Half Life 2: Any better than Japanese RPGs?

[Gordon's Beard]

Sure, they're of different genres.

But, gameplay differences aside, is HL2 any better than all the Japanese RPGs out there, in terms of, acting, writing, plotting, characterisation etc?

Professional opinions needed.

 

[Goombatommy]

We don't know yet, because HL 2 isn't even available yet. Ask us this once it's available .

 

[Mr-Fusion]

IT's probably on equal terms. Japanese games are far more daring, in terms of story and characters. The "western" world gets fed bullshit games such as far cry and doom 3 too often with crap stories and woeful characters.

Japan has a market for "arthouse" games. They are driving the creative side far more vigorously than American/European games developers.

Valve is an exception.

 

[Raz]

But, gameplay differences aside, is HL2 any better than all the Japanese RPGs out there, in terms of, acting, writing, plotting, characterisation etc?

If it isn't, its gotta suck really, really bad...

I hate Japanese RPG's.

 

[Gordon's Beard]

IT's probably on equal terms. Japanese games are far more daring, in terms of story and characters.

Even then, you might be getting used to soap operatic melodramas in Japanese RPGs that'll make Bollywood look like a George Bernard Shaw play....

 

[[Dragoon]]

It's hard to compare em... Japanese games have a lot of innovation, but I think HL2 is still better. If I had to choose between a remake of FF7 and HL2, I'd go with HL2. Though a remake of FF7 for the PS2 (Or PS3) on a newer engine (FF10 style, maybe) I'd be pretty happy. Actually, arn't they doing that?

 

[Homer]

Every single Japanese RPG is exactly the same.

The lead character is always some androgenistic blond/blue haired guy with eyes the size of dinner plates, arms the size of toothpicks, and a sword the size of a Buick. I cant ever get past the guy who looks like he benches about 60 pounds carrying a 700 pount weapon.

 

[f|uke]

Professional opinions needed.

Hellz mutherfukin yah!! Seriously. We all know that Japan and America are the two top dogs. And both have their merits and different contributions. In fact, it really mirrors the movie industry, where USA and Japan put out the biggest and best flicks.

America has a certain sensibility where Japan has a detached creativity. This can make the best Japanese games and movies quite interesting, but the best American games can still be creative while being far more relateable.

So, America all the way. This is one area where i really do believe we are #1.

 

[zul]

Japan has a market for "arthouse" games. They are driving the creative side far more vigorously than American/European games developers.

From what i've heard, the games are absolutly different.. how can you say western games are less creative? In terms of graphics and gameplay i think western games are MORE creative. In my personal prefrence i would rather play a good action game than a slideshow with dialoge options

 

[DarkStar]

Japan has a market for "arthouse" games. They are driving the creative side far more vigorously than American/European games developers.

I disagree.

I think that Western games have begun to surpass Japanese games in terms of creativity, writing quality, and immersiveness.....especially in the last 5 years or so.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

I disagree.

I think that Western games have begun to surpass Japanese games in terms of creativity, writing quality, and immersiveness.....especially in the last 5 years or so.

Really? I'm of the opinion they've been spiralling down in terms of creativity and writing quality. A few gems pop up every now and then like KOTOR, but they're just so rare.

From what i've heard, the games are absolutly different.. how can you say western games are less creative? In terms of graphics and gameplay i think western games are MORE creative. In my personal prefrence i would rather play a good action game than a slideshow with dialoge options

I was saying it specifically in reference to the characters and story development. Watching trailers for Hideo Kojimas latest masterpiece , MGS3, showcases an extraordinary amount character interaction and story elements.

However, the concept of creativity is subjective. Purely subjective. There is no right or wrong. It's all opinion.

 

[Zento]

If you have a look at all the Japanese RPGs released, about 65% of them are crap.

Then you have the legendary series', such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Legend of Mana, Star Ocean, Suikoden, Grandia...

I think the Japanese market has more innovation, but with quality comes a heap of quantity of crap. The american market pumps out heaps of crap too-but not as much as the Japanese. (I just sorta repeated myself there)

Stories are completley different, the genres are different. It's hard to tell. Half-Life 2 is story-driven, but because it is a FPS, it isn't as much as a RPG - an interactive visual book of sorts.

In terms of traditional gameplay, HL2 = wins
In terms of storytelling, RPG = wins

 

[Danimal]

IT's probably on equal terms. Japanese games are far more daring, in terms of story and characters. The "western" world gets fed bullshit games such as far cry and doom 3 too often with crap stories and woeful characters.

Japan has a market for "arthouse" games. They are driving the creative side far more vigorously than American/European games developers.

Valve is an exception.

Agreed. Games/Anime where the storyline and or the whole game/anime is made in Japan than it is most likely to be creative and quite... excellent...

 

[HunterSeeker]

Japanese RPGs are not IMO rpgs, there simply is no roleplaying (kinda like D2). Personally I still like those games but I prefer western rpgs like Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights and KOTOR. That should make it clear that I am a bioware fanboy (FYI Bioware is based in canada :bounce: ).

I dont think HL2 will equal your traditional jap RPG concering story telling, but hey its got facial animiations like no other!

 

[EVIL]

If Valve manages to put as much creativity and originality in Half-Life2 as Nintendo puts in all their games then I am pretty ****ing happy

IMO Nintendo is top dog on the creative market. They always seem to come out with brand new daring, creative concepts that are fun to play for everyone. (pessemistic selfcentered bastards not included) Paper mario, kirby, pokemon, smash brothers melee etc. All these games have a high creative standard with killer and fun gameplay and are diffrent from the usual batch of filler you see on the game market.

 

[Raz]

Japanese RPGs are not IMO rpgs, there simply is no roleplaying (kinda like D2). Personally I still like those games but I prefer western rpgs like Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights and KOTOR. That should make it clear that I am a bioware fanboy (FYI Bioware is based in canada ).

:thumbs:

Preach on, brother!

 

[NB.]

I'm really not a big fan of japanese games, they are all very similar and childlike in their approach to storytelling. I prefer western games, but its all down to personal opinion.

 

[perrkele]

Japanese RPGs are not IMO rpgs, there simply is no roleplaying (kinda like D2).

D2? As in Diablo2? I thought that game was just pure hack&slash, a far cry from the better examples of an RPG you gave later such as BG2.

 

[Raz]

He means that in Japanese RPG's there is no roleplaying, just as there is no roleplaying in D2.

 

[Loomis]

Creative games in the west don't tend to sell that well really, look at Looking Glass Software, one of the most influencial companies of all time. No one bought their games. It's the same with Shiny before they released, erk, Enter The Matrix.

I think in terms of creativity, the yanks nail the PC market hands down. But with consoles, the japanese are definately the best.

As for stories, i don't really think you could say either is more daring, Planescape: Torment has one of the darkest and best stories i've ever seen in a video game. Same goes for the longest journey.

What sets Half-Life (and i imagine Half-Life 2) from the compitition is the way the story is told. Half-Life had a very derivative story, aliens invading, conspiracies, etc. But the way it was wound into the gameplay was flawless. Most games tell you the story through cut scenes and exposition from other characters. You picked up the story in Half-Life through your experiences with the characters and your surroundings.

 

[Wesisapie]

MDK 1 and 2 (by shiny, as you said) were interesting and cool, but overlooked.

However my latest love was Zelda: Wind waker. And i dont want to hear any "i didnt play it because of cell shaded graphics" crap either. thats the worst excuse ive ever heard.
I love nintendo.

 

[Kiva128]

Every single Japanese RPG is exactly the same.

The lead character is always some androgenistic blond/blue haired guy with eyes the size of dinner plates, arms the size of toothpicks, and a sword the size of a Buick. I cant ever get past the guy who looks like he benches about 60 pounds carrying a 700 pount weapon.

You don't know anything at all about them do you?

 

[PvtRyan]

I can't stand Japanese RPG's, or most Japanese games for that matter... hell, or most Japanese products.

 

[Raziaar]

Every single Japanese RPG is exactly the same.

The lead character is always some androgenistic blond/blue haired guy with eyes the size of dinner plates, arms the size of toothpicks, and a sword the size of a Buick. I cant ever get past the guy who looks like he benches about 60 pounds carrying a 700 pount weapon.

OMG Homer I love you. We're soul mates! Heh heh, just kidding, only the TV Homer is my Buddy.

Anyways, you agree on many points I do regarding this manner. A big pet peeve of mine is insanely huge weapons in games, whether or not it is carried by a small guy or a large guy. Unbelievably large weapons are not just my style, and one of the reasons I no longer like the warcraft series.

 

[Kiva128]

Jesus people, it's not like there are overly huge weapons in every japanese game. Only a few! A small percentage actually.

And what would you prefer? Just the standard crap over and over again? It's called being a little creative, something which I guess is a little too complex for some people around here.

 

[Raz]

As for stories, i don't really think you could say either is more daring, Planescape: Torment has one of the darkest and best stories i've ever seen in a video game

I fully agree. I'd go as far as saying that Planescape: Torment is in fact my favorite game of all time. People, if you like RPG's, get this game!

 

[Danimal]

Japanese RPGs are not IMO rpgs, there simply is no roleplaying (kinda like D2). Personally I still like those games but I prefer western rpgs like Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights and KOTOR.

Argh when I read the part about NWN I remember going point blank with a crossbow in that game and the arrow went sideways and not forward...

And the full-dramatic battle music when I am fighting a chicken =/

But Western RPGs are good also. I just think the Japanese put more creativity into it...

WoW will be a good RPG anyway :cheers:

 

[HunterSeeker]

Something that is Jap RPGs annoy me a lot with it is there anything can be weapon thingy.

Pernciles, sheets of paper, umbrellas etc...

But what actually makes me notice it is that the next weapon store is always selling a more powerfull version of that weapon!

 

[Sparta]

the japanese can put a whole lot of creativity into a title but at times they come off as just a little bit too pretentious

 

[Danimal]

Why are we talking about the Japanese anyway?

http://www.molvania.com/video_medium_2.html now this is something we should talk about =P

but anyway, Final Fantasy is a good example of Japanese creativity. Japanese Animies have alot of creativity pumped into them (Christ have you seen them new pokemon? Christ they look freaky...)

 

[Methias]

Personally I don't think it would be very hard to beat Japanese RPGs on the ground of storyline and characters. Most Japanese RPGs all just take the same old route (save the world in a richly colored futuristic/fantasy setting where everyone is super-attractive). Also, I really do love the Final Fantasies but I'll be the first to admit that up until Final Fantasy 9, their stories couldn't be held together with superglue. They were full of plot holes and mistranslations, and it became hard to suspend your disbelief on some of the plotpoints. I'm sure everyone here has, at some point, tried to showcase a final fantasy game or some other type of thing to a non-rpgamer and felt mildly embarassed doing so.

Maybe in general, Japanese RPGs have taken story more seriously for a time, but I wouldn't say that is the case recently. They're still sticking to basically to the same scope.

 

[Kiva128]

Personally I don't think it would be very hard to beat Japanese RPGs on the ground of storyline and characters. Most Japanese RPGs all just take the same old route (save the world in a richly colored futuristic/fantasy setting where everyone is super-attractive). Also, I really do love the Final Fantasies but I'll be the first to admit that up until Final Fantasy 9, their stories couldn't be held together with superglue. They were full of plot holes and mistranslations, and it became hard to suspend your disbelief on some of the plotpoints. I'm sure everyone here has, at some point, tried to showcase a final fantasy game or some other type of thing to a non-rpgamer and felt mildly embarassed doing so.

Maybe in general, Japanese RPGs have taken story more seriously for a time, but I wouldn't say that is the case recently. They're still sticking to basically to the same scope.

And how exactly is the plot of western rpgs better? I've played a lot of western rpgs and the story is pretty much the same in all of them too!

 

[NB.]

I dunno, i thought Arx Fatalis was great story wise, Morrowind too, they just have a certain something about them that i find lacking in Jap games.

 

[Kiva128]

I dunno, i thought Arx Fatalis was great story wise, Morrowind too, they just have a certain something about them that i find lacking in Jap games.

I found morrowind boring. Infact...I didn't even know it had a plot. It was so vague.

 

[maximus0402]

Every single Japanese RPG is exactly the same.

The lead character is always some androgenistic blond/blue haired guy with eyes the size of dinner plates, arms the size of toothpicks, and a sword the size of a Buick. I cant ever get past the guy who looks like he benches about 60 pounds carrying a 700 pount weapon.

I agree...Japanese have all that japanation crap and how bout that pokemon/sailormoon/dragonball Z stuff WTF

 

[ShinRa]

Every single Japanese RPG is exactly the same.

The lead character is always some androgenistic blond/blue haired guy with eyes the size of dinner plates, arms the size of toothpicks, and a sword the size of a Buick. I cant ever get past the guy who looks like he benches about 60 pounds carrying a 700 pount weapon.

Alright, you basically just summed up Cloud Strife from FF7 (which, is the best game ever). Squall (FF8) is a brunette who carrys a much smaller sword. Zidane(ff9) doesn't even remotely resemble a blonde/blue eyed with an enormous sword. Titus, closest thing to cloud, and he doesnt cary a huge sword and have toothpick arms. As for other japenese rpg series, I don't really know, or have played the others, but others I've seen also don't look anything like what you've mentioned. If anything Japanese RPG's are some of the best masterpieces in the gaming world.

 

[Wildhound]

It's hard to compare em... Japanese games have a lot of innovation, but I think HL2 is still better. If I had to choose between a remake of FF7 and HL2, I'd go with HL2. Though a remake of FF7 for the PS2 (Or PS3) on a newer engine (FF10 style, maybe) I'd be pretty happy. Actually, arn't they doing that?

I'd choose the FF7 remake. Or just the original.

No fps will ever beat that game. Ever. It's the only game I'd ever say that about really.

 

[ShinRa]

There's something about Japanese culture that I love. Idk what it is. The enviorments they create in their games (not just rpgs), the Japanese are some of the most talented and artistic people in the world. Anyone else agree with me and don't think I'm weird?

 

[Wildhound]

Every single Japanese RPG is exactly the same.

The lead character is always some androgenistic blond/blue haired guy with eyes the size of dinner plates, arms the size of toothpicks, and a sword the size of a Buick.

I've never read so much bullshit in one post. And I've been hanging around here a while.

 

[Wildhound]

There's something about Japanese culture that I love. Idk what it is. The enviorments they create in their games (not just rpgs), the Japanese are some of the most talented and artistic people in the world. Anyone else agree with me and don't think I'm weird?

Agreed, there's a certain indefinable quality, depth and immersiveness to them that just makes them wonderful. Squaresoft are Gods of computer gaming. They're the only reason I continue to buy consoles.

With the exception of the XBox, I don't know why I bought that. Yet I don't regret it.