Video game and anime tropes are why its highly rated. The fight scenes were also all distinct. The main character is a weak manchild sure but when compared to everything else at the time it was at least passable. Also a general lack of sheboons or niggers in it made it subconsciously more enjoyable then anything else. It had Asians as a romantic interest, but most people were hoping that Scott would get with the goth girl. As such the race mixing didn't feel so forced. If I recall it even mocked race mixing to a degree when Scott was getting flak from dating a "Asian school girl". The dynamic of his relationship with the Asian was throughout the movie essentially seeing the Asian chick as a passing fling to relax with, but not commit too. In a sense like how a soldier might bang a couple hookers to keep his sanity in a war, yet only have kids with someone of his own kind when back in civilian life. Not condoning that type of degeneracy for soldiers, but it is a unfortunate result of sending young horny men off to a different land where they might die. You live in the moment and just try to forget about all the fucked up shit going on around you.