On a scale of 1 to 10, how "japanese" are Nintendo games?

[themistermanguy]

I'd say usually between 5-6, which would put them somewhere in the middle. That's one thing I always liked about Nintendo games, cultural balance. Take a game like Skyward Sword, it has the character designs of an old school 80's anime, mixed with feudel Japanese art, yet it has an impressionist painting look that feels very western at the same time. Or even games on the more Japanese end like Kid Icarus, and Fire Emblem, they have an anime art style with Shonen style story telling, mixed with the writing and dialogue of a smart and witty western cartoon like Adventure Time, Regular Show, My Little Pony, Gravity Falls, Futurama, old Simpsons, and old SpongeBob. And games with a more western approach like Star Fox still have a japanese flair combining cute talking animals with giant robots, space fights, and mecha. It's what seperates Nintendo from super japanese companies like Atlus, and very western focused ones like Sony.

 

[krazykidd]

Ummm, i would say 9.

Look at every first party game ( save for maybe metroid) by nintendo. Look at most games from western developpers. You would never mistake a first party nintendo game for a game made by a western developper.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I have a hard time confusing Japanese and Western animation. You can always tell when Western animation is trying to look Japanese (i.e. Avatar), and vice versa. So to me, Nintendo is 100% Japanese.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I'd say an 8. There's plenty of non-Japanese influences in their games, but their games are still far more reminiscent of Japanese entertainment than anything else. Metroid and Star Fox are the only two that seem to have a mostly Western influence, and even then you could easily argue that they still show plenty of similarities to other Japanese entertainment, especially Star Fox. And then you have games like Fire Emblem that are unarguably closer to Japanese entertainment than anything else.

Sure, there are some Western games that are very close to Nintendo's products, but that's because a lot of Western developers like copying Mario and Donkey Kong when making a platformer, not because Nintendo is any less "Japanese".

 

[Aluwolf]

7. There are tons of Nintendo games that you wouldn't guess were from japan if it was your first time seeing them.

Donkey Kong, Punchout,F-zero, Metroid, StarFox, even beloved titles like Mother all have art style or mechanics that are of western style.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

kawaii desu/10, senpai would notice


i dont know, they always seemed more fantasy oriented than japanese

 

[Eddie the head]

That question is inane. It's like asking how African is this diamond? Or how Terra is this bed? What exactly are the qualities that make something "Japanese?" Do you mean originating in Japan then 10/10. But based on peoples reply's I don't think that's what everyone is talking about.

 

[Hero of Lime]

That is an odd question. Well, as long as we don't take the literal question to heart since the answer would be 10, my uneducated guess would be 6.

Considering Nintendo games take a lot of themes from Japanese culture, it's a given it can feel Japanese. This coupled with the cutesy, colorful look many of their games have, it only adds to the Japanese-ness.

On the other hand, Nintendo does a good job with making games that are not just for Japanese audiences, unlike some other Japanese game studios. So while the games may be made in Japan by Japanese developers, you don't need to be ingrained in Japanese culture to enjoy them.

Zelda for example is more popular with westerners than Japanese players. If Nintendo was fully dedicated to Japanese fans, or being 100 percent "Japanese", Zelda games would either be canceled, or changed radically. It's obviously part of the business structure, why appeal to one country, when you can appeal to just about anyone?

 

[Story]

I mean, OP Nintendo has tons of franchises. And I suppose it would depend on which ones you are asking about. For example I would give Animal Crossing a 10, while I would give Metriod a 3.
If you are talking strictly Mario and Zelda, I would give Mario a 9 and Zelda a 3.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

11/10

would bang again

OT: for real though, they have plenty of different styles, but I definitely recognize them hardcore as being Japanese.

that's more from an atmosphere and art style direction. for gameplay they can be very different than the usual jrpg shtuff many people are used to thinking of. Nintendo is all about polishing the base mechanics to the nth degree, while other jrpg companies (like from software and square) concentrate more on vast customization and depth in that manner.