Nintendo Copies Ideas Too, And That's Okay!

[@OtakuUnderground92]

A lot of people need to see this video. So many people for years have criticized Sony and Microsoft for “stealing” ideas from Nintendo. When the truth is they all put their own spin on things. That’s how things advance and we get a lot of innovation. Good stuff bro. 🙂

[@jiikae]

EXACTLY. Art is often times just a back and forth exchange of ideas. And THATS the cool part of it actually. Everyone is building off of each other. Nothing wrong with that as long as the games are trying to push the ideas forward in some way And thank you for watching btw!!

[@mr.cheese9571]

For real like some, Nintendo fans out there who dog on Astro bot even though it’s good and has his own spin and identity simply call it a Mario ripoff just really just gets on my nerves

[@jiikae]

@ Dude YES THANK YOU. I also love how when Astro Bot won GOTY the developer gave credit to Nintendo too. Being inspired isn’t a crime as long its done in good taste. Fans seem to make more of a fuss about it than developers Yes some games out there are tasteless rip-offs. But lumping EVERYTHING that takes some influence from somewhere else is toxic

[@locoxpandaa]

I really do wish more people open up their perspectives when it comes to how ideas and concepts in games (or even media) is referential at its core. Ive legit me people that have stated they wont touch modern castlevanias because they could just play super metroid. And while i can understand the sentiment, the reasoning gets lost from trying to alienate and put metroid on a pedestal of originality when that series takes so much from the Alien franchise and it comes from that lack of knowing but also the undeserved confidence that comes with it. Also want to say i loved the way you touched on Arms having similarities with Virtual On. I was trying to think for the longest time what game ive played that reminded me of how the characters attack and move in arms and you were SPOT ON!

[@jiikae]

Your reply really touches on the main reason I made this video. It isn’t to say that Nintendo “rips off” ideas or to prove that they’re unoriginal. Its like you said: It’s to emphasize how the process of creating games is VERY referential, even among some of the most creative developers. The important part is HOW developers put their spin on the things they’re referencing. And yea, ARMS is a fascinating game to me from a development standpoint. References a lot of different things from Virtual On to Akira Toriyama’s art

[@Alekzandr]

Had no idea about arms' inspirations, so cool man. having these tidbits of history out there is really important!

[@jiikae]

DEFINITELY important.

[@ryanbauer3680]

I can name another one of them. Robo Pit. Think of a kiddy/cutesy version of Armored Core(actually scratch that, think of Armored Core as a more serious in depth version of Robot Pit as it came out a full year and a half later), that focused on parts(specifically weapons which were the arms) while fighting in a 3d arena and getting your enemy's arms for winning.

[@EvilLucario]

Awesome video! Gaming is an iterative medium where innovation mostly comes from taking an idea flirted elsewhere and truly making it work. For example, Super Mario Bros. is not the first side-scroller game made - games like Pac-Land came first. Miyamoto himself said that Pac-Land was in some way an inspiration for SMB1, mostly in the sense the background should be blue in his own words. What makes SMB1 so crazy is that it combined side-scrolling WITH complex momentum-based gameplay, being a gigantic leap forward on its own. Stuff like that is always fascinating to read about. Learning the inspirations and influences behind your favorite games is always a super enjoyable thing that can also help broaden your gaming tastes as well.

[@jiikae]

GREAT reply. And yes I agree. Tracing how all of these influences are connected feels like watching a conversation happen between developers. Also didn’t know that about Mario. Great example!

[@CaptBurgerson]

Great video! I can’t recall the source exactly but regarding Breath of the Wild I seem to recall Eiji Aonuma commenting that he was a big fan of Skyrim, so I could see that influence there too personally

[@jiikae]

Would not be surprised if that is the case! I remember around post-Skyward sword era people kept asking Nintendo to make “Zelda Skyrim” so it would make sense if they at least looked into it

[@eastcoasttone3952]

The section about Xenoblade X just got me even more hyped for the Switch release

[@jiikae]

Been waiting ages and its FINALLY happening

[@VerumLeonhart]

I assume that BotW's Korok puzzles had to be inspired by the Riddler Trophies in Arkham. You solve both of their puzzles more or less the same way I'm just glad you brought this topic up since certain people ignore western releases despite the devs learning a lot from them & giving them an even more gamey twist than what they had before.

[@jiikae]

Yeah I feel like people don’t realize how much JP devs take inspiration from Western devs too. They don’t segregate as much as fans do sometimes.

[@J2Bluu]

Great video, one of the unconfirmed influences I noticed was the anti grav mechanic in Mario Kart 8, technically Crash Nitro Kart was the first to do that but I would say Nintendo definitely expanded on it further.

[@jiikae]

Aahhh I didn’t realize Crash did that in a kart racer first. Only played CTR on PS1. I just assumed Nintendo was pulling from F-Zero. But this is highly plausible actually

[@Moe-Scola]

The potential influence of Fortnite (and/or PUBG for the "skydiving" part) on TOTK is one I wouldn't have thought of. Sticking with BOTW/TOTK, the "climb anywhere" system may have inspiration in the Assassin's Creed franchise or maybe the open world Spider-man games. Those are the two that come to mind when thinking of more open-ended climbing systems that contrast with the ones used in games like Uncharted, Tomb Raider or Horizon Zero Dawn. The glider may also have inspiration from the parachute in Just Cause, which is a key traversal tool in those games.

[@jiikae]

You know what. Good job on registering Spiderman as a “climb anywhere” game. I think some people overlook it because of the context of what “climbing” is in Spiderman. Kinda hard to explain. And definitely wouldn’t be surprised if they looked at Assassin’s Creed. Considering how they definitely were inspired by the open-world towers from Ubisoft

[@Moe-Scola]

@jiikae I think I get what you mean. Since Spider-Man as a character is "supposed" to stick to walls and climb everything, people may not register the design boundaries that were pushed by Spider-Man 2 (2004) in terms of freedom of exploration in an open world. Also, its existence as a movie tie-in and its age may keep it out of mind for people when thinking of games that had new spins on open world design.

[@jiikae]

@@Moe-Scola EXACTLY well said

[@saucymongoose7246]

Great video. It's interesting seeing how Nintendo was inspired by American game developers while creating several of their games.

[@jiikae]

Yes!!! I think some people underestimate how much Japanese developers in general take notes from Western devs. Its super cool imo (when done tastefully of course)

[@saucymongoose7246]

@jiikae It's not just limited to game development. There's a plethora of Japanese works inspired by American media that people don't know about.

[@jiikae]

@@saucymongoose7246 Exactly!

[@Venom3254]

It's more than likely that the Metroid Prime games took a lot of inspiration from western fps games. However since it's mostly a Metroidvania in fps it makes it a bit harder to tell, especially with some Nintendo fans who haven't played traditional fps games.

[@DandySpike]

Good video. Your topic got me thinking of other ideas Nintendo was inspired from, and it's actually harder for me to figure out what else they borrowed. I guess you can add in SNK's fighting game influence on Smash Bros? Though I'm not sure if Sakurai lifted any specific mechanic from any of their series.

[@jiikae]

Sakurai was definitely heavily inspired by KOF. I actually included that in the first draft of the video, but *technically* Sakurai doesn't actually work for Nintendo as a first party, so I just wanted to be super deliberate about including first party studios only, since Sora LTD is independent from them. But you are correct! And thanks for watching btw!!

[@shootingdio7200]

YES, YES, YES, YES Salmon Run really reminded me of Gears 2’s horde mode, and god how fun that was. Also BotW has a lot of influence from Shadows of the Colossus

[@jiikae]

SOTC is a good one. Honestly now that you mention it. BOTW almost feels like a “greatest hits” of open world design in a lot of ways

[@1moblin2]

Sony is also an innovator in the gaming industry who also invented/created tech in gaming with PlayStation so it's not only nintendo

[@pajamakazama5840]

They get too much credit for innovation when a lot of times they should be credited with being able to synthesize existing ideas in a manner that's often intuitive to the player. BotW is a prime example of this because - as great as the game is - it's largely an amalgamation of other game mechanics seamlessly blended in to the Zelda universe. Breakable weapons, climbing everything, fire spread, dynamic weather, paragliding etc... You can find a lot of these in RPG's, Assassin's Creed, Skyrim and physic-based indie titles.

[@jiikae]

You worded this perfectly! I said in one reply that BOTW felt like a “greatest hits” compilation of open-world design and you pretty much nail that point. The ability to synthesize all those ideas in an intuitive way is impressive in and of itself.

[@AceThunder21]

It's my pet theory that Splatoon is directly inspired by Ratchet & Clank. I just wish someone would ask Nogami about it fr.

[@jiikae]

I’m assuming you mean because of some of the really comedic/cartoonish weapon themes. That sounds plausible actually

[@LBrivet]

At some point they were using anthro rabbits instead of squid kids so I think you may be onto something

[@x149te]

Don't think so. Splatoon started as only mechanics with tofu instead of characters. Just like Smash Bros

[@DonutSwordsman]

Great title, topic, chill vibes. Subbed bro

[@jiikae]

Thank you man!!!

[@serendipityx683]

Whoa a great topic, innovation has always dominated the conversation for Nintendo stuff. I wanna mention that they also don't just take inspiration solely from games. They'll just take tried and true concepts that exist in real life and make that a game. Thinking about the Iwata asks for Style Savvy from Syn Sophia where they talk about simply copying how the fashion business is in real life.

[@jiikae]

Appreciate you!!! Also I am JUST now finding out that Nintendo publishes the Style Savvy series. Didn’t realize that til you mentioned it just now. Thats interesting.

[@charlenemaximum]

carrying the game convos in 2025 and people need to hear it!

[@jiikae]

YES INDEED. THANK YOU

[@Vlyood]

and then they paten them and sue companies that try to use them

[@therealjaystone2344]

Another fact: Fire Emblem franchise did have some inspirations from other games. For example, FE1 was inspired by final fantasy 1 NES game. Three Houses was inspired by Persona 5. Engage was inspired by Genshin Impact.

[@saucymongoose7246]

I'm not sure about those last two examples. Can you site a source?

[@Venom3254]

​​@@saucymongoose7246 I can see the 3H to P5 comparisons, due to to the calendar system and S ranking other characters

[@saucymongoose7246]

@Venom3254 I'll give you the calendar system, but S ranking characters together has been a thing since Awakening, which is based on the system Genealogy the 4th game had. The Engage and Genshin Impact corelation is iffy to me outside of VERY similar character designs.

[@Billkwando]

I heard that Nintendo got started, originally, after they stole Hanafuda from Milton Bradley, back in 1888.

[@jiikae]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Interesting history

[@Billkwando]

@@jiikae 🤣😂🤣😂🤣🤣

[@hassanghanim3966]

Its really annoying how Nintendo fanboys call other game mechanics a rip off when the concept ideas was already used by many games before, i mean they think that Arms invented the idea of character "extending their arms to punch". Or they think that the idea of a gun that shoot paint/liquid was invented by Splatoon when games like Ratchet and Clank was already using it as weapons years before(same for the small sphere level in Mario Galaxy that was already been used by Ratchet & Clank).

[@RoyalHustler09]

This was an awesome vid.

[@jiikae]

THANK YOU!

[@kaiserphoenix2038]

Excellent video!

[@jiikae]

Appreciate you fr. Thanks for watching!

[@simaofiterman2858]

Yeah, that's ok, and i own a switch and like nintendo games. But if they do this, they coudn't sue others like palworld for copying them.

[@Lua_Diurna]

is mario wonder ghosts a copy of cuphead ghost in co-op?

[@touctony]

great topic for vid, don't see many other people talking about this! for me, i think animal crossing new horzion's use of crafting is definitely inspired by other games though i'm mixed on the results lol

[@jiikae]

I’ve only played Animal Crossing New Leaf. But considering how big Stardew Valley got, I do wonder if Nintendo has looked at that game’s success at all and taken any notes.

[@Jahranimo_]

Man you might have just made me realize why I actually liked Starfield.....because of Xenoblade X! lol Great video.

[@jiikae]

Appreciate you watching!!!! Thanksss

[@stefanspelt3578]

Yeah, but NORMALLY not by much.

[@painuchiha2694]

Funny you compare totk to fortnite and that makes sense but I thought people compared it to banjo kazooi nuts and bolts lol

[@jiikae]

Honestly. Because so many games have done what TOTK did with building already (Minecraft, Banjo, etc) I kinda gravitate more towards looking at the timing of its release lol. The dropping from the sky + building timed with Fortnite’s popularity just raised my eyebrow a bit more. But like I said, who knows. Could also be a coincidence fr

[@ZanteBlitz]

This is why Nintendo are a bunch of bastards for the palworld lawsuit. concepts should not be patentable cause everyone takes inspiration.

[@Geeligans-i-Land]

Man, all this talk about Nintendo being inspired by other things and you didn't even referenced Pokemon. lol

[@jiikae]

I was Trying to be careful about “second party” developed Nintendo games because people on KZbin will nitpick you on things like that lol But yes Pokemon has some examples for sure. Agreed!

[@JKSmith-qs2ii]

The fact that xenoblade was influenced by Bethesda games is maybe why I thought it was a crap game. I dislike Bethesda’s fallout games.

[@jiikae]

Totally understandable! I love Xenoblade X personally but to each their own! And thanks for watching!

[@projectmessiah]

Duh

[@johnsmith-ut8dq]

Do proper research lol, Aonuma has basically said he has wanted to do the sky islands since the time of skyward sword and he thought about he could connect the sky island and seamlessly since then but wasn’t able to do due to technical reasons.

[@jiikae]

That makes sense and is totally fair!