Social Swamp's Social Thread 3 - And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain...

[Fenriraga]

Did you not read his tweet?

He was responding to someone who said Aonuma's recent comment on Zelda Wii U being more "western in taste" was a turn off, by saying it isn't a turn off for him and praising them for making this step away from the overly "Japanesey" direction they have had lately.

Also Codename STEAM didn't fail because it was a "Western inspired game". It failed because Nintendo gave no ****s in marketing it, and focused ALL of their efforts on Splatoon (and Nintendo have a huge problem with marketing in general), and for some, admittedly, unfortunate oversights in the initial release of the game (they got patched but it was too late to encourage more positive feedback at that point). You're completely missing the point of why it failed if you just jump to the "Western inspiration". Just like how Nintendo misses the point of why Chibi-Robo has been failing.



One could easily make the reverse argument here.

For every Final Fantasy VII and Xenoblade Chronicles, you get a Final Fantasy XIII, #FE, and Paper Mario: Sticker Star, or any old generic, budget anime-JRPG type game that still gets released on the PS3. I say this as someone who adores FFXIII and doesn't have much interest in FFVII compared to other FF games, but I know what the general opinion is, and I know people won't argue with me on that one.

Also I enjoyed DmC waaaay more than any other DMC game, and I know I'm not the only one. Both in feel/aesthetics, and in gameplay. I tried some of the DMC games and thought they were OK but the overly B-tier movie/anime tone and total power fantasy characterisation, just wasn't my thing, and I didn't complete any of them. Plus the gameplay felt archaic in some ways. DmC had a tone I much preferred, a much more imaginative setting, and a combat system I preferred, and much less tanky controls. And I pretty much 100%'d it. And I haven't even played the Definitive Edition yet either, which I heard made some VAST improvements to the game!

It's kinda unfair grouping DmC with the likes of Shadow the Hedgehog and those other games, because while those are all bad/mediocre games that totally miss the point and feel aimless at a lot of times, DmC is a well made game that knew what it wanted to be and made it very apparent from the get go. If you bought it hoping for a similar tone to the other DMC games, that's your own fault. It was trying to be different to the other games while still keeping the fundamental aspects, and it succeeded, especially with the Definitive Edition. The majority of people who strongly disliked DmC, were the diehard DMC fans who probably also would call themselves weeaboos unironically, whom wouldn't even acknowledge the gameplay improvements the Definitive Edition made to take some of the better gameplay aspects of the original games, and put them into DmC. Most other people can at least acknowledge it as a fun game even if they don't like the story or tone as much, and it did get good reception from critics. TotalBiscuit even ended up really liking it, and he's not even too into that genre of game (including the classic DMC games).

Point is, you can't just point at a few bad eggs and use them as an excuse for Nintendo to not do more Western flavoured stuff, ESPECIALLY when those bad eggs WEREN'T MADE by Nintendo. Nintendo usually does Western flavoured stuff very well, actually, so if anything, they should be doing it more often.



And ignore everything else he's done like his thought out discussions and what not.

We do damage control, here in Nintenzone Social.



Thanks, it's good to finally have clarity on this. Good on you for doing this, especially in light of those other sites spreading misinformation.

I guess so. Again, no part of me disagrees with the notion of Nintendo expanding their regional reach.

If I can say though, kind-of off topic, I'm a tad tired of hearing "Oh well its because they didn't market it" as an excuse. Because I honestly don't think I can advertise something like STEAM to an average gamer or non gamer without them not giving a damn. If Yo-Kai Watch is an indication, all the marketing in the world can't help you in every single instance. I know, Japanese centered game vs Western centered game, but still.

 

[ChikoLad]

I guess so. Again, no part of me disagrees with the notion of Nintendo expanding their regional reach.

If I can say though, kind-of off topic, I'm a tad tired of hearing "Oh well its because they didn't market it". If Yo-Kai Watch is an indication, all the marketing in the world can't help you in every single instance. I know, Japanese centered game vs Western centered game, but still.

Yokai-Watch is an exception.

Marketing is usually something you should do as standard. Like, it's an essential.

Nintendo didn't even try with Codename STEAM. They left it to die, while they promoted the **** out of Splatoon.

I'm not saying it's bad for them to have promoted Splatoon like they did, but I think it was reckless of them to not do anything ith Codename STEAM. Codename STEAM really needed marketing because it's kinda hard to tell what the game is at first glance. A lot of people think it's a shooter because of the guns, when that couldn't be further from the truth - which is unfortunate, because Splatoon ALSO happens to be a shooter, and most people would pick a console shooter over a handheld one. So if people thought STEAM was a shooter, obviously it's not good for the game.

Nintendo in general just has this problem with making their own products compete against each other, and they really need to stop it. The exact same thing happened to Chibi-Robo. Instead of making it a proper Chibi-Robo game, they made it a 2D platformer. If it was a normal Chibi-Robo game, it wouldn't have had any direct competition in their own line-up. But by making it a 2D platformer, it had to directly compete with your NSMB games, Kirby Triple Deluxe, DKC:TP, and Yoshi's Woolly World, and it never stood a CHANCE of beating those.

 

[Z25]

But they're not working in the west. They're working in Japan, kind of. Because they understand that market. And even then, they're not "working" nearly as well as they used to.

And no, Splatoon is not inherently Japanese. Splatoon was a console game when Japan prefers handhelds, it was a third-person-shooter when Japan prefers other genres. Its aesthetic is partially Japanese what with the focus on squids and octopus and other sea creatures which are generally more prevalent in Japan, but it's also heavily inspired by hip-hop and western youth culture and graffiti-style art, all of which is again traditionally not Japanese.

Characters like Mario and the Inklings originate from Japan, but they're not culturally Japanese. Especially Mario. If you were unaware of the developer behind the Mario games, what indication would you have that it's culturally Japanese? They're designed with a western cartoon aesthetic, they don't hold any specific Japanese customs to my knowledge, they don't "act Japanese", they don't speak Japanese, the games aren't set in Japan; it's made to appeal to an international audience. Nintendo's dedication to fun and quality above all is what gives them that pedigree to which they can more easily resonate with people. And that's not Japanese-y, that's Nintendo-y. Look at Sega. They're just as Japanese as Nintendo, their series often share the same aesthetics, but it's the differences in their design philosophy and game quality which have resulted in the huge discrepancy between the two, not their nationality, because that's a shared factor.

Mario or Splatoon or what have you is little more "Japanese-y" than Resident Evil, or Metal Gear, or Dark Souls. Which is to say, they're Japanese in origin, but not in culture. Culturally Japanese games, games that embrace Japanese culture, or focus on genres more popular in Japan than in the west by and large do not face as much success abroad, though obviously there are exceptions. Pokemon is an exception.

But no, the west does not love the culture of Japan. Part of the west loves the culture of Japan, and most of the west prefers the culture of the west. If the west loved Japanese culture in their gaming so much, then western devs and companies wouldn't have taken over the vast majority of western gaming.

Nintendo is being too Japanese in their business side of things outside of Japan. Game wise, many of their series are deliberately culturally agnostic. Though it wouldn't hurt them to secure more offerings that cater to specifically the western audience, as they're in a much more dire situation there than in Japan.

All their games have big Japanese influences though. Maybe not fulyl cultural wise, but concepts, yes. Their characters do well to appealing to everyone. And by splatoon being Japanese, I meant more in concept.

A game about transforming squids that are also kids? It fits very well with Japan's weirdness/culture. Transfroming animals are common and fit Japan style. Mario is all around. Some enemies and stuff take Japanese inspiration but it's for everyone.

And a huge portion of people in the west like Japan culture. It only grows everyrday. I see that all to well with everyone I've met. Things like anime have really pushed this, and brought about more interest in Japan things.

Most of those are also gamers who love these things, so it helps them sell ideas well.

Pokemon is another example. Big inspiration from Japan as well as elsewhere. Such as regions, mon designs, and more.

Zelda, another one. Mixes every culture in each game.

Imo Nintendo does fine, it's just over looked. Their ideas work, and they still do things to appeal more to the west such as S.TE.A.M. That failed, but their ideas that blend more cultures, sell more everywhere. I don't really see an issue in their games not appealing enough to the west. I think the appeal is just over looked.

I think the bigger problem is how they market games. They spend big budgets on one title( i'll use splatoon again for this) and market the hell out of it, but then they will have as little ads possible for another. Such as Hyrule warriors legends. I have only seen ads for it online, and even then, other games overshadow it. IF they balanced advertisements, their sales would more then likely do better.

Also genres were not something I meant as Japanese influence before. I was ignoring those, for more of the core concepts of the games. Genre is a factor, but not the bigger one I was considering with my post.

 

[Kikkipoptart12]

Yokai-Watch is an exception.

Marketing is usually something you should do as standard. Like, it's an essential.

Nintendo didn't even try with Codename STEAM. They left it to die, while they promoted the **** out of Splatoon.

I'm not saying it's bad for them to have promoted Splatoon like they did, but I think it was reckless of them to not do anything ith Codename STEAM. Codename STEAM really needed marketing because it's kinda hard to tell what the game is at first glance. A lot of people think it's a shooter because of the guns, when that couldn't be further from the truth - which is unfortunate, because Splatoon ALSO happens to be a shooter, and most people would pick a console shooter over a handheld one. So if people thought STEAM was a shooter, obviously it's not good for the game.

Nintendo in general just has this problem with making their own products compete against each other, and they really need to stop it. The exact same thing happened to Chibi-Robo. Instead of making it a proper Chibi-Robo game, they made it a 2D platformer. If it was a normal Chibi-Robo game, it wouldn't have had any direct competition in their own line-up. But by making it a 2D platformer, it had to directly compete with your NSMB games, Kirby Triple Deluxe, DKC:TP, and Yoshi's Woolly World, and it never stood a CHANCE of beating those.

I don't think keeping Chibi-Robo the same would do anything, the last I check the gamecube game didn't even sale well and codename Steam didn't even look good to many people and they was uninterested in it even I didn't care for it and I watched at the tree house and the reviews didn't help it nether.

 

[BluePikmin11]

You know Yokai Watch would be a hell of a lot more intiguing to me if they didn't use Yokai like this
or this



to shove into my face and instead used Yokai like this

It feels like every single Yokai i've seen before trying wibble wobble is 100 times worse than every other Yokai i've seen playable


I like Beetler more than I like most pokemon. . .

Well that's just part of the weird nature of Yo-Kai, it's not trying to always be epic looking like Pokemon. That's part of the charm once you get the premise. They're suppose to be weird designs that define their personality as a Yo-Kai.

It's like the Mother series for instance, without the weird looking enemies like New Age Retro Hippie you encounter in battle, the charm of Mother is lost.

 

[ChikoLad]

A game about transforming squids that are also kids? It fits very well with Japan's weirdness/culture. Transfroming animals are common and fit Japan style.

This seems like a huge stretch.

Humans transforming into animals, or just general "metamorphosis" characters, have been in Western things for donkey's years.

Like with Werewolves. Or many children's movies in the West having stuff like this in it.

The only "Japanesey" thing about the squid kids is that Japan is heavily associated with seafood, like squids. The transformation aspect itself though, is far from Japan specific.

Pokemon is another example. Big inspiration from Japan as well as elsewhere. Such as regions, mon designs, and more.

Pokémon doesn't primarily draw inspiration from any particular culture though, it's internationally appealing by directly being inspired by many cultures.

Zelda, another one. Mixes every culture in each game.

...Not really. Zelda is pre-dominantly Western inspired (and does much better in the West as a result), being very much a European Medieval Fantasy Epic, for the most part.

As an Irish man, I can even tell you that Wind Waker's art style is DIRECTLY inspired by Celtic folklore, and a lot of the music is very Celtic inspired too.

I don't think keeping Chibi-Robo the same would do anything, the last I check the gamecube game didn't even sale well and codename Steam didn't even look good to many people and they was uninterested in it even I didn't care for it and I watched at the tree house and the reviews didn't help it nether.

The Gamecube game gained a cult following over time, though.

If Nintendo had made another game like that now, it would have done a lot better.

Nobody has any desire to play a Chibi-Robo 2D platformer, though, so not even Chibi-Robo fans are invested in Zip Lash.

 

[Fenriraga]

Yokai-Watch is an exception.

Marketing is usually something you should do as standard. Like, it's an essential.

Nintendo didn't even try with Codename STEAM. They left it to die, while they promoted the **** out of Splatoon.

I'm not saying it's bad for them to have promoted Splatoon like they did, but I think it was reckless of them to not do anything ith Codename STEAM. Codename STEAM really needed marketing because it's kinda hard to tell what the game is at first glance. A lot of people think it's a shooter because of the guns, when that couldn't be further from the truth - which is unfortunate, because Splatoon ALSO happens to be a shooter, and most people would pick a console shooter over a handheld one. So if people thought STEAM was a shooter, obviously it's not good for the game.

Nintendo in general just has this problem with making their own products compete against each other, and they really need to stop it. The exact same thing happened to Chibi-Robo. Instead of making it a proper Chibi-Robo game, they made it a 2D platformer. If it was a normal Chibi-Robo game, it wouldn't have had any direct competition in their own line-up. But by making it a 2D platformer, it had to directly compete with your NSMB games, Kirby Triple Deluxe, DKC:TP, and Yoshi's Woolly World, and it never stood a CHANCE of beating those.

Every rule has exceptions, I guess. Still, much like how Yo-Kai had the popularity of Pokémon holding it back a bit, I feel like STEAM had a Similar problem with X-COM, and it's such a niche gameplay style that I'm really not sure how well it would have done even with marketing. At the same time though, we'll never know since Nintendo never tried eh?

God do I miss the original Chibi Robo.

 

[Coricus]

Since I've continued looking further and further back for this BitBlock guy actually dissing "anime" style instead of simply sounding bitter in general, I came across this.

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Now, the theory that Nintendo went out of their way to pick a character that was not the winner when the actual winner would have been an easier option just to tick off the fans isn't something that I particularly like, but what's odd to me here isn't that specifically.

What's odd is that he specified Inkling when Splatoon happens to be one of the few modern Nintendo games he isn't disappointed in and happily shares pictures of fan works and merch of. . .

I mean, Splatoon is pretty popular, but Inkling is such a given for the next Smash that I doubt enough people would spend their vote on the squid kid to seal them the number one spot in the Ballot when they could use it to potentially get in a character that otherwise wouldn't have much of a chance to get into Smash. And when the Ballot started and presumably most Nintendo fans pitched their votes, IIRC Splatoon wasn't even out yet.

 

[ChikoLad]

Every rule has exceptions, I guess. Still, much like how Yo-Kai had the popularity of Pokémon holding it back a bit, I feel like STEAM had a Similar problem with X-COM, and it's such a niche gameplay style that I'm really not sure how well it would have done even with marketing. At the same time though, we'll never know since Nintendo never tried eh?

God do I miss the original Chibi Robo.

That's probably another factor too.

I think Codename STEAM may have done better as a Wii U title, since I think there would be more overlap between the usual demographic of that kind of game, and Nintendo fans, on the Wii U. Wii U is more of a "core gamer" console than the 3DS is, and CN:STEAM is definitely a core gamer kind of game.

That, and the fact that any new Wii U games from Nintendo would have gotten attention at that time. 3DS on the other hand, is over-saturated with big IPs and it's not a good place for new IPs to start, IMO.

But yeah, at the end of the day, what Nintendo did with STEAM was flat out careless, and they can't really blame anyone but themselves for it failing. Because it's definitely an amazing game.

Since I've continued looking further and further back for this BitBlock guy actually dissing "anime" style instead of simply sounding bitter in general, I came across this.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Now, the theory that Nintendo went out of their way to pick a character that was not the winner when another character would have been an easier option just to tick off the fans isn't something that I particularly like, but what's odd to me here isn't that specifically.

What's odd is that he specified Inkling when Splatoon happens to be one of the few modern Nintendo games he isn't disappointed in and happily shares pictures of fan works and merch of. . .

I mean, Splatoon is pretty popular, but Inkling is such a given for the next Smash that I doubt enough people would spend their vote on the squid kid to seal them the number one spot in the Ballot when they could use it to potentially get in a character that otherwise wouldn't have much of a chance to get into Smash. And when the Ballot started and presumably most Nintendo fans pitched their votes, IIRC Splatoon wasn't even out yet.

That sounds less like "anime dissing" and more like general surprise.

Like even Bayonetta fans had a similar reaction. It's legitimately surprising that she managed to beat much more well known characters, especially when her games don't sell too well.

I'm not supporting the idea that Bayonetta didn't genuinely win, but it was still surprising. Don't try to deny it, we all were surprised too.

 

[Kikkipoptart12]

The one thing Nintendo really need to change is how they work with 3rd party studios and getting their games out sooner. The Wii u had 20 months of software drought total, this is the worst I have ever seen from them or any company for that matter. Them having on wait for 3-4 months for a game to come out is pretty bad.

The Gamecube game gained a cult following over time, though.

If Nintendo had made another game like that now, it would have done a lot better.

Nobody has any desire to play a Chibi-Robo 2D platformer, though, so not even Chibi-Robo fans are invested in Zip Lash.

And!? Nintendo is a company not your friend, they need to make money. Just because some games gain a cult following that doesn't mean that they know that game would sale well, all they know is how well it sold in the past. They probably though if the made it into a plat former it will sale well just like their other plat formers.

 

[Coricus]

That's probably another factor too.

I think Codename STEAM may have done better as a Wii U title, since I think there would be more overlap between the usual demographic of that kind of game, and Nintendo fans, on the Wii U. Wii U is more of a "core gamer" console than the 3DS is, and CN:STEAM is definitely a core gamer kind of game.

That, and the fact that any new Wii U games from Nintendo would have gotten attention at that time. 3DS on the other hand, is over-saturated with big IPs and it's not a good place for new IPs to start, IMO.

But yeah, at the end of the day, what Nintendo did with STEAM was flat out careless, and they can't really blame anyone but themselves for it failing. Because it's definitely an amazing game.



That sounds less like "anime dissing" and more like general surprise.

Like even Bayonetta fans had a similar reaction. It's legitimately surprising that she managed to beat much more well known characters, especially when her games don't sell too well.

I'm not supporting the idea that Bayonetta didn't genuinely win, but it was still surprising. Don't try to deny it, we all were surprised too.

I wasn't trying to say this was anime dissing, just that I was still looking for it and found this instead.

It definitely was a surprise, I just find the choice in what he thought was actually top voted to be humorously suspicious.

 

[ChikoLad]

The one thing Nintendo really need to change is how they work with 3rd party studios and getting their games out sooner. The Wii u had 20 months of software drought total, this is the worst I have ever seen from them or any company for that matter. Them having on wait for 3-4 months for a game to come out is pretty bad.

And!? Nintendo is a company not your friend, they need to make money. Just because some games gain a cult following that doesn't mean that they know that game would sale well, all they know is how well it sold in the past. They probably though if the made it into a plat former it will sale well just like their other plat formers.

......I mean.

It's common sense to at least try to market a game franchise to the fans it DOES have.

Rather than to completely churn out a mediocre game in an oversaturated genre, that neither fans or newcomers will care for.

Like I don't know why you are trying to defend Zip Lash as "the most sensible" direction Nintendo could see for the franchise.

Nintendo, and all companies, do market research, not just looking at sales figures...

...then again, maybe Nintendo doesn't, considering how tone deaf they can be.

 

[Solfiner]

Since I've continued looking further and further back for this BitBlock guy actually dissing "anime" style instead of simply sounding bitter in general, I came across this.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Now, the theory that Nintendo went out of their way to pick a character that was not the winner when the actual winner would have been an easier option just to tick off the fans isn't something that I particularly like, but what's odd to me here isn't that specifically.

What's odd is that he specified Inkling when Splatoon happens to be one of the few modern Nintendo games he isn't disappointed in and happily shares pictures of fan works and merch of. . .

I mean, Splatoon is pretty popular, but Inkling is such a given for the next Smash that I doubt enough people would spend their vote on the squid kid to seal them the number one spot in the Ballot when they could use it to potentially get in a character that otherwise wouldn't have much of a chance to get into Smash. And when the Ballot started and presumably most Nintendo fans pitched their votes, IIRC Splatoon wasn't even out yet.

Try his other twitter for lovely tweets such as:

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Or how about:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Not gonna post the worse ones though, he has a tendency to swear a lot more than he needs to (Which is pretty sad coming from me.)

 

[CyberHyperPhoenix]

This tweet is too bitBlockey

Brb stealing this.

 

[ChikoLad]

Try his other twitter for lovely tweets such as:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Or how about:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Not gonna post the worse ones though, he has a tendency to swear a lot more than he needs to (Which is pretty sad coming from me.)

That's literally his satire account.

Some of the opinions are genuine, but the expression is supposed to be entirely over the top on purpose for the sake of a bit of fun, and he has said this.

I mean just look at the name of the account.

I don't even agree with him on a lot of things he says on that account, and I can see this.

 

[A Distant Demon]

Brb stealing this.

Is this karma for stealing the Yokai Watch toys?

Now I wonder when we're getting Yokai Watch amiibo

 

[Coricus]

Try his other twitter for lovely tweets such as:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Or how about:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Not gonna post the worse ones though, he has a tendency to swear a lot more than he needs to (Which is pretty sad coming from me.)

I just reached as far to the bottom of his regular tweets as I can go. Looks like he keeps all the anti-anime tweets to his Salt Twitter.

A lot of his normal stuff seemed rather bitter when he wasn't just commenting on his Disney merch and assorted shoes, but he clearly corrals a lot of the worse stuff onto this secondary.

I'm wondering whether or not I should even look. I'm not sure if my blood pressure can take as much sodium as is implied from these being far from the worst ones.

*EDIT* And yes, I also know that it's probably partially satirical. hence the name. However, I've spent enough time watching fans genuinely express these opinions that the line between whether he's exaggerating or not is much more blurred in my eyes.

 

[ChikoLad]

Is this karma for stealing the Yokai Watch toys?

Now I wonder when we're getting Yokai Watch amiibo

Probably before any non-Smash Pokémon amiibo because Pokémon Company.

Speaking of amiibo:

They look very nice.

Also, this came out today too, in the US:

If you plan on buying any amiibo soon, you can get this game for free with any of them in most major retailers, so maybe buy them soon if you want any.

 

[Solfiner]

I just reached as far to the bottom of his regular tweets as I can go. Looks like he keeps all the anti-anime tweets to his Salt Twitter.

A lot of his normal stuff seemed rather bitter when he wasn't just commenting on his Disney merch and assorted shoes, but he clearly corrals a lot of the worse stuff onto this secondary.

I'm wondering whether or not I should even look. I'm not sure if my blood pressure can take as much sodium as is implied from these being far from the worst ones.

*EDIT* And yes, I also know that it's probably partially satirical. hence the name.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

This is probably the worst one I could find on his normal one. For the record his definition of anime is the most loose thing I've seen. Link is a cartoon and so is F-Zero, Animal Crossing, Chibi-robo etc etc.

Fire Emblem is DISGUSTING ANIME TRASH even though it's been around for a very long time...? I really just don't get it.

 

[ChikoLad]

Fire Emblem is DISGUSTING ANIME TRASH even though it's been around for a very long time...? I really just don't get it.

He's referring to the recent Fire Emblem games.

Ironically, a lot of actual FE fans say that too.

As for the tweet itself, he simply defended against an unfair assumption that was directed at him. Anime and JRPGs =/= the defining aspects of Japanese culture. If that's his "worst tweet", he must have a very pleasant line of tweets.

Seriously the bias is so strong with these posts.

 

[Chandeelure]

Can you guys act less like biased Nintendo fanboys?
It's just a guy's opinion, and all the things he says actually make a lot of sense.
Nintendo is doing a very bad job lately, just accept it.

 

[Coricus]

At what point is this conversation going to turn up the words "shill" and "apologist?"

I don't think anyone's even saying that Nintendo is doing an even remotely good job lately, they're just saying that they're under the impression that one guy hates a lot of games they like based largely off of artstyle.

 

[Z25]

This seems like a huge stretch.

Humans transforming into animals, or just general "metamorphosis" characters, have been in Western things for donkey's years.

Like with Werewolves. Or many children's movies in the West having stuff like this in it.

The only "Japanesey" thing about the squid kids is that Japan is heavily associated with seafood, like squids. The transformation aspect itself though, is far from Japan specific.



Pokémon doesn't primarily draw inspiration from any particular culture though, it's internationally appealing by directly being inspired by many cultures.



...Not really. Zelda is pre-dominantly Western inspired (and does much better in the West as a result), being very much a European Medieval Fantasy Epic, for the most part.

As an Irish man, I can even tell you that Wind Waker's art style is DIRECTLY inspired by Celtic folklore, and a lot of the music is very Celtic inspired too.



The Gamecube game gained a cult following over time, though.

If Nintendo had made another game like that now, it would have done a lot better.

Nobody has any desire to play a Chibi-Robo 2D platformer, though, so not even Chibi-Robo fans are invested in Zip Lash.

Pokémon takes a lot of inspiration from Japan.

The first 4 regions were based entirely in Japan. Set up on parallels to real life islands. Yes it has a lot of other inspirations, but regions is a big part of pokemon. Also there are a good amount of pokemon based on Japanese folklore, ninetails, jynx, frosslass( I'm not positive on this), and a lot more.

Back to splatoon though. Yes that is a true point, but when is the last time you saw western delvelpers propose something like that?

They way they designed and personify the inklings and splatoon gives very Japanese feels to people. The clothing aspect and weapons appeal and have more western influences, but the characters themselves would fit very well in Japanese culture, due to esign, and more. They even made cali Mario basically Hastune Miku in real life now. They sing like volcoloids, a thing of Japanese origins, and their personality fits in with those of typical Japanese anime/media fashion.

Moving onto Zelda. Completely agree with you on the wind waker. But in the other games, races and enemies are taken from Japan influence partially( forgot which ones are based on folklore), but of course as I said, it blends a lot of cultures together. This is especially seen in titles such as ocarina of time, with all the different races such as gorons, zoras, gerudos, etc.

 

[Kikkipoptart12]

......I mean.

It's common sense to at least try to market a game franchise to the fans it DOES have.

Rather than to completely churn out a mediocre game in an oversaturated genre, that neither fans or newcomers will care for.

Like I don't know why you are trying to defend Zip Lash as "the most sensible" direction Nintendo could see for the franchise.

Nintendo, and all companies, do market research, not just looking at sales figures...

...then again, maybe Nintendo doesn't, considering how tone deaf they can be.

I'm not defending Zip Lash, I'm saying that they want to try something new with a dead IP to try to breath some life into it and reach a broader audience, than to try to do the same thing over again and fail all over again. And I don't believe all companies listen to their market very well or we would have less microtransactions in our games and less mediocre ones.

 

[Ivander]

Just finished another set of supports in Fates. So far, by what I'm seeing so far, the supports have been a bit better than some of the supports in Fates. I haven't seen all though, so that's subject to change.

Spoiler

That being said, I do enjoy how Caeldori is less serious business with her friend supports compared to Cordelia. Her Sophie support has them doing just normal girl things together and her Rhajat support has her asking for some advice on how to be less of a goody two-shoes and be more mysterious. It's a nice change of pace compared to how Cordelia downplayed Sumia's flower picking.

Rhajat: "Can you imagine an army of only Rhajats?"

This quote becomes unintentionally funny when you realize that gameplay-wise, you actually can have an army of only Rhajats thanks to Einherjars and Replicate.

Can you guys act less like biased Nintendo fanboys?
It's just a guy's opinion, and all the things he says actually make a lot of sense.
Nintendo is doing a very bad job lately, just accept it.

Who isn't?

 

[Solfiner]

Go back and look at all of my posts. None of them mention anything about if Nintendo are doing a good or bad job.

The one that is biased is the guy that completely ****s on franchises based on artstyle ALONE.

 

[EmceeEspio]

At what point is this conversation going to turn up the words "shill" and "apologist?"

I don't think anyone's even saying that Nintendo is doing an even remotely good job lately, they're just saying that they're under the impression that one guy hates a lot of games they like based largely off of artstyle.

Because people who are fans, especially video game fans, care too much for our own good. Because we'd rather get into long winded fights over nonsense like if a characters HAT items fit their personality than enjoy the medium.

Because we're all too salty for our own good and get as easily offended as a stereotypical tumblr user being called literally anything they don't agree with.

 

[Coricus]

Because people who are fans, especially video game fans, care too much for our own good. Because we'd rather get into long winded fights over nonsense like if a characters HAT items fit their personality than enjoy the medium.

Because we're all too salty for our own good and get as easily offended as a stereotypical tumblr user being called literally anything they don't agree with.

Ugh. . .thank you. . .thank you SO much. . .

This is the first post in a while on this thread that I can wholeheartedly agree with without any fear of offending anyone.

Fanboys, haters, people who are in some weird limbo between the two: everyone is just too worked up for their own good on ALL sides.

 

[ChikoLad]

At what point is this conversation going to turn up the words "shill" and "apologist?"

I don't think anyone's even saying that Nintendo is doing an even remotely good job lately, they're just saying that they're under the impression that one guy hates a lot of games they like based largely off of artstyle.

...Except he doesn't?

Like if you listen to any of his content, that's the least of his worries.

Pokémon takes a lot of inspiration from Japan.

The first 4 regions were based entirely in Japan. Set up on parallels to real life islands. Yes it has a lot of other inspirations, but regions is a big part of pokemon. Also there are a good amount of pokemon based on Japanese folklore, ninetails, jynx, frosslass( I'm not positive on this), and a lot more.

Back to splatoon though. Yes that is a true point, but when is the last time you saw western delvelpers propose something like that?

They way they designed and personify the inklings and splatoon gives very Japanese feels to people. The clothing aspect and weapons appeal and have more western influences, but the characters themselves would fit very well in Japanese culture, due to esign, and more. They even made cali Mario basically Hastune Miku in real life now. They sing like volcoloids, a thing of Japanese origins, and their personality fits in with those of typical Japanese anime/media fashion.

Moving onto Zelda. Completely agree with you on the wind waker. But in the other games, races and enemies are taken from Japan influence partially( forgot which ones are based on folklore), but of course as I said, it blends a lot of cultures together. This is especially seen in titles such as ocarina of time, with all the different races such as gorons, zoras, gerudos, etc.

You're missing the point.

I know these games have bits and pieces of Japanese influence, but they aren't PRE-DOMINANTLY inspired by Japan.

Like the first 4 Pokémon regions barely look based on Japan. The graphics were too primitive to convey that. Some of the landscaping may have inspiration from Japanese landscaping, but that's not a culture thing. When I think of games that are very "Japanese", it's either the culture, or the style. Pokémon isn't predominantly Japanese in any of these aspects. It has a healthy mix of every culture.

Shantae transforms into creatures, so there you go.

And no, the Inklings have been tweaked to have a more Western feel over here. The dialogue in the game is very reminiscent of a 90s cartoon. And the Miku Callie/Marie stuff, is ONLY happening in Japan. Splatoon is an example of a game that properly adapts itself to the two different cultures.

And with Zelda, they take inspiration from various places for enemy designs, but the core theme of Zelda has ALWAYS been pre-dominantly a European Fantasy. Like one look at the aesthetics of the world and characters will tell you that. Link looks like Robin Hood. Zelda looks like any old princess. Ganon looks like a generic pig monster, pretty typical affair for any European Medieval Fantasy. Ganondorf also resembles a barbaric, Norse warlord. The games are filled with European Gothic castles and landscapes and what not. The list goes on.

Just finished another set of supports in Fates. So far, by what I'm seeing so far, the supports have been a bit better than some of the supports in Fates. I haven't seen all though, so that's subject to change.

Spoiler

That being said, I do enjoy how Caeldori is less serious business with her friend supports compared to Cordelia. Her Sophie support has them doing just normal girl things together and her Rhajat support has her asking for some advice on how to be less of a goody two-shoes and be more mysterious. It's a nice change of pace compared to how Cordelia downplayed Sumia's flower picking.

This quote becomes unintentionally funny when you realize that gameplay-wise, you actually can have an army of only Rhajats thanks to Einherjars and Replicate.

Who isn't?

I'm definitely not a Nintendo fanboy.

They're my current favourite of the big three, but that doesn't say much.

I grew up on the PS1, PS2, and Xbox. I had the Game Boys and DS. But the first Nintendo home console I owned, was the Wii.

 

[A Distant Demon]

When people start calling other people "fanboys" or call someone else biased, somewhere along the line things have gone too far.

On a lighter note:
Just beat Blaine from Leafgreen for he first time in years. Poliwrath is a BEAST. I've also decided i'm not using my charizard anymore. First time not using a starter all the way throigh the game. (I haven't used it since rocket Hideout though lol) Ninetails it is!

 

[CyberHyperPhoenix]

All of you are here arguing, and I'm just sitting here wondering why the Miitomo website removed any mention of a March release

 

[ChikoLad]

All of you are here arguing, and I'm just sitting here wondering why the Miitomo website removed any mention of a March release.

Probably because it's been delayed.

 

[CyberHyperPhoenix]

Probably because it's been delayed.

A shame too, I have the Japanese version on my phone and its pretty fun for the tiny amount of time I've put into it.

 

[A Distant Demon]

All of you are here arguing, and I'm just sitting here wondering why the Miitomo website removed any mention of a March release

That's because it's being launched ASAP right?


RIGHT?!?!

So many lost login points and missed memes ;-;

 

[ChikoLad]

So this is interesting.

Ura

 

[Ura]

So this is interesting.

Ura

Not gonna lie but when you tagged me and the first thing I saw when I a Facebook post made me think that this was going to be leaked footage of GS4 or Isaac being leaked for Smash NX. Silly me.

Haven't been much of a SSF player in recent times (was a fan of the game back in the SSF1 in like 2007-2008) but i'm pretty happy to see this. I'll be sure to play the beta whenever it comes out.

 

[Ivander]

I'm definitely not a Nintendo fanboy.

They're my current favourite of the big three, but that doesn't say much.

I grew up on the PS1, PS2, and Xbox. I had the Game Boys and DS. But the first Nintendo home console I owned, was the Wii.

I wasn't referring to that part. More so this part.

Nintendo is doing a very bad job lately, just accept it.

I was trying to go for a sassy response, but I don't think I did well in that department, so good job, me!

Still, I'm proud to say I started with the SNES and Genesis.

 

[ChikoLad]

Actually, I made a slight mistake.

NES was my first home console, but my dad sold it within days of me first being able to play it.

Just got to play the original Super Mario Bros and that was it.

My neighbours had a Mega Drive and SNES though.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Just got Pokken and Final Fantasy XIII.



As for "bias" and "fanboys" can we just agree BitBlock is a jerk who doesn't respect other people and that's a thing regardless of his likes, dislikes or opinions.

Like, regardless of what he thinks, the guy is just mean.

 

[wedl!!]

****, I keep forgetting I bought XIII a couple of weeks ago because I got it in a bargain deal.

I should probably start it soon. But considering I'm playing the PSX FF games, I'd rather not be disappointed by their successors.