/jp/ - Otaku Culture

I genuinely cannot stand any universe that tries to explain magic. It is the same reason that the concept of midichlorians is so reviled by old school Star Wars fans. Magic is enjoyable because it is magic. Trying to explain it and create a convoluted series of rules and mechanics ruins the intrinsic nature of what it is. "A wave of the hand" is appropriate enough. Anything more, and you'd be better off sticking to science fiction.

When creating power levels, I'd much rather it be based on vague descriptions and assumptions:

"This wizard is 900 years old and has completely mastered the elements."
"This young mage has a strangely strong bond to the spirit realm, as such he can commune with the dead on a level greater than most other mages."

These types of descriptions are suitable enough to create a suspension of disbelief.

The Nasuverse, on the other hand, tries way too hard and has created such an absurdly convoluted explanation and exceptions to everything, as if in a desperate attempt to make them appear more legitimate.

The bottom line is: they started out as porn games. The plots and characters were appealing enough to stand on their own. Rather than trying to obfuscate this fact through convoluted explanations, I wish they'd just stick to the big, dumb, action, modern fantasy elements that are enjoyable.