A question to people who like or who used to like JRPGs.

[Cheesepower5]

People who hate Square either don't like the style of or simply don't play Dragon Quest. I just can't stay mad at them whenever they release one of the classics like that.

That being said, some FF games are still quite good and while I thought the complaints on FFXIII were generally fairly valid(Yahtzee quote regurgitation excluded), I still thought it was mediocre. FFXII on the other hand? I loved it, it's immersive, there's lots to do and you can stop paying attention to Vaan about 2 and a half hours in.

 

[moretimethansense]

Many JRPGs seem to think that the characters' interactions with each-other (often semi-romantically) are as or more important than the actual story, which typically revolves around saving the world
Earth to Japan: Romance < Saving The World.

What about in games where romance helps the characters save the world? (Persona, Ar Tonelico, Sakura Wars)

So long as the romance/friendship/unhealthy-emotional-attachment is not the primary focus of the game, everything is just groovy. If, however, the lovey-dovey starts to overshadow the main plot of Saving The World, the story usually begins to suffer and I, as a result, lose interest and often become child-stranglingly angry.

The problem with that is that saving the world is a bloody common plot, if that's all they focused on they would actually be all the same rather than that jut being an uninformed insult.

Besides STW is a lofty goal that takes a while, if they didn't talk you'd get bored, on top of which imagine that you were on a journey to save the world, believing that you may die, spendind days or even weeks working toward your goal, wouldn't you try to take your maind off of it for a while.
Alternitivly do you think all WW2 films should be non-stop shooting from begining to end?
The point of many RPGs is not the plot, but the charecters.

Finally often the romance/whatyever IS the main plot, everything else is just a reason for it to advance.

 

[Do4600]

I think the parts that we didn't like were implied in the SNES era games but they didn't have the technology to make it annoying, and now they have the technology to make it annoying...and the voice acting to make it infuriating.

 

[KuwaSanjuro]

I still think there's a lot of good JRPGs but a lot of them on handhelds, Radiant Historia, don't know whether it is going to be released anywhere but Japan but it sounds good, its influenced mostly by Chrono Trigger and the time travel aspect of that game. I think if you look hard enough you can still find brilliant old-school JRPGs, and hopefully Square will do a remake of Final Fantasy VI on DS or PSP (PLEASE).

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

By the way, how was the fourth Star Ocean?

Good story, horrid characters.

Fantastic battle system. Just fantastic.

 

[Valiard]

so then we can all agree that voice acting should not nessasarily be apart of the gamemaking process?

 

[OliverTwist72]

I'm not sure about this but I will say that there are 2 or 3 series that I absolutely LOVED and they got worse and worse with each installment: Suikoden and Wild Arms, and to a lesser extent FF.

It just seems they took everything I loved about the originals and gutted it. I kind of see a pattern now between Suikoden and FF. By the time Suikoden 4 rolled around, I played it and beat it only because it was Suikoden. But I really did not like the game, they took everything that people loved about the original game and removed it and replaced it with pretty graphics and a generic storyline. It was so boring. Same with FFXIII (only I couldn't bring myself to beat it). Wild Arms I couldn't stand to play after Wild Arms 3 so I can't comment on that series. But honestly, Suikoden 1 is one of my favorite JRPG's of all time.

I think they became more story and graphics focused than actual gameplay. Square Enix (as a developer not a publisher) in particular seems to be so stubborn on simple things that people want (years of frustration in dealing with them over FFXI and FFXIV) and then when they actually implement the things people want they go overboard with it. But I guess that's a different argument, just goes to the point that they get pretty stubborn to adopt to new ways of thinking.

 

[Tr3mbl3Tr3mbl3]

There was an Extra Credits epidode that talked about JRPG's and why they've seemed to have been in a rapid decline in the past few years. The problem mostly stems from a generalized association with the labels "JRPG" and "Square-Enix". These two titles are often used inter-changebly. And, yes, Square-Enix is still the raining giant of traditional role-playing games, but that's not to say when they are on a losing streak (XIII was over-hyped, The Last Remnant tanked, XIV is a disaster of epic proportions) tht the condition of all JRPG's in in a decline.

Don't believe me, grab a Nintendo DS. The DS has had dozens of excellent traditional RPG's in the past few years, from The World Ends With You to Sonic Chronicles developed by Bioware and Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Plus, you can find a plethora of re-made and re-imagined greats, like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III, and pretty much the rest of the Dragon Quest saga. And you can look forward to upcoming titles like Radiant Historia, as well as whatever crazy innovations the 3DS is going to come up with for this genre.

I could also recommend a number of recent hits, like Infinite Undiscovery and Lost Odyssey, which is my pick for the best JRPG in five years. No Xbox? Try the Persona series, they are top-notch as well.

 

[OliverTwist72]

I could also recommend a number of recent hits, like Infinite Undiscovery and Lost Odyssey, which is my pick for the best JRPG in five years. No Xbox? Try the Persona series, they are top-notch as well.

Ugh, I would toss Infinite Undiscovery as another JRPG I played and couldn't bring myself to finish it, just too bland for my tastes. And actually if you look at Metacritic, most people agree with me that it was lackluster (68 overall). I will try Lost Odyssey tho since I have not played it.

 

[Justanothergamer300]

Some games are just epic for their own good and FF13 is one of them.

I have a easier time playing old schoolish 2D/2.5D JRPG's than 3D ones nowadays

 

[Justanothergamer300]

Some games are just epic for their own good and FF13 is one of them.

I have a easier time playing old schoolish 2D/2.5D JRPG's than 3D ones nowadays

 

[warm slurm]

Ugh, I would toss Infinite Undiscovery as another JRPG I played and couldn't bring myself to finish it, just too bland for my tastes. And actually if you look at Metacritic, most people agree with me that it was lackluster (68 overall). I will try Lost Odyssey tho since I have not played it.

How far did you get with Infinite Undiscovery? It gets damn good after you get to Aya's hometown, IMO. The story definitely steps up a notch after that.

Lost Odyssey is awesome, though. Best JRPG this generation by a mile.

 

[Defense]

Lost Odyssey is awesome, though. Best traditional JRPG this generation by a mile.

Now I agree. I believe NieR and Demon's Souls are better JRPGs though.

 

[warm slurm]

Now I agree. I believe NieR and Demon's Souls are better JRPGs though.

Eh, Lost Odyssey is better executed than both of them, I think. And the writing is fantastic for a JRPG; the TYoD themselves blow most games out of the water in-terms of the sheer emotion they can make you feel. And they do that with nothing more than music and text. The music is some of Nobuo's best work too, and the characters - and voice-acting, to be honest - are fantastic. The protagonist isn't even a teenager.

I respect your opinion, though. I just wanted to say why I like it so much lol.

 

[McMarbles]

I still think there's a lot of good JRPGs but a lot of them on handhelds, Radiant Historia, don't know whether it is going to be released anywhere but Japan but it sounds good, its influenced mostly by Chrono Trigger and the time travel aspect of that game. I think if you look hard enough you can still find brilliant old-school JRPGs, and hopefully Square will do a remake of Final Fantasy VI on DS or PSP (PLEASE).

FYI, Radiant Historia is going to be released in NA in late February.