Etsu Tamari a writer for the famous Metal Gear Series had a bone to pick with Japan's over reliance on using sissy boy characters as heroes in Japanese RPGs here's what the man had to say..
“Why are JRPG heroes always teenage boys worried about why they are fighting?”
I’ve been considering this, and I really think it’s because in today’s Japan there is no ideal of a “cool adult man.”
In works based on a shonen [boy] protagonist it’s fine to use them if they are done well, but in both reality and in fiction the “cool man” has mostly disappeared. The generations reared without ever seeing them can’t envision these men either.
I get the impression this vicious circle has indeed become something of a problem.
As a scenario writer myself, I’d like to do what I can to change this by creating new images of heroes."
(Quote from Sangaku Complex you can read the original piece HERE )
So even some of the people who work in the Japanese game industry themselves are getting tired of seeing characters like Cloud,Squall or anyone else you could think of from a JRPG that's in need of manly slap across the face to set them back on course. This seems to be a common complaint from gamers in the west and it's interesting to see that sentiment somewhat echoed back from the East.
Share your thoughts with us in the comments section or discuss it on our Facebook page!
No comments:
Post a Comment