Aren't those kinds of games basically just 3d beat em ups? Most of them play basically the same as something like Double Dragon with fancier moves and more cut scenes.
I think 3d beat em up would have been a good name. But someone figured that it needed a new name because with swords you're not beating. They totally misunderstood that the genre name was about gameplay, not about presentation.
Hack 'n' Slash was good and catchy... I wonder what happened to it.
This was also used for the diablo genre, which is the exact opposite of what a character action game is.
For example: The term for Character Action is stupid. I don't know who started the terminology like that for Devil May Cry style games, but it's generic and does not make any sense. Almost any type of game has a character doing an action. I do know that more people started using it after the Former Two Best Friends used the term in many videos that involved or discussed DMC style games.
Just call these genre of games Stylish Action. Hell, Spectacle Fighter sounds more dignified by comparison.
Character Action is generic, and i believe was born from the idea that people find different things they like in "these kinds of games". Which is horseshit.
"These kinds of games" would include games like nightshade, and ninja gaiden sigma, which are philosophically very different from stylish action. These are efficiency focused 3d beat em ups. The animation style is focused on cool looking moves, but the gameplay genre is focused around doing things to win.
It was clear to me back then that those games were different, but we had people in the english speaking communities of the genre who really didn't get that dmc3 or 4 had more to offer. More to offer besides being efficient. This community sprouted forth from 4chan, so the occasional people just enforcing misinformation was also very prevalent. Not to mention the english speaking stylish action community being extremely toxic, and people are being cleaned up when they have an opinion that isn't according to the group status quo.
Stylish action is what the japanese players tend to use, and emphasizes that being "stylish" is the most important factor. However there has been discussion about if the presentation having a stylish theme is enough to call it a stylish action. That's clearly bullshit, because we're talking genre names, which should always be about the gameplay experience.
Good to use names, in order of priority:
1) Stylish action
2) Spectacle Brawler
3) Character Action
...
...
9999) turd game
10000) Hack & Slash (I'll only accept this if we rename the diablo genre to point&click adventures)
I stopped using the word character action the moment I exited my social circle and was met with “huh? What’s that?” A very dumb term that I’m not sure how it even caught on, especially knowing that a lot stylish action games seemingly trace back to Kamiya, so I feel its rather odd people didn’t just say “dmc-like” instead. Kinda like the musou subgenre is a perfectly fine name.
I think we might know each other from that one crazy discord community. We're both from the same country. I think you like Vampire Saviors :D
