Are JRPGs dying? (How Japan can be relevant again in the West)

It was with a sense of awe that I booted up RPGs back in the day. These games felt so new, so fresh, so full of depth and exciting possibilities. Growing up, my dad was an engineer who always happened to have a great PC, and thus I was introduced to a lot of Western RPGs like Ultima and Wasteland. However, it was the RPGs on the NES, SEGA Genesis, and SNES that really captured my imagination, games like Shining Force II, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest (known as "Dragon Warrior" back then), and Phantasy Star. These games married excellent music with solid game design, while throwing in enemies that were a far cry from the "Dungeons & Dragons" themed creatures found in most western RPGs of that time. We didn't call those games "JRPGs". In fact, I don't even remember calling them "RPGs". They were just really, really cool adventures.

Fast forward to today. The videogame industry is booming, yet the JRPG market is becoming more insular than any time before, with the exception of the NES/SNES era (more on this comparison later). I love JRPGs. If you're reading this, you probably do, too. Why, oh why, has the number of JRPGs headed to the West dropped so much in recent years?

I think it stems from three main problems: bad marketing, bad management, and bad design choices. I'll tackle each of these issues with my own solutions, and I'd be happy to hear any ideas or solutions in the comments below. Why am I bothering? Because JRPGs are awesome. Pound for pound, they're far more interesting and unique than their Western counterparts, but recently this creativity has gotten way out of hand.

First and foremost, the publishers of JRPGs are terrible at marketing. On the high end, there are companies like ATLUS who do a great job of keeping their fanbase in the loop, and then on the low end we have companies like Namco Bandai who release an enhanced Atelier Totori for Vita without any prior announcement at all. Both of these companies (and everyone in between) seem to be unable, however, to expand beyond their devoted (yet shrinking) fanbases. Can you think of any JRPGs that are popular outside of the devoted gaming community? I can only think of one: Pokemon. What does Pokemon do? It advertises the piss out of itself. And before anyone says it, Pokemon also did this back during the initial launch of Red/Blue with a trading card game, a cartoon, toys, plushies...the whole nine yards. I'm not implying that EVERY JRPG should (or could) follow Pokemon's example, but JRPG companies are being lazy. They're leaving money on the table by not trying to expand. Yeah, I understand that "The West" is what they would consider the expanded audience for some of their games, but if Pokemon, Final Fantasy, and Dragon's Quest could break the mold and become popular, surely a modern JRPG could at least make the attempt. Marketing is not the sole reason why a game fails or succeeds, but when the general public doesn't even know a game exists, you can't really sell to them, now can you?

The next problem in need of addressing is bad management within the developers and publishers. What do I mean? Well, when I read stores about such-and-such company losing money, or cutting back on a certain JRPG series, or not wanting to localize a game, or something like that, I grind my teeth. JRPG developers are incredibly wasteful! I mentioned toward the beginning that the JRPG market is becoming very insular like it was during the NES/SNES days. Do you know why Final Fantasy VI was called "III" back then? It was because Squaresoft didn't think us dumb Americans could handle these newfangled RPGs (quite ironic, since Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were inspired by Western RPGs like Ultima and D&D, not the other way around). The Japanese RPG companies were arrogant. A lot of people praise the RPGs from this time period. RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III (VI), and Secret of Mana are all revered today, but "back in the day" these sort of games were largely ignored, believe it or not. It wasn't until Final Fantasy VII on the PS1 that JRPGs really skyrocketed in the West. But in the meanwhile, there were dozens of RPGs that Japan kept to themselves, essentially cutting off any opportunity to make more profit and gain more marketshare. The cost of localization is fractional compared to the cost of developing an entire game. It is bad business to create a game for just one market. Does Activision only make its games for the West? Are Bioware RPGs unavailable in Japan? What about Bethesda's games? Yet, there are dozens and dozens of Japanese RPGs that are unavailable here, simply because upper management decided it wasn't worth it.

Well listen up, idiots! You're driving your business into the ground with too many projects! Either concentrate on making a few games and releasing them worldwide (which is how Nintendo and SEGA and Sony each put themselves on the map back in the 80s and 90s), or stop making games altogether. Okay, it's no big deal (to me) if you don't localize all of your games. Japan can keep it's really quirky ones, but there are some games tat seem like ideal candidates for the West, yet they never see the light of day over here. If you insist on making JRPGs, then tweak your business model a bit to allow for other regions.

Below is a list of just a few of the games that have failed to leave Japan's shores in the last few years. At your leisure, Google some of them and tell me if you'd want them localized in your native language:

- Final Fantasy: Type-0
- Valkyria Chronicles III
- Front Mission 5: Scars of War (and yet we get the terrible FM: Evolved?!?)
- Monster Hunter Portable 3rd
- P2: Eternal Punishment PSP remake
- half a dozen Ys and "Tales of..." games
- Grand Knights History (a Vanillaware game, no less)
- Zangeki No Reginleiv (Wii combat that looks superior to Skyward Sword)

To be perfectly fair, there ARE a lot of localized JRPGs that seemed very unlikely to come West-ward, games like Time and Eternity, Tales of Xilia, and Project X Zone. But that isn't my point. What seems odd is that we get plenty of very...*ahem*...Japanese JRPGs like Hyperdimension Neptunia, Disgaea, Tales of, and the aforementioned Time and Eternity and Project X Zone, yet very Western-friendly games (at least, in my opinion) like Grand Knights History or Final Fantasy Type-0 receive no Western localization. Or, to dip into the past a bit, how do franchises with very Western-friendly aesthetics (like Fire Emblem) not get localized? It seems bizarre that a company would devote time and money to a game that will only see the light of day in a marginal market. And that brings me to my third point...

JRPGs these days suffer from a lot of bad design choices. Let me explain further: JRPGs are way too Japanese. I'm fond of turn-based battles and/or quirky battle systems. I have no problem with that, and I don't think that is holding back the genre. What is holding these games back is poor taste and poor design in terms of what stuff will appeal to a worldwide market. The vast majority of JRPGs that started the genre in the first place were designed with a worldwide market in mind, especially in terms of their content. Final Fantasy VII never felt very "Japanese". It simply felt unique. It wasn't until we started getting more Japan-centric games like the Tales Of series, Disgaea, Ar Tonelico, Atelier, etc. thrown into the mix that I began seeing a rise of very "Japanese" games. Before you fly off the handle at me, all I ask is that you at least respect my perspective, since I have been playing JRPGs since...well...the very start of JRPGs. I feel that I have a well-rounded opinion on the matter. JRPGs these days are far more "Japanese" than they were. In fact, gamers only recently began calling them JRPGs. When the West makes a game like Skyrim, the game doesn't feel "American" nor "British" nor "German" nor any other sub-culture of the West. DE: Human Revolution doesn't feel "Canadian". The Witcher 2 doesn't feel "Polish". Yet games like Time and Eternity or The Witch and the 100 Knights most certainly come across as "Japanese", and that's because the developers aren't thinking of a worldwide audience. They are alienating a worldwide audience in favor of a quick, dependable, local audience on their home shores. Or, take a game like Ni No Kuni. This goes back a bit to my complaint about bad management. Why would you give priority to localizing a game like Ni No Kuni? I own the game. It's a fantastic game. I'm not saying it shouldn't have been localized, but it's the sort of game that can only appeal to a very marginalized segment of the market. Kids aren't going to play it, due in part to it not being on a handheld but also due to the game's complexity. Yet, the majority of adults aren't going to play it after taking one look at the graphics and assuming it's a children's game. AGAIN, I am NOT saying that Ni No Kuni should have been scrapped. What I'm pointing out is that companies are choosing to design and localize JRPGs with limited worldwide appeal whereas developers in the West are always keeping a keen eye on how their games can perform in the worldwide market.

Granted, I understand there's a charm to this style, and certain fans would be heartbroken if this design disappeared entirely. I'm not proposing that JRPGs should lose the "J". However, in our shifting videogame market where free-to-play tablet and smartphone games are becoming the norm while $60 retail releases are becoming less attractive to the general public, JRPG developers can't afford to hide in their shell and keep making the same games they always have. It is time to evolve. There are plenty of Japanese companies - like Capcom and From Software - who have brought their games to the West and were met with success. While Dark Souls and Dragon's Dogma are certainly Japanese games with plenty of Japanese quirks, they don't feel "Japanese" in the sense that you aren't bombarded with anime still-shots accompanied by shrill pre-teen female voice-overs. There are companies like ATLUS who are still preserving the Japanese feel to their games, but they are bringing their games to more and more audiences through ports, remakes, and re-translations.

Does it make sense that these three games are localized in the West...

[Godmars290]

Why the ones that didn't come didn't come over:

Type-0: Square are idiots. Used the PSP low popularity and heavy piracy as excuse.

Grand Knights History: At the time it was an either or between it and Dragon's Crown. Guessing DC's apparent production issues which has kept it in limbo till recently played even more of a part.

Front Mission Five: the series has always been niche yet with a loyal following. Since Square was and is only interested in AAA class big sellers they opted for Evolved instead to cash in on FPS. Also believe they fired most of the FM dev team or they quit.

Again; Square are idiots.

[dedicatedtogamers]

Yeah, hopefully SE can shape up now that Wada is gone. I think that - with better management - the vast majority of JRPGs could be localized if they're designed with localization in mind from the start. Japanese devs have a tendency of overlooking even the most basic of "worldwide-minded" design choices, like making your text and menu system easily convertible to other languages.

To contrast, most Western games are built with extensions and sub-folders containing the spoken and written dialog sections. So, when translation time arrives, it's a matter of simply replacing the old language with the new (more or less). There are a great deal of Japanese devs who are still (for lack of a better term) "hard coding" Japanese language into their games, and yet they turn around and complain about the cost and difficulty of localizing said games into other languages.

[FarEastOrient]

With Wada-san finally gone, maybe Square Enix can start making smarter decisions and not leave money on the table. So far the only thing keeping them afloat is Eidos since the Square Enix isn't picking up their weight financially.

Disclaimer: I'm also a shareholder of Square that's wanted Wada-san gone since the FFXIII debacle and long developments of going no where.

[Godmars290]

Sadly I don't expect it to happen. Not unless they realize they need to look to "B" level games not "AAA".

And the way the industry as a whole, east and west, doesn't seem to be structured for that.

[3-4-5]

JRPG's need to stop including annoying characters JUST BECAUSE.

[Nate-Dog]

"Do you know why Final Fantasy VI was called "III" back then? It was because Squaresoft didn't think us dumb Americans could handle these newfangled RPGs (quite ironic, since Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were inspired by Western RPGs like Ultima and D&D, not the other way around). The Japanese RPG companies were arrogant. A lot of people praise the RPGs from this time period. RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III (VI), and Secret of Mana are all revered today, but "back in the day" these sort of games were largely ignored, believe it or not."

Aren't you talking against your own point here? You say that Japanese companies were arrogant because they didn't think people in the West would "get" games like Final Fantasy VI / III, but then you say that the games were largely ignored upon release (as they were).

For your point on how Japanese some JRPGs are, well for me that's why I like many of these games so much. I loved FFVII too, but I looked at IX and would I have ever said to myself "this is something I could see a Western developer making"? Not at all. I'm replaying Tales of Vesperia right now and some of the humour and quirkiness of the game is what makes it an amazing title, and you'd never find that particular sort of humour in a game made outside of Asia. Same goes for a title like EX Troopers too (which isn't a JRPG). One of the many reasons I enjoy playing JRPGs is because I get to experience this sort of a game and style of game that I wouldn't if I just stuck to the western market of games.

On the main subject that your title poses, I don't really think so. I agree that there certainly could be a lot more JRPGs localised for the West, but there have been some decent one localised recently / are soon to be localised as it is. Tales of Xillia is coming soon to the West, Ni No Kuni released this year, Mugen Souls came at the end of last year, and as far as I know even the PSP of all devices actually seems to be getting a few JRPGs released for it this year, as will the Vita I presume.

[TheColbertinator]

Nothing wrong with NiNoKuni

[yokokoroma]

The answer to your question, is no, JRPGs are not dying. If anything, they are more alive than ever, due to the platform they currently reside on, which is handheld. As far as consoles go, yes, JRPGs are "dead" (at least this gen anyways) which is essentially, I think what you're asking. In regards to calling Japanese RPGs JRPGs, it's not a new term that was recently introduced. By it's very make up a Japanese developed RPG is a JRPG, which is what I (and many others)have referred to them as.

If you go back the previous two gaming generations, western RPGs weren't prevalent on consoles (for me personally that would be PS and PS2) they were on PCs. This gen the term is used (or should be used) to differentiate the two, which it does in most cases. It seems you (like so many others) would like to see Japanese RPG developers conform/adopt westernized style RPG game designs. Your reference to Bioware's RPGs, Dark Souls and Dragons Dogma, only reiterates my point, as both Dark Souls and Dragons Dogma are stylized in a western RPG (Dragon Age) fashion. You have to understand that in the last two gaming generations Japanese RPG developers were dominating consoles, and gave many a gamer some of the best gaming experiences they've ever had, that have remained with them until this day.

Thus you see many bring up Final Fantasy VII, VIII, Legend of Dragoon, Xenogears, etc... There was something that resonated between the player and the game. You won't get that same experience with a western RPG. While you do have some good points about why certain JRPGs are localized over others, you can't include Tales of because Tales is established in the West (Destiny, Symphonia, Legendia, Abyss) and has fans. NamcoBandai is aware of this, and so advertising is not as important as it would be if it was a new title altogether.

In regards to JRPGs being exclusive to Japan, (i.e. Alienating the "potential" western market) you have to understand that (in this gen) the JRPGs made are going to handhelds, and Japanese publishers can recoup what they spent on the cost of developing. That's due to the fact that games can't be rented in Japan, only bought (brand new) and that's what they want. They know in the western market games can be rented and are bought used. A Japanese developers budget (with the exception of those affiliated with big name publishers, such as NamcoBandai) is less than that of their western counterparts, especially the smaller ones.

In the end though, it all depends on what type of gamer you are. If you're a handheld gamer, then you have numerous JRPGs at your fingertips. On the other hand, if you're a console gamer, then JRPGs were the game genre you use to play.

[TheGamingShelf]

I feel like out of all the JRPGs to come out this generation (besides Final Fantasy) Ni no Kuni probably had the best chance of reaching a big audience. I know a lot of people that bought the game just because it looked like Ghibli films (which are distributed by Disney in the States and lots of people have seen). If I was Namco, I don't know what other JRPG I would have given priority to over Ni no Kuni that didn't end up getting localized. That game ended up selling relatively well from what I understand.

For Type-0 And Grand Knights, my only guess could be that people felt the PSP was dead in the West and localizing wouldn't be worth it. That's the same reason all the Vita Tales games aren't being localized, not a big enough install base.

I think Persona 4 Golden for Vita helped people see a different side to JRPGs outside of the typical spikey-haired world-savers. Persona 5 could be huge for Atlus. FF Versus could also be a saving grace form Square Japan and Final Fantasy as a whole.

To answer the article's title question, I don't think they're dying, they're just not what they used to be like in the PS1 days.

[Asuka]

nothing wrong with ninokuni or hyperdimension neptunia imo

[StrawHatPatriot]

Um, if I'm not mistaken, Final Fantasy VI was called III since they only released two Final Fantasy titles in America before.... right?

[SageHonor]

Still waiting for persona 5

[knifefight]

Grand Knights History was announced for localization by XSeed, but they had to cancel it because the online interface was built for Japan only, and they couldn't get it working in North America. Vanillaware wasn't much help in this process, according to reports.

Type-0, Square isn't sure that it will sell enough units to justify the high price of the music rights. Square Enix doesn't own the music in that game. (Oops.)

[Dark11]

JRPGs is dying , how to save it?

STOP THE MOE MADNESS !!!
NO I DON'T WANT TO PLAY AS 9 YEARS OLD GIRL!!!

[givemeshelter]

I love JRPG games however they are dying as they have not changed the concept and business model since the 1990s... moreover Japan is no longer the gaming mecca of the world.
Only the big budgeted JRPG games survive in today's market as seen. The smaller JRPG games imo made the PS2 such an amazing system, and those type of smaller JRGP games are not selling at all outside of Japan now when before they sold in the millions on the PS2 and PS1

[Kratoscar2008]

Mmm games too japanese? How come P4 & P3 has been net with such high praise when they are the most Japanese games out there?

JRPGs are great because they aim for Japan, even FF7 was very Japanese on characters design, story standpoint and so on. The momment they aim to western audiences it will be the day when JRPGs will truly die.

I personally love how Japanese games hasnt evolved that much, if Skyrim is evolution then i dont wnat them to ever evolve.

Good Blog nevertheless.

[dedicatedtogamers]

P3 and P4 (two of my favorite games, btw) were a breakout hit among RPG fans. It's not like it got a lot of cross-over sales from the Halo of Call of Duty or Skyrim crowd.

But even so, both games are far less "Moe/chibi/supah-kawaiiii " Japanese than your typical RPG, with a more relatable cast. You don't have 6-year-old cat-ear princesses wearing bikinis, or high-pitched voices, or saccharine storylines/dialog.

[Kratoscar2008]

Well you do have a lot of character cliches in both Persona games, and P4 has those momments were it plays like an anime (The Whole band thing was really lame and Japani-ish).

Most of the conventions that P3&P4 uses are present in the date sim and Visual Novel genre, heck there is a game that came in 1990 that was called true love and has the very essense of what Chie, Yukiko, Rise, Ai characters are.

So P3&P4 are just one of the countless conventions you have in VN, DS and RPGs that are popular in Japan the main difference is that Persona uses the SMT series template of having good characters at the core.

So P3&P4 are proof the genre is alive its just that most game like this never make it outside of Japan due to fear to be panned by the western media.

You cant say Nanako isnt kawaii/moe and Ayane Chibi.

[izumo_lee]

I blame publishers & developers when this gen started on why JRPGs have lost some of its luster. When this gen started there was the Wii & the Xbox 360 which developers focused a lot of their time on while they wait for the PS3.

Not dogging the Wii or the 360 but after the gen when the PS2 dominated the JRPG scene the switch to these 2 systems where the JRPG audience was at a bare minimum was very curious. When the PS3 did release the fans were left waiting for the JRPGs to come but they barely did. When they did arrive they were poorly designed & mismanaged games that had to cater to multiplatform.

The PS3 did continue to be supported by the VERY niche JRPGs that are catered to a very specific audience that have no problem of the Japanese centric style of these games. As a fan of these games i appreciate that some developers know their audience & where the JRPG audience are. There is a reason that the PS3 continue to get games like Neptunia, Mugen Souls, Disgaea, Atelier series from companies like Gust, Compile Heart, Idea Factory, NIS cause that is where the JRPG audience are.

This gen many of the great JRPG games are found on hand helds cause their budgets aren't as huge as it takes to make a console game this gen. Some of the best games like Crisis Core, Dissidia, Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, etc are on hand helds.

Still some publishers are notorious for not wanting to localize their games just cause a platform is under performing. Namco Bandai is very guilty of this & Squarenix which are considered the leader of the genre have struggled to make good decisions. A game like Final Fantasy Type-0 should've been localized already despite some rumors of 'song license'....that never stopped Squarenix in the past.

I know this may sound like a rant but until publishers & developers cater to their audience (a vast majority are on Playstation platforms), don't be such stuck up about localization, & manage their games better the JRPG genre can see a rise to prominence again.

At least like i said there are still some developers that understand their audience & just makes JRPGs cause that is what they love to do regardless of how well it sells.

So a shout out to companies like the ones i mentioned earlier...NISA, Atlus, Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Gust, Level-5.....thanks for keeping the JRPG scene alive.