1up put up a good article recently talking about the differences between Western and Japanese cultures (and to some extent console vs PC games), which reflect in the games we all know and love. It' s quite interesting despite having to be very stereotypical to prove its point. Funniest bit! :-

" ...For instance, as a hunting and trapping society, an American may go deer hunting and encounter a bear. Japanese would be scared by this encounter, whereas the American will probably shoot the bear and go back excited that he got a bear instead of a deer..."

Says Keiji Inafune! Like I said, stereotypical, but read the article, I found it a good read.

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3155815

Some very interesting observations and comparisons. I was particularly interested in the recurring theme in Japanese RPGs of banding together to kill God. This is precisely the theme of the " His Dark Materials" trilogy of books that are being adapted into films, the first one being " The Golden Compass." Sega apparently has the license for the games based on these films/books. Considering the knee-jerk right wing religious uproar surrounding the " Harry Potter" series, which in actuality has no particularly blasphemous moral themes, I can only speculate as to what sort of sh!tstorm awaits when this series of blockbuster movies and videogames comes out which focuses on an epic quest to destroy the church and assassinate God! Just another Sega innovation for the western market!

I was particularly interested in the recurring theme in Japanese RPGs of banding together to kill God.

...dunno about the god part, but Japanese society holds group dynamics, co-operation and general banding together in extreme high regard.... ...it' s the basis for the " Salary Man" stereotype, where a typical Japanese practically lives and dies for his corporate organisation...

...i remember watching some sci-tech programme on teevee where they studied a group of Japanese kids verses a bunch of American kids in gaming preferences...
...the Japanese when faced with a single player racing sim like GT, would band together around the player, giving tips and making suggestions... ....if the player came first, the whole group would celebrate the victory...
....the American kids tended to be far more single minded, keeping tips to them selves, and being solely focused on their own individual (selfish ?) success...

Meh, the Japanese are just soft.

Good read. The points made were pretty obvious, but there' s some interesting observations in there.

The points they made about RPG' s read like a personal blueprint to my own gaming history. Back in the 8bit and 16bit days I played loads of JRPG' s. But even then I longed for more freedom. The best thing about my favorite back then, Shining Force 2, was that I could build my little force however I wanted.

Then I played Morrowind. Now I can' t even play a JRPG, they hold absolutely no attraction for me. I even skipped the last Zelda.

I know JRPG' s do what they do well, which is why I keep my mouth shut when people praise them. I just have no desire to play through a point-to-point story. It' s just...boring.

On the other hand, Oblivion is the game I' ve been waiting for my entire life. Every mundane detail thrills the hell out of me. I mean, I actually read all the damn books in-game. Everything else I have ever played pales in comparison.

Hey people! Interesting post, but I just have one question for anyone reading: Do you prefer Oblivion over Fallout and Planescape: Torment?

PS: BTW Majik, are you back to the old avatar?

ORIGINAL: Papado

PS: BTW Majik, are you back to the old avatar?

Briefly. I' ve submitted a new one and i' m just waiting for it to be uploaded.

Majik' s old one was too fat

On the other hand, Oblivion is the game I' ve been waiting for my entire life. Every mundane detail thrills the hell out of me. I mean, I actually read all the damn books in-game. Everything else I have ever played pales in comparison.

Oblivion is a turd, so many shit things about that game, a halfed-assed effort and such lack of attention to detail.. Play twilight Princess after, and it make you think.. " This is more like it!!!, this is how Horse riding should look and feel like, this is how swiming across lakes should be like, this is how combat should be played like this is how animation should look like, this is how ambient sound should sound like..

Oblivion has a good undertone, but when the top layer is soo fucked up and glitchy, i really wonder how the hell that got past A&R.. then again this is a Western RPG so attetion to detail, fluid controls and flowing physics and pretty artwort is out of the question.

Do you prefer Oblivion over Fallout and Planescape: Torment?

Oblivion gets no where near the two others in terms of story and gameplay, but oblivions size and depth is great as well!

But id always choose Fallout and Planescape!

ORIGINAL: f3hunter


Play twilight Princess after, and it make you think.. " This is more like it!!!, this is how Horse riding should look and feel like, this is how swiming across lakes should be like, this is how combat should be played like this is how animation should look like, this is how ambient sound should sound like..

Oblivion has a good undertone, but when the top layer is soo fucked up and glitchy, i really wonder how the hell that got past A&R.. then again this is a Western RPG so attetion to detail, fluid controls and flowing physics and pretty artwort is out of the question.

I enjoy possibilities vs ambience.
Plus, I' m f*cking sick of Link. So it doesn' t matter how pretty Link' s world gets, it' s still friggin' Link and I' m sick of playing his stories. He BORES me.

I enjoy possibilities vs ambience.

Possibilities yeah, Possibilities of Glitches and sound Lag..

I can understand one being bord of link, but if one is soo used to Zelda games i wonder how one can possibly rate such an unpolished game as Oblivion.

Possibilities yeah, Possibilities of Glitches and sound Lag..

I can understand one being bord of link, but if one is soo used to Zelda games i wonder how one can possibly rate such an unpolished game as Oblivion.

Comparing Zelda and OB is like comparing Duke Nukem and Civilization

Comparing Zelda and OB is like comparing Duke Nukem and Civilization

Best thing I heard today.

I' d Pick Jrpg over Oblivion. Untill Western Rpgs [wrgs?] get a little soul, then the Japs have my pick.

a little soul

You mean clichéd sentimental storytelling?

Just kidding, I like jrpgs more too

Oblivion is a turd, so many shit things about that game, a halfed-assed effort and such lack of attention to detail.. Play twilight Princess after, and it make you think.. " This is more like it!!!, this is how Horse riding should look and feel like, this is how swiming across lakes should be like, this is how combat should be played like this is how animation should look like, this is how ambient sound should sound like..

Too bad its all forced, and the player never chooses to do any of it.

I think thats the point hes trying to make.

I agree with everything Nekkid Monkey said, I feel the same way.

I would like to add a few things. One, the fact that Oblivion (one western RPG) is buggy is completely beside the point. Are you trying to say that JRPGs never have bugs? If western RPGs have more bugs it' s only because more lines of code and newer game engines means you have greater odds of glitches. I would choose a buggy game with original gameplay mechanics over a jap RPG with legacy gameplay and no bugs.

Secondly, Oblivion is easily the best RPG ever made, the second best is probably Morrowind. Kotor I and II fight for third place. All western RPGs. No JRPG even comes close to these. Maybe the Zelda games on Game Boy...

Finally I have to say I' m pretty sceptical when I see people talk about innovation when they prefer Jap RPGs over some of the only real innovations in gaming that western RPGs are providing. Jap RPGs haven' t changed since the psone era, they were cool ten years ago but now it' s getting a little stale. Gameplay is far more important than style which some of you have shamelessly depict as being " soul" . Don' t even get me started about the story lines. The Japanese are just as redundant with the stories as they are with the gameplay.

People are still saying that FF7 was the best RPG ever made. That game is so old yet JRPGs apparently still haven' t improved over it. JRPGs are still the same as they were ten years ago, just repackaged.

Comparing Zelda and OB is like comparing Duke Nukem and Civilization

No, its like comparing Oblivion to Zelda, and I was actually comparing the same gameplay elements they both share IE the horse riding, swimming, sword fighting., tho Zelda does them 100Xs better.. But any Gamer would know that. (unless ur one who happens to like disagreeing to anything i say (Gin :P)

I would like to add a few things. One, the fact that Oblivion (one western RPG) is buggy is completely beside the point. Are you trying to say that JRPGs never have bugs? If western RPGs have more bugs it' s only because more lines of code and newer game engines means you have greater odds of glitches. I would choose a buggy game with original gameplay mechanics over a jap RPG with legacy gameplay and no bugs.

Your Joking right??

Gameplay Mechanics?? OBLIVION?? WTF?? Zeldas totally rip it to peices.. Zelda does SOO much more things with gameplay.. Even petting your horse, or picking up and petting small animals lol..

And trying to excuses glitches in games is stupid, especially when the developers had soo much time to work on this hardware (and have used it before)... When SEGA broke the mould into Full 3D fighters / Racers (Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter), or Nintendo Broke the Mould into a true fully 3D plattformer and Adventure (M64, OOT), you never seen hardly any glitches, if any.. And them times using polygones was a brand new thing (especially for SEGAs groundbreaking Games).. No excuss atall..

Gameplay Mechanics?? OBLIVION?? WTF?? Zeldas totally rip it to peices.. Zelda does SOO much more things with gameplay.. Even petting your horse, or picking up and petting small animals lol..

I don' t think you want to turn this argument into what can you do in Oblivion Vs. Zelda.