If you've played any game from the last 30 years that's been developed by a Japanese studio, chances are there's a cat in it.
It could be the protagonist, a party member, NPC, narrator or guide. It could be a realistic cat, an anthropomorphized cat, a chibli cat, or just humans with cat ears and a tail. But there will be a cat... And probably with no explanation as to why it's even there.
I played almost 100 hours of Ni No Kuni 2 and still have no idea why Evan has cat ears and a tail, but I wasn't there to question his lifestyle choices.
Cats are shoehorned into almost every game and we take it as a given, accept it and just carry on like it's the norm.
I have nothing against cats, I love cats, I'm a cat owner. However, I don't feel the need to have cat representation in every game I play.
From moogles to palicos they are a mainstay of Japanese video game culture but why??
Cats are a popular pet all over the world, their independence often makes them a less intensive pet choice than the equally popular dog. We almost seem predisposed to want to care for them, the frequency of their "meow" even being similar to that of a baby's cry.
We find them cute, hell, they are cute!
The science behind "cuteness" is all about proportions, when the majority of facial features are in the lower third of the visible face our lizard brains go "aahhhhh".
Know what else uses similar facial proportions? Anime! .... And Facebook profile pictures, yup, by taking photos with the camera facing down and eyes looking up, the angle creates an illusion that triggers ole lizard brain again.
Babies, puppies, pretty much all cute 'n cuddlies have these proportions as an infant, but cats carry them through to adulthood.
So we've established that cats are cute, but what else drives the Japanese obsession? After all, Western games don't feature our feline friends so heavily.
God of War had Mimir, a severed head, not a cat. Cortana, an AI, not a cat. Dogmeat, a dog, not a cat...... Honestly though, The Last of Us part 2 could have probably used a jovial, talking, cartoon cat if only to lighten the mood a little. (Imagine it popping up and shouting "Fore!" just after Abby stoves Joel's head in with the golf club.)
The relationship between the cat and japanese culture extends as far back as art, superstition and writing can record.
Most famously the Maneki Neko is the ubiquitous "waving" cat seen on many a shop counter, the lucky cat is actually beckoning in (rather than waving off) wealth and fortune.
12th century introduced the fear and intrigue of the Nekomata, a huge two tailed cat that prowled the mountainous outskirts of the capital, eating anyone who might stray too far from a well travelled path. A feline precursor to bigfoot.
The Kasha were cats transformed into oni by the stench of the rotting dead.
Bakeneko were essentially werecats that liked to party at night.
The "tails" go on and on, either for good or bad, cats are intertwined with Japanese spiritualism and folklore.
Whether it be saving a daimyo from a lightning strike, predicting the success of the day's fishing or inviting good fortune into homes and businesses, today, cats are almost revered in Japan.
In a society where long work hours and relatively small living spaces are commonplace, having a pet of any kind is considered a luxury. A self cleaning, independent, cute looking ball of fur that sleeps 16 out of 24 hours is the ideal pet for most people in this situation.
The cat has become a national treasure and in being so, rightfully claims it's recognition and representation in TV, anime, manga, and ....video games.
It would be the equivalent of every British developer putting Stephen Fry into a game .......and when you put it like that, it becomes a completely acceptable practice.
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