My Favorite Japanese Video Games

Unlike the other authors at Tiro Finale, I am not actually a very big fan of Japanese games contrary to the image my hobbies may portray of me. For the most part, my gaming resume largely consists of Western games as I am admittedly partial towards them too. While I do not see any deficits in Japanese games in general, Western games had always appealed to me more largely because of my upbringing and native system (the PC). That being said, I do still enjoy the occasional Japanese video game every now and then. In fact, I would actually love to play more of them. So then, here is my list of "My Favorite Japanese Video Games".

1. The Neptunia Series

If only for its humor alone, I would still love the Neptunia series with all my heart. From the main series to its various spinoffs, the Neptunia series has always been that one exception in my books when it comes to games. Normally, I avoid turn-based games and text-based (visual novel styled) cut-scenes. Immediately dropping them on those premises alone but, somehow, Neptunia seemed to be shot out of the loop. What happened to be a game I tried for the fun of it after having read its synopsis, I quickly found myself engrossed in the game. Admittedly, the series is not what you would describe as being critically acclaimed. Everything from the story to the game-play is cookie-cutter mediocre and, often times, there is too much pandering too. But, the colorful characters alone makes up for all its deficit and is the reason I am willing to sit down and play hours upon hours of this series. With new releases constantly on the horizon, I do not think I would ever stop too. Ashamedly, this is one of my few guilty pleasures in video games.

2. The Souls Series

Yesterday, I already wrote an in-depth article explaining my love for Dark Souls II and the Souls series in general. As such, I will keep it short here. Admittedly, I have only played Dark Souls I and II while having dabbled in Demon Souls. I have not touched Bloodborne much less the newest release, Dark Souls III. While series veterans may lament that one can never truly be a fan without having finished Demon Souls, I am generally not too fussy about things and am fairly content with what I have. If I had to summarize why I loved the Souls Series so much into three words, I believe they would be challenge, art and world. And that is it. I promised to keep it short and so, I will.

3. School Idol Festival

I love Love Live but, dislike rhythm games. So, I made a compromise. Now, I love School Idol Festival (SIF). Simple, no? While it may come as no surprise considering then number of SIF Coverage articles on Tiro Finale, School Idol Festival is actually one of my favorite Japanese games despite being a mobile title. Why? Besides getting to play to the tune of Muse and Aqours' hit songs, SIF also helped me discover that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. My first few months of SIF were really terrible considering my prior history (read: garbage attempts) at rhythm games. I had resided to the fate that I would never conquer rhythm games until SIF came along. After all that perseverance, I was rewarded with a game which surprisingly has more depth than it seems and great challenges. Even today, it is a game I play everyday without fail.

4. Resident Evil/Biohazard

To be fair, I have only played Resident Evil 4 and 6 to completion. In other words, I have played the worst and best in the series if fans opinions are anything to go by. I personally loved Resident Evil 6. In time, I do plan to complete various other installments of the series especially since I already have several of them in my game library. Resident Evil, like many other Japanese games I played, was something I came across by accident and found myself immediately hooked with its world. While the game-play and story may have always left more to be desired, the zombie-terrorized world of Resident Evil never seemed to disappoint. As unrealistic as it may be, I somehow always bought into it. Which is probably why I love the series so and will continue to especially now that the seventh main game is out!

Time and again, I have always been recommended to play more Japanese games as I never knew what I was missing out on. Yet, I always seemed to have some reason or another for putting them off. That is why, my goal for this year is to play more Japanese games and find out once and for all what makes the world so fascinated by them! Until then, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!