Gabriel Stanford-ReisingerEarlier in the year, Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida went on record on Skill Up as someone who doesn’t like the term JRPG, feeling like it’s a discriminatory term. But, as of late, PlatinumGames’ Hideki Kamiya has come forward to defend the term as something Japanese devs should be proud of.
In an interview with VGC, Kamiya was asked if he shared Yoshida’s views, in which he noted that he had a lot to say on the matter. He believes the cultural differences between Japan and the West is big enough that the term JRPG and standard RPG are warranted, using Fist of the North Star’s localization woes as a big talking point. He used Ultraman as another example.
He believes Japanese developers can incorporate their own unique sensitivity and experiences and thinks this subgenre should be celebrated moving forward.
“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.”
Another term that was brought up was J-Action, a term used when some people discuss games like Bayonetta, which he quite frankly doesn’t feel strongly against. In fact, he’s proud of the term. He believes the distinction of J-Action is more focused than just the standard Action genre.
Outside of working on the Nintendo-exclusive Bayonetta franchise, PlatniumGames has dabbled in PlayStation work like the failed Babylon’s Fall, and helping with the development of Final Fantasy 16.
