Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

(For ease of understanding Light/Dark Terminology(please don't debate on the RPG's I chose, they were just base examples to explain a point...))
Light JRPG's:(examples)
Ni No Kuni
Tales of Graces F
Eternal Sonata

Dark JRPGs:
Shin Megami Tensei
Persona 4
Final Fantasy Crisis Core

Hi there. I'm sure you've seen me bashing KH3DDD and various other light JRPG's (of course I played them) so I wont make judgement on this game until I've tried it (I'm very impressed with this game, can't wait to play it) But what I've noticed is
a great deal of my US friends(White) do not appreciate JRPG's, and judge solely based on the looks (It LOOKS like a childs game) and I'm not just talking about this game -
I'm talking about Tales of Graces, this, Eternal Sonata, Etc.
Some even had the audacity to call the gameplay boring and terrible (though thats their opinions, I can respect that)
while on the other hand, my other US Friends(non-white)/ South American Friends/ Australian/Euro Friends seem to have a different mentality in general when it comes to things - They give the games a chance, and don't judge the game by its cover - or opening scene. I could recommend one of them easily a JRPG to try, and they'll try it and come back with good things to say. while I'll recommend one of my other friends (not trying to be racist guys) numerous JRPG's (the top ones on most console) and its too childish, too boring, too "gay". Now like I said before, this might not be just restricted to race - I actually think it has to do with the US culture - and the reason my certain US friends who aren't white are more appreciative is because they aren't as americanized as the typical white person is.
Again, I'd like to keep this conversation focused on the games and culture, not trying to be racist - this is just what I've seen from the majority of my friends.

Though, I will say this - I DO appreciate Darker JRPG's > Lighter JRPG's, even though I happen to only own Light RPG's right now... (tales of abyss 3ds, KH3DDD, Tales of Graces..) But that doesn't mean I judge a book by its cover. I always try to give a game a chance, even if going in im skeptical. Do you guys ever think like this? How do your friends view JRPG's?
Does anyone own Graces for PS3? would your friends ever sit down and do a run with you / have you ever tried to get them to play with you?
Do any of your friends own Ni No Kuni? would you say Ni No Kuni has a better storyline then Persona 4 Golden? better gameplay? If no - then is it better then Graces? from what I see, it doesn't look better then either of these games (not hating, just based on my american perspective ) and if I didn't like graces, I won't like this. Though, taking it a step further, there is an obvious reason this game is getting strong 9/10 reviews, and thats my favorite part. Finding out what makes a game so good when I can't see it myself. Thats probably the most joy I have in playing a game. I didn't find it in KH3DDD. But I get a feeling this game will live up to its reviews, especailly since it reminds me of Dragon Quest ( Which I love.) Peace be with you brothers, I hope I didn't confuse you guys.

Also - you JRPG specific players... Do you play American Games? Like Call of Duty, Need for Speed... all of that jazz? The only reason I own them to be honest is when my friends come over. I'd only own JRPG's but most of my friends can't stand JRPG's. only my asian friends/ non-american friends do. Now this might be stereotypical, but honestly I'm really curious to why this is. Does it really just come down to us being interested in different things? I feel like theres something deeper to it then that.
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and various JRPG's! Currently streaming : Tales of Graces F NG+
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3

i can't speak for anyone but myself but as a kid growing up i loved to read, and i loved fantasy. The first rpg i played was dragon warrior 1 on the nes and fell in love with the genre. I probably played just about every rpg, good or bad, on the nes,snes and genesis at least at some point. I love them mostly for the story of course, and always felt rpgs give you more bang for your buck. I do not hate fps or other casual games but i'm just not into them mostly cause i rarely play online and dont care to compete for kills, id much rather sit back and lose myself in a rpg like ni no kuni. I think rpgs do very well in the states, just not comapred to COD or Halo, but it seems when a rpg comes out( FF,tales or even ni no, theres alot of exctement and ppl buy up al the LE's etc
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Now playing-Playstation all stars
GOTY 2013-Lightning Returns

Here's the thing.

JRPGs can of course use some improvement, overall. I personally would like to see more storylines that are like some of the political SRPGs, as well as Atlus's stuff and Konami's "main" Suikoden games (none of the new crap).

Regarding turn-based systems, JRPGs are definitely trying to do some new things with them. I'm glad to see that. I would like to see more involvement from the player; games like Super Mario RPG and the Paper Mario games, Legend of Dragoon, etc. I hear Tokitawa (sp?) does something involving.

So do Westerners have a point? Sure. But here's where I dislike them: They exaggerate. First off, they say all Japanese games suck. Some have been incredibly rude and have stated this to JP developers to their faces, which is obnoxious. And second of all they say JRPGs are all the same, do nothing different, even though there are a lot of good JRPGs out there.

And finally, what's so amazing about WRPGs? Or Western gaming in general? I love Deus Ex, Half-Life 2, Arkham Asylum/City...but for every one of those games I play I play a lot of Eastern games.

Of course, the difference is that I don't act like a big douche towards fans of those games.
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Anticipating the following: Ni No Kuni (PS3), MGR: Revengeance (PS3), Tales of Xillia (PS3), MGS: GZ (PS3)

Bishop_Sasarai posted...

Here's the thing.

JRPGs can of course use some improvement, overall. I personally would like to see more storylines that are like some of the political SRPGs, as well as Atlus's stuff and Konami's "main" Suikoden games (none of the new crap).

Regarding turn-based systems, JRPGs are definitely trying to do some new things with them. I'm glad to see that. I would like to see more involvement from the player; games like Super Mario RPG and the Paper Mario games, Legend of Dragoon, etc. I hear Tokitawa (sp?) does something involving.

So do Westerners have a point? Sure. But here's where I dislike them: They exaggerate. First off, they say all Japanese games suck. Some have been incredibly rude and have stated this to JP developers to their faces, which is obnoxious. And second of all they say JRPGs are all the same, do nothing different, even though there are a lot of good JRPGs out there.

And finally, what's so amazing about WRPGs? Or Western gaming in general? I love Deus Ex, Half-Life 2, Arkham Asylum/City...but for every one of those games I play I play a lot of Eastern games.

Of course, the difference is that I don't act like a big douche towards fans of those games.

I totally agree. Thank the lord, a suikoden fan! I love that game :)
I still need to beat it :P.
LotD was stellar aswell - in fact, when I streamed my first playthrough of that and FF7 , at first I was mad hating on them, but as the games progressed the stories developed, and I couldn't put the games down. I really wish there was a legend of dragoon 2, game was amazing... but back to the point... xD JRPG's could use some work, I agree, but I don't think western RPG's are the almighty cure either.
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and various JRPG's! Currently streaming : Tales of Graces F NG+
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3

As a player of mainly JRPGs, I can tell you that I do still play a lot of western games.

I grew out of shooters years ago, and Borderlands is the first one I've been able to enjoy since Doom/Wolfenstein/Duke Nukem of the early-mid 90s. I still enjoy racers, though I've been playing less of them recently and only own GT5 and Midnight Club LA from this gen. I really enjoy 3rd person action like Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, and Ratchet & Clank. Fighters have never interested me on consoles, but I enjoy a good Musou type game now and then. WRPGs have nothing I want, since they lack story focus.
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Alice returns in 2011, I'll be ready... http://www.ea.com/alice
Inception ending spoiler: http://twitpic.com/26k9ub