What happened to JRPG genre this gen? And how to fix it ?
Final Fantasy VII came out in 1997. Fans treated the game as if it was sacred, the game was one of the finest Final Fantasy games ever. Back then, Japanese role playing games (JRPG's) was the genre to beat. 15 years on and JRPG's have lost their charm and appeal to so many people, or has it?
Intro's aside, lets get straight to the point…
Developers have made their mistakes, this is the simple reasons the state of the genre is what it is.
To improve or broaden the appeal of the genre I believe the following should happen in the order of least to most importance:
10. More online multiplayer JRPG's: there are some people who play games only for the Multiplayer, and it’s the multiplayer feature which is the main selling point of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft & Fifa, and those games sell a LOT ! Where is the western JRPG equivalent of these games? Nowhere to be found, don’t say Monster Hunter as that isn’t that popular in the west. [This will get the online gamers on board]
9. More turn based battle systems/Traditional JRPG's: the only turn based JRPG I can think of this console gen is Lost Odyssey, I am of the view that there are some people who believe the Genre has strayed from what it was and they just want TRADITIONAL JRPG's back. [This well get the old school JRPG gamers on board]
8. Better & smarter marketing & more marketing: I am yet to see a viral video on the internet to promote a JRPG game, viral videos are a good way to advertise, since there is none for JRPG games (that I can think of) it indicates the marketing is poor. Sony spent $100 million on the marketing and promotion of FF7, the game even appeared in Playboy magazines, look at how popular that game was. [This will get all sorts of people on board, even casual gamers]
7. Loss in popularity of FPS games e.g Call of Duty: too many people are buying FPS games, but it seems now that people are getting tired of FPS games, the future looks brighter. Think about it, if a substitute product/competitor is taken out of the equation, it can only mean that the most likely thing that will happen is your sales will increase. [This will get all sorts of people on board, even casual gamers]
6. More localization i.e release more games in the west: how can consumers buy a game if the game isn’t even available in their language and country, how can that JRPG series broaden its fan base if the game isn't available ? [This will keep existing JRPG fans interested in the genre]
5. More real time action battle systems: 1 of the biggest complaints I here is that the JRPG genre usually has archaic battle system, you will notice I already mentioned "More turn based JRPG's", anyway developers are now making more real time action based battle systems. But why not make both more Turnbased and action based JRPG's? They don't need to oppose each other. [This will appeal to the whiners and haters who complain about traditional "archaic" JRPG's]
4. More western themed games (both in terms of story, and characters) e.g dark souls: "oh, the men all look like girls there all borderline heterosexual", "eww, they all have long hair", "all the characters look like children and cartoons, ewww"….yeh you get the point [This will appeal to those whiners]
3. Just 1 epic JRPG to get people into genre, like how COD got people into FPS: FF7 already did this in the past as mentioned in the intro, and we know the effect, but now that effect has started to wear off, we need another game [This will get all sorts of people on board, even casual gamers]
2. Less cliches, better voice acting: a major complaints, possibly the most major, if their were less clichés and better voice acting, most JRPG's would get higher review ratings as reviewers would have 1 less thing to complain about (the thing they complain about most often when they want to pick on the genre), and reviews directly effect sales. [Better reviews=More sales=more fans]
1. Go back to your roots and think about what made JRPG's so great in the golden age (1990-2006) and try to revive those ideas, the loveable characters, the amazing unique stories, the side quests, mini games, exploration, customization, addicting gameplay that rewards you for: levelling up, collecting items, achieving certians things e.t.c am talking to people like you Square Enix.[If this happened we should be back to how the state of the genre was in the Goldenage (1990-2006)]
Still, perhaps the slowly approaching demise of big names like Square may be a good thing. Indie groups may not have the budget, but they have the fresh ideas that will lead us into the next few decades of gaming. As the big guys fall, perhaps they will get wise and seek the support of the indie game makers. Hopefully then this cookie cutter style way of making games will take the hit for the big companies and we can all have new and imaginative games back on the market.
What happened to turn-based battles? They've all but gone. I like a bit of action in some of my RPGs, but not all of them. Final Fantasy in particular have changed their formula way too much to the point where the games don't even resemble what the genre used to represent.
Why can't we have random battles again? Have the little fade-out and music change and into the screen with the ATB gauges and the "attack, magic, special, item" menus. And the ability to level up our characters the way we used to.
It's not my tastes that are changing. I could go back and play FF 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 and have a blast, so they've obviously done something to them to make me not like their more recent games.
FF12 was the first in the series to have a battle system where multiple characters were doing something at the same time. The battles felt hectic at times and the presentation did feel somehow more modern than that of previous FF games. They did it right with FF12 though, because you still had control of everything. You could even play the game the traditional way, the gambits weren't forced at all. Also you had absolute control over how each of your characters would develop. I played the game several times with pre-planned teams and I had fun every time.
Then comes along FF13 and BAM, you're hit with a multitude of limitations. You can only truly tell one character what to do during battle and even that is no encouraged because you hardly have time to think what's going on and what will happen without pausing the game. All characters have pre-defined preferred roles, and you must follow them to make the most effective team. All this seems to be because SE thought that too much menus and characters standing around too long is old fashioned and they should move towards a more streamlined presentation of the battles. This was a bad move and something that nobody asked for.
This sort of development is what SE should move away from, take their balls out of their purse, stop taking inspiration from western games and make FF a true turn based JRPG again. We don't care if only one character moves at a time, we want to have control, not watch from the side.
Hentai based JRPG's also wouldn't hurt, people who like that would be hooked on JRPG's if they made a game like that
And regarding point "Just 1 epic JRPG to get people into genre", i dont think an FF7 remake or FF vs 13 will do that, because those games made by Square Enix, they may look nice, but they always always have poor stories
There's been no significant change or advancement in story presentation, mature themes, or character development since the change over from the SNES to the PS1. And where things coasted and fell into a rut with the PS2, they've largely gone backwards while also ignoring/forgetting aspects like towns and turn based combat in favor of resource heavy graphics.
While FF7 got points for looks, it was the overall influence and death of a central/main character that's made it so memorable. As many will point out, other party members died in other games before then, even Square titles, but those were only ever events within the game. Aeris' became pivotal to the main plot. Then there's the theological and psychological things Xenogears tried to do. The first Wild Arms integrating mini-games into the game world, as well as giving rival NPCs real active roles.
@Captain Tuttle:
My point is that you may as well be complaining how there are more JRPGs on the PS3 than the 360 at this point. Saying that checkers is as complex as chess.
Though the PSP and 3DS are on par with the PS2, current handhelds vs current consoles are apples and oranges.
And I'm not complaining, I couldn't care less about JRPG's although I do find them an interesting topic of discussion vis a vis the gaming industry. It's a good blog starting from a valid question.
And you're not comprehending the point that some basic play mechanics on handhelds aren't even being attempted on HD consoles. That for all of the graphic upgrades the PS3 and 360 offer, the PSP and 3DS often do games better. Especially JRPGs.
As for you Tuttle, since you could not care less about JRPGs, it just means that you don't understand the problem. HD consoles created a resource drain which not didn't allow development in the genre, it plus the relative stagnation period of the PS2 retarded JRPGs.
There are plenty of JRPG on the shelf at this point for both the PS3 and 360. Not the same number as the PS1 days, or overall the same quality but who had the time to play most of the stuff released on the PS1?
Anywho, I just find it a bit infantile to blame the decline of JRPG on the popularity of another Genre. The FPS genre was hugely popular on the PC and online multiplayer was popular before it came to the consoles. It was inevitable that the consoles would have the same effect when they became capable of online play. Heck, it would be ignorant to say that FPS wasn't already popular on the consoles.
Sooo is it really rational to be upset for Sony, MS and Western publishers who are largely responsible for 99% of the FPS games to capitalize on the success of being able to quickly and easily play a game of BF3 or Ghost Recon with friends?
It's clear why Sony threw a boatload of money at FFVII, it was a popular franchise played by lots of people on the SNES. It was a game guaranteed to draw SNES owners, it was absolutely the Killer app for the PS1. Nowadays most people who buy a console aren't buying it for the solo experience. And unfortunately those people who enjoy playing a game online, or have only ever known experiences WITH online play outnumber those who grew up on things like the NES-PS1 etc.
This is all just how the market is turning.
PS: Cost of development with the HD consoles is a big reason you don't see the big ole JRPG like we used to. Developing assets gets expensive. Maybe THAT is why most JRPG seem to find themselves on the handheld platforms.
It seems the West has moved on from the traditional JRPG craze and that is all there is to it.
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Final Fantasy 11 and 14
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Overall great blog