The hatred of western reviewers for games with low advertising budgets and niche audiences continues to manifest itself in further slating of ero-RPG Hyper Dimension Neptunia, with yet another big-name reviewer, in this case Eurogamer, now apparently scoring the game on the basis of feminism and political correctness – it is said to be “plain old ugly Japanese sexism” and “sexist, senseless and ultimately stupid.”
Some extracts from the review – in this case conducted by a male reviewer with some familiarity with and appreciation for JRPGs, but with some evident cultural chauvinism of his own manifesting (in this and several other reviews) whenever he has to deal with the wicked misogynist ways of the Japanese:
The wearying effect of the witless writing is exacerbated by the plain sexism on show in almost every one of the garrulous cut-scenes.
The camera lingers longingly over stills of each girl’s crotch (and, as the cast of Hyperdimension Neptunia is exclusively female, that’s a lot of crotch), while characters make lewd comments with all the awkwardness of a children’s TV presenter telling a dirty joke.
Some will claim the game is playing on established anime conventions. True. It’s playing on conventions of plain old ugly Japanese sexism, and while the Carry On tone ensures the game stops short of titillation, the innuendo leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Not because its innuendo – we love a bit of innuendo, especially in your mum’s pretty mouth – but because it’s dull and stupid and essentially based around girls made to look and sound like schoolchildren.
In one of the earliest acts of the game, your character arrives at a busty barely-legal nurse’s home only to have her scratched, suddenly-naked body bandaged to a soundtrack of squeals of delight.
[…]
Even the most ardent JRPG fan will baulk at the roughshod simplicity of the game’s systems, restricting the game’s audience to Japanophile anime fans who can overlook the experiences shortcomings as a videogame and approach it as a cultural curio.
That is, a sexist, senseless and ultimately stupid cultural curio.
2/10
Apparently the reviewer saw the Gamespot review and decided condemning it for daring to include “disturbingly sexualised young girls” did not go far enough, and so penned his own feminist critique whilst giving it an even lower score for good measure.
Sexy heroines are presumably only permissible when they appear baying for blood alongside the muscle-bound psychopaths who pass for healthy depictions of masculinity in most western games…
Evil supporters of plain old ugly Japanese sexism can obtain the game now.
| 
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Dimension W An Emotional Roller Coaster
Valkyria Chronicles Remaster Masterful Indeed
Hibike! Euphonium Goods Strike A Tranquil Chord
Top 20 Most Charming Anime Siblings
Afterschool Hypnosis Club Hypnotic Indeed
Utawarerumono Bathes Harder
Samurai Vader VS Kamen Rider Black RX
Final Fantasy Explorers Gameplay Action-Packed
Koukaku no Pandora Cuter Still
Lively Nozomi Tojo Figure
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round x Tatsunoko
One Piece: Burning Blood Busting It Up
Extended Valkyria: Azure Revolution Trailer Calls to Battle
Atelier Shallie Plus “Ayesha Returns!”
Gate “Endlessly Tragic…”
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi Distressingly Melancholic
Cooking Mishap Asuna Figure
Umaru Ero-Cosplay by Asami Hamsterific
Goddess of 2ch: “Pink & Soft All The Way!”
Kuroneko Cosplay by Mikehouse Full of Life
Busty Hotaru Cosplay Delightfully Delectable
Adorable Ati Cosplay by Kaieda Kai Kemonomimi Chaos
Momo Velia Deviluke Cosplay Bursting With Bridal Beauty
Skimpy Sonico Cosplay Barely Contained
Kumiko & Reina Cosplay Hardly Blows At All
Skimpy Elf Bikini Cosplay by Saku Supremely Sexy
Gothic Lolita Hatsune Miku Cosplay Busts Out
Yeah, because Western games totally aren't sexist. And why are characters with a young face assumed as young?
The irony of reviewing this as sexist is that when Westerners made games, they tend to be bigot for example, in most games, America is always the good side and any other country or culture is automatically evil.
This. So much.
I've yet to find an FPS game that has me kill americans.
Or at the very least shout nasty things at them.
american pride much?
Enemies in last two or three levels in CoD:MW2 are American troops that went rogue. The villains in Rainbow Six Vegas 2 are Americans. Fallout is based in America. In multiplayer mode, the gameplay allows you to be the 'other' nation vs American soldiers that you can kill.
If you have never played FPS in your life, please stfu because you sound really stupid and bias.
lol isnt that true of pretty much every country .
God you're stupid. Just... wow. Idiot.
If you've ever played a "Westerners made game", then you'd know even the war games have you playing as more than one side in the war it's portraying. These "Westerners made games" don't make them out to be evil on the basis that they're another country, its because of something they've done. It's never "Well these guys are innocent, but lets shoot them up because they're Russian."
And in the meantime, Japan is famous for being one of THE most xenophobic countries in the world, and their "black" characters are always based entirely on racist stereotypes with afros and "yo yo nigga!" talk.
Go find an education, dumbass.
Because they are? I mean sure, I could go with the misleading visual appearance if they weren't called "little girls" in game.
It's true that western people aren't any less sexist in general, but the culture in Europe and North America is generally much more subtile about it. Oh and the mandatory "OMG burn the
witchespedos".because of the same stupidity that make assume people i'm a girl because i've got long hair while they though my gf was a guy because she was taller with short hair
lol pearmode male detected
Do people really listen to the big reviewing companies... they're ass kissing sell outs to tend to write reviews based on who gives them more money.
Yes. It's a real pity that the best journalists in the gaming world get the least credit.
I believe X-Play has done a parody of such a truth:
"Games given to us to review are normally given a 3 out of 5.
Games get a 4 out of 5 if attached to it a $50 bill.
A 5 out of 5 if $100.
All PS3 games automatically get a 2 out of 5."
Only gaming mag with reviews I took seriously, was "Play". Unfortunately, they also had to close down months ago.
but why buy the game when you can just download child porn, especially if the gameplay is bad.
Because CP is repulsive and ugly, while these characters are cute and funny.
All these review makes me want to buy that game, it looks awesome!
maybe they were just trolling and actually love the game?
even bad publicity is publicity.
I agree with the reviewer. I"d rather go fuck a real pussy and be done with my urges (and go do something usefull) then waste dozens of hours reading stupid dialogues and watching crotches
Hey look, it's a troll. Now kids, be careful not to feed it.
question: then why bother? you have money, and it SEEMS you have girlfriends. go fuck them than troll here
especially in your mum’s pretty mouth=WTH?
I agree. Pardon the pun, but was the author just trying to make what he considers a "tasteful sexual innuendo" about people's mothers? First off, that's not funny or titillating and second...ewww.
Based just on the picture in the review and his description of the audio, the game's innuendo succeeds far more than his attempt.
These reviews are ridiculous... They are missing the point here.
Yeah! Apparently looking at buffed males characters = OK but looking at smexy girl characters = sexism...
Delicious yuri loli bandage play is delicious!
What are you talking about Gogetters? Obviously steroid abusing men with a physique that is not attainable for the general population by any stretch of the imagination cannot be sexist at all.
Nor is the mandatory tough guy attitude and aggressive "kick the door, ask questions later" attitude. No, sir, nothing sexist or stereotypical here.
But Busty women in this game just look at the 360 lady!
Yes. They must like busty women instead of flat-chests.
Maybe that's his point. Maybe he want to tell you how he felt about the game's innuendoes by saying that.
Review's reaction on the game's innuendoes = Your reaction to his 'people's mothers'
Imagine playing a game where the dialog consist of crap jokes like that every two seconds. And the people saying them are bad actors. Now you have Neptunia. This game deserves nothing more than 2/10, not because it's sexist, which it is, but because it is just a bad game over all. I've played games with poor dialogue before, but typically they are at least accompanied by decent gameplay, good story or something. Fanservice alone doesn't make a game good, just like in anime.
Sometimes Feminazis just keep invading everything and attacked anything they deem "sexist"
Ugh, the word 'feminazi' just needs to die in a fire. It belittles what feminism is. That reviewer might think they're a feminist... but they're just an idiot.
What it was is now hooked to a IV in a hospital, occasionally waking up and help the unfortunate. What we have now are femnazism.
Feminism =/= Feminazi. Feminazi = radical feminism. You don't need Venn diagrams to understand this simple fact.
*applauds*
Would you prefer "Bitches to little intelligence and too much penis envy"?
Real Feminism died in the 70's, what you have now is nothing but anti-male bullshit.
congradulatins i was wondering how long it would be until i saw the word "femnazi"
you people never fail to disapoint me
"The feminist revolution began as a necessary reform movement, but unfortunately evolved into a Marxism-imbued, revolutionary one. Second-wave feminism’s focus soon shifted from women’s equal rights (which are limited to those defined by law) to women’s interests (which are limitless), as perceived through a victim’s lens."
--Barbara Kay, National Post
"Feminazi" works for me.
See, I'm a woman, and sexist shit tends to offend me. But this? This game is not sexist. I don't see how fanservice=sexism. To be honest I get even more offended by people saying that a feminist would hate this game or that this game is sexist.
The game actually looks cute and fun to me, and whether I'd decide whether it was crap or not would depend on the actual gameplay/game mechanics not 'omg fanservice think of the children'. Since everyone seems pretty divided on that, I guess I won't actually know unless I play it.
Eurogamer is one of the many sites that gave Grand Theft Auto III and IV perfect 10/10 scores, so them even bringing up "Japanese sexism" is absurd, and arguably racist. The GTA titles might certainly be "better" games, but they're filled with sexism, not to mention an overabundance of violence, drug use and other objectionable material. It's more or less impossible to get through those games without causing scores of civilian casualties, yet that's somehow permissible, while some mild innuendo is not? :|
The same guy gave Bayonetta a 9/10.
He praises Bayonette for being a 'strong' female character and emphasizes her sensual poses, lolipop sucking, and eating angels with her hair.
Somehow this is almost sexist, but not.
The guy's a hypocrite.
Let's spam this guy to oblivion.
10 Internets for those who can give out his adress.
His opinion would be different if Neptune was drew like Marvel/DC style.
Guys like him is the proof of what Nier done was right.
I just bought Bayonetta from a bargain bin. While the gameplay is nice, these kind of "strong" female leads are the worst offenders of female characteristics. Skimpy clothing, acts like horny a retard and makes suggestive poses all the time. I can't even watch the cutscenes anymore.
When does it get to the writers heads that you don't have to choose between the two extremes. You could have a woman with some self respect and charisma. A simple character you could relate to and not only from the sexual viewpoint of a male.
"'baaaawwww, stop being so biased against the Japanese's way shown in this game' [note: It isn't Japanese, it's the murky depth of Otakuism]"
I won't deny it's the murky depths of Otakuism, but at the bottom of that murky depth is a pretty Japanese sensibility of sexual attractiveness. Western sex appeal tends to be more aggressive, girls with big guns and big boobs in bikinis sort of deal, while in Japan the projection of innocence and vulnerability is a turn-on - thus the impression from a Western perspective that it's just super-pedo. I do think there are cultural value judgments going on here. And it's not there aren't Western games that do the same fanservice and don't attract half the fire... *cough*Bloodrayne*cough*
The guy seems more of a racist than a sexist if you ask me...
We are in need of a Ripley.
"Guys like him is the proof of what Nier done was right."
Except Nier was much much better with the western macho design and that was because of his role in the story. And people don't seem to remember, but Nier Gestalt is the original and intended version. The Replicant version was created because they feared Gestalt wouldn't appeal to the Japanese.
As for Bayonetta.
"I just bought Bayonetta from a bargain bin. While the gameplay is nice, these kind of "strong" female leads are the worst offenders of female characteristics. Skimpy clothing, acts like horny a retard and makes suggestive poses all the time. I can't even watch the cutscenes anymore."
It's suppose to be considered humourous. I mean, the whole fact that the game is serious, yet she breaks it all down with her innuendos, sexual reference, etc. makes the game 'gold'.
For characters you want that has some 'self-respect' and 'charisma', play Beyond Good and Evil. It's pretty much has one of the best female character in the Game Industry imho. On the subject of the article:
I overwhelmingly agree with the review. Like I said, this game is rubbish. But Fox News/Daily Mail Artefact would like to force everyone down their throats with these petty articles because 'baaaawwww, stop being so biased against the Japanese's way shown in this game' [note: It isn't Japanese, it's the murky depth of Otakuism]
But I guess the next article is surely going to be something about China.
I'm with you Shuubi.
But I AM pretty offended with how the gameplay itself is something straight out of the stone ages and even the grandfather of ALL RPGs in the likes of Ultima 2 is actually deeper than games like this.. Idea Factory just isn't doing themselves any favors I think. Maybe they just need to get more ambitious with the writing and uniqueness in their games. It makes me sad because the art of the girls in Neptunia is gorgeous.
In a way, I wish people had the attitude towards sensual sexuality and nudity the way Brazilians do. In the way they not only see it as something sexy, but something innately human and even something holy (Carnival is a strictest of religious festivals and yet they celebrate nudity as something God handed to them).
I don't expect everyone to be nude from waist down or anything of course. I just wish there was a bit less outrage and more human acceptance.
Then again, the way they hawked the girls in Neptunia without giving it a decent enough game on top is kind of exploitative... It exploits the gamers. XD
@Shippoyasha
In a way, I wish people had the attitude towards sensual sexuality and nudity the way Brazilians do. In the way they not only see it as something sexy, but something innately human and even something holy (Carnival is a strictest of religious festivals and yet they celebrate nudity as something God handed to them).
wtf dude? there is nothing holy about carnaval in brazil, i say that as a brazilian, if anything is quite the opposite, it is NOT a religious festival(on brazil) tell that to a priest and he might have a heart attack on the spot, drug use is rampant, as well as fights, police has a shitton of work during carnaval, as a matter of fact, anyone from rio is going to tell that our "current" carnaval is nothing more than something to appease tourists, the old roots of carnaval are pretty much dead(parties/festivals on the street/etc) due to rampant crimilaty and lack of safety and people being a hell lot more agressive then say 20-30 years ago, sure you CAN still have a lot of fun if you know where to look for it, but mostly on the neighboring cities, there IS a reason, why over a shitton of people LEAVE the capital of rio de janeiro(and são paulo as well) during carnaval and only come back after it lol.
Yeah. That assessment sounds about right. I guess I was putting the general attitudes of nudity as something sacred (at least in ideology). I don't want to crap on Brazil but it definitely does have its problems. And yeah, Latin celebrations and parties has some tendency to go into crazy territory with the noise and drugs and the seedy stuff like that I hear. That's all on me since I was talking ideology, not reality. XD
@Shippoyasha
and yes you are partially right about brazilians being open about sexuality, difference is, we're not "open" we are just generally indifferent to the damn thing, its mostly everybody else who keeps going nuts over "sexuality" lol.
had to post twice, since i couldn't edit my previous post.
Thank you. Someone who actually knows the definition of sexist.
it is crap.
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/03/a-role-playing-game-that-makes-you-pay-for-your-party-members/
"During my playthrough of role-playing game Hyperdimension Neptunia I am delighted to welcome a new character into my party, but the NIS America-inspired Nisa won’t fight with me or gain experience. She just sits there, until I pay.
Nisa is one of two game developer-inspired characters (along with Gust) that join your party on a pay-to-play basis in Hyperdimension Neptunia, a role-playing collaboration by some of Japan’s top RPG makers for the PlayStation 3. After running into the characters on several occasions, both eventually decide to join up, accompanied by one of every RPG fans’ favourite phrases, “XXX has joined your party.”
But they aren’t actually joining. Sure, they’re both listed in your party roster, but you can’t do anything with them until you go to the PlayStation store and buy their activation packs for $US1.99 apiece. Until then they sit in your start menu, not doing a damn thing."
fanservice does = sexism and SO DOES HALF A BILLION OTHER THINGS seriously
because retards = ignorant
@19:56
Well, the feminist rationale is that any implication of women as a sexual object and otherwise useless/unimportant is sexism. Of course time has corrupted it to the point where a story about a bunch of girls who kick ass and take names is homehow sexist because of a few fanservice pictures. God of Goddamn War had more fanservice than Neptunia.
But having a stereotypical and half-naked buff male lead with no personality whatsoever is A-ok regardless of how many muscle flexing scenes you put him into.
Why does sexy = sexist?
Whoa, hold it there, anon 01:34
you might wanna check out a certain extra credits article:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/1946-No-Redeeming-Value
God of War is deeper than it appears on first sight but granted, it's easy to miss over the gore and the constant dismembering of your enemies
One of the most sensible things I've read all day. Thank you for your contribution.
To bad Eurogamer wont come to this site and get a piece of our minds.
"Japanophile anime fans who can overlook the experiences shortcomings as a videogame and approach it as a cultural curio. That is, a sexist, senseless and ultimately stupid cultural curio."
That's 100% true; which is why I love this game and haven't been playing anything since Friday. It's hilariously old school Japanese. 2/10 is utterly fair but it's so been worth my money. You can keep your CODs and all that crap; I'm happy chuckling at crap jokes, cringing at improper er... artwork... and mashing the same button over and over again.
Just quoting this one guy at Eurogamer, wish you guys were sensible like he is.
The game is awful, that doesn't mean you can't like it, deal with it.
I think the fact that its awful is pretty obvious to most people. what I'd like to hope people are annoyed at is the fact that the reviewer is labling it as sexist just because its characters are portrayed sexualy in a way that makes him feel uncomfortable with his own pedophilic boner he popped while playing it.
can't he give a real reason why its a shitty game, instead of just throwing on the over used and abused "sexism" label? its clear that there are far more vital problems with the game. for example.
1> card board cut out character personalities
2> uninspired, stone age battle system
3> insert whatever else you thought they could have done better on here.
sexism is such a cop out piece of shit excuse, its like playing the racism card, once you say it everything else afterwords just makes the opponents seem all the more racist/sexist just for daring to contradict what you said in any way. its the modern fucking witch pointing.
Why not judge whether or not the game is sexist
...After playing the game, internet armchair reviewer?
lol good one man
Maybe you should take over N.O.W. and they'd stop persecuting people for appreciating 2d characters and defending the rights of nonexistent drawn characters and prosecuting people for committing crimes against them?
Yeah see, you haven't played it.
These reviews do put waaaay too much stock in the blatant sexual-ism of the game. Way too much. This isn't the first time a game has sold itself on the girls within, and it isn't the first time those girls have been of the 'Japanese school-girl' or whatever variety.
But the game itself isn't particularly fun. It's actually a pretty badly done SRPG. I mean, I'll keep playing and finish it - them girls, man - but the gameplay itself isn't good.
Of course, if this was the main point of the review, I'd flat out be on their side. But yet again, a game reviewer finds a way to cock up their job.
"I don't see how fanservice=sexism"
Well you have been well brainbrawashed by endless hours of animu. The fact that you can accept (or enjoy) fanservice with tits doesn't means you can't see the point anymore.
No, it means i'm not some puritan moralfag who thinks that any instance of the female body is pornographic or displaying it in any way is 'demeaning'. Some fanservice is demeaning, but most of it isn't to me. Plenty of anime show tits. Plenty of anime show shirtless men. What's the difference?
Sexism to me is when there is a strong reinforcement of the idea that women are inferior to men; such as for example a group of characters with only one woman and the woman is an idiot and cant do anything without the men. (Funnily enough, this seems to happen more in Western entertainment) The Neptunia girls all seem pretty kickass to me, so I don't see them as sexist. Sure, they are designed to tiltilate men, but they still manage to be kickass when they do it.
Now shit like Twilight and a lot of shojo manga, those are sexist to me, even though they're written by women.
tl;dr You are a dumb self-righteous cunt. Got it.