Are JRPGs irrelevant?
- Thread starter Cody32599
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2 of the best selling games in Japan are No Ni Kuni and Braverly Default. Both JRPGs.
Calm down lol, you said jrpgs were irrelevant in Japan, you were wrong.
Hardly irrelevant. The JRPG (and RPG in general) have become something of a niche genre due to the massive influx of dudebros into the gaming hobby (thanks CoD!). But it's a genre that still, and always will, have a sizable fan-base. If it's not your cup of tea, fine. But you seem to have the same disdain for the genre as I do for Call of Duty.
I didn't say they are irrelevant in Japan...... they are.... but they are both irrelevant in the states which is great news for me.
JRPG are a niche market not RPG so don't mix them together. Skyrim is not a niche market.
Doubt company's like Square and Xseed would bother localizing JRPGs for the States if they were so irrelevant. IMO Call Of Duty is irrelevant, but happens to be a best selling franchise go figure.
I disagree. Most of them follow the same general formula with slight variations in combat style. And most of them are pretty mediocre. But occasionally you get some real gems that end up being genre-defining. Both Lost Odyssey and Ni No Kuni follow the standard JRPG formula, but are so well-executed that they don't feel like any JRPG you've played before. I would rather have either of those games than a dozen Skyrims. I enjoy RPGs, whether it's a JRPG or not. But Bethesda needs to do something different with the Elder Scrolls games at this point, because if the next game isn't drastically different, it's going to feel like the franchise has developed the dreaded Call of Duty syndrome. I understand, Skyrim was much the same as Oblivion because it was the same console generation and the game engine was already built. But now we have new consoles, and the franchise needs an overhaul.
I think RPGs in general have been stale for eons. But Skyrim was pretty solid. Like Fallout, the main quest is yawnful, but at least you can walk around in an open world. A problem with so many RPGs is that the formula is pretty much the same for most of the fantasy setting games:
- Start out as low level peon
- Do fetch quests, do kill the mini-boss quests and bulk up your character with XP
- As soon as your character has done enough quests, ditched the cloth tunic, and found the Mystic Armour +5 and Sword of Doom + 3, it's time to kill the King Boss
- The end
What doesn't help is that the character classes and monsters are pretty much the same. Whether it's classic D&D rules or a fictional world, it's usually the same "strong melee, crap magic guy" + "strong magic, crap melee guy" + "ranged bow and arrow thiefy/ranger dude" and the "healer/priest old fart". Same crap most of the time. I understand for sake of balance having a class that is top in everything skews the game, but devs don't have to do that. Make characters more unique with unique abilities and it'll feel fresher.
Then you have the usual low level goblin-ish enemies, mid-range ogres, and dragons always among the top cheese. Again, same stuff. For a change, why not make a game where dragons are small weak pets that are push overs, while goblin hoards can be just as powerful as player characters? Somthing different at least.
- Start out as low level peon
- Do fetch quests, do kill the mini-boss quests and bulk up your character with XP
- As soon as your character has done enough quests, ditched the cloth tunic, and found the Mystic Armour +5 and Sword of Doom + 3, it's time to kill the King Boss
- The end
What doesn't help is that the character classes and monsters are pretty much the same. Whether it's classic D&D rules or a fictional world, it's usually the same "strong melee, crap magic guy" + "strong magic, crap melee guy" + "ranged bow and arrow thiefy/ranger dude" and the "healer/priest old fart". Same crap most of the time. I understand for sake of balance having a class that is top in everything skews the game, but devs don't have to do that. Make characters more unique with unique abilities and it'll feel fresher.
Then you have the usual low level goblin-ish enemies, mid-range ogres, and dragons always among the top cheese. Again, same stuff. For a change, why not make a game where dragons are small weak pets that are push overs, while goblin hoards can be just as powerful as player characters? Somthing different at least.
It's a matter of preference. Sure, a lot of RPGs are very similar, but if there's enjoyment to be had, I have no problem with formulaic games. We're at a point where it's truly difficult to come up with something new (or at least new and extremely marketable, because digital-only titles seem to manage it pretty frequently). You're always going to have games that follow the same basic structures for their genre. That won't change. Fallout and Skyrim are always free-roam, but also have large amounts of the game world filled with copy/pasta dungeons and textures, as well as a lot of empty space. Traditional RPGs have the same old character classes and are linear, but feature more variety in environments.
Let's look at it this way - I've played a bunch of Tales games already. They're all mostly the same, but I'll keep playing because I enjoy them. That's really all that matters.
Let's look at it this way - I've played a bunch of Tales games already. They're all mostly the same, but I'll keep playing because I enjoy them. That's really all that matters.
OH GOD OTHER PEOPLE LIKE GAMES I DON'T HAVE TO BUY AARRRRGHHHGHHHH
I split this off for further discussion, since it was off topic in the original thread.
I disliked JRPGs for a long time, couldn't understand their appeal. I found the characters cloying, the dialog silly, and the combat awkward. I much preferred WRPGs. Still do.
That changed with Lost Odyssey. I enjoyed that game. I played a few other JPRG-ish games that I also enjoyed (e.g., Neir). I think that Ni Kun Nuni or Ne Kin Wuni or whatever it's called would be enjoyable, just from the way it's described (don't have a PS3, so I dunno). Some of the Tales games sound like they have potential. I'd like to try them out.
Anyhow, I don't think JRPGs are irrelevant. I think there's a certain appeal to them, even if that appeal is limited to a fraction of gamers (except for franchises like Final Fantasy). You could say the same thing of classic adventure games, strategy games, or any number of smaller genres.
Thank goodness we have a wide variety of game types. Lots of different people in the world, lots of different tastes.
I disliked JRPGs for a long time, couldn't understand their appeal. I found the characters cloying, the dialog silly, and the combat awkward. I much preferred WRPGs. Still do.
That changed with Lost Odyssey. I enjoyed that game. I played a few other JPRG-ish games that I also enjoyed (e.g., Neir). I think that Ni Kun Nuni or Ne Kin Wuni or whatever it's called would be enjoyable, just from the way it's described (don't have a PS3, so I dunno). Some of the Tales games sound like they have potential. I'd like to try them out.
Anyhow, I don't think JRPGs are irrelevant. I think there's a certain appeal to them, even if that appeal is limited to a fraction of gamers (except for franchises like Final Fantasy). You could say the same thing of classic adventure games, strategy games, or any number of smaller genres.
Thank goodness we have a wide variety of game types. Lots of different people in the world, lots of different tastes.
360 didn't really do a damn thing. The Main reason JRPG's are in such a state is because the Japanese seem unwilling to modernize and update franchises and new IP's. I am talking in General here too before the inevitable " but this game" comment.
How ever as per the OP....I do not think JRPG's are irrelevant, but they certainly aren;t the big draw to hardware that they once were. Not to mention that western RPG's have gotten much better over the last 20 years.
I think games like Skyrim is something that will work in the future for consoles but for now it is and has been a buggy mess. Crashes, frame rate drops, character getting stuck in walls should not be acceptable. Some JRPG's are superior in every way but that is just my opinion 
I'm still waiting for Lost Odyssey 2. My problem with most Japanese RPG's is that they almost always have you playing as some weird looking kid and most of the characters in the games are also about 12.
Thats one of the reasons I liked Lost Odyssey so much. Kaim was a great character to play as.
Thats one of the reasons I liked Lost Odyssey so much. Kaim was a great character to play as.
I think games like Skyrim is something that will work in the future for consoles but for now it is and has been a buggy mess. Crashes, frame rate drops, character getting stuck in walls should not be acceptable. Some JRPG's are superior in every way but that is just my opinion
My problem with Skyrim is that it's RPG- lite too me. Much more pick up and play than I want my RPG's to be. The combat also needs a complete overhaul as does the loot system.
i never understand the appeal either in those JRPG. The only one I do care about is FFXIV and that is far as I go.
He said Xbox was making them irrelevant. I doubt he was saying all three Xboxes sold in Japan were making JRPGs irrelevant. More or less that they are irrelevant to us non-Japanese people. He obviously spoke of JRPGs in the States or other Western countries, not Japan as you wrongfully assumed. Japan and their JRPGs are largely irrelevant as he said.
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I thought it just sucked and felt the same about Oblivion. To me Tales of Symphonia, Lost Odyessey, Y's, Fire Emblem Awakening, Shin Megami Tensei are all outstanding games especially if you are wanting a challenge.
But are JRPG's becoming irrelevant ? Maybe for owners of just Xbox consoles but everyone else is getting a pretty good supply.
I'm not a fan of most rpg's because of turn-based gameplay. But I would never want them phased out. Or any genre in general for that matter.
Why would you want the industry to be even more homogenized than it is Cody?
Why would you want the industry to be even more homogenized than it is Cody?