@arc that's how PSO has always been lol. it might have something to do with how the Japanese tend to write stories in general. this video is super long but well worth the watch, it explains a lot about the whole "killing god" trope in JRPGs. i feel like something similar could apply here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEUqLL8J4gI
@arc I think that there is a good chance that a foreign invasion coming to destroy a people's way of life is pretty similar in regards to capitalism/consumerism invading Japan and destroying it from the outside-in. It's a shame.
@beardalaxy Oh yeah I remember seeing that before, it does a really good job of explaining a ton of history and East Asian viewpoints in only 90 minutes...! Maybe with the "post apocalyptic" kind of game, East Asia has been through tons of regimes and rebellions over and over, even in modern history, so maybe that plays into it too. I always thought the concept of something like, I dunno, Hokuto no Ken was distinctly Asian, I mean beyond it being about Chinese martial art fights, but how it portrays the antagonists and the society...