Please note: This is an editorial. While facts may be stated, opinions will be given.
Since I was young, the RPG has easily been my favorite type of video game to play. The deep stories and innovative gameplay in each game really immersed me into a world where I could almost feel what was going on. The Final Fantasy series quickly became a favorite of mine, along with many other RPGs.
Not all RPGs are the same, however. Developers have been trying different things for ages. Nowadays, there is a thick line that divides Japanese RPGs (JRPGs) from Western RPGs (WRPGs). As a result, we have WRPGs like Morrowind and Fable, and while they are technically RPGs, they are clearly much different from JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger.
For one thing, these WRPGs generally do not have turn-based menu battles. They are much more action-based, and real-time battles are a key element in almost all of them. Another thing introduced by these games is the concept of an “open world” – the ability to do what you want, when you want, and how you want to – much different from the standards set forth by most JRPGs, which are known for limiting your actions in order to effectively tell one specific story.
Personally, I am a JRPG fan. I always have been, and will remain true to the games that were such a huge part of my childhood. But there are many out there who would argue that JRPGs have had a number of issues lately. An article recently posted on IGN criticizes the ten things that they think JRPGs are doing wrong. Popular Japanese image board 2ch saw this and responded angrily. As a JRPG fan, I disagree with many of IGN’s statements, yet I actually agree with some of them as well.
The quotes you see below are excerpts from the IGN article linked above.
Could you imagine living in the world of a JRPG? People only have one thing to say. Everything looks sterile and static. Nobody moves much, nor do they care if you ruffle through their houses or crates. There are only a couple of open stores that have anything for sale, and for some reason those goods have a higher price the further away from home you get.
This is one thing that I actually enjoy about JRPGs. To me, games don’t need to be realistic, and the fact that people let you rummage through their houses in JRPGs doesn’t bother me at all. There’s a difference between a game being realistic and being enjoyable, and the former is not a prerequisite of the latter. I actually appreciate the lack of complexity in JRPGs – it just gives me much less to worry about.
Shops, for example, in JRPGs, are usually very simple. Items are always the same price, there’s usually one guy per town selling something, and things like condition of items, quantity in stock, and the time of day don’t matter. In WRPGs all these things may affect the price and availability of certain items, and while this does indeed make things much more realistic, it also makes things much more complex. Complexity is confusing, and it’s not fun. Games need to be fun.
While a four hour dungeon with no option to save may have been OK once, and maybe even added to the tension, it isn’t anymore. We need to be able to start and stop our gaming at our leisure. We need to be able to walk away from a game and not have to leave a system running (Think of the environment!) for fear of losing hours worth of progress.
I actually agree with this. The concept of save points adds unnecessary frustration to a game. There’s no need to force a player to fight three consecutive boss battles with no save point in between. We’re in an age where players need to be able to stop what they’re doing at any time, so the ability to save anywhere is something that JRPGs need to start implementing.
Any gamer familiar with the JRPG will immediately recognize what we like to call the “talking cardboard cutout.” This classic mechanic superimposes character portraits onto the screen and displays a dialogue box underneath, which effectively eliminates the need for developers to animate sprites or character models. This technique is getting old fast. With Western RPGs implementing fully animated, interactive dialogue sequences (see Mass Effect and Dragon Age), players have come to expect more production value when dealing with an RPG storyline. Developers can’t cut corners anymore.
The “talking cardboard cutout” is yet another thing that really doesn’t bother me. Besides, this isn’t representative of all JRPGs (see: Eternal Sonata, Tales of Vesperia, Final Fantasy XIII, Star Ocean 4). Additionally, I don’t see how WRPGs are much better. A few subtle hand motions of a 3D character on the screen is not what I would call “great production value” and really isn’t all that much more enjoyable to see than a 2D cardboard cutout. Even then, sometimes this lack of animation can be seen as a blessing, as it allows the player to use their own imagination and focus more on the story than the graphics (it works in visual novels, right?). After all, it’s been proven time and time again that good graphics don’t make a good game.
One of the most important elements of the traditional JRPG was exploring the world map. After all, there was nothing quite as liberating as acquiring the key to your very first airship and taking to the skies, flying over vast oceans and sprawling mountains with an entire world to explore.
I agree with this. I really miss the days where I could hop on the airship and explore virtually anywhere I wanted. For me, the point where I got the airship was one of the most rewarding points in the game. It’s nice to see games like Tales of Vesperia that still employ this, but more need to do it as well.
Although story, characters and musical scores are all extremely important elements to the JRPG equation, the absolute heart of the experience lies in the battle system. Players will spend most of their play time fighting all sorts of monsters and villains, so that battle system needs to be finely tuned and fun. Unfortunately, a number of JRPGs have relied heavily on the now dry tradition of the simple “Attack, Magic, Item, Defend” dynamic that we’ve seen for decades. This just doesn’t cut it.
I suppose the guys at IGN haven’t played Eternal Sonata, any of the Tales games, any of the Star Ocean games, any recent Final Fantasy games, or hell, any recent JRPG. The “Attack, Magic, Item, Defend” dynamic was nearly abandoned long ago. There really aren’t many JRPGs that use this anymore. Each of them have their own different battle system. Even the Persona games, while they do employ the use of menu-driven battles, they are still very unique in how the overall system works. The menu-based battle system is fun because it allows the user to formulate a strategy, rather than do some simple button-mashing in hopes that they will win a battle. Real-time battles are nice, but to me they seem less innovative and less structured, which makes for a less entertaining experience overall.
I don’t completely ignore WRPGs though, and I do try one out every now and then. I have played Fallout 3 and Dragon Age a bit, and from what I played, I’ll admit that they seemed like good games. Compared to JRPGs though, these games just don’t have the same impact. I also personally find that JRPGs are more challenging in how they generally force you to follow one story. To me, part of the thrill of playing an RPG is having to figure out what you’re supposed to do next. Having the freedom to do anything you want (like in most WRPGs) is nice, but also makes for an easier game.
I could go on about this for hours, but the real message I’d like to get across is this: Give everything a chance. I think that because of the reputation JRPGs have nowadays as being “generic” or “cliché,” many people simply refuse to even try them. Those people are missing out on some fantastic games, and it saddens me to see such great games getting ignored. If you’re one of these people, go download a demo of or pick up a recent JRPG. You may be pleasantly surprised.
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