So yeah I just watched Gamers Hearth Japan which if you don't know is a documentry where game devs and journalists talk about how much they love japan, their games, what makes their games unique and how much the contributed to the industry. They did this all to help Japan relief efforts for the earthquake and tsunami, they have a website to donate and all proceeds go to the red cross.

I thought it was great it was interesting to see what each person though on what was some of their favorite games, who was there favorite game creator, what makes games from japan unique.

So I thought each of us should answer those same questions
1. Favorite games from japan
2. Who is your favorite game creator from japan
3. What makes games from japan unique.


I'll try and start.

1. I am going to try and be different because I swear all I heard people mention for that whole hour was Mario, Donkey Kong, Ico Shadow of the Colossus and Final Fantasy 7 like everyone has the same opinion. Here is some games people won't mention

Secret of Mana is one that is special to me cause it was the last game I got on the Snes before it broke and me and my brother literally beat it just in time before our snes stoped working. That game was excellant, I mean it didn't have a great story but the fact that you could play with two other people was awesome. The soundtrack for the game was brilliant, I spend a lot of time going on youtube and listening to that game’s music so much that I might as well buy the soundtrack but it is not just a simple thing as going to wal-mart and picking it up, I wish it was though

I know some people are going to say Ocarina of time but I’m going to be a dick and say Majora’s Mask. Majora’s Mask may have had a smaller world compared to Ocarina of Time but Majora’s Mask felt more real because of the three day cycle. I liked how it was very scheduled like this is going to happen in this location at this time but you can alter that by doing this. The game was so unique in so many ways from the dungeons to the music and the masks for sure, I love just rolling around Termina Field as a Goron. It was kinda sad that it was dismissed because it so different but for those that played it and loved it understand why it is so great.

I also have to throw in sonic the hedgehog one,two,three and knuckles cause A few years back when I only had a gamecube and we didn’t have a lot of money to buy games. For one Christmas I got the Sonic Mega Collection for the gamecube and I lived on that for over a year. All the games were great, from the level design to the music and the colourful graphics. I know Sonic has gotten a lot of shit over the years but it is nice to see him come back a little bit better recently.

2. This one it is hard to be unique with because I have to go with Miyamoto, That guy is the man. I don’t know what to say really he made so many iconic characters and revived the industry almost singlehandedly.

3.What makes games from Japan unique is the fact they love being creative. For example, Fantasy, when a western developer makes a game in a fantasy setting it ends up being a lord of the rings/D&D inspired world, nothing wrong with that it is just that it gets old quickly. Japan comes in and make a world full of color and even something as simple as designing monsters. In Secret of Mana the first enemy is a bunny that has no limbs, is shaped like a ball and it lunges at you . I know there is all the jrpg clichés like the hero with spiky hair with a huge sword and his party full of other cliches like the main characters best friend, the half naked girl who flirts with the entire party, the naïve spiritual girl who is in the party for her religion of some sort, the quiet badass with a gruff voice that is also overpowered, and the guy that will end up betraying the party (maybe you could come up with others)I know people like to bitch about all of these clichés but I think that is better than your party being evenly dispersed of humans, elves and dwarfs fighting off orcs, goblins, dragon’s and thiefs.

So those are my answers to these questions what are yours.

1- Phantasy Star 3, Arcus Odyssey, Wonderboy 2&5, Zelda : a link to the past, Zelda 64 : ocarina of time, Shining in the darkness, Shining Force (all of them), Landstalker, Dark Savior, New super Mario, Soulblazer, Terranigma and the masterpiece : Gargoyle's quest (GB). :)

There are many many more that I really like, but these are my favorites.

2- Miyamoto as well. I don't know anything about his latest games (if there is any), but back then, his games were irreproachable, gameplay-wise.

3- Music, Japanese humor, music, character design, music and of course, the cultural elements that we have here and there.

1. Favorite games from japan:- metal gear solid , earthbound
2. Who is your favorite game creator from japan :- Hideo Kojima his way of thinking is amazing specially in the metal gear solid series
3. What makes games from japan unique :- music, artwork, characters, they just make smooth designs which appeals a lot

1. Persona, Lost Odyssey, Wizardry, Fatal Frame
2. Hironobu Sakaguchi
3. What makes Japan awesome, is the culture, and how foreign, yet refreshing, their art is.

1. Resident Evil (until 4), or Silent Hill (until 4).
2. Capcom or Konami, based on the above choice.
3. Absolutely nothing.

1: Dragon Quest series, Metal Gear series, Snatcher, Biohazard series (Resident Evil over here), Fatal Frame series, Silent Hill series.

2: Game CREATOR? Tough choice. Hideo Kojima is up there, I don't care what westerners say about his convoluted story arcs. Snatcher was one of the best cyberpunk RPG's ever made, and the Metal Gear series has a lot of twists and such. Prior to Team Silent breaking up, Akira Yamaoka was a genius for the Silent Hill series, as a director and musician. Kenji Inafune as well for being the driving force behind Resident Evil for years until he departed Capcom. Yuji Horii (Dragon Quest) and Yu Suzuki (Shenmue) also stand out.

3: This could be argued for quite some time, but I believe the Japanese developers have the ability to create a fictional world that seems real. Look at Snatcher for example. The story follows that of Gillian Seed, but he has amnesia. In a sense, we are discovering the world along with him. Snatcher depicts a completely different world that is both futuristic and believable. If you want a good example, look at Masamune Shirow. He creates entire backstory for characters that aren't even relevant for the story, but fleshes out their characters and their personalities. He also researches the shit out of things in an attempt to accurately portray them. What sets Japanese games apart from western games and such is that most western games try an explain the entire world through in game texts or files. Japanese games typically don't feel the need to do this, relying on the user to draw conclusions from their experiences. I could honestly compare games like this all day long but you get the idea.

Also, Japanese have a 100% better way of portraying horror in games. I think it's more to the point that ghosts and spirits have been a major role in Japanese story-telling and legends throughout history, and the Fatal Frame series eerily portrays it by having most games take place within Shinto shrines.

1: too many remember or list here but some of my favourites are: Castlevania, Metal slug, Sonic, God hand, Gradius, Megaman series, Outrun

2: Shinji Mikami, followed closely by Yu Suzuki (Miyamoto is the most overrated developer ever, give me a break)

3: Not that much to be honest, to make good games you need Dedication, commitment, creativity, passion and a LOT of very, very hard work, thankfully japan still has plenty of Studio's that still have this. Of course (similar to the west) for every fantastic game like Vanquish or NIER we get 10 Generic JRPG's and plenty of other worthless garbage which thankfully I simply avoid and play the good stuff

1. Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, Earthbound, Mother 3, Disgaea, Final Fantasy Tactics, Gitaroo Man...(so many to choose from)

2. Either Shigesato Itoi (Mother series) or Yasumi Matsuno (Vagrant Story, FFT, Tactics Ogre).

3. Wacky sense of humour and style and unique outlook on the world.

1) There were a lot of Japanese games I loved from the 8, 16 and 32-bit eras. I don't own a console anymore, so I don't play very many Japanese games nowadays. I'll just go with Earthbound, because it stands apart as a unique example of its genre, and of storytelling in video games in general.

2) I don't really have one. Let's just say SNES-era Squaresoft. I gave up on Square many years ago, but I still love many of their 16-bit games.

3) Nothing really. Japanese developers are influenced by their nation's culture (and pop culture), just like any developers from any nation. It's just that those cultural influences seem exotic or eccentric to many of us outside of Asia. Japanese developers are just as capable of making derivative generic cliche-ridden dross as anybody else.

1) Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem series, Shining Force series, Tactics Ogre, Front Mission, Disgaea (yes I love tactical RPGs, how did you guess? )

2) Yasumi Matsuno (FFT, Tactics Ogre), whoever's head developer at Nippon Ichi

3) Developers are more free to indulge in outright whackiness, and it shows. Even big-name ones sometimes do the kind of stuff that even some indies wouldn't dream of doing. Most of them just follow a set formula though, which is why jRPGs have stagnated for so long.

Phantasy Star IV. Brilliant game.

I don't know much about Japanese developers or anything though, so I'll pass on the other questions.

this is great stuff guys, much more diverse answers than the documentary.

1. Favorite games from Japan

I have a few, but the only ones worth mentioning (which haven't already been mentioned) are GiFTPiA, Recettear, Ore no imouto ga konnani kawaii wake ga nai portable, Boku no natsu yasumi series and the (now sadly apparently discontinued) Zettai zetsumei toshi series

2. Who is your favorite game creator from Japan

While there are a couple of studios whose games I would value over those of others, I wouldn't say that any one of them was an absolute favorite. And as with music/films, it's not the people who create the games that interest me. It's the final product they put out.

3. What makes games from Japan unique.

To be brutally honest, nothing. While they may appear unique to an audience that only sees a tiny amount of the volume of games put out on the domestic market each year, to most here they are the same formulaic cookie cutter games that are released en masse in every other region. It's just that the cookie cutters have a slightly different shape to the ones over used in your own market.

And just as with any market, once in a while, a real gem manages to shine through and grab people's attention. Those are the games that (often, but not always) make it to your shores. Resulting in a rather skewered rose-tinted view of Japanese games as a whole.

1. Favorite games from Japan
Most of my console gaming is from Japan, so this a little tough to answer without running on too long.

Okami, Nier, Final Fantasy VII, XII, and XIII, ICO/SotC, Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence, Demon's Souls, Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (PSP), Persona 3 Portable, Chrono Trigger (DS)

2. Favorite game creator
Grr. Also tempting to run on here.

Fumito Ueda and Hideo Kojima if we're talking individuals.
Cavia and Clover (both now defunct), Acquire, From Software, and S-E if we're talking developers.

3. What makes games from Japan unique.
Um, a few extra sakura petals? Each country and gaming culture has preferences in character design, game mechanics, narrative structure, etc., but there is plenty of cross-fertilization as well.

The funny thing is, I don't play many Japanese games. The ones I enjoy are either franchises that get released over here due to existing fan base (Or not, looking at you Tecmo) or struck me as unique (Such as Siren). I'm not exactly one who goes nuts for everything from Japan, since I really only focus on history, religion, and culture (Not Anime or Pocky) since Japanese History is my focus for my studies. I typically ignore most Japanese games that get released here because they target a specific demographic. That demographic typically views everything from Japan as a gift from the gods.

Although to be honest, I've always found the art for Disgaea cute that I've always wanted to play it.