Are JRPGs irrelevant?

Hammerclaw said:
"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits." Mark Twain. No one is required to play JRPGs. There will be JRPGs, as long there are enough gamers to sell them to. To each tribe it's own poison, live and let live and time to move on.;)
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Like I said this has nothing to do with what I like or what other people like. I was just making a statement that at one time Japan and jrpgs ruled the console landscape and now they don't and I'm happy for it. I don't care if they make jrpg but I'm glad that now we have western/PC style RPG on consoles and we are better for it.....imo.
 
Cool, everyone's entitled to their opinion. I'm glad the weird little suckers are still around, even if most of them just make me scratch my head and wonder where's the appeal.
 
Anderson said:
Cool, everyone's entitled to their opinion. I'm glad the weird little suckers are still around, even if most of them just make me scratch my head and wonder where's the appeal.
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Where's the appeal? Obviously it's the most awkward of provocative fandom known only to fanatic JRPG players. :hehe:

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But to be properly serious, JRPGs have become generic copycats of each other. Not even Call of Duty feels this rehashed as most of these JRPGs that release. Given, though, games like Dark Souls and Dragon's Dogma are great new experiences, it can't be denied they are heavily influences by Western RPG gameplay styles. Square is killing Final Fantasy, and Kingdom Hearts 3 was on the back burners for so long. And none but Final Fantasy can get good sales while the West has 20 million sold of the latest Elder Scrolls. JRPGs are definitely less relevant in the world.
 
lol, yeah, you can't underestimate the pedo factor.

Well, this thread kindled my interest enough for me to buy Tales of Vesperia ($15, on demand). When people talk about the best JRPGs on the 360, Lost Odyssey and Tales of Vesperia seem to be the most often mentioned. I played Lost Odyssey (enjoyed it very much) but never gave Tales a shot. I read some reviews, and it sounded pretty good and a nice change of pace.

I think that's part of the appeal of JRPGs, actually -- the fact that they have a lighter, more pleasant tone, almost childlike or innocent, as opposed to WRPGs, which tend to be more serious, adult, dark, and grim (I suppose Fable would be an exception). I've played several FPS in a row and then trudged through the misery of Walking Dead. I could use a light, pleasant atmosphere for a change.
 
My brother just bought a PS2 for the sole purpose of playing Dragon Quest 8. There's some relevancy for you.
 
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Not irrelevant this year. Only JRPGs were nominated for GT's RPG of the Year award in 2013. Granted, that's mostly because no big WRPGs came out this year. But still, it shows that JRPGs are still alive and kicking.

Ni No Kuni won.

 
JRPGs are relevant to anyone who likes them and irrelevant to anyone who doesn't. Just like any other subgenre.
 
I don't mind jrpgs just the horrible story they're usually attached to.
 
Playing Tales of Vesperia reminds me of how unusual JRPG characters can be. Pipe-smoking dogs who have conversations (?) with the main character, invisible guys hiding in walls, bufoonish guards ... very quirky and silly stuff.
 
Z A C K said:
They are relevant to at least one person, and my guess is he's not the only case.
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That's called anecdotal evidence. By large, JRPGs are irrelevant as shown by proper evidence. JRPGs are now largely niche in comparison to Western RPGs.
 
Kassen said:
That's called anecdotal evidence. By large, JRPGs are irrelevant as shown by proper evidence. JRPGs are now largely niche in comparison to Western RPGs.
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Is someone having a bad day? Let's hug it out.
 
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Kassen said:
It sounds like you are trying to insult me because you don't like what you hear.
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No I'm insulting you because you seem to be worked up over others opinions. I really don't care either way, I was just posting.
 
Z A C K said:
No I'm insulting you because you seem to be worked up over others opinions. I really don't care either way, I was just posting.
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That's really random of you. Why are you pretending that I'm worked up?
 
Doesn't make sense to talk about "relevance" unless you define your reference point. If "relevant" means popular, then yes, JRPGs are less relevant (less popular) than they were 10 years ago. That's pretty obvious. Not irrelevant, but less relevant.

If by "relevance" you mean "less relevant to the average gamer," then again, you are right (less relevant, not irrelevant). On average, fewer gamers are interested in JRPGs than they were before. There is fatigue with the genre in some people + changes in who the "average gamer" is.

If by "relevant" you mean "relevant to those who are interested in the genre," (and there are plenty of those people), then of course by definition you are wrong.
 
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Anderson said:
Playing Tales of Vesperia reminds me of how unusual JRPG characters can be. Pipe-smoking dogs who have conversations (?) with the main character, invisible guys hiding in walls, bufoonish guards ... very quirky and silly stuff.
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Repede is awesome and the group of characters are fun together..I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Definitely a good Jrpg from start to finish.
 
Anderson said:
Doesn't make sense to talk about "relevance" unless you define your reference point. If "relevant" means popular, then yes, JRPGs are less relevant (less popular) than they were 10 years ago. That's pretty obvious. Not irrelevant, but less relevant.

If by "relevance" you mean "less relevant to the average gamer," then again, you are right (less relevant, not irrelevant). On average, fewer gamers are interested in JRPGs than they were before. There is fatigue with the genre in some people + changes in who the "average gamer" is.

If by "relevant" you mean "relevant to those who are interested in the genre," (and there are plenty of those people), then of course by definition you are wrong.
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I say relevant as will they decide the console war and does Japan even matter to America.....I say no and thank goodness.
 
I think they are more relevant than RTS' on consoles.
 
Anderson said:
Doesn't make sense to talk about "relevance" unless you define your reference point. If "relevant" means popular, then yes, JRPGs are less relevant (less popular) than they were 10 years ago. That's pretty obvious. Not irrelevant, but less relevant.

If by "relevance" you mean "less relevant to the average gamer," then again, you are right (less relevant, not irrelevant). On average, fewer gamers are interested in JRPGs than they were before. There is fatigue with the genre in some people + changes in who the "average gamer" is.

If by "relevant" you mean "relevant to those who are interested in the genre," (and there are plenty of those people), then of course by definition you are wrong.
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Not having the ambition to study such a thing I have no cold hard numbers to back up this theory, but...

It's also possible that JRPG's haven't waned so much as the gaming community blew up and is now mostly filled with cod/madden bros that have no real interest in video games apart from the social aspect of them. JRPGs are largely solitary endeavors that require a lot of time invested to see them through.

So I have to wonder if JRPGs have less sales these days or is it just that the consumer pool has increased but JRPG sales haven't increased with them.
 
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Cody32599 said:
Like I said this has nothing to do with what I like or what other people like. I was just making a statement that at one time Japan and jrpgs ruled the console landscape and now they don't and I'm happy for it. I don't care if they make jrpg but I'm glad that now we have western/PC style RPG on consoles and we are better for it.....imo.
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I don't recall any time when they ruled. I remember when they were popular with gamers that liked that sort of thing, but it always seemed to me that sport games were more popular, overall.
 
Anderson said:
lol, yeah, you can't underestimate the pedo factor.

Well, this thread kindled my interest enough for me to buy Tales of Vesperia ($15, on demand). When people talk about the best JRPGs on the 360, Lost Odyssey and Tales of Vesperia seem to be the most often mentioned. I played Lost Odyssey (enjoyed it very much) but never gave Tales a shot. I read some reviews, and it sounded pretty good and a nice change of pace.

I think that's part of the appeal of JRPGs, actually -- the fact that they have a lighter, more pleasant tone, almost childlike or innocent, as opposed to WRPGs, which tend to be more serious, adult, dark, and grim (I suppose Fable would be an exception). I've played several FPS in a row and then trudged through the misery of Walking Dead. I could use a light, pleasant atmosphere for a change.
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They are pleasant that way, and as formulaic as the classic American Western. The difference is that in JRPGs, Good and Evil are relative instead of absolute. Good and evil often switch sides with disconcerting ease.
 
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