Are JRPG´s dead?
- Thread starter burealis
- Start date
Recommended Videos
I hope not, I would hate to see a gaming universe dominated purely by lame ass Diablo and Oblivion style games. Don't get me wrong, I like both styles, but I also like my plot heavy JRPG's and I really HATE people who feel that Oblivion (or Fallout 3, Or Morrowind) is the only way to make an RPG.
JRPG's were never alive to start with, they are the undead of the gaming industry, something you can't kill no matter how many bullets you stick in em or how many times you burn em to a crisp with flaming.
1 JRPG fanboy = 1 JRPG
Seeing as there are 500 million of em the amount of JRPG's still to come will be close to that.
Although I hope they will stay in Japan so they can suck far far far away from me, unless is a DS port, nothing says Holydays like repetitive grind and lowsy story.
1 JRPG fanboy = 1 JRPG
Seeing as there are 500 million of em the amount of JRPG's still to come will be close to that.
Although I hope they will stay in Japan so they can suck far far far away from me, unless is a DS port, nothing says Holydays like repetitive grind and lowsy story.
So many quotes, so little time...to be honest, I haven't played a Final Fantasy in years, I just heard about XI and assumed they had chosen the better path from then onSystem Message said:
1. JRPGs aren't interactive cutscenes. you're thinking of adventure games. (Interactive fiction if you want to get specific now) JRPGS traditionally focus on story but to call them "interactive cutscenes" completely ignores the combat and character development system which is the entire damn point of the game. what you call "flow-breaking dialogue" i call compartmentalized design. JRPGs keep story and gameplay seperate in a way most WRPGs refuse to ("light" vs. "dark" paths OMG) if the gameplay's all you care about, then enjoy that and IGNORE THE STORY. skip the cutscenes and/or go make a sandwich. seriously, it's ok.
FFX-2 had probably the best designed game of any FF in the past decade, but nobody noticed because the story and creative design were such a godawful mess.
2. Final Fantasy isn't turn-based. it hasn't been since FFIV. ATB != turns. any game with a Speed stat is not turn-based.
3. yes, JRPGS recycle old ideas. Persona 4 isn't that much different from Persona 3. even FF12 just borrows from MMO design. (i assume FF11, but i never played that.) mind you this isn't necessarily a bad thing and it happens in every established genre/series. that said, there's still incredibly innovative JRPGs coming out like TWEWY.
4. they're not dead, but they'll never be as good as the glory days of CT, FF6 and FF7. back in the day you could play dragon warrior or FF1 and you'd love it, because that was the only way you could play a console RPG. nowadays the genre has matured and evolved and JRPG audiences have been siphoned off by strategy games, MMOs, and western-style RPGs. That said they will continue to be made as long as there's an audience, and there's still a sizeable audience. (people still buy new Dragon Quests for god's sake.)
5.
FFX-2 had probably the best designed game of any FF in the past decade, but nobody noticed because the story and creative design were such a godawful mess.
2. Final Fantasy isn't turn-based. it hasn't been since FFIV. ATB != turns. any game with a Speed stat is not turn-based.
3. yes, JRPGS recycle old ideas. Persona 4 isn't that much different from Persona 3. even FF12 just borrows from MMO design. (i assume FF11, but i never played that.) mind you this isn't necessarily a bad thing and it happens in every established genre/series. that said, there's still incredibly innovative JRPGs coming out like TWEWY.
4. they're not dead, but they'll never be as good as the glory days of CT, FF6 and FF7. back in the day you could play dragon warrior or FF1 and you'd love it, because that was the only way you could play a console RPG. nowadays the genre has matured and evolved and JRPG audiences have been siphoned off by strategy games, MMOs, and western-style RPGs. That said they will continue to be made as long as there's an audience, and there's still a sizeable audience. (people still buy new Dragon Quests for god's sake.)
5.
No game really "stops" you from grinding. you grind until you get bored. now, grinding gets boring a lot faster when the game stops rewarding you for it, but if you truly enjoy the combat system you can keep doing it. personally i have no patience for grinding unless there's a specific goal for it. (levels don't count. i got to level 98 in Dawn of Sorrow and couldn't be bothered to gain that last level because i had already done everything else in the game.) the biggest exception was FFX-2, where i finished all the sidequests and decided to max out my inventory just because i wasn't tired of the combat yet. (That said, i DID get tired of the story. i'll be at 99% story completion for the foreseeable future.)Snakktastic said:
Well people have been saying that RPGs in general are dead. I heard it when SSI stopped making the Gold Box games, I heard it when Wizardry and Ultima died and I heard it when Black Isle and Interplay where closed. And yet here we are having a blast with Fallout 3, Oblivion and Mass Effect. Yes, several JRPGs recently released have been disappointing but besides those already mentioned, Valkyria Chronicles was pretty good (albeit its more accurately a Strategic RPG, closer to X-Com than Final Fantasy) while Star Ocean 4 and White Knight Chronicles are on the horizon. The Tales series is still going strong as are the Persona and Disgaea games, all of which have had a successful game launched in the last year. Basically do not count them out until the fat lady sings.
ALl i can say is - go to japan. Look at their game shelves. Last time i went there half the shelf was full of RPGs, the other half full of fighting games. The rest? Rounding error.
A huuuuuge number are being produced, and not just in japan; japanese-style RPGs are being pumped out of china, korea and god knows where else. A search of play asia for 'japanese version' games of 'rpg' genre that have come out in the last year turns up some 114 hits - many of them duplicate entries granted but the point stands; there is one hell of a market out there.
There's such a small market here that we're not going to see the smaller, lesser known titles being translated. Most of what we get are established, big name brands. And yeah, a whole lotta them are stagnating and we're sick of them. But they really are the tip of the iceberg.
A huuuuuge number are being produced, and not just in japan; japanese-style RPGs are being pumped out of china, korea and god knows where else. A search of play asia for 'japanese version' games of 'rpg' genre that have come out in the last year turns up some 114 hits - many of them duplicate entries granted but the point stands; there is one hell of a market out there.
There's such a small market here that we're not going to see the smaller, lesser known titles being translated. Most of what we get are established, big name brands. And yeah, a whole lotta them are stagnating and we're sick of them. But they really are the tip of the iceberg.
I find the genre of JRPG's to be kind of dumb, why should we classify all the RPG's that come from one country the same and call it a day?
Even among the turn-based JRPG's the differences between one and another can be staggering when it comes to gameplay.
Even among the turn-based JRPG's the differences between one and another can be staggering when it comes to gameplay.
Was the story ever a mess, but the Combat, Dungeons, Gameplay and Non-Linear Quest system were all really fun.cobra_ky said:
Let me remind you that I'm one of those uncultured gaming hobos with a coolness deficit required to afford fancy next-gen shit that the rest of you chumps have, so I don't know what White Knight plays like, and I don't even have Dark Cloud nor its sequel. :COnmi said:
But damn KH is about as true of a JRPG as it can get for me. Everything's real-time and I'd forgive myself everytime I was stupid enough to manually select Curaga whenever I fight Sephiroth.
Oh the unfathomable joy. D:
A timing-based JRPG game brings first to my mind the Shadow Hearts series for the PS2... That was a fairly traditional game in which the 'Judgement Ring' system added some variety and skill-based gameplay...
Then of course there's the Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario series in which your imputs power up your attacks.
I usually prefer games in which attacking is accomplished by more than just pushing an 'okay' button... this is why (though I appreciated them in their time) I just don't care for the Final Fantasy series anymore.
Can anyone else think of more turn-based imput reliant JRPGs?
Then of course there's the Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario series in which your imputs power up your attacks.
I usually prefer games in which attacking is accomplished by more than just pushing an 'okay' button... this is why (though I appreciated them in their time) I just don't care for the Final Fantasy series anymore.
Can anyone else think of more turn-based imput reliant JRPGs?
I don't think they are dead. But work and other commitments make it difficult for me to give them as much attention as I used to. They're not the most accessible type of game either, especially for newcomers to the genre, and require time and patience that most casual/infrequent gamers don't usually have.
While they are immensely rewarding for those of us who can and do put the effort in, many will never experience those joys, as they struggle to get past the pains of a 'million' random turn-based battles, and time-devouring level grinding.
Shame, as JRPGs are the most rewarding of genres to play. The efforts can be huge and challenging, but the rewards they offer for playing them are unique to the genre and,
(i think), unmatched by any other style of game.
Long live the JRPG!
While they are immensely rewarding for those of us who can and do put the effort in, many will never experience those joys, as they struggle to get past the pains of a 'million' random turn-based battles, and time-devouring level grinding.
Shame, as JRPGs are the most rewarding of genres to play. The efforts can be huge and challenging, but the rewards they offer for playing them are unique to the genre and,
(i think), unmatched by any other style of game.
Long live the JRPG!
Nope I played it and made that my Game Of 2008 followed by Last Remnant and Infinate Undiscovery.Bocaj2000 said:
Edit: If people don't like JRPG's why watch anime? Not much difference if you ask me.