JRPG fans from yesteryear have had to face some harsh truths.

The turn-based mechanics are dead and will not return in big-budget AAA productions. Not ever again. You can still find them in bite-size downloadable titles but that's about it.

Therefore, if you're hoping for the continuation of franchises like The Legend of Dragoon , Suikoden , Legend of Legaia , Xenosaga , etc., just give it up. You wouldn't want a reboot or remake of any of these titles because you'd probably hate what the designers do to it. Same goes for any sequel they'd attempt.

But wait, what about Vagrant Story ? True, it was partially turn-based but it was also a hybrid, akin to the likes of Parasite Eve . Furthermore, it boasted a setting and style that I think would be very popular today; it would be similar to maybe Demon's Souls . The story was excellent in Vagrant Story , too, and if you wanted to implement a bigger world (a common trend these days, you could). I mean, take a look at some gameplay and tell me that couldn't be beautifully updated.

You could maintain the awesome feel and tone, you could keep the depth (which was significant), and you could expand on the core concepts. Of course, we'd still want the combat system to remain a turn-based/real-time hybrid, which developers today might scoff at. But it works in strategy/action titles like XCOM , right? Maybe it's a little different because there's only one hero and no party to command in Vagrant Story , but not everything has to be running in real-time. I say, make it happen. A reboot, remake or true sequel for the next generation, Square Enix.

Related Game(s): Vagrant Story