Disclaimer: By the time I read this, I had already watched the new ZP, read through the original post, then had to take a break to run an errand, so I'm sure there are lots of folks who have replied by now. So just for the record, I'm responding to the OP.
Your cynicism is noted and I have to say that it's a little unfair. Nintendo has every right to try and make money; I mean, that's what a company is, right? If they do things that seem like they're taking advantage of a demographic, so be it; I'm personally not surprised and never once thought better of them. Nintendo isn't anyone's child that dropped out of Ivy League to sell crack or something; treat them for what they are. : / It's okay to dislike their games, but why try to blame it on something that's expected?
I also think your hostility to Square is sort of the same way. Final Fantasy isn't the horrible monster that stole attention from those great games you listed. Final Fantasy grew up alongside these classics, not against them and they live on today: Chrono Trigger is still popular enough that it's having not one but TWO re-releases (FF Chronicles and the upcoming DS version), Xenogears lived on in its horribly mutated parallel universe version Xenosaga, and FF Tactics spawned two sequels, a flagship FF title, and a PSP re-release. Just because we aren't up to Chrono Trigger XIII is that so bad?
Square seems to care about non-FF titles, but it's just dumb to abandon their flagship franchise to pursue what were originally pretty much side projects made by FF developers (or in FF Tactics' case, a rival to Ogre Battle).
I also think the opposite of your assessment for the DS and PSP titles; to me, they seem more like the "beating of the VERY DEAD Final Fantasy horse". I enjoyed the GBA re-releases and their classic flavor (with a few modern tweeks) and the chance to play the true-blue Final Fantasy 3 on the DS, but the PSP titles were pushing it in my book. Remember that they were part of the "anniversary" going on for the franchise, which to me comes across as at least a little pretentious.
I'd also re-assess my RPGs if I were you. Final Fantasy isn't the only franchise to have "frequently emotionally distressed" (I don't use the "e" word, some of us realize it's a music genre, not a mental state) characters in ridiculous storylines. If you ask me, it's a staple of the genre with some rare exceptions. : / In fact, aren't all video game plots kind of ridiculous in the end?
I can't comment on the PS3 since I don't have one, but I'm in the same boat where all I play are Xbox 360 and PC games these days. The last good game I played by a company that happened to be based in Japan was Tales of Vesperia; I normally cringe at anime-style games, but with its epic story, dynamic and likable characters, and frantic battle system I was addicted all the way to the end credits. I also enjoyed Megaman 9 a lot.
Getting to the main topic at hand...
I will say that you might be right about Japanese-originating games going downhill a bit outside of their country and I blame it on the lack of variety in the market. Nipponichi and Atlas seem to be trying, but they only seem to pick games that have a niche following or a fanciful anime aesthetic. As for mainstream Japanese games, they seem fond of experimenting and making things fancier as Nintendo and Square-Enix demonstrate. I don't hold it against them to flex graphic muscle, but I cringe when trailers and commercials are just cut-scenes and no gameplay.
However, it might be that tastes and interests change in time. You sound like you're more interested in companies that release a healthy deal of information to go with their games, or at least games that were made by companies that have a different theory to their development. I say that game design is becoming dynamic and varied as more companies join the market and now that gamers have a choice in the matter, they're feeling out what they like and don't like in a game.
TL;DR:
Japanese games aren't going down hill, gamers are just realizing they have other choices.
Your cynicism is noted and I have to say that it's a little unfair. Nintendo has every right to try and make money; I mean, that's what a company is, right? If they do things that seem like they're taking advantage of a demographic, so be it; I'm personally not surprised and never once thought better of them. Nintendo isn't anyone's child that dropped out of Ivy League to sell crack or something; treat them for what they are. : / It's okay to dislike their games, but why try to blame it on something that's expected?
I also think your hostility to Square is sort of the same way. Final Fantasy isn't the horrible monster that stole attention from those great games you listed. Final Fantasy grew up alongside these classics, not against them and they live on today: Chrono Trigger is still popular enough that it's having not one but TWO re-releases (FF Chronicles and the upcoming DS version), Xenogears lived on in its horribly mutated parallel universe version Xenosaga, and FF Tactics spawned two sequels, a flagship FF title, and a PSP re-release. Just because we aren't up to Chrono Trigger XIII is that so bad?
Square seems to care about non-FF titles, but it's just dumb to abandon their flagship franchise to pursue what were originally pretty much side projects made by FF developers (or in FF Tactics' case, a rival to Ogre Battle). I also think the opposite of your assessment for the DS and PSP titles; to me, they seem more like the "beating of the VERY DEAD Final Fantasy horse". I enjoyed the GBA re-releases and their classic flavor (with a few modern tweeks) and the chance to play the true-blue Final Fantasy 3 on the DS, but the PSP titles were pushing it in my book. Remember that they were part of the "anniversary" going on for the franchise, which to me comes across as at least a little pretentious.
I'd also re-assess my RPGs if I were you. Final Fantasy isn't the only franchise to have "frequently emotionally distressed" (I don't use the "e" word, some of us realize it's a music genre, not a mental state) characters in ridiculous storylines. If you ask me, it's a staple of the genre with some rare exceptions. : / In fact, aren't all video game plots kind of ridiculous in the end?
I can't comment on the PS3 since I don't have one, but I'm in the same boat where all I play are Xbox 360 and PC games these days. The last good game I played by a company that happened to be based in Japan was Tales of Vesperia; I normally cringe at anime-style games, but with its epic story, dynamic and likable characters, and frantic battle system I was addicted all the way to the end credits. I also enjoyed Megaman 9 a lot.
Getting to the main topic at hand...
I will say that you might be right about Japanese-originating games going downhill a bit outside of their country and I blame it on the lack of variety in the market. Nipponichi and Atlas seem to be trying, but they only seem to pick games that have a niche following or a fanciful anime aesthetic. As for mainstream Japanese games, they seem fond of experimenting and making things fancier as Nintendo and Square-Enix demonstrate. I don't hold it against them to flex graphic muscle, but I cringe when trailers and commercials are just cut-scenes and no gameplay.
However, it might be that tastes and interests change in time. You sound like you're more interested in companies that release a healthy deal of information to go with their games, or at least games that were made by companies that have a different theory to their development. I say that game design is becoming dynamic and varied as more companies join the market and now that gamers have a choice in the matter, they're feeling out what they like and don't like in a game.
TL;DR:
Japanese games aren't going down hill, gamers are just realizing they have other choices.
