starship Troopers.
I love both immensely by the way.
Do us a favour and read War of the Worlds and Starship Troopers.
Yeah but the West did 'Virtual Musician' and 'Live' first.CkretAznMan said:
I love both immensely by the way.
Well, just coming from that Escapist video 'The Myth of the Gun', I have a theory.
Japanese game developers feel the need to create the characters for you and, through them, master the game as your character masters his abilities. If they're giving you a role ready-made, it has to be an interesting role, so that you'll want to keep playing. American developers, on the other hand, prefer blank slate characters so that their audience can project themselves on to what they're doing.
Just a thought off the top of my head; I'm not saying I'm necessarily right.
Japanese game developers feel the need to create the characters for you and, through them, master the game as your character masters his abilities. If they're giving you a role ready-made, it has to be an interesting role, so that you'll want to keep playing. American developers, on the other hand, prefer blank slate characters so that their audience can project themselves on to what they're doing.
Just a thought off the top of my head; I'm not saying I'm necessarily right.
*facepalm* Read further up this page. Power Rangers comes from the Super Sentai branch of the Tokusatsu Genre, not Spiderman. Toei/Marvel-Spiderman simply provided host to where the Giant Robo for Battle Fever J (1979) came from as Sentai (Team, Squadron, Task Force) was already around from 1975 in Goranger and JAKQ.The Heik said:
And since the Giant Robo came from the Japanese version of Spiderman, that means it's still a Japanese invention (otherwise how the frack else would Spidey fight Godzilla or Mothra or other Kaijin which Japan gave us?!). Even if Toei didn't work with Marvel for the 1978 Spiderman, we'd still have gotten the giant Robo in Sentai in one form or another.
Well, that's certainly true for Bethesda's RPG's, and also table-top games like D&D, the emphasis in these RPG's is making your own characters and playing them rather than playing AS a certain pre-made character.DarkenedWolfEye said:
Generally though, i've always thought the Japanese were good at characterisation, and that comes through in a number, but not all, of their games, and same for their anime. Overall, the general quality of Western video game characters maybe isn't quite as good as Japanese ones because so many Western game characters are gritty, macho soldiers. Then again, notable exceptions include John Marston, Big Daddy, Nathan Drake, Lara Croft, Faith Conners and Cole Phelps. Baically, when Western dev's arn't making FPS's, they can make decent characters.
Still, if you look at Western literature and films then you could compile a massive list of intriguing and well developed characters. Beowulf, Sherlock Holmes, Ellen Ripley, the Doctor, Amile, Dr Frankenstein and numerous Shakespeare characters for instance.
Coming to think about it, you could also include Western god's whom seem to be pretty interesting and complex characters- Thor, Zeus, Loki and Wotan come to mind, but i'm sure Oriential god's are just as interesting as Western ones, if you count them as fictional characters.
