How do you feel about "highbrow" waifu games? (Genshin Impact, Nier, etc)

[a Question]

If design not to extreme like to level of adult game then its fine.

But I'll just share couple of clips from Anime Podcast, in short Waifu wars and lolis are cool only when its not reall and not serious.



To skip to Loli talk 8:03

 

[Samawati]

I cannot deal. Ayaya Impact is worse for me since they look like children (not going to bother trying with that one), but the amount I've been well actually'd about the corniness of Automata makes me want to attack that game on sight.

 

[Gordon's Tulpa]

Packing Nier Automata in with waifu games is just a gag. One of the games of the generation with so much more to say then 99% of the games out. Not gonna lie, ' highbrow waifus' is gonna stick on era. Thread redeemed?

 

[brawndolicious]

Packing Nier Automata in with waifu games is just a gag. One of the games of the generation with so much more to say then 99% of the games out. Not gonna lie, ' highbrow waifus' is gonna stick on era. Thread redeemed?

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Nier isn't a bad/trashy game, but it has some elements that I would want to be changed. That is my personal stance. I'm totally shocked at how much this thread struck a nerve though.

 

[Caiops]

Silent Hill 2 is my favorite highbrow waifu game

 

[Deleted member 49611]

i like them

 

[Khilandros]

eh, pretty bad/terrible poll and extremely biased.

I like the stuff and your interpretation of Waifu is so very wrong. Waifus/Husbandos are character that people "love" or get heavily attached to in an anime/game, it is also a tongue and cheek term for fanboy/girling over a character. Attractiveness (their looks) isn't always involved, probably more alongs the line of personality that people are drawn to.

 

[TrishaCat]

I have several times in the past bought video games solely because I thought the characters are cute or attractive
Buying games that having characters that are cute AND are good is sort of a win win for me. Its one of the really cool things about Gust games in particular (though a lot of people don't see Gust games as being high quality, but those people are wrong)

Its strange though, I actually really don't like Nier Automata. Not because its a *bad* game but because there's a lot I take issue with gameplay and story wise that I felt the original Nier did a much better job with.
Genshin on the other hand is in a weird place because the gacha elements seem to make use of the desire for cute characters as a predatory mechanism for making money. Its still a good game in my opinion, but it would be far better if the gacha was handled more like Xenoblade 2.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

So, I gave Genshin Impact a go today for a few hours and deleted it.

That game is everything I hate from an aesthetic point of view. Gameplay was OK, but the art is not to my taste and the voices were just unacceptably bad.

Shame, it seemed interesting enough but the whole look was enough to make me drop it.

 

[CannonFodder52]

edit: opting out of this thread

 

[Deleted member 2809]

Fuck waifu culture

 

[zMiiChy-]

To be honest I find it pretty creepy and sad that so many people feel attracted to this kind of stuff. But I also have to say that I would have probably liked it a lot more 10 years ago. I just can't take games with waifu/fanservice stuff serious.

If that isn't supposed to look like a playboy bunny, I don't know what is.

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Lmao
If that screams Play Boy bunny to you I'd say you're the one with a problem

 

[Deleted member 3093]

Lmao
If that screams Play Boy bunny to you I'd say you're the one with a problem

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This ban is a really severe ban for a mildly antagonistic post from a woman about female character designs

 

[Terraforce]

I never once heard NieR referred to as a "waifu game" until just now.

 

[PS9]

There's points in life where you think you've heard it all but then someone says highbrow waifu and you're a child again.

 

[HBK]

Usually, when a game is "highbrow", it's actually shit, or mediocre best case scenario, so I just ignore them.

As for the usual creepiness in most games, esp. Japanese ones, let's just say I developed high tolerance thresholds after prolonged exposition 🤷‍♀️

It's still annoying even in games I love.

 

[Ushay]

I typically hate waifu type content anywhere. But unfortunately there are some good games and anime mixed in there on occasion.

 

[DFG]

I never once heard NieR referred to as a "waifu game" until just now.

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A lot of people say that when the characters are attractive. It's tiring when they keep bringing up 2B only, most of the characters are sexualised lol

 

[Negator]

.

 

[Lagamorph]

Nier is a Waifu game?

 

[Cellsplitter]

A lot of people say that when the characters are attractive.

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Abby Andersson is my 'waifu' then.

 

[Leviathan]

I don't really know what to do with these poll options. It seems like they contemplated an audience with less interaction with anime and anime tropes.

 

[DFG]

Abby Andersson is my 'waifu' then.

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Been saying it since I played it hahahaha

 

[Deleted member 8593]

Weird thread with weird premise and weird poll but sexualized characters in anime-styled games often look pretty wack. Nier Automata is one of my favourite games of the gen but it's not because of the designs of the female characters. I don't think it would have lost anything if it had a bit more sensible outfits. I vastly prefer A2's destroyer outfit over her default look but it's still not great and has silly heels lmao.

I guess it always depends on how much I can ignore these characters and how far the game takes those designs. In Xenoblade 2 I just shelved the most egregious blades as much as I could but I think the game is overall poorer thanks to their inclusion.

 

[Ferrs]

Nier is a game with core themes that deal with sex and sexuality, to a larger extent than the overwhelming majority of titles I've played before. I think the sexualised character designs are somewhat uniquely warranted in this game. Some elements are a bit over the top, but I believe Nier would lose something if the characters weren't at all sexualised as again, it ties into core themes of the game.
I find the Genshin stuff pretty repellent and detractful to the experience, it probably contributed to me dropping the game after a few hours.

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it's totally not IMO. That there's undertones of sex and sexuality between character doesn't mean they have to run around in thongs and fake tathered clothes (and really, an inspired school boy clothes?). It's not warranted, not especially when there's no purpose on why they look what they do, both in lore with the Yohra origins and really, how they behave during the story.

 

[qq more]

This ban is a really severe ban for a mildly antagonistic post from a woman about female character designs

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For real. What the hell? That isn't even downplaying sexism. The quoted post was flatout wrong for calling Amber a playboy bunny. Did the mods even read the posts or nah?

 

[aSqueakyLime]

This ban is a really severe ban for a mildly antagonistic post from a woman about female character designs

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I thought it was 2 days at first, but 2 weeks??

Posts in other threads where users are calling other people pedos for enjoying the games get less time banned lol

 

[Deleted member 23212]

2B for Smash!
Honestly, I remember one of 2B's winquotes in Soulcalibur VI literally being a reference to people looking up her skirt. Which, by the way, would Soulcalibur count as waifu games? I have no idea because I'm confused by your definition of what a waifu game is.

Spoiler: NSFW

 

[The Awesomest]

Weird thread with weird premise and weird poll but sexualized characters in anime-styled games often look pretty wack. Nier Automata is one of my favourite games of the gen but it's not because of the designs of the female characters. I don't think it would have lost anything if it had a bit more sensible outfits. I vastly prefer A2's destroyer outfit over her default look but it's still not great and has silly heels lmao.

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This is Brother Nier's costume, right?

 

[newtonlod]

I can play them if it's not the Neptunia levels of trash (I don't think this is highbrow though) but yeah, the games would be better without it.

 

[Athrum]

This is Brother Nier's costume, right?

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It is

 

[Ashlette]

This ban is a really severe ban for a mildly antagonistic post from a woman about female character designs

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It reeks of "You think that's bigoted? That means you're the real bigot!". They could have disagreed without saying something so ridiculous.

 

[The Awesomest]

It is

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Yeah!

 

[ItIsOkBro]

Nier is a game with core themes that deal with sex and sexuality, to a larger extent than the overwhelming majority of titles I've played before. I think the sexualised character designs are somewhat uniquely warranted in this game. Some elements are a bit over the top, I think the designs could be toned down a bit but I believe Nier would lose something if the characters weren't at all sexualised as again, it ties into core themes of the game.
I find the Genshin stuff pretty repellent and detractful to the experience, it probably contributed to me dropping the game after a few hours.

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This, I believe, is the WELL ACTUALLY option in the poll right

 

[Deleted member 3093]

It reeks of "You think that's bigoted? That means you're the real bigot!". They could have disagreed without saying something so ridiculous.

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It doesn't really at all, haha. They just said expressed that the comparison to a Playboy Bunny made no sense.

Which, for the record, it doesn't.

 

[The_R3medy]

It remains really weird.

 

[Shroki]

Stuff like Genshin Impact turns me off at first sight, but I'm not bothered by the waifu fanservice in, say, a Persona game.

So it's just a matter of context.

 

[danhz]

Nier is a husbando game
9s best boy

 

[xir]

what's bayonetta

 

[blame space]

highbrow waifu thread still going

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

As much as I think Genshin is kind of a trashy game, calling something "playboy bunny" for a hair band is kind of wack.

 

[Rosebud]

As much as I think Genshin is kind of a trashy game, calling something "playboy bunny" for a hair band is kind of wack.

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Pokemon is a waifu game confirmed

 

[Deleted member 61531]

I will completely write off a game because of stuff like this. Genshin Impact, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Dragon's Crown--not really waifu but definitely highly eroticized/male gazey--are all games I was initially interested, but will never play for these reasons.

I have made exceptions: Nier was one of these, and I just jumped into 13 Sentinels with gritted teeth. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

I wouldn't shed a tear if this trend vanished tomorrow. It relies so heavily on gray areas that it's hard for me to give it much leeway anymore. See the debate about the Genshin "playboy bunny" above...people are disagreeing about the term used, but I would highly suspect anyone who actually says flat out "this is 0% sexualized image of what could be a minor".

If you could gaslight with images, waifu character design would be it, and there's a reason for that.

 

[Yasumi]

Edit: Nevermind, not going to bother.

 

[brawndolicious]

highbrow waifu thread still going

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It's an important question no one wanted to step forward and ask with apparently incorrect terminology. All I have to say is not all heroes wear capes.

 

[take_marsh]

I've broken my own understanding if waifu because I use it to hyperbole, as almost any attractive and seemingly-smart person or character, I'll jokingly say, is waifu/husbando material.

Playing Code:Vein though... That game does not wage the waifu. It just shreds of the clothes of female characters and it's very awkward.

Lmao
If that screams Play Boy bunny to you I'd say you're the one with a problem

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Holy shit two weeks ban!?

 

[RedBullRB6]

Well, I didn't think my post about Amber would cause that much controversy. The high stockings, the skin tight body clothing, the corsetted waist... and I don't know, maybe the ribbons that stands up straight like bunny ears? And let's not forget that every female character has massively swinging hips going from side to side and lots of other questionable stuff.
Look, if a developer wants to make an attractive and sexy character, sure go ahead, but there are other less stereotypical and sexist ways to achieve this. In my opinion it is pretty clear what the developers intentions are and what their target audience is. They know exactly what they are doing and it fits well into their gacha system.
No thanks!

 

[Deleted member 61531]

What does this even mean? Gaslight someone into what? Being a sexist?

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Gaslight lots of people into accepting these character designs (and the tropes that come with them) as totally benign, and as having no association with a normalized thingification of women for entertainment and titillation. So sort of.

You don't even need to leave Era to see this effect. There's immediate reactionary pushback any time the idea that waifu tropes/designs are inherently problematic is raised.

FAKE EDIT: I forgot about Code: Vein. That was another one I wanted to play originally but passed on due to this kinda thing.

 

[Aztechnology]

This thread kind of just identifies the second "ignore the uncomfortable parts" as the status quo doesn't it lol? A bunch of people either making jokes or downplaying the uncomfortable parts.

Edit: well actually... There's a lot of attempted rationalization too lol. OP just nailing it I guess.

 

[SkoomaBlade]

This thread kind of just identifies the second "ignore the uncomfortable parts" as the status quo doesn't it lol? A bunch of people either making jokes or downplaying the uncomfortable parts.

Edit: well actually... There's a lot of attempted rationalization too lol. OP just nailing it I guess.

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I mean, I voted for that option too. There's clearly good games with questionable art styles that I would rather not have but if there are other redeeming qualities I just kinda roll my eyes at it.

I feel like as I'm getting older, it's getting increasing difficult to play games anime fan-service/waifu tropes. And I don't mean to start some sort of cultural judgement but I often question of the environment of the devs that create these sorts of games.