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Game Director Faceoff: Hideki Kamiya vs Shinji MIkami

C

CoyoteSpitfire

Member
Mikami.

Both invented/innovated a genre. Mikami made the prototypical survival horror game, Resident Evil (and then created the action horror genre with RE4) and Kamiya set the standard for stylish 3rd person action games with Devil May Cry. Honestly, I just like horror games more than action games. Also, I've never felt like skipping a cutscene in a Mikami game. The ones in Bayonetta, on the other hand, were painful to get through.
 
S

Superflat

Member
Kamiya because holy shit action games, and I vastly prefer them to 3rd person shooters, though I recognize how Mikami's RE4 defined the genre, just as Kamiya did with action via Devil May Cry.
 
Z

Zaku

Member
ViewtifulJC said:
Lol who even beats these two, David Cage?
Click to expand...

Just off the top of my head, Itsuno (Dragon's Dogma, DMC3) Ueda (Ico, SotC), Levine (System Shock), Aonuma (Zelda) and Shafer (Psychonauts) all have a shot at dethroning the winner of this round.

And, of course, the end-bosses: sub-boss Kojima and true final boss Miyamoto.
 
J

JayEH

Junior Member
gugeifer said:
Kamiya.

I feel that Kamiya will win every battle until Kojima rolls in and fans come screaming.
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Kojima is better
:p
.

....
He really is though
.

On topic though I would say I've played more Mikami games than Kamiya. But I really like Bayonetta....I'll go with Mikami because I think he revolutionized the industry more.
 
C

Chemo

Member
Mikami is way, way, way more important, but I find them to be just about equals as developers, with Mikami slightly edging out Kamiya. In ten years, Kamiya might edge out Mikami, who knows? But right now, Mikami is the guy.

I also don't ever remember Mikami "shitting the bed" as a previous poster put it.
 
W

WonderRade

Member
surprisingly i havent really played much of mikami's games.

but i have played alot of kamiyas stuff and he made the w101 so kamiya for me
 
D

disappeared

Banned
Mikami, because he's made more games I've thoroughly enjoyed (RE, RE4, Godhand, Vanquish). I love RE2 and some of Kamiya's more recent efforts, but Mikami has that wisdom about him that comes with understanding how fundamental game mechanics work.
 
Z

Zaku

Member
Chemo said:
Mikami is way, way, way more important, but I find them to be just about equals as developers, with Mikami slightly edging out Kamiya. In ten years, Kamiya might edge out Mikami, who knows? But right now, Mikami is the guy.

I also don't ever remember Mikami "shitting the bed" as a previous poster put it.
Click to expand...

Might be referring the PN03. It's an interesting, if heavily-flawed game, and not representative of the rest of Mikami's body of work. Certainly it's the weakest game either Mikami or Kamiya have put out.
 
K

Kinsei

Banned
I've played Mikami games I haven't enjoyed, but I love every single game by Kamiya that I've played.

I'm going to go with Kamiya, but Mikami is amazing too.
 
H

hao chi

Member
I'll go with Kamiya. Mikami is great, but he has P.N.03 on his resume (which I still enjoyed despite its faults), and I don't think RE4 is quite as great as most people do.
 
H

Hixx

Member
I'd feel bad for saying Kamiya because Resident Evil 4 is my favourite game ever but looking at both of those lists of games...

Ahah, I dunno. I could never say no to a list with RE4 in it.

Mikami.



wtzgU.gif
 
G

george_us

Member
Mikami by the slimmest of hairs for me. I've enjoyed all of Mikami's games immensely, even the flawed ones. Kamiya's games are all high quality but the W101 left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Both are unquestionably the two best directors in the industry though.
 
A

Air

Banned
Danielsan said:
I'm sorry but what? Kamiya did exactly that. Devil May Cry is the father of the current action game genre.
Click to expand...

ninjablade said:
DMC was kamiya genre defining game.
Click to expand...

I actually didn't play DMC so I forgot about that. Yeah I see that changed the way 3d action games played. I think the thing with DMC is that I don't feel the ripples of that game's mechanics are as generously copied as Mikami's games. It could be me changing the goal posts a bit but I feel like all of his action game are at their heart DMC inspired (from what I've seen played), where I don't think that's the case with mikami. Basically of the kamiya games I've played, they seem to lack a certain level of polish that I've found in a game like RE4. I still think Kamiya can pass him, but I think he needs to get out of his comfort zone to do it.
 
Z

Zaku

Member
Air said:
I actually didn't play DMC so I forgot about that. Yeah I see that changed the way 3d action games played. I think the thing with DMC is that I don't feel the ripples of that game's mechanics are as generously copied as Mikami's games. It could be me changing the goal posts a bit but I feel like all of his action game are at their heart DMC inspired (from what I've seen played), where I don't think that's the case with mikami. Basically of the kamiya games I've played, they seem to lack a certain level of polish that I've found in a game like RE4. I still think Kamiya can pass him, but I think he needs to get out of his comfort zone to do it.
Click to expand...

You do know that DMC's combat was the direct inspiration for God of War's, right?

Just tossing that out there.
 
S

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
Not only did MIkami direct the paradigmatic action game Resident Evil 4, which far eclipses any Kamiya game (sales, and reviews wise), but Mikami was involved in several of Kamiya's best games (Resident Evil 2, Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry.

Mikami by a landslide.
 
Monocle

Monocle

Member
Hideki Kamiya. He has a particular sensibility that makes everything he directs feel special. No matter the genre, his games are exceptionally fun and replayable, and they constantly display Kamiya's uncanny attention to detail. There are so many nice little features and extra touches in his games. It's hard to describe, but you can feel Kamiya's passion for games in every aspect of his titles.
 
T

thesolidshark

Member
This is a tie to me, but if the tie were to be broken, I suspect Kamiya would do it.

Kamiya probably edges it out because there's more distinct personality in his games (and his twitter).

No matter what, both their games make me go

793.gif


Kuraudo said:
This is like asking which of my girlfriend's breasts I prefer.
Click to expand...

This quote feels appropriate, and funny as hell.
 
Z

Zaku

Member
So guys, this has been a real roller coaster. While I haven't done an official tally as of yet to make sure I didn't count people who've posted multiple times as two votes (pretty sure I didn't, but you never know), the standings at the time I'm writing this are as follows:

First Page: 14 Kamiya, 12 Mikami, 6 Both
Second Page: 29 Kamiya, 31 Mikami, 12 Both
Third Page: 44 Kamiya, 43 Mikami, 16 Both (would be Mikami at 44, Kamiya at 43 if ohlawd hadn't changed their vote)
Fourth Page: 54 Kamiya, 56 Mikami, 20 Both
Fifth Page (As of now): 67 Kamiya, 69 Mikami, 21 Both

Damn, but this is neck and neck. It feels like this could go either way at this point, depending on who comments and when. I honestly feel like stopping it at an arbitrary time could feel like vote-rigging, especially because I've been waiting to vote until the end.

So first things first: I'm going Kamiya. I didn't want to bias the voting process by favouring anyone in the OP, but I feel like I'd be doing something scummy if I didn't vote now.

Secondly, I'm going to clarify terms, for this and future threads: If the thread is completely inactive for over 24 hours, I'll call it dead and tally the votes. If this sucker is still going next Friday, I'll cut off voting at exactly 7:43 AM my time, and tally the votes made before then. I'll update the OP with this new info.

Also, gotta do it, gugifer:

gugeifer said:
Kamiya.

I feel that Kamiya will win every battle until Kojima rolls in and fans come screaming.
Click to expand...

You might want to look up some recipes for crow. I hear it's delicious with lemon and herbs.
 
P

Phantom Flapjack

Member
Mikami's highs are higher than Kamiya's, but his lows are significantly lower. Kamiya has the best record of any director in the industry, and I know when I buy one of his games that I'm going to be playing something great. Any given Mikami game is just as likely to be a turd as it is one of the best games ever, so, as much as I absolutely adore God Hand and REmake, Kamiya wins it pretty handily for me.
 
K

klee123

Member
Whilst both have outstanding resumes. I'd give the nod to Mikami simply because whilst his games are inconsistent in quality compared to Kamiya. His games, when are great are pretty much GOAT in terms of status.

Kamiya's output is definitely more consistent in terms of quality, but IMO his high marks never really reach the height of what Mikami achieved.
 
A

Angelus Errare

Banned
Kamiya is the most consistent Japanese director even more amazing when you realize he does this across genres. I mean look at his resume

RE2 - Survival Horror
DMC - Action
Viewtiful Joe - 2D Side Scroller
Okami - Adventure
Bayonetta - Action
TW101 - (No clue on what genre this falls under)

CON-SIS-TENT AS FUCK! It's his consistency and the fact he doesn't stick to one genre that makes Kamiya the best thing in Japan currently. He can make a game that basically jump starts a new genre (DMC) then come back years later and outdo himself and set a new bar (Bayonetta). He showed that he can make a really fun RPG/Adventure game that comes ridiculously close to that charm and greatness that Zelda has with Okami, and also showed he can make a Wii U game that's addictive and worth playing (TW101). Only Japanese director I think is better is Miyamoto.
 
P

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
Zaku said:
Just off the top of my head, Itsuno (Dragon's Dogma, DMC3) Ueda (Ico, SotC), Levine (System Shock), Aonuma (Zelda) and Shafer (Psychonauts) all have a shot at dethroning the winner of this round.

And, of course, the end-bosses: sub-boss Kojima and true final boss Miyamoto.
Click to expand...

Personally these 2 are huuuge for me and I would pick them over pretty much anyone barring Miyamoto.
 
T

Tidus_Great

Banned
Vanquish has the best gameplay ever. so imam go with Lord Mikami

sadly he puts zero effort into storyline which is why I feel his games go overlooked these days in the era where story matters.
 
ShadowLag

ShadowLag

Member
REmake and Bayonetta are in my top 5 games of all time, so this is really hard.

But I'm going to have to choose Kamiya for the unbelievably over the top and satisfying combat + antics of DMC and Bayonetta.

tumblr_mrh8a0yGst1s7t9bko1_400.gif
 
prag16

prag16

Banned
I've only played collectively about half of these games. But I'll give it to Kamiya due to his twitter account.
 
G

Gartooth

Member
Tough choice. Mikami kickstarted survival horror, and I loved the third person shooter gameplay from RE4 and Vanquish with the former being particularly influential to the genre.

On the other hand, I have to give it to Kamiya since he helped pioneer 3D action games and I absolutely love the range of his output from DMC to Bayonetta and Viewtiful Joe.
 
Z

Zaku

Member
...and this is what I mean when I say this is a rollercoaster. Pretty sure Kamiya just retook the lead in these last few posts.
 
L

LordJim

Member
Everyone loves a hero. Everyone loves Kamiya.

It's a close one, but the experience of playing Okami tips the scale just a pit for me
 
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