Hideki Kamiya thinks Japan should be proud of ‘JRPG’ and wants to use ‘J-Action’ | VGC
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The PlatinumGames exec addresses recent criticism of the term, which has been accused of being discriminatory…

He added: “So when it comes to the term ‘JRPG’, this is something that ties into this – these are RPG games that, in a sense, only Japanese creators can make with their unique sensitivity when it comes to creating these experiences. “I think it’s certainly something that should be celebrated moving forward, and someone should actually aim to make a ‘king of JRPGs’ game to express that. As Japanese game creators, we’re very proud of the actual term JRPG.”

We asked Kamiya if he’d be offended if people started using the term ‘J-Action’ to describe games like Bayonetta. “On the contrary, I’d be very proud if you used that term,” he replied. “It’s more focused than the broad genre of action, and it highlights the unique elements that only Japanese developers can make. So yeah, if you wanted to do that, go for it, we’d be proud more than anything else.”

Adding J- prefix to Japanese pop culture is not a new thing, we already have endearing terms like

  • Jpop (Japanese pop music)
  • Jrock (Japanese rock)
  • JAV (Japanese Audio Visual collective)
  • Jdorama (Japanese TV drama)
  • Jmetal (Japanese metal music)

I would definitely welcome Kamiya calling his games J-Action.

  • Ilflish@lemm.ee
    0·
    1 year ago

    I know what you mean but what you’ve done is just define two sets of games with varying differences in mechanics. So only WRPGs can assign attributes and JRPGs must have ensemble casts? There are many components of games that can transcend genres. A racing game like Mario Party can have an ensemble cast with unique abilities, A game like Sims can have attribute spending to create a player build. Locking these to genres doesn’t help understand as you suggest but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying.

    It’s much easier to used these parts as extra descriptors and even better when you also add perspectives

    • BG3: An turn based strategy [with complex choice]
    • Valkyria Chronicles: A turn based strategy [with player recruitment]
    • Disgaea: An turn based strategy [with unlockable job systems]
    • Wargroove: A turn based strategy [with resource management systems]

    I’d even prefer “Earthbound-inspired RPG” as thats more clear on what I’m going to be playing

    • ampersandrew@kbin.social
      1·
      1 year ago

      I shortened the definition for the sake of not writing a book, but the point is that no one game will satisfy all of the criteria of a genre, but they evoke a common set of responses and scratch a similar itch. The genre would be more anchored to early Final Fantasy titles than Earthbound.

      • Ilflish@lemm.ee
        0·
        1 year ago

        I wasn’t suggesting all games should be labeled “earthbound-inspired”, the term JRPG is so broad that just suggesting it’s inspiration is more informative.

        • ampersandrew@kbin.social
          1·
          1 year ago

          But then it’s only informative to people who’ve played that game, as opposed to people who’ve played that genre. Far more people have played a JRPG than people have played Earthbound.