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
      2·
      1 year ago

      Two things on this,

      • X-Com can easily be classified a turn-based strategy rather than Turn-based Action
      • This confusion still exists in JRPG. Why would you suggest Disgaea is a JRPG but Fire Emblem or X-Com isn’t?
      • Cryst@lemmy.ca
        1·
        1 year ago

        Yah, you’re right, if you sub categorize it’s much clearer. For me JRPG is the format of classic final fantasy games where you can run around in an over world and then trigger battles that go into a turn based back and forth sequence. I suppose you would need to also say it has to come from Japan otherwise you would say Southpark stick or truth and fractured but whole are JRPGs and I don’t know if one would classify it as such.