No, I don't dislike JRPGs.
I've played JRPGs that do flat-story adaptations to traversing the realms of philosophical/symbolic bullshit. To say they're all the same is ignorant at best, and blind idiocy at worst. Yet, that's the dominant attitude here on the Escapist.
That said, there are still tropes that pop up a little too often for my tastes, or that I flat out dislike.
****
One-note characters: This is typically roster-filler.
It's a character whose sole memorable trait is some quirky or otherwise blunt gimmick that's never given justification. Ilayna from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is one such example. Her gimmick is that she's always hungry. There is maybe, MAYBE one line between two full games that ISN'T related to this trait.
It never evolves or budges from that point; she is literally roster-filler.
Suikoden and Chrono Cross are probably the worst offenders I can think of, but you can find such stock characters in most jrpgs; either as playable characters or NPCs. I hate this trend not only because it's annoying, but since it's a waste of design space.
And unfortunately, if the game is voiced, the cheapest/worst voice-actors/actresses typically get these parts (especially true in Namco-Bandai jrpgs...the "NB-Harpy").
****
++++
Children Save the World
It slays me when it's always children who are the world's only hope; I'm sorry, but in most conflict, "youthful energy" is no replacement for experience and rational thinking. 13-year old martial arts masters and prodigious mages drive me nuts when they comprise most of the roster.
Oh, but it's OK as long as it's done along with the requisite "Coming of age" story...gag me.
I could cite examples of where these tropes drive me absolutely nuts. So I'll instead show you where they can actually work, why those stories succeed and perhaps you can figure out why the tropes fail by comparison.
Suikoden 2. Focuses on three children/young adults (about 15-17).
Both the protagonist and the antagonist are best friends; not mortal rivals. The coming of age story is implied subtly and not so bluntly hammered as in most stories.
But perhaps most telling is that the conflict actually takes its toll on them as time goes on; both physically and emotionally, as war ought to.
In comparison to the usual application of the trope: where a conflict is a boon in disguise and will enable the child to become a master in their respective field, if not wield powers comparable to a demigod.
For the "Coming of Age" trope that routinely goes hand-in-hand with the Children-Save-the-World trope, there is one instance where this was done excellently.
Infinite Space (for the DS, based on a book about coming of age, incidentally).
You see the protagonist Yuri grow up in a number of ways. He experiences triumph, loss, and learns responsibility the hard way. Without going too deep into the details (really, it's a fantastic story) it sounds like the typical coming of age fare.
But what separates it from the typical coming of age story is that Yuri ACTUALLY GROWS UP for the second half of the game. He actually behaves similar to the "tough guy with a past" trope you normally see in jrpgs, only in this case you have the entire context and backstory for why he acts the way he does. You SEE results; results that drive the story rather than just acting as the catalyst for some future Deus Ex Machina revolving around the power of love, happy memories, "fairy dust" (McGuffin activation) or other such bullshit.
Everyone around him grows up too; which changes the dynamic and tone of the story. It's like Ocarina of Time, but with established characters instead of just an environment.
Pity the combat is so repetitive...
++++
I've played JRPGs that do flat-story adaptations to traversing the realms of philosophical/symbolic bullshit. To say they're all the same is ignorant at best, and blind idiocy at worst. Yet, that's the dominant attitude here on the Escapist.
That said, there are still tropes that pop up a little too often for my tastes, or that I flat out dislike.
****
One-note characters: This is typically roster-filler.
It's a character whose sole memorable trait is some quirky or otherwise blunt gimmick that's never given justification. Ilayna from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is one such example. Her gimmick is that she's always hungry. There is maybe, MAYBE one line between two full games that ISN'T related to this trait.
It never evolves or budges from that point; she is literally roster-filler.
Suikoden and Chrono Cross are probably the worst offenders I can think of, but you can find such stock characters in most jrpgs; either as playable characters or NPCs. I hate this trend not only because it's annoying, but since it's a waste of design space.
And unfortunately, if the game is voiced, the cheapest/worst voice-actors/actresses typically get these parts (especially true in Namco-Bandai jrpgs...the "NB-Harpy").
****
++++
Children Save the World
It slays me when it's always children who are the world's only hope; I'm sorry, but in most conflict, "youthful energy" is no replacement for experience and rational thinking. 13-year old martial arts masters and prodigious mages drive me nuts when they comprise most of the roster.
Oh, but it's OK as long as it's done along with the requisite "Coming of age" story...gag me.
I could cite examples of where these tropes drive me absolutely nuts. So I'll instead show you where they can actually work, why those stories succeed and perhaps you can figure out why the tropes fail by comparison.
Suikoden 2. Focuses on three children/young adults (about 15-17).
Both the protagonist and the antagonist are best friends; not mortal rivals. The coming of age story is implied subtly and not so bluntly hammered as in most stories.
But perhaps most telling is that the conflict actually takes its toll on them as time goes on; both physically and emotionally, as war ought to.
In comparison to the usual application of the trope: where a conflict is a boon in disguise and will enable the child to become a master in their respective field, if not wield powers comparable to a demigod.
For the "Coming of Age" trope that routinely goes hand-in-hand with the Children-Save-the-World trope, there is one instance where this was done excellently.
Infinite Space (for the DS, based on a book about coming of age, incidentally).
You see the protagonist Yuri grow up in a number of ways. He experiences triumph, loss, and learns responsibility the hard way. Without going too deep into the details (really, it's a fantastic story) it sounds like the typical coming of age fare.
But what separates it from the typical coming of age story is that Yuri ACTUALLY GROWS UP for the second half of the game. He actually behaves similar to the "tough guy with a past" trope you normally see in jrpgs, only in this case you have the entire context and backstory for why he acts the way he does. You SEE results; results that drive the story rather than just acting as the catalyst for some future Deus Ex Machina revolving around the power of love, happy memories, "fairy dust" (McGuffin activation) or other such bullshit.
Everyone around him grows up too; which changes the dynamic and tone of the story. It's like Ocarina of Time, but with established characters instead of just an environment.
Pity the combat is so repetitive...
++++
