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I've played just about every JRPG out on the market and really I enjoy them far more than western RPGs. Of course I'm an older gamer with fond memories of my Final Fantasys, Xenogears, Lunars, etc. so when it comes to the level of bitching on the forums about how much people hate them I can't really see any reason for it, minus people jumping on the bandwagon of opinion from a certain reviewer on the Escapist.
Cliche storylines happen in just about every genre of shooter, adventure, or action title on the market. Cliche storylines are more a problem of bad writing, or poor translation (of language or culture). Admittedly any game on the market can be accused from borrowing something from another , though I simply believe you haven't played the right JRPG or it just isn't your style. JRPGs usually have varying degrees of battle systems and in fact I would argue they are the lead innovators of differentiated battle systems, Your Grandias don't play like your Ar Tonelicos, Your Lunars don't play like your Personas, etc. A flow of gaming isn't really definitive and I'd argue that the JRPGs you've been playing, just isn't the flow you're looking for. More realistic social and building structures, I'd say I would agree. It'd be nice if I had a relationship in Persona 4 that the person I had a relationship with would act like it. Limitations in programing and variables in script would have to be considered. I'd argue that if JRPGs had people with normal reactions, people would be less interested, simply because people have normal reactions in real life. Why simulate boring everday life? Besides that much of the "melodrama" you insist on is more of a cultural difference in the presentation of emotion. Most JRPGs were not designed with a western audience in mind, and when they come stateside, some people can't appreciate some of the more subtle focuses that a Japanese audience might've caught (through visual symbols and such). Even then some things just don't translate well to the western audience and they are cut all together. I dismiss your argument about stealing simply because its silly and you do happen to steal in a more discoverable and easy fashion. (You enter someones house search through their stuff all the time in both Western and JRPGs.) More freedom, to do what? Clarify and I'll argue the point. Plenty of JRPGs give you a continent to explore, and in fact invented the whole wandering around continents crap. I don't really care for it myself simply because there is no point in it, its just an arbitrary gameplay lengthening obstacle. Dressing normally is perspective, you want to dress like a westerner I assume. I once again argue why you would want to simulate everyday boring real life? This is a matter of immersing ourselves in a universe that isn't our own, the dress is different to reflect that. I'd say your suggestions would just make JRPGs more "generic" in that they take the individuality, the intrigue, and the quirkiness out of these games and turn them into the samey action/adventure shoot outs of the western society.
