Would love there to be a JRPG forum for this, oh well. It's a topic that has been brought up several times I know, but maybe this is a slightly different outlook. Flames are fine too if you hate it that much, doesn't bother me ^^.
So having recently moved back to Japan, I've been dabbling back into the Japanese game industry in assorted forms, largely JRPGs (as they were my first love of gaming. In Japan, there seem to be two major categories of JRPGs these days.
1) The Classic - Most often seen on portable systems like the DS and PSP, these are your basic tried and true JRPG formula. Often with some anime inspirations, they don't do anything out of the norm that you haven't seen since the early days of Final Fantasy. Often they seek to appeal to nostalgia for the 'good old days' of JRPGs. Dragon Quest also seems to be part of this category, even though it exists outside the standard portable formula.
2) The Experimental - Think of the recent Final Fantasy games, maybe even White Knight Chronicles or Resonance of Fate. Basically these are your games that may take a JRPG narrative style but seek to introduce really unique gameplay mechanics. Sometimes they are great (streamlined FFXIII battle system) and sometimes they are a bit more of a miss (Resonance of Fate's...well, whatever it's combat is). This seems to be the general trend for the console RPG.
It almost has reached a point where the two have become their own genre, as there are many people that have hated games like FFXIII specifically for being too experimental. On the other hand, there is fair criticism to be made of the classical style of JRPGs, as they don't really innovate or bring anything new to the table that we haven't seen thousands of times before. Personally I am much more a fan of the experimental style, as even when it misses it is seeking to push the genre forward. Yet at the same time, making games like this seems to be alienating a fair bit of the JRPG fanbase.
The question remains, should the genre attempt to innovate at the risk of alienating its base, or should it stick to the classical style even if it runs the risk of becoming stale. Is there a happy medium?
Note: No comparisons to WRPG are necessary, it's an entirely different genre as far as I am concerned with a totally different set of pros and cons.
On the future of JRPGs
Would love there to be a JRPG forum for this, oh well. It's a topic that has been brought up several times I know, but maybe this is a slightly different outlook. Flames are fine too if you hate it that much, doesn't bother me ^^.
So having recently moved back to Japan, I've been dabbling back into the Japanese game industry in assorted forms, largely JRPGs (as they were my first love of gaming. In Japan, there seem to be two major categories of JRPGs these days.
1) The Classic - Most often seen on portable systems like the DS and PSP, these are your basic tried and true JRPG formula. Often with some anime inspirations, they don't do anything out of the norm that you haven't seen since the early days of Final Fantasy. Often they seek to appeal to nostalgia for the 'good old days' of JRPGs. Dragon Quest also seems to be part of this category, even though it exists outside the standard portable formula.
2) The Experimental - Think of the recent Final Fantasy games, maybe even White Knight Chronicles or Resonance of Fate. Basically these are your games that may take a JRPG narrative style but seek to introduce really unique gameplay mechanics. Sometimes they are great (streamlined FFXIII battle system) and sometimes they are a bit more of a miss (Resonance of Fate's...well, whatever it's combat is). This seems to be the general trend for the console RPG.
It almost has reached a point where the two have become their own genre, as there are many people that have hated games like FFXIII specifically for being too experimental. On the other hand, there is fair criticism to be made of the classical style of JRPGs, as they don't really innovate or bring anything new to the table that we haven't seen thousands of times before. Personally I am much more a fan of the experimental style, as even when it misses it is seeking to push the genre forward. Yet at the same time, making games like this seems to be alienating a fair bit of the JRPG fanbase.
The question remains, should the genre attempt to innovate at the risk of alienating its base, or should it stick to the classical style even if it runs the risk of becoming stale. Is there a happy medium?
Note: No comparisons to WRPG are necessary, it's an entirely different genre as far as I am concerned with a totally different set of pros and cons.
even though the new battle system from ffx13 has received some criticism it is in no way compareable to the shitstorm that is no towns and linearity. I definitely think that jrpgs needs to be innovative like what ffx13 tried to do but at the same time not strip everything away to barebones of basically cutscene/battle/cutscene/battle.... cut down on emphasis on omgwtfgraphics and have lots of content and you will have alot of happy fans. turn based rpgs imo should be solely on handhelds.
I think JRPGs are in a weird place. The general fanbase can't seem to make up its mind with what they want, and the "experimentals" might not be going far enough. The separation of WRPGs and JRPGs is definitely necessary, but I think the sort of "rise of the west" that has happened this generation, as well as decrease in "next-gen" platform JRPGs (and more WRPGs), has only hurt JRPGs as they've become more of a minor player in general.
I think for JRPGs to be able to persevere, their may need to be a more extreme experimental that suceeds on a critical and commercial sale to help redefine JRPGs
"You write as though all Japanese RPGs are mechanically the same.I think JRPGs are in a weird place. The general fanbase can't seem to make up its mind with what they want, and the "experimentals" might not be going far enough. The separation of WRPGs and JRPGs is definitely necessary, but I think the sort of "rise of the west" that has happened this generation, as well as decrease in "next-gen" platform JRPGs (and more WRPGs), has only hurt JRPGs as they've become more of a minor player in general.
I think for JRPGs to be able to persevere, their may need to be a more extreme experimental that suceeds on a critical and commercial sale to help redefine JRPGs
"
" @Hailinel: well personally I have no problem with it as I grew up with SNES RPGs but I think the majority of gamers these days see it as boring, slow and repetive so if developers want to maximize their target audience and keep JRPGs fresh, I think real/active time is the way to go. Handhelds on the other hand is not about the fast/explosive/action filled experience that console gamers look for so a turned based system would be much better utilized there. "I don't think that's the case at all. There are definitely two camps set in extremes. One that thinks that turn-based games are slow and stupidly simple, and on the other extreme those that think real-time RPGs are for mouth-breathers. In between, there's a variety of views. There are those that prefer the pacing of turn-based games or real-time games without necessarily feeling ill will toward the other, and there are those that can play either style without issue. I have one friend who prefers turn-based games simply due to the fact that she is not very good at action games of any sort. The only real-time series that she's stuck with for the long haul is Kingdom Hearts, but that's mainly because the combat in that series isn't as challenging as is found in similar games.
To put it another way, I love the Fire Emblem series, but I always preferred the console installments to the handheld games. I like being able to lay back on the couch and think things through while looking at the TV rather than having to peer down at my DS with its smaller screens and simpler visuals.
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