Why Do People Care About JRPGs?

Kotaku: "Consider this a primer on JRPGs, your introduction to the genre and a piece designed to answer many of your burning questions. Whether you're an expert on all things Atelier or you don't know the difference between Final Fight and Final Fantasy, allow me to help you develop more appreciation for an under-appreciated genre."

[LiamIRL82]

They're the best games ever created. It's the story, the characters, the battle system, the world you're exploring that makes you feel like you're on a grand adventure. I will never forget final fantasy 7,8,9 & 10 and the incredible experiences they gave me.

[CarlosX360]

Yes, I agree. It's more about better implementation between JRPG's vs WRPG's. JRPG's are notoriously much, much deeper than the WRPG's that are out now. I'm still waiting for a Xenogears-killer. I loved Xenogears so much it's not even funny.

[LiamIRL82]

I just downloaded Chrono Cross using my US psn account. First time i have played it as it was never released here in Europe. It's really something else

[CarlosX360]

At least finish the game halfway through Chrono Cross, and then come back to this and edit your post. ;)

Cross is the sequel to the holy grail of RPG's: Chrono Trigger.

[TBM]

for me jrpg's are just better made polished games. for me the best rpg/jrpg of all time is Final Fantasy 6 which is 3 here in the states. to me it had the best characters, story, it has everything i want in an rpg.

i've played some great rpgs during my time from eastern/western developers and no other rpg has managed to top the love i have for FF6(3)

edit
i love the disagree lol

[NukaCola]

I grew up on them. KOTOR was my first full fledged WRPG outside asymmetrical dungeon crawlers like Diablo and Fallout, which are still great. There is something magical that was only found in JRPGs. And sadly that is less and less true everyday. I think JPRGs need to stay away from influences outside Japan. It has truly effected the quality this generation.

I have to say, I think Ni No Kuni is going to be the game to fill that void for me. That is the one JRPG that I have been waiting for a long time. And I want that more than any other RPG coming out any time soon.

EDIT:
Also if anyone has not played these classic JRPGs, I highly recommend:

Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Chrono Trigger
EVO: The Search for Eden (This Fish Frenzy style game meets evolution and created one of the most unique games I have ever played. I highly highly recommend this one and I would love a remake!)

[Oh_Yeah]

deeper as in, story wise? your surely not talking about combat, size of the world, endless customization, charater leveling system, interactive npcs following a schedule, having jobs lol i could go on and on, you cant seriously compare skyrim, fallout, or dragons dogma to a game like final fantasty in terms of features, gameplay and deepness lol jrpgs they just dont match up. western rpgs are almost like actual worlds.

[ljh217]

I enjoy both JRPG's and WRPG'S. Why must they compete for my love so much when I love them equally!?

[Bimkoblerutso]

^ because people are retarded.

Both sub-genres have contributed incredible games to the industry.

[mewhy32]

Well I have to say that many people don't care, me included. They're all the same, doe eyed characters, same ol' battlesystem, story is always the same. blah blah blah. It's not to say that it'a all bad but just always the same.

[PoSTedUP]

because people Persona4, that's why. :)

[thats_just_prime]

Chrono Trigger was one of the best jrpg ever made but chrono cross was god awful.

Great jrpgs

Lunar 1&2
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Legends of Dragoon
Skies of Arcadia
Arc of the Lad

[MysticStrummer]

"JRPG's are notoriously much, much deeper than the WRPG's"

I agree with Ockbar. Only hardcore JRPG fanboys would agree with your statement. Since I'm sure this article will attract them, I'll go ahead and expect many disagrees.

[Zweihanders]

I'd say that JRPGs tend to be emotionally deeper with a much heavier emphasis on the story than most Western RPGs. There are obviously RPGs on both sides that don't conformt to this (like Mass Effect), but usually that is the case. The art style also sets them apart. JRPGs obviously tend to be heavily influenced by Manga and Anime style art, while Western tends to be gritty and realistic. They both have influenced each other in a massively positive way in recent years.

[DrJones]

Because there are a lot of wapanese people among older gamers.
And they are a nostalgic bunch.

[Ripco_Keller]

Yeah, JRPG depth just isn't there except when you get into their tactical rpg's and such (disgaea, fft, tactics ogre etc.)

JRPG - Locked on rails story from a creative fiction writer's wet dream. Simple interface and mechanics.
WRPG - As little story as possible, mostly focused on creating a living breathing world where story evolves as the player interacts with it. Deep, inter-related mechanics, complex interface.

JRPG's have demonstrably more focus on their story than their mechanics, which is why JRPG's haven't evolved for 20 years or so. They figured out how to railroad in a 20 to 1 cutscene to play ratio and hardly look back.

WRPG's are often seen as buggy and unprofessional by comparison because there is so much more depth that it's more difficult to give everyone a perfect play experience.

Get a room of ten people together, have them play any final fantasy for 10 hours, then have another group play any fallout for 10 hours. The first group will have virtually identical experiences, the latter group will likely feel like they were all playing different games.

I'm probably just on an incoherent tangent. I think they both bring great things to the table, I love both, but they have their obvious strengths and weaknesses and sometimes it feels like we're comparing apples to oranges.

[darthawesome90]

JRPG's are like everyone's favorite novels. They have gripping stories and characters. Every time I play one like Golden Sun 1 & 2 or Final Fantasy the story just draws me in.

I honestly don't care about the lack of options in the story which WRPG's have, just like I don't care that my favorite novel "The Game of Thrones" doesn't have the option: To save Winterfell turn to page 67, to destroy it turn to page 133.

[WildArmed]

Aye, there is such a great "formula" for JRPGs.

People knew that's what we wanted, and idk why, they started to deviate from it.

Give us an open world, give us equipment upgrade, give us a leveling system, a well written story, and characters.

The formula has been done to death, and at one point, back in the ps2 days, you could pick up any JRPG and know it'll be good. Then some guy decided to reinvent the wheel and move from what they do best to copying other genres.

Ugh, I miss those days.

[Drake117]

I haven't enjoyed a JRPG since Dark Cloud 2 and Final Fantasy 10 idk if its me or if the quality has gone down or like you said they changed them to much or what.

[WildArmed]

@Drake

"Good" JRPGs are hard to find. JRPGs are already rare as it is, forget finding a "Good" JRPG.
I hear Xenoblade Chronicles is amazing, but I don't have a Wii.

Valkriya Chornicles was a really good game. And I hear good things about Tales Grace F (I plan on getting this soon).

[SpaceGhost]

@drake117 try the Tales series or some of the classic game remakes for the ds, yes they have lost their wimsy graphics but they are just as fun . The tales series are one of the few reaming jrpg series which have are still regarded as amazing.

[Relientk77]

Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, and 10 are amazing

I will never forget them either ever

[AIndoria]

Ah, someone likes Final Fantasy VIII. Finally, sir. Cheers!

[christian hour]

Carlos knows the score :) Chrono Trigger is an amazing JRPG, I never played Chrono Cross so I can't speak for it but it would have a hard time topping its predecessor.

Sadly I had a falling out with JRPG's this gen, mainly because it seemed like everyone forgot what made them good and decided to try be more western with their gameplay and 2 dimensional story.

FFVERSUS13 is what ive been holding out for to restore my faith, but I'm beginning to wonder if we'll even see that game this gen. Square havent made a good FF since 10, 12 for me was the final nail in the coffin and I skipped 13, and just knowing about what 13 promised but ultimately became was enough to put me off trying ANY JRPGS this gen, so please, if anyone can turn me on to one that is as good as the best of the best JRPGS last gen, let me know cos I'd love to play one now :P

EDIT: @Alndoria I never understood peoples dislike with FF8, music gameplay and story were up there with other entries to the series, and there was plenty to explore and discover on your own that enriched the main plotline, more people need to start loving FF8 and hating the new butchery that is FF games this gen.

I wish Hironobu Sakaguchi could somehow pry the IP from square-enix's cold greedy hands.

[SpaceGhost]

@christian hour like I mentioned above try the Tales sereis, and the reason why a lot of people hate final fantasy 8 is that it stopped focusing on groups of characters and even the save the world plotand focused more so on a love story that started to permeate all JRPGS. not to mention the story for final fantasy 8 is beyond retarted, the charcters were retarded and their plans were retarted, just so people can get catpurted or escape.

[christian hour]

SpaceGhost, you are my hero so even though you just destroyed one of my favourite FF games in mere seconds, I cannot hate you for it :P I'll have a look into tales in the meantime, I have seen a lot of good things said about it but I always worried it was coming from the same people that think FF13 is the best game ever, or that turn based battles is "old hat". Anyways, keep rockin it from coast to coast, ol space ghost!

[SilentNegotiator]

"They're the best games ever created"

That's a bold claim. One that I'd certainly disagree with. The most important aspect of a game is gameplay, and "battle systems" are weak.

[Auron]

they may have been the best at one point. but man how they have fallen!

[Lovable]

They satisfy my RPG craving more than WRPGs(well with the exception of very few ie. skyrim and Fall out). Also, I like the artistic/animeish design of JRPGs compared to the plastic and hideous looking design from western developers. Although, seriously, it all comes down to the character and gameplay which I've been accustomed to since the PS1 era.

[AnotherProGamer]

Yeah the thing I like about jrpgs is that they are more creative in design. In wrpg you would see stuff like goblins, skeleton warriors, and giant rats.

[WildArmed]

Oh, good observation.

I never really thought about it, but now that I am. I noticed that's one of the biggest things that bugged me about WRPGs.

[born2live]

Aww come on... no such thing in Mass Effect or in Star Wars:Knights of the old republic... Of course those D&D games are filled with the same stupid creatures everytime (and I say that knowing full well that Star Wars actually works on a AD&D system), but it wouldn't be fair to put all the wrpg in the same bag... There are bad JRPGs too...

[Drake117]

I don't think any one said they were bad just that JRPGs have more creativity in things like enemies and world design. I think i mostly agree too. JRPGs have some crazy stuff that WRPG designers just wouldn't even think of putting in their games. For instance (and i haven't played this game) i think in the new xenoblade game or whatever the game world that the player moves around on is actually two giants or something. Something like that is not currently in WRPGs.

[Ripco_Keller]

I'll second that. Just go through any rpg done by ATLUS and you'll find yourself scratching your head as to what kind of mind comes up with some of these monsters.

[an0nym0us]

It's a cultural thing, but it's just less appealing to a global market.
Most jrpgs games are just really stupid and childish, and limits you too hard. From my eyes, most Jrpgs aren't even rpgs, they have zero choices. You just do what ever the main character does, it's supposed to be the other way around.

Personal i HATE the weapons in most Jrpgs their freaking stupid, and don't do what they were made to do, For Example Two-handed swords. They get swung like daggers, which nerfs Daggers, I mean who loves Sniping Shotguns??

[Lovable]

To be completely honest though, most JRPGs are fantasy Rpg. They are not portrayed to be realistic to begin with...

[wishingW3L]

but there's a huge difference between being realistic to just plain silly like for example: Neptunia and Atelier. These 2 highlight exactly what most western gamers hate the most about Jrpg's.

And I'm not saying that these 2 are bad games but that their presentation is hard to stomach if you aren't a weaboo.

[Lovable]

Well that's because those series you mentioned "cater" to a different type of audience. Just because it's called Jrpgs won't necessarily mean they're all the same and will appeal to everyone who likes Jrpgs.

[TBM]

as much as i enjoyed skyrim it did get repetitive and boring with the constant fetch quests, and once you've killed a dragon it pretty much became been there done that.

give me a jrpg over an wrpg any damn day of the week.

[Hicken]

... do you know what rpg stands for? I'm not even going to explain it to you. Just going to point out that JRPGS and WRPGS go about it in different ways.

As for childish, I can only think of Kingdom Hearts as MAYBE being a series more for kids; most JRPGS tackle some rather mature themes. And because the scope of what you can do is so "limited," the stories are almost always deeper than what you find in WRPGS.

As for your issue with weapons... whatever. That sounds like you just made up something. Who in what game swings a two-handed sword like daggers?

Just another person who has no clue what they're talking about.

[Snookies12]

Actually, Kingdom Hearts while possibly being aimed at people of all ages has an extremely complex and deep story that would go over the head of most gamers, let alone kids... I completely agree with your comment though, JRPGs are MUCH deeper in story BECAUSE you don't have those "choices" to worry about. A good RPG is supposed to be like a good book, you read through it and that's how it happens. Don't see anyone bashing the Harry Potter novels for not allowing you to pick your own adventures lol. XD

[Dark11]

i agree the only thing JRPG need is a mature characters design .. like FF or resonance of fate.

[Ripco_Keller]

Let me digress for a second and say shotguns are actually made to snapshot hit small, far-off things (like say.. birds) and are longer range and more accurate than most games have trained you to believe. Personally if I were on a snipe hunt I would choose a shotgun over a rifle any day of the week and think the terminology evolved oddly with snipers.

As to your actual points.. I mostly agree and have the same principle problems facing JRPG's.
-I /hate/ Kawaii (cutesy anime/high pitched girls).
-I prefer customization (of characters/classes).
-I hate being given no options (story-wise).

[Subzero200]

huh people care about jrpgs?

[ACBAA]

your avatar is japanese, for the record.

[Snookies12]

LOL! Yu-Gi-Ohhhhhh snap! Got him!

[scrambles]

its Japanese and a card game/TV show... that doesn't have anything to do with JRPGs really. He can like one but not the other.

[Kran]

There are some I like; some stand out more than others.

If anything good were to come out of Japan, it would be the endless amount of anime where theres something for everyone, not JRPG games.

Though saying that, really cant wait for Ni No Kuni.

[Snookies12]

I really really love quite a few various anime series, but the majority of it suffers much worse from bad design choices than their games do... You can have an engrossing story without every chick character flashing her boobs or wearing skimpy outfits lol.

[Kran]

Thats the best part...

[Highschool of the Dead] xD

[Lucretia]

absolutely love jrpgs. no matter what i always will.

[lodossrage]

Maybe they like them simply because they do. No need to justify "why" for anyone.

I myself loved JRPG before I even knew the term JRPG from my days playing the old FF games and dragon warrior (aka dragon quest) games on the NES.

And I continue to play them on the PS3 to this day. And I'll keep on doing so until they stop making the genre. Which I hope they never do.

[Yangus]

My favorite video game genre.....
Final Fantasy series..Versus???
Dragon Quest series..
Chrono Trigger
Chrono Cross
Grandia
Skies of Arcadia
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Xenoblade
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy
Ni no Kuni

Jrpgs best video game genre...i think..art,story,battle system,characters,exploring,se crets,adventure....

[SpaceGhost]

why is no one mentioning the godamn Tales series, it is superior to all of the "major" series out their as of now, it has way fewer flops/terrible games then any other jrpg series

granted my favorite JRPGS are still

Crono Trigger
Mother Earth 2(Earth Bound)
Final Fantasy 6 (3 in NA)
and Tales of Symponia
and of course Phantasy star1&2

[FrigidDARKNESS]

It's the Art Work and story telling that folks love so much.

[Qrphe]

Why do people care about genres they like? Why do people care about anything at all?

Why not just NOT like anything?

[alessandro10]

lol Kotaku.... please dont open this page and clock it from your web browsers

[alessandro10]

block it

[YourFlyness]

Just give me a proper Suikoden or Breath of Fire. Waiting for the 6th of both

[chrispen9]

I like J-RPG's because they have characters you can relate to. The stories are usually more mystical than Skyrim or Dragon Age and really have a strange art style. My favorite game of this year is Tales of Graces f. I'd rather have J-RPG's than some bland Western RPG. I love Skyrim but I love Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and the Tales of games even more. If we only had shooters, then the gaming industry would be in trouble.

[born2live]

I'm just tired of the endless cinematics... I wanna kill stuff!

[born2live]

As of now there are 6 disagree-ers - I just wanna know... you guys actually watch the full cinematics everytime? I mean, I'm expecting a game, not a movie, and you could easily spend more time watching the cinematics than actually playing in a lot of the more recent JRPGs...

Don't get me wrong - I've been enjoying JRPGs ever since the firsts final fantasy, phantasy star, dragon warrior and others, but back in those days, you were actually playing a game most of the time... (oh boy, I sound like an old gamer now...)

[Hicken]

First of all, it's part of the story, so yes, I watch the cinematics.

Secondly, I've never played a game where I spent more time watching the cutscenes than actually playing. No, not even FFXIII, which people hate all the time for just that(among other things).

Such gross generalizations more or less prove that you don't play much in the way of current titles, but rather get the majority of your information secondhand.