70°

Sakaguchi: JRPGs promote story over player freedom

“A lot of western RPGs focus on creating a world and award the player a great deal of freedom in it, instead of focusing on a story. I think the interest in Japanese RPGs is divided based on how people feel about that difference in style,” Sakaguchi told Nintendo Gamer, via CVG.

Ranma14432d ago

I would love to know his opinion in the decline of the series he created.

Toriyama on FF13:

“He[Toriyama] also believes that it becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when the player is given a huge amount of freedom to explore.”

Even then FF13's story turned out one of the worst in the series. How did that happen?

Snookies124432d ago

It happened because the people over at Enix are idiots these days... They're so out of touch with the series, because a lot of the people who actually worked on the "good" Final Fantasy games aren't the ones doing it any longer.

I will definitely take story over freedom ANY DAY. Story and music are the most crucial pieces in my opinion, without those, the game has no soul at all.

Greyfoxdbz4432d ago

Why are people saying that you can't have freedom AND story. It's certainly less strict but it doesn't degrade the story. Arkham city has freedom, and the game is amazing. Iv'e never played the mass effect series but I hear that it's also very good. Also story can be incorporated into the freedom and provide a richer experience than being force fed a plot.
It's just an excuse to justify the incompetence of some developers.

NewMonday4432d ago

you can have it both ways like with bio-ware(before DA2 and ME3)

and the the MegaTen games are JRPGs with great stories AND choice

SpoonyRedMage4432d ago

He was asked about FFXIII and says he hasn't played it. He previously said the only game he played whilst making The Last Story was Xenoblade.

Kamikaze1354432d ago

Still better than FFVIII, imo.

On topic:

I think the people at SE don't bother to fully think things though. They were able to give us big environments before....why not now? Hell, even niche and great games like the Tales series are able to do it....and Namco Bandai put less money into those games and I'm sure have a lot less people working on them. I think SE are just experimenting and blaming everybody but themselves for their failed experiments.

Wolfbiker4432d ago

Why are linear environments a negative thing? books and movies are as linear as you get but people are immersed into them more so than anything...in order to tell a truly emotional story the player must be told it without control. example: if you have a choice between character a dying or character b dying that means that both characters are ultimately meaningless because they are not essential to the test of the plot..if the player wanted to he could easily reset the game and chose a different path with a different scene but then their is conflict on what to believe in....if a player had the sense of helplessness then he is forced to feel a certain emotion toward the result of the story....I hope I explained this right but in short.....no one remembers the plot of the "choose your own path books" more than they remember a great novel. However they both are still entertaining and have an audience.

NewMonday4432d ago

@Kamikaze135

under Wada decisions are made using "market research"

NewMonday4432d ago

@Jabberwocky237

no problem, it depends on how the game is set-up.

but its not true that options mean less impact-full story, recently playing Catherine i gave every question and choice serious consideration because they matter and impact my character and those around him.

Shivan4432d ago

The genres in decline? news to me

1) More japanese rpgs are being developed than ever

2) more systems than ever

3) for more people than ever ( proof of why 15 year old japanese rpgs people have been wanting for that long are getting localized)

Redempteur4432d ago (Edited 4432d ago )

Ranma is a FF troll

Don't waste your time answering him ..

I haven't forgot how he spammed every ff13-2 article even when he hasn't played the damn game.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4432d ago
Frankfurt4432d ago

Funny, considering WRPGs have far better writing than JRPGs.

LightofDarkness4432d ago

I wouldn't say far better, but they pertain to more mature themes and characters in general. It's not too uncommon for things to get lost in translation as well. I can prefer either at different times, but I've been more inclined to enjoy a Western RPG's yarn lately.

Shivan4432d ago (Edited 4432d ago )

He is exactly right. Not to mention japanese rpgs use different battle systems, art styles, worlds, and other things that make them a genre I cant live without.

Oh and also this is not an east vs west thing........he didnt make those comments to say 1 was superior.......he just said what he saw in terms of strength

Wolfbiker4432d ago

I have never encountered a western rpg that delivers an emotional story quite like jrpgs due

Not to say I won't, I just haven't yet.

_Aarix_4432d ago

This is one reason why I have and love my xbox. Lost odyssey, blue dragon, last remnant and final fantasy 13.

Wolfbiker4431d ago

The only thing is the jrpg audience is predominantly on playstation...therefore those games never reached they're intended market, therefore those games suffered in sales....lost odyssey is my favorite jrpg this generation but not many people played it.

90°

One Fenix Down Interview: Dev Talks Making a '90s-Inspired RPG in 2024

In a Game Rant interview, One Fenix Down's developer talks about how '90s RPGs influenced the development, story, and world of the game.

Read Full Story >>
gamerant.com
130°

All 2023 JRPG Release Dates | Icicle Disaster

All North American release dates for JRPGs coming out in 2023, including softly confirmed and still to be announced titles.

Read Full Story >>
icicledisaster.com
LG_Fox_Brazil449d ago

Amazing list, just favorited the link. Thanks for the tips

shinoff2183449d ago

Good list though. Hopefully they will keep it updated and rolling along. So many jrpgs coming out this year or so.

448d ago
Vithar448d ago

what a year :) gunna be fun!

250°

Final Fantasy XVI Is in Good Hands

After 2 long years, we finally have a release window for Final Fantasy XVI. But the names behind the title, are probably largely unknown outside of the Final Fantasy XIV bubble. So allow us to introduce you to the team of Final Fantasy XVI and why you should be excited!

pietro1212702d ago

The talent behind this game is what made me so hyped

PapaBop701d ago

Same, what has been showcased so far doesn't leave me excited but I have faith in Yoshi P.

Knightofelemia702d ago

I'll believe it when the game comes out.

-Foxtrot702d ago

That's like saying Cyberpunk was automatically in good hands because the Witcher 3 was amazing and GOTY

Each new project is a a blank slate, always expect the unexpected, not everything is going to be good because the last thing the team did was.

sinspirit702d ago (Edited 702d ago )

Agreed. Not that I wouldn't be excited about a future game from a renowned studio. But, I am already put off by the FF16 trailer. The combat just doesn't seem fun to me and I need to know more of the story. It doesn't seem exciting to me. It just looks like it's trying to be safe.

VersusDMC702d ago

Combat looks more fun to me but i like action game combat.

And a Final Fantasy game going with a Devil May Cry style combat system is nowhere close to tying to be Safe.

A turn based combat system would be the safest combat system to use.

pietro1212702d ago

But has Square put a out a game as bad as Cyberpunk was? No they haven’t not even with the likes of FFXIII and XV

VersusDMC702d ago

They haven't put out a FF game that bad...but they did release Balan, Quiet Man and Left Alive.

-Foxtrot702d ago

The point isn’t about if it’s broken

It’s about automatically giving a pass on a new game because the last developers game was great. So because FFXIV is great this is automatically going to be? Yeah it shouldn’t work like that.

DarXyde702d ago

Umm, to a point, I agree.

1. Of course, you must also realize the inverse is true. A terrible game made by a studio doesn't mean the next game will be bad. Even a bad track record doesn't suggest that the next game will be bad.

2. I would say it is moreso a matter of playing to a studio's strengths that matters above all else. In the instance of Cyberpunk, I haven't played it, but my sense is that it's a good game if it wasn't such a buggy mess. A high quality production wrapped in poor testing/optimization. I would also say that CDPR is probably much better at making open world fantasy RPGs than FPS games. I think they're similar to Guerilla in this context; Killzone was never a strong series in my opinion, but they really hit their stride with Horizon. FromSoft made Tenchu which I loved, but they also hit some rough patches until the Souls games, which have been pretty consistent in quality (DS2 is arguably the worst, but was still an enjoyable experience). For that reason, I see it as playing to one's strength. Some studios are far more versatile like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, etc. Others are kind of one trick ponies. So I would say that if the FFXVI team plays to its strengths, it'll be a solid game.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

BABI-PANGPANG702d ago

@Foxtrot I'm with you on this one.

Kingdom Hearts isn't what it used to be, Final Fantasy XV was very crap compared to what we've seen from vs XIII and like I said in another post about this game I think it just looks very uninspired.

I used to buy every SquareSoft/Enix game without a second thought, now I have the complete opposite.

GoodGuy09702d ago (Edited 702d ago )

Things are looking good. But really, we should all wait til we play it ourselves to tell if it's a good game. Ffs (not including the mmos) been needing a big W in a very long time. The remake of ff7 although good, wasn't anything amazing.
Yoshi-p did amazing with 14 but it doesn't mean they can do amazing with a sp mainline ff game.

Lahftel702d ago

There is always a chance! But most of the team behind XVI has also worked on FFIX, Tactics and XII. The team definitely has a certain style of game they want to make. Which I would mostly attribute to working with Yasumi Matsuno, after combing through heaps of interviews. Most of them cite him as a massive influence on them.

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