IGN's Top 10 Ways to Fix JRPGs...

[Nomanslander]

5) In Japanese animation, games and more, extremely childish, high-pitched voices are as common as sophisticated and comfortable toilets.

Don't know if I agree with this, might be annoying to some but it is what makes JRPGs or even Anime for that matter what they are.

Not all of it though, Akira is considered one of the greatest Animes made and you see very few cliches you'd expect from anime...same goes with games.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Hmm... they did make some pretty valid points... like the absolutely lazy efforts JRPG developers make in localization (I've only played around 2 JRPGs, and both of them were shit, so I can't really say if this applies to EVERY JRPG)... but yeah... not everything needs multiplayer you idiots. And yeah... I really do think that a purely turn-based system should slink away somewhere to die. Turn-Based combat has been completely unnecessary since games went into full 3D. (or even quality 2D) and yeah, I definitely agree that JRPGs should allow you to actually do some ROLE-PLAYING rather than just having the player take over for the combat and nothing else.

 

[RadicalDreamer90]

Oddly I agree with just about all of the points on the list. I've been an avid Final Fantasy player for years, and over those years I've touched on several great masterpieces in the RPG genre, Legend of Dragoon, Chrono Cross, etc. For the most part I've enjoyed their innovations over the years, and If there is anything I can blow my time on and relax to, it's a good JRPG, but Mother Of GOD THIS IS THE WORST GENERATION FOR JRPGS EVER! I've picked up over five titles since I've had my xbox 360, and I've been continually disappointed each and every time. Eternal Sonata, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Star Ocean 4, and Last Remnant have been the most lack luster experiences I have ever sat through.

Shitty stories, horrid plot holes, ancient battle systems, dull worlds, and without a doubt some of the most vile and annoying characters I've ever seen. Most of these games I couldn't bear to even finish, and when your forcing yourself to finish a game to get your money's worth, then you really start questioning if it's entertainment or a chore.

With that said, I would love for JRPGS to take the Final Fantasy route. Each Final Fantasy from 7 has had an altered battle system with depth and varied complexity then the last, and they've applied that concept to as much as they can. I enjoyed picking up the game and receiving a new experience and it's why I've enjoyed the series for so long.
I DON'T however like playing Lost Odyssey, and having an aching feeling that I've seen more innovative game play in a SNES game. (Namely Super Mario RPG, a great title). All I'm saying is that RPG's need to evolve like all the other genre's. To grow and mature doesn't mean you lose your identity and I would certainly hate to see JRPG's turn into WRPG's, but if Square Enix is the only company willing to learn from the Western Innovations and continue to adapt that knowledge in their games, the genre will be just about dead next generation.

 

[antigodoflife]

Some kind of interaction with the enviroment would be nice, in every JRPG I've played it's just been a pretty backdrop while you run along the pre-planned route, which is strangely enough exactly the same as the character interaction...

Nuts to multiplayer though, it's in no way necessary to make a great game.

Baiten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean was good for that, just about every rock, bookcase, vine etc had something about it, like a magnus card or a description, sometimes you could change it's use, not specifically for story.

 

[Adramelech]

Mother Of GOD THIS IS THE WORST GENERATION FOR JRPGS EVER! I've picked up over five titles since I've had my xbox 360, and I've been continually disappointed each and every time. Eternal Sonata, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Star Ocean 4, and Last Remnant have been the most lack luster experiences I have ever sat through.

I don't mean to take a dump in the middle of your rant, but this is a purely subjective thing due to an increase in the means, market and ability to localize a game.

We know from Sturgeon's Law that everything is 90% crud [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon's_Law]. This is a scientific constant and thus applies to game genres as well as every form of expression in the known universe. Thus, 90% of JRPGs are crud. 90% of JRPGs have always been crud.

The reason you fondly remember all those classics from the Golden Age and play a bunch of crud now is because localization was so expensive and time consuming back then that only the absolute best of the best tended to get the treatment. Nowadays, we are being assaulted with the full fury of crud that Japan has always had, so the genre, comparatively, is losing its charm to you.

The More You Know™

 

[Earthmonger]

Fix #1 should be: Age Restriction. Nobody over 20 years of age should be able to buy and play JRPGs. Since at this point, we no longer care about them anyway, and are simply jaded by seeing the same thing over and over for the last ten or more years. Problem solved.

 

[brunothepig]

I have nothing against the real time type turn based stuff. You don't need multiplayer (how many WRPG's have it?) but I would like to see more co-op games. But not in JRPG's. Number 8. Yes, the people in Oblivion look very natural, talking a few seconds behind their facial movements. Number 3. Being able to save whenever you want is going to destroy any challenge in dungeons. Number 2. If the most "recent culprit" they could come up with for outdated stories is Final Fantasy VII then something probably has changed. So, the list has a fair few ridiculous ideas. Some of the things they complain about are the staples of the JRPG genre. It seemed like they were just saying, drop the J, replace it with W.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I'm glad that they didn't jump on the get rid of turn based combat bandwagon. +1 respect for IGN.

The only one that jumped out at me as a "strongly disagree" point was the 2d character art point. Western RPGs used to have pretty good hand drawn character art and it was honestly a disappointment when it was replaced with 3d renders of the character models. It seemed almost more like a cheap cost cutting effort than anything.

Save points as well, I'm just not happy letting most game players decide that every game should have save everywhere. This feature has really ruined the difficulty levels in some PC games and is one of the last things that should be made universal IMO. A save point at least every half hour or so might be reasonable though.

 

[Julianking93]

Remove turn based combat is really the only thing I'd change in JRPGs.

And IGN needs to stop cumming over everything that has multiplayer and shitting on everything that doesn't

Fuck multiplayer.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Now the White Knight Chronicle boards are going to be filled with the emo tears of unbalanceness.

White Knight has real time combat, right?

If so, I'm definitely picking that up in February

 

[FactualSquirrel]

Why do people not understand that certain people like JRPGs, it's like a consoletard saying that oblivion needs guns and a better shooting aspect.

Agreed.

I for one detest JRPGs, but there's nothing they're really doing wrong. It's just not my cup of tea, and I can understand that.

For some people, if they don't like something they think its factually shit, even if they can't actually give any valid reasons why.

Opinions people

Same here.

also, I'm a consoletard.

 

[Akisa]

I'm surprised they haven't made a comment about including the R in RPG. In other words include actual Role-Playing in a fraking "RPG".

 

[NeutralDrow]

Fix #1 should be: Age Restriction. Nobody over 20 years of age should be able to buy and play JRPGs. Since at this point, we no longer care about them anyway, and are simply jaded by seeing the same thing over and over for the last ten or more years. Problem solved.

Luckily, I consider myself Chaotic aligned and can subsequently ignore that restriction. Full speed ahead, why not?

I'm surprised they haven't made a comment about including the R in RPG. In other words include actual Role-Playing in framing "RPG".

They're smarter than that, at least. It was still uninformed for a good chunk, but they never got that far.

 

[Earthmonger]

Luckily, I consider myself Chaotic aligned and can subsequently ignore that restriction. Full speed ahead, why not?

I'd call you brother, but I am a drow of lawful evil design, as we all should be.

My point was that the majority of JRPGs audience has not been alive long enough to realize the formula is stagnant. It is us older creatures who demand the changes, yet who are we to point out the flaws which that majority doesn't realize exist?

 

[Eldarion]

Remove turn based combat is really the only thing I'd change in JRPGs.

And IGN needs to stop cumming over everything that has multiplayer and shitting on everything that doesn't

Fuck multiplayer.

You can't spell ignorance without IGN.

Sorry, I hate these guys. For this reason and a few others.

 

[veloper]

Multiplayer and realtime combat? IGN doesn't understand the genre.

 

[Crazy_Bird]

I do not like this list. Most of the points do apply to western RPGs as well (Dragon Age fits almost all points).
I see no point in changing JRPGs to be more like western RPGs. And I don't think western RPGs are anymore innovative let alone fun.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Luckily, I consider myself Chaotic aligned and can subsequently ignore that restriction. Full speed ahead, why not?

I'd call you brother, but I am a drow of lawful evil design, as we all should be.

Well, it still runs counter to the spider *****'s decree, so...

Besides, I was lying. Check the username.

My point was that the majority of JRPGs audience has not been alive long enough to realize the formula is stagnant. It is us older creatures who demand the changes, yet who are we to point out the flaws which that majority doesn't realize exist?

And my point was that not all of us older ones accept the formula as being stagnant. The forumla may keep people from playing the games who didn't enjoy them (I rather doubt it would put a dent in the complaints), but it would certainly keep out those who enjoy them, as well.

Besides, I'm still playing Tales of the Abyss. Anyone who wants me to stop can take a running jump into the Qliphoth.

 

[Frank_Sinatra_]

Remove turn based combat is really the only thing I'd change in JRPGs.

And IGN needs to stop cumming over everything that has multiplayer and shitting on everything that doesn't

Fuck multiplayer.

More like fuck IGN. Really all I hear out of them these days is how much something sucks, and how they (in their all knowing wisdom) can fix it.

OT: I'd remove the combat system, but everything else is what makes a JRPG, a FUCKING JRPG! Goddamn-it...