For any sword/melee based combat, even the best the West has to offer (thinking Witcher 3, Skyrim, AssCreed etc) have combat which just feel awful and not much better than the worst euro jank stuff. They're not better than games like Lords of Fallen, Bound By Flame or Piranha Byte games etc.

I mean you look 10 seconds at this https://youtu.be/tpjc5j_FT4A?t=338

and then compare it with Witcher 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5pycqmx0ec

and you're not gonna say the latter is that much better, or even that much different at all in terms of style.

but compare them to Nier Automata https://youtu.be/19c94qHANlc?t=958

and there's a clear difference.

Combat from Western games feel recycled from each other, even the prototype of the cancelled Flash game looked like the same scripted and automated combat I've seen a dozen times.

Altough they've mastered the FPS and TPS I think Western devs need a lesson in sword based/melee combat mechanics and philosophy from the top devs in Japan.

Glad I'm not the only one that thinks combat on Witcher 3 is just lame.

Western combat is usually more strategic and requires more skill/forethought whereas Japanese games usually have combat that just requires button mashing.

I really didn't think the combat in phe Witcher 3 was all that different from Dark Souls. Combat doesn't have to look flashy to be intensely satisfying and rewarding. More Automata is a Platinum game, and therefore an entirely different animal.

Good luck getting through something like Metal Gear Rising or Devil May Cry by just mashing buttons.

O/T: I think this is more of a divide in genre than countries. Take away the hack and slash genre, and sword/melee combat in Japanese games isn't exactly deep either. Stuff like Zelda and FFXV have pretty simplistic combat systems. It's more of hack and slash titles really only being made by Japanese devs currently, which is kind of a disappointment. 

I disagree 500%. If you approach W3 like its Dark Souls you're gonna get your ass kicked. You're gonna need to adapt cuz W3 combat is floaty and not snappy, nothing really works all the time. Enemy movements in W3 just don't make sense, they're erratic and not in the good way. It's all scripted, if the dev programmed a monster to hit you, you will get hit no matter if you pressed evade or were out of their reach, they're like magnets. The hitboxes are terrible. Dodging doesn't work.

I'm a 7 year Souls veteran but had difficulty with W3's combat becuz how imprecise it is.

Prince of Persia Warrior Within + Gothic 2 - best combat system if u aske me.

I agree with OP - enemies in western games nowadays give u way too much time and openings to react, u can basically just create one scheme and follow it all the time. Nothing funnier than Assasins Creed combat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw3U_getqDg

almost 1000 enemies killed alone in 1 fight

Ive played through most if not all DMC, love the games but to say that western games have worse combat is purely opinion. They play very different, some prefer wester, some Japanese games. I like a mix of both but will prefer Western as it feels more real and skillful, something like Witcher 3 which requires preperation and strategy than a game like DMC, not saying that you don't need skill to play a hack n slash.

What ?

World looks boring ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw3U_getqDg - desert + industry area ( oil rig ? )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARHVKZ5K1b0 - ruined buildings, maybe some forest etc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARHVKZ5K1b0 - ruined city, underground complex

Most sword/melee combat in Western games look like derivatives of each other, they all go for that scripted, automated feel. There 's a terrible lack of variation. There was a Western pc game from early 00s which had a distinct combat system, forgot the name. The devs did their own thing due to the lack of AAAA titles to copy from.

It's such a shame becuz W3's quests are the best in business.

Some side quests are so good they can be their own game.

And I disagree about Scalebound, it'll turn out good, trust Kamiya.