Rpgs Are Boring

[bb_hood]

If anything, Japan overall is a more sexist country than the US,

They really are. I wouldnt say America is overly sexist though.

[Arkanoid_Katamari]

I can really respect RPG games, but I just can't get into them like other games. I can't imagine putting 70+ hours into one game, tho. I'd rather play a 30mn beat-em-up, personally. It's mainly just turn-based battles that can play with my patience levels, cuz sometimes it just feels like it over-complicates something that can be real simple. Idk, when I'm in at turn-based battle and I'm just not strong enough to defeat the monster or whatever, I just get impatient and wanna control the character and kick its ass, but I can't. And that's wat can be frustrating. That's wat pisses me off.

It feels like if it were an action game, I could defeat the enemy, but it's up to me and my own personal skills, and not watever level I'm at. I never really got into strategy games either, so maybe that's a thing with me. My friend had to explain how to defeat the first boss in FF7, I just don't get it. He made it look real simple, "oh, just use this potion and this thing here," and I don't get it. I didn't grow up playing RPG's so I don't have that intuitive thing like I do with action platformers and shooters and stuff.

I did play FF13 awhile cuz the story engrossed me, and the battles were simple enough that I could keep progressing for awhile, but beyond that I've just never gotten too into em. I do like Paper Mario tho, I played some of Super Paper Mario on the Wii, love it, but if I'm not mistaken that had some action elements to it, which I like. I do like the leveling up idea, but I like to have some level of control and a feeling like my personal gaming skills are at the test, too. I can play Zelda, and I like the leveling up elements in that, I've played a buncha Borderlands, but I reached a point in that game where I was stuck, and just can't go any further cuz the guy I'm shooting is just too strong, and I don't have the patience for level grinding.

I also played Tomba! 2 which has leveling up aspects, but it's primarily a platformer, and u don't need to level up to beat the game, but I enjoyed those aspects to it.

Idk, just not for me.

[Arkanoid_Katamari]

I do like Pokemon tho, I can really enjoy Pokemon Stadium. I was never a Pokemon kid, and I never played the Gameboy games which I know r supposed to be the best, but I played Pokemon Stadium a LOT when I recently picked it up. Perhaps its just cuz Pokemon are really cool, Idk. It's also fun to play with friends over, too.

I'd say perhaps RPG's are slowwwwly growing on me.

When I was a kid tho, I was playing platformers and sports games on the NES and Genesis, and action games on the PS1 later on. I remember reading about Final Fantasy in the Playstation magazine that I was subscribed to, (kinda wish I still had those), and I played a demo of one of the games that I got one month with the magazine, and it just wasn't for me. It was my first experience with an RPG, and I was expecting some really awesome action type game, cuz the graphics really impressed me, I liked fantasy stuff, it looked really creative, but the gameplay just felt so foreign and strange to me.

[FieryReign]

Dude, I don't know what to tell you besides that you're being really ignorant and offensive here. I'm no mod, but I think you'd be wise to lay off complaining about characters looking like "drag queens" or games having a "homosexual vibe".

The poster who said that there is no machismo is Japan is wrong. If anything, Japan overall is a more sexist country than the US, with even stricter ideas on gender roles. There is absolutely a concern with masculinity in Japan, but it's expressed in different ways. You can't apply your Western mindset to an entirely different culture. I already explained to you that the effeminate characters are more a reflection of young women's tastes than anything else. Look into bishounen characters, look into j-pop/k-pop boy bands, etc. Generally speaking, Asian men aren't as large and heavyset as white men and black men, and this is reflected in what Asian women generally find attractive. Not only do the female players not want some ripped gym addict but the male players, mostly teens, want characters they can relate to. If they WERE trying to appeal to gay culture at all, THAT is when you'd see the beefy muscular characters because that is the stereotype that exists for homosexuality in Japan. Look up the comedian Hard Gay, look up the Cho Aniki series (which is also intended as comedy), look up the bara scene. So basically the whole Western notion of "big muscular guy = straight, pretty boy = gay" is flipped in Japan.

The reason why there were fewer pretty boy characters in RPGs in the past is simply a reflection of there being fewer female players back then and Japanese RPGs, over time, straying further and further from their Western inspirations and taking on more of a manga/anime aesthetic.

But like I said before, there are PLENTY of options. If you don't like pretty boy heroes, then Final Fantasy and other big-name Square Enix releases aren't for you because, as said, they have a sizable female demographic behind them. And no, they're not going to start catering to foreign markets over the market in which their games sell the best; that would just be poor business sense. If you can't accept these realities, move on.

Ignorant yes, offensive no. It's what I see with my own 2 eyes. I'm neither white nor black and western guys aren't seperated into 2 categories: big beefy guys and pretty boys. That's just ridiculous. I know nothing of j-pop, I don't even like American pop. If it's anything like Justin Beiber and boy bands, than it's not as different as you think. I've been gaming since the early 80s so I'm well aware of Choaniki. But I always thought they came across as satirical and goofy, not a reflection of actual homosexuality. Even a gay person would think those games are over the top. As for Hard Gay, no thanks, I wouldn't even want that search term in my browser history. And why are their female character designs inspired by women of Hollywood? With gigantic tits and waistlines so thin you could fit a wristband around them. Is that what japanese men are into? Is that how they think all western women look like?

It's real easy to say "if you don't like rpgs don't play them, stop bitching". I did enjoy a few but came to the realization that most are boring. And what has happened to the action-rpg genre in the mold of Soulblazer, Alundra, and Beyond Oasis? Aside from Zelda this style of game has disappeared. And yes, they are action-rpgs. That's what they were called when they came out. I don't know when the change occurred but I'm not going to stop calling them that.

[Gameguy]

What's weird with me, is that I simply love action rpg games such as Zelda, Alundra, and Landstalker. Games with actual gameplay and puzzles, instead of selecting commands from a menu and trudging through a maze-like cave.

Most of what you've mentioned are actually action adventure games rather than RPGs, though I think Landstalker has some RPG elements in the game. Adventure games are mostly centred around solving puzzles, including collecting inventory items and using them at the right time/on the right objects to solve puzzles. That's what those games are all like.

I can get into some RPGs like Phantasy Star, most I can't get into though. I tend to prefer RPGs with clear goals, rather than leaving things open to wandering until you find what you need to do. Being told where you need to go next doesn't mean you can't explore if you want to, it just means you won't have to guess or waste time if you just want to keep moving forward.

[The Adventurer]

You might want to try some action RPG hybrids like Secret of Mana and Kingdom Hearts. If you're into action/adventures like Zelda.

And why are their female character designs inspired by women of Hollywood? With gigantic tits and waistlines so thin you could fit a wristband around them. Is that what MEN are into?

Fixed that for you

Sexism (and homophobia) are hardly unique to Japan. In video games or otherwise.

[Edmond Dantes]

The reason why there were fewer pretty boy characters in RPGs in the past is simply a reflection of there being fewer female players back then and Japanese RPGs, over time, straying further and further from their Western inspirations and taking on more of a manga/anime aesthetic

I find it weird to put it like this when the "manga/anime aesthetic" ITSELF has changed over the years, and manga has done a lot of beefy, muscular men who were not gay (most notably, the cast of Fist of the North Star).

[Satoshi_Matrix]

RPGs are meant to be played on computers, either Apple ][, A8, C64, IBM, ST or Amiga. You need keys for decent role playing. Try it and you won't regret it.
They just don't work on consoles.

Anyway, JRPGs are the worst out there, ok the Dragon Quest series is based on Wizardry and Ultima, but they cannot match elegance and greatness of US RPGs. Phantasy Star was not so bad though. And DragonStomper.

Yikes. Not a single thing you said I agree with. Not a single thing at all.

RPGs are meant to be played on computers? RPGs were written on computers initially, but saying RPGs are meant to be played on computers is like saying Tetris is meant to be played on computers.
You need keys for decent role playing? Maybe if you're doing a non point-and-click text-adventure, but RPGs? Nope.
RPGs just don't work on consoles? WHAT.

JPRGs cannot match the elegance of WRPGs?! What in the hell does that even mean?!
WRPGs are many things, but elegant isn't a word I would ever use to describe any WRPG ever.

[The Adventurer]

I find it weird to put it like this when the "manga/anime aesthetic" ITSELF has changed over the years, and manga has done a lot of beefy, muscular men who were not gay (most notably, the cast of Fist of the North Star).

Indeed if you want beef cake look no further then Golgo 13. The Japanese media industry has changed significantly since the 80s. And yes that's largely due to the buying power of women increasing (Also Otaku). Manga/Anime/Video Games (and music too) are all linked pretty fundamentally.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Japan is very much a male-dominated society.

I mean just follow almost any Japanese news headline and you can clearly see that. For example, by the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japanese prime minster Shinzo Abe wants to increase the number of women in management positions in Japanese companies to 20%. Currently, the figure is around 14%. This essentially means 86% of Japanese companies have no female employees in positions of power.

The prime minster's lofty goal is to make it a 70/20 split rather than 86/14 split.

[MidnightRider]

I was the opposite. I thought I was into them at one point, but only in recent years did I notice them starting to bore me.

It's mainly random battles, but the strategy side being as slow as it is doesn't help either.

[Edmond Dantes]

Always makes me wonder whenever I hear that Japan is sexist. While I definitely see some indications of it, at other times... well, earlier today I was watching episode four of Himitsu Sentai Goranger and Peggy (Pink Ranger) came off as the most badass of the group. This show was made in 1975... though around the same time, Space Battleship Yamato had a sexual harrassment victim who was forced to just put up with it.

Granted, fiction and reality are two different things.

[Tanooki]

I can't think it's too hard to believe from the land of the rising tentacle hentai, I mean sun. ;D

[Edmond Dantes]

Yeah, but then again America is the land that made cartoon horses fuckable.

[Tanooki]

Good point, and then there's the furries too.

[Rickstilwell1]

Yeah, but then again America is the land that made cartoon horses fuckable.

Sega tried to do that first with Rouge the Bat. MLP is just a continuation of the odd animation ideas.

[Gentlegamer]

And what has happened to the action-rpg genre in the mold of Soulblazer, Alundra, and Beyond Oasis? Aside from Zelda this style of game has disappeared. And yes, they are action-rpgs.

Sir, do you have a moment so I may share with you the gospel of Dark Souls?

[tom]

Just playing Earthbound on SNES, it's ok, but you play as stupid looking kids. To me RPGs are hard people, like Tanis, Flint and Storm and wotnot, not childish looking gimps.
I know the Gold boxes, Wizardry and Ultima are on consoles, but we played 'em already on real hardware years before. Those are the great RPGs.

[Gentlegamer]

Just playing Earthbound on SNES, it's ok, but you play as stupid looking kids. To me RPGs are hard people, like Tanis, Flint and Sturm and wotnot, not childish looking gimps.

And don't forget their super hard ass companion, Tasslehoff Burfoot.

[Edmond Dantes]

Sega tried to do that first with Rouge the Bat.

Lola Bunny existed years before Rouge was even a thing

I think ultimately the point is that, for good or for ill, as long as there are women, there will be fuckers.

I know the Gold boxes, Wizardry and Ultima are on consoles, but we played 'em already on real hardware years before. Those are the great RPGs.

And to be honest, you don't want the NES version of Pool of Radiance anyway. The Wizardry's are barely any different save for some slight map redesigns and Ultima IV was kinda butchered (and V to my knowledge had a completely different gameplay engine).

Ultima III: Exodus on the other hand was actually improved on the NES, if you can stand huge amounts of flicker. Same goes for Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum. Its hard to go back to the PC version after playing the NES one.