Ben-DutkaI very nearly titled this article, "My Love Of JRPGs Is Dead" but I have to admit, I might be interested in the upcoming Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch , and I have enjoyed a few recent titles like Atelier Totori: Adventurer of Arland .
But there's no doubt that my adoration of the sub-genre is on life support. During the PS1 era, I was all about RPGs. That also included some WRPGs on PC like Baldurs Gate , Diablo , Icewindale , Heroes of Might & Magic , etc., but for the most part, I just wanted my JRPGs. I wanted every Final Fantasy , I wanted the Suikoden , Wild ARMs , Saga Frontier , and Breath of Fire franchises. I wanted Legend of Legaia , Legend of Dragoon , Legend of Mana , and even Granstream Saga . I wanted anything Squaresoft made, from Vagrant Story to Chrono Cross to Threads of Fate to Xenogears . I wanted RPGs and most of 'em were Japanese.
And despite branching out big time in the PS2 generation, I still needed my JRPG fix. I still loved the FFs, Dragon Quest VIII , and the Shadow Hearts titles. Nowadays, however, I can't remember the last time I was excited about the release of a JRPG, nor can I remember the last one I actually finished. I suppose you can count Final Fantasy XIII-2 but in looking at the nightmare that appears to be Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII , this year's FF may be the last one I ever complete. And beyond that, here's a painful fact that I've had to accept- JRPGs just aren't very good anymore. The developers are lagging so far behind the rest of the world and it's painfully obvious. It's just really difficult to acknowledge.
If Square Enix hadn't lost its collective mind, I could've counted on Final Fantasy to keep my love alive. But obviously, that just isn't going to happen (and I've given up hope that it might). This all being said, however, the only classics I really want to go back and play are JRPGs. Why? Not just because of nostalgia, but because they offer a style of gameplay that really is dead, fancy technology or no. As for future JRPGs, I fear that I've dropped out of the fan group…perhaps forever.
Yeah obviously I did miss out, of that there is not a shadow of doubt in my mind. All that passion must stem from *somewhere*. 😀
Last edited by Beamboom on 11/12/2012 11:39:47 AM
Beamboom. I'll fill you in on the 32-64 bit era.
Sony was a new hot cock on the market and were something of a wildcard variable to the ongoing Sega and Nintendo battle. I don't think anyone in 1995 expected Sony to dominate as they had, especially in consideration of other wannabe contenders like Panasonic and NEC making a globally lackluster effort. The first fairly popular game on PSX was Resident Evil. It was survival horror entertainment no console owner would have experienced quite as it was until then.
Final Fantasy at that time was STILL considered Nintendo's domain and FF loyalists were not convinced Sony's Playstation would ever be a home to FF. Even late into the development cycle of FFVII, Squaresoft was still being very cryptic about progress on the N64 side of development. Eventually, Squaresoft had no choice but to say that FFVII could never happen on a N64 cartridge and even with the supposed Datadisk add-on that never saw release stateside would still require a dozen or more DD disks to even fit FFVII. It was pretty much confirmed. FFVII was NEVER coming to N64.
That was where the tide of battle started shifting massively. Nintendo, while they had incredible offerings with Mario 64, Zelda, and Golden Eye, they were suffering massively due to unbelievable game prices and a general lack of third party support. Major franchises for NES and SNES were more and more beginning to appear on PSX and Saturn. At this point Sony was massively undercutting the competition with NEW games launching at $40 and a Greatest Hits lineup of quality software rolling out with games like Twisted Metal 2, Jet Moto and Tekken 2. By this time RE2 was well under way and FFVIII was already making headlines. The media was really excited for titles like Gran Turismo, MGS, and Tony Hawk.
Basically, in the course of one generation the tables turned and FFVII was right there at the pivot point. It was nuts.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 11/12/2012 1:49:18 PM
Incredibly cool of you to do that rundown for me, Temjin. Thanks alot. Well written too!
Ahh…..I can imagine what you're feeling Ben. I've been a member here for quite a while now and though I hardly post,I go through almost all the articles as I often pick up interestin bits of info.This isn't the first time you expressed your dissatisfaction and frustration with the present generation in regards to (J)RPGs and Square Enix.In fact every other week I see you referring to either of those subjects in some or the other article.I know when you love a game so much,that happens. Though I personally never played any of the FFs or any of the Giants that'd fallen in recent times,I did go through an upsetting time when I found out that SNK's no more as KOF is my all time favourite game,the love for which can never be replaced with any other game.In fact I sometimes don't know if I'lm even a 'gamer' as the only games I enjoy seem to be made exclusively by SNK.It was kinda rough when I assumed there'd be no more KOF titles but then like Heavensend,SNKP arose. I don't know if it's the same or not and I don't care about the folks who say it isn't….All I thought was..KOF isn't dead. It was enough for me.
I sincerely hope that JRPGs in general and S.Enix games in particular,especially FFs return to their former roots that you seem to love so much and that SE returns to their former glory that people so fondly reminisce.
Thanks for understanding but I really have to take issue with the "every other week" part. I think I've maybe done three articles in the past six MONTHS about this topic.
Hehehe…Didn't mean that in the literal sense. More of a passing statement meant to punctuate the fact that I recognize your enthusiasm concerining the FF/SE titles. It wasn't meant to be a complaint in any way…sorry if it sounded so. This is after all the only site where I get the reviews before I decide to get a game and where I read all the articles for the sheer joy of reading.
Hehehe…Didn't mean that in the literal sense. More of a passing statement meant to punctuate the fact that I recognize your enthusiasm concerining the FF/SE titles. It wasn't meant to be a complaint in any way…sorry if it sounded so. This is after all the only site where I get the reviews before I decide to get a game and where I read all the articles for the sheer joy of reading.
My love for JRPGs died out quite a while ago –an unfathomable change of heart 15 years ago. As others have noted, some of things that were the exclusive province of JRPGs — great, deep storytelling, interesting characters, polished cut scenes/presentation, etc. — are not exclusive to that genre anymore. I also think a lot of Japanese developers got away from what made them so awesome in the first place — turn-based combat; really interesting narratives with characters written to SERVE those stories, and not the other way around;a sense of adventure (really just faulting FF here — XIII was so droll I literally fell asleep trying to play it.)
I'm sure my tastes have changed a bit over the years, but I also think it's more than nostalgia that makes me excited at the thought of playing FF VII pretty much anytime: It was just so much BETTER than any JRPG coming out today.
Highlander put it quite eloquently. The truth is that I think since so many games nowadays are made up of so many different formulas that work they just blend it all together. People nowadays lack the patience to tackle a true JRPG and hence we have pseudo variations of RPG and action and shooter and everything in between. I don't necessarily view it as deplorable, but rather the industry marketing towards what makes money from the masses. The select niches that are what a smaller demographic would enjoy just don't get made to scale as other games. The beauty of games is that you can always return and replay said adventures that are pure JRPG.
This is a bit late, so I don't even know if anyone will read this. But while I understand where Ben is coming from, I think the main issue is the fact that a lot of what constitutes JRPGs, gameplay-wise, have too may archaic attributes in this modern age. With one major exception that I'll get to later, the last JRPG I played that I felt moved things forward is a good way was FFXII (more on this later), but FFXII (the non-International version that is) is plagued with tons of flaws that drag down the whole thing. The gambit system was brilliant though. But instead of refining that brilliance, they essentially dumbed it down for XIII. Sad.
It becomes especially obvious that he majority of JRPGs haven't really progressed much in years after playing what, in my opinion, is the finest JRPG on this generation (which sadly isn't saying much) and a game that is the best of its type I've played in YEARS: Xenoblade. Which I'm sad to have not seen mentioned in this thread at all. I understand that this is Sony site, but the sad fact is that Xenoblade > * JRPGs on the PS3, the PSP, and I'd even say the PS2. I have to go back to the DreamCast (well, Skies of Arcadia anyway) and the PSX to have real contenders for Xenoblade. And that's terrible.
Not that Xenoblade is flawless, but what is does it does SO well – being unquestionably a JRPG yet ditching (nearly) all the garbage aspects of the genre (for those who haven't played it, it's very similar to Final Fantasy XII overall, but done waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better despite the lack of real party control, which is one of the few areas that Xenoblade could improve in) and incorporating a lot of what makes Western RPGS cool now: Skill trees, not being a grindfest, super easy exploration that rewards you for exploring, MASSIVE world, hundreds of quests, and SAVE ANYWHERE, it is a game that Square and anyone else who makes JRPGs should be ripping off, ASAP. Maybe then people like me and Ben can get excited about JRPGs again.
Thanks for posting. I read and enjoyed. I have every intention of playing Xenoblade someday. No Wii, though, and I can't justify buying another console at this time. 🙁
I agree about FFXII. Very good game that took positive steps in the right direction. I know Ben loves the game too. FFXIII was a giant step back from the progress they might have made.
I'm still of the opinion that FFXIII should have been its own IP instead of cramming it into mainline FF – it's just not an RPG. FF, DQ, Suikoden, and their ilk are what I think of when I think of JRPGs. I'm sad there aren't any console games recently that combine the elements that I love playing most. I love playing fantasy RPGs with a good story. Maybe that's why I've been going back to DA:O on my PC so much while WKC2 has been gathering dust. 🙁