TheChris

Alrighty then.

https://www.giantbomb.com/profile/thechris/blog/chris-top-10-games-of-2017-and-some-other-stuff-i-/116286/

Same reason why Yakuza is still called Yakuza in the West despite being a really misleading title. Brand recognition.

Gravity Rush 2 is the only game I felt was legitimately overlooked.

@efesell: Having played it myself I can honestly say that I think the change ruins the scene. The fact that they couldn't be arsed to implement that area in the game, and just slapped an arbitrary area of Sotenbori in instead along with other content, just reeks of a rushed game. It feels like they should have made a samurai spin-off or two before they made another sequel to experiment with the engine first.

@cannonballbam: Nah, they didn't cut it. They just heavily altered it so it loses the inteded effect it was supposed to have in the original. https://twitter.com/HyperBitHero/status/942583292443930625

@azteris: Writing on IPad isn’t easy.

@saft: It’s a bit upsetting they changed the atmosphere and music of such sn integral scene to have it all take place in Sotenbori instead.

Instead of the tone setting jazzy track you get a stab sound Effect that basically ruins the surprised of Kiryu being stabbed.

I wouldn't count her as a stereotype, there are plenty of crossdressers in Japan who are comfortable the way they are. It's also an Okama bar, which translates as "crossdresser". So contrary to what people might think, I don't think she should be seen as a "transgender" character, and I don't think she was meant to be.

Yosuke's harping on Kanji did get irritating, and I think he should have gotten some comeuppance for it, which of course he didn't. But there is a noteworthy line of dialogue exchange between him and Kanji in the game, where Kanji is feeling depressed about his feelings and Yosuke reassures him that he shouldn't worry too much "As you got us" he says. It's a line he says within one of the dungeons, if you talk to him.

I just think it's important to point out that the mystery issue of Kanji being gay or not was never really about him being gay. It's probably hard to articulate properly through the localization from the Japanese version. But I never saw it in that light and I don't think anyone were enforcing Naoto to be a woman. She comes to that conclusion on her own, becoming comfortable with herself and her age, she isn't being treated seriously by her peers because she's a child and also a woman in law enforcement--The problem itself is thus rooted closer in Japanese gender politics than it is in sexuality. The whole workings of the TV World in the game supports that theory, it's fine if people wanted it to go a different way. But it just didn't.

There are a lot of missing music tracks and substories too.

I think there is a lot of nuance with regards to the depiction of Shadow Kanji and Shadow Naoto in Persona 4. Considering the context of how the TV World works in the game, when they find out its full function after mistaken Namatame as the killer because his Shadow depicted his "supposed true self" being a merciless killer.

The truth is that the TV World is mirror to which collective unconcious of the people around Inaba projects their image of the people they see. It plays into the legend of Izanami as well, with regards to how Izanagi abandoned her because he saw her true self, and it was ugly. People don't want to be themselves and show it to others, because they are scared of being rejected. So they conjure up false images and Personas to protect themselves from harm. I don't think Kanji or Naoto are examples of transphobia, I think they shed a positive light on a very serious problem with regards to gender politics. In Kanji's case it was always about "what it means to be a man" and even says it himself "it ain't about guys or chicks". He wanted to live up to his father's place, because he isn't there to take care of his mom anymore, but Kanji's past is grounded in a textile shop that sells items of garments, stuff usually associated with women. His pleasures and hobbies are riddled in stuff that is presumped "not-manly". The stuff in the Persona games are particularly rooted in Japanese culture and politics, it doesn't go beyond Japan, not even in Catherine with regards to gender politics.

And that's part of the appeal, same with the Yakuza games, at least for me.

I can't really deny the whole thing regarding Erica and Tobey, nor the gay guys in Persona 5. But it does have Lala, the crossdressing hostess of the Okama club, who is a really cool character and not treated as a joke. In fact she was actually voted as one of the most popular characters in the game. Not that it balances out the gay guys, but it does give me hope that Atlus can definitely do better.