layzee Mar 17, 2017
There's no shortage of critiques of Japanese game depictions of other countries (e.g. historical inaccuracies, bad voice acting [I think the German in Akumajou Dracula X for PC-Engine CD might count as an example? I'm not German so I can't judge], plain wrong things, etc...) so it's nice to finally see the other perspective (albeit still in Japanese so their voice will remain unheard unless someone does English subtitles):
洋ゲーの変な日本 - マル秘ゲーム - (Western Games' Weird Japan)
It's still an interesting watch but here's a guide as you go through it:
Part 1 - According to the video creator (VC), there are mainly three types of Japanese people that appears in Western games' Japan:
1. Ninja - an assassin for a Japanese organisation.
2. Samurai - A foreign (non-Japanese) protagonist that is taught secret Japanese traditions. Afterwards, exists as a teacher and called "sensei".
3. Yakuza - merely a bad guy.
Furthermore, the ninja stereotype and the Yakuza stereotype is often combined (e.g. Saints Row 2). The VC thinks it is particularly weird ("this... is a Yakuza?).
Part 2 - Sumos are misunderstood. VC doesn't seem to elaborate however. (footage of various crappy Sumo-related smartphone games)
Part 3 - Signs and posters in cities. In other words, reverse-Engrish. This is Japanese that has incorrect spelling, grammar, or just plain nonsense. VC can't help but feel that the Japanese-language signs are a bit off. One example is 「ヌス10ネトウォック ウォールド・リアダー・イン・ヌス」from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. VC's response is basically "wtf is this". I think the intended meaning is most likely "News 10 Network - World Leader in News", except Japanese people would think it is horribly "spelt" (hence the wtf). Another example from the same game: a truck with the words "Truck Company" on it. Red Steel has sideways Japanese. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has words on a financial firm building that basically commands/demand you to make to invest (I assume that game leans more towards realism than Grand Theft Auto-style satire).
Part 4 - Wrong/incorrect Japan. VC makes the assertion that since Western game developers have a shallow understanding of Japanese culture, they end up creating a weird setting as if it was a combination of Chinese and Japanese cultures.* Furthermore, like part 1, there are certain things that must be in Japan, no matter what. The VC then imagines a meeting between Western game developers and what they think should be in their Japan, namely, sushi, Geisha, and Samurai armour. Also, a particular big mistake is Japanese people taking off shoes before entering one's home (e.g. No One Lives Forever 2). I've never lived in Japan, but based on what I've seen in Japanese movies and anime (see! you can learn something useful from anime!), Japanese people usually enter the house (in the case of students, school), THEN take off their shoes. Another one is apparently Japanese people only sleep on futons, not beds. And even if they sleep on futons, only the mattresses can be seen. I'm not a futon expert or slept in one so someone else may wish to explain the mistake here.
Part 5 - Voice acting. Reverse-Engrish, in audio form.
*Side-note, I think this (the fusion of China and Japan) is a particular underrated phenomenon. Case in point: the Mortal Kombat franchise. I can't tell if the game devs are trying to get inspiration from Chinese culture (e.g. the mystical stuff) or Japanese culture (e.g. the Ninjas) or both. Though to be fair, their countries do have a shared history (the Chinese characters in the Japanese language for one) but there are still things that are distinctly Chinese and things that are distinctly Japanese and if you end up combining them while attempting to go one way or the other, then that just looks weird.