Westerners are more sober in their approach to things in general. Matrix was "great because it explained how people could jump really far" and Crouching Tiger was "lame because it didn't explain how people could jump really far". The inexplicable junk that goes on around the weapons in a Soul Calibur is simply not appealing to most with a typical western mindset.

Also, western design is a lot more about context. Whereas in japan, a crazy witch lady with guns for shoes is iteration on iteration of a gameplay mechanic, western devs think "alright, what would I wanna be in my most awesome, boyish dreams? Right, a man with a goatee murdering greek gods by pulling their eyes out!"

Japanese design is therefore - it can seem at times - even deliberately off putting to a western audience because they approach it differently. God of War is about the - to an extent - realistic realisation of the concept of.. being a dude murdering greek gods, whereas Bayonetta was always a stylistic iteration on gameplay mechanics.

The two philosophies are vastly different, and as much as Itagaki will deny this point, the gore in Ninja Gaiden 2 is to make it more visceral, more to a point realistic, and more appealing to a broader western audience. Bayonetta on the other hand is absolutely unapologetic in its embracing japanese madness and whether that's a good or a bad thing is determined in the eye of the beholder.


The same goes for justifying their combat systems; these games are approached differently. Bayonetta and Devil May Cry are inseparable in gameplay intent because Bayonetta is essentially just dodging the license bullet (but in an awesomely elegant way of course) but you can tell all these games apart by their defining - vastly different - gameplay characteristics. In my mind, Ninja Gaiden 1 is the most admirable game because it marries adventure elements with its absolutely brilliant combat system, but then they went and made the astonishingly one-note sequel and pretty much had to turn in their Best Of The Lot badge and gun.

Narrative wise? Devil May Cry 3 for me, any day of the week. The Divine Comedy paraphrasing was always obvious (Vergil is mentioned in the first game) but DMC3 is the retelling and re-imagining of Dante Alighieri's epic with infused JAPANESE MADNESS. Instead of going down into hell it's about a tower and Dante's ascension in a literal and metaphorical sense. Or awakening, if you wanna be all "read the box!" about it.

I think you're getting entangled in your own reasoning. You're saying western story elements are more recognizable to western players, but that goes for references just as much as clichés. A ton of japanese stuff is deeply rooted in eastern spirituality which few westerners have much - if any - connection or appreciation for. What seems random is often understated things that they've already established over and over through their culture.

I agree that japanese anime and games are often pretty irresponsible and random with what it draws inspiration from. Midgard this, tree of life that, president of the USA in a mech! That doesn't mean their fiction is any more "bullshit" than a short canadian guy with claws or a biker with a flaming skull for a head.

Cultural differences swing both ways, and they are just as excited about the "exotic" stuff westerners are up to as we are about their referencing buddhism in various degree of vagueness (everything from Rez to Final Fantasy) and that's why you see them hamfistedly going "HELSING! THAT'S LIKE.. DRACULA YEAH? ORESUM!" just like we try to deal with their philosophy through things of questionable subtlety like The Matrix.

As soon as you make things up it's a brand of bullshit, and then it's just about how coherent that seems which is simply a reflection of the culture.

Oh ah oh, right, well that should teach me to read up proper. :D

Yeah, that's another cultural thing: westerners have an incredibly difficult time with irony in this context. DMC3 has tons of it, and like you Megido, I appreciate that a ton. DMC3 is a relentless cannon of cheese, it just commits fully to is hero being an insanely over the top, smug, bordering on juvenile demonic rockstar. In the periphery there are still genuinely "cool" things going on, but it establishes a climate early where breaking a billiard triangle in mid air with a gun can be realised in all of its hybrid cool/absurdity, in a superbly confident way. Brilliant.

Bayonetta does the same thing, incidentally, and you'll have tons of people over here just not getting along with that game for the very same reason.

True story.