I'm trying to better understand the subject and part of me is unclear on if any depiction of another culture "counts", even if it's a fictionalized depiction / amalgamation of those cultures.
Also, if you could count stuff like those as examples, I'm unclear on if cultural appropriation is always bad, or more dependent on how respectful / high quality the appropriation is.
Cultural Appropriation is the commodification and marketization of cultural traits for trendy consumption by hegemonic elites in core countries
It is not synonymous with cultural exchange or cultural acculturation because that involves sustained contact between at least two people of different cultures, which doesn't happen with individualist consumer based appropriation
Dark Souls, while a commodity isn't defined by any appropriationsist narratives, it doesn't say "THIS IS WHAT EUROPE IS" instead it takes artistic inspiration to tell a self-contained story, it's an artistic product that stands on its own
The main harm of cultural appropriation (in my opinion) is if the culture being appropriated, or a form of that culture abroad, is changed by the popularity of the appropriation. I don't think any culture identifies with Tolkien-esque medieval fantasy, so Dark Souls is safe.
I'm not too familiar with Jade Empire, but it seems to be a pretty standard western mystification of Chinese culture, and as such it is part of the harmful appropriation of that specific kind. The harm is caused especially to Chinese people living in the west who have their view of their own culture changed, as well as the views of the people around them. Some harm could be caused to Chinese culture in China, if the popular western view bleeds over to there. They seem to be culturally strong enough to avoid it being anything serious though.
It is also important to note that cultural appropriation is not morally simple, that Jade Empire being potentially appropriative is not really a reason to shun the game or especially any of the people who worked on it. In the first place, it is only appropriative because that kind of portrayal is otherwise popular, if it was alone in being a western mystification of china it would likely not be at all harmful. Both the causes and effects of it are beyond individual moral analysis, the real solution is as always to abolish capitalism.
Jade Empire makes no claim to represent China, but rather to reflect elements of Chinese myth. The Jade Empire (the empire, not the game) was explicitly designed to not be China, in order to give the writers more freedom. Even so, it wouldn't be particularly out of place as the setting of a domestic wuxia or xianxia work (save the part where JE includes no elements of cultivation, and thus would not fit into works of xianxia in that regard). It is no more cultural appropriation than God of War is.
That's always a complicated issue, but I'd summarize it by saying it's portraying another's culture without respect, acknowledgment, or understanding of how the portrayed culture feels about it.
It's a difficult topic without clear lines. For example, I visited Japan and met with a few Japanese friends I have there. They insisted we go out and wear kimono since we were in Kyoto. We went out, had some laughs at the rental shop while they found something my size, and had an all around good time after.
That being said, as a USian, I'd never wear one back in the US. Plus, if I ever posted the pictures, a not-insignificant number of whites would take offense on Japanese people's behalf accusing me of appropriating culture.
