With accusations of being a dying genre by some of the weirder journalists, the encroachment of western RPGs, and supposed ‘free passes’ in the critic world, jRPGs (and, specifically, turn-based RPGs) seem to be getting a lot of negative publicity. There are many steady and hardcore fans within the genre, but nonetheless, news outlets can’t seem to cut the genre some slack. This article serves as a counterpart to all that negative publicity: these kinds of games have been here for decades, and they’re not going anywhere for as long as gaming exists on consoles, computers, and handhelds. Here’s why.
The nostalgia factor that follows the games is undeniable: the success of games like Pokémon and Fire Emblem show that even though there are many game alternatives which outpace their turn-based system, fans are still following their series and loving the same battle mechanisms. Granted, from sequel to sequel, many games will change their mechanics, but the success of those that don’t show that there is a huge nostalgia factor when it comes to these types of games. The same could be said for any successful series, but the prevalence of turn-based games released for older consoles and PCs gives the entire genre a nostalgia boost.
What’s more, despite not having action packed battles, the typical jRPG will have huge advantages over its western counterparts. A more linear approach allows developers to focus more on environments, character development, and the setting of the story. You are given a single journey with minimal paths (in contrast to the Western sandbox approach), but the things you can learn about the world are more concentrated and often carry more significance. The linearity of the game’s progress also keeps the game from becoming derailed by sidequests that range huge distances. When playing the western RPG Oblivion, I quickly forgot about the main plot and ended up knee-deep in the Dark Brotherhood quests. While that kind of approach does give the genre its charm, sometimes I actually want an attainable goal when playing a game, rather than fifteen different subplots to follow.
Along with that, the typical turn-based nature of jRPGs allows for more strategy than action-based games. While action-based games do take reflex skill, its strategies are normally focused around finding the enemy’s weak point, timing, and rationing healing items and ammo. On the other hand, turn-based strategy allows for a more precise way of doing all of the above, and often add in the interactions of a party and the battle’s terrain. The enemy’s weakness is a major factor, but the characters often have their own strengths and weaknesses to consider. You can’t just armor up a black mage and expect to beat the final boss in a solo run (barring crazy leveling or intense item creation)—you’ll need the whole party.
The accusation that jRPGs get cut some slack by the media is clearly untrue—just look FFXIII and FFXIV and see how that went for them—but it’s true that nostalgia does come into play when playing jRPGs. Their unique battle system and approach to storytelling gives jRPGs their own niche in gaming—a niche which can actually spill over in the form of Action-Adventure Platformers or western RPGs. Because of their prevalence in gaming culture, they will likely be here to stay for decades to come—or at least as long as the current concept of gaming exists.
nobody with a brain would say jrpgs are dying
Quire frankly only a moron would say jrpgs are dying or any less prevelant or good as any other gen
Lets look at my favorite rpgs on each system
wii – xenoblade
ds – the world ends with you
ios – chaos rings
psp – zhp
ps3 – disgaea 4
360 – lost oddessy
not a western rpg in the bunch.
And that isnt to say western rpgs arent good.
But come on
jrpgs have been kickin it
Turn-based RPGs did NOT originate with Japan. It originated in America, on the PLATO mainframe computers, on Apple PCs with games like Wizardry and Ultima, on PCs with games like Might & Magic, and continued into the 90s with games like Fallout and Baldur’s Gate. Before all this there was Dungeons and Dragons and other turn-based RPGs, or Henk Rogers selling the ideas to Japan with his new Bulletproof Software in 1980 and the game Black Onyx.
JRPG is dying? well, that explains why there’s so many non-japanese that does not speak nor read japanese to import those JRPGs that does not get localized, huh.
JRPG, like other genres, has its own appeals. It ain’t dying anytime soon.
Good read!
Looking at the comments, I feel I need to clarify: Sara is not saying herself that JRPG’s are dying – I believe she’s referring to recent statements from Assassin’s Creed III’s director that Japanese games are given a free pass and the attitude from gaming communities that they are “dead” in terms of quality.
In my opinion, I don’t think a game should be labeled as either “RPG” or “JRPG”, as that suggests a significant difference between the two. Sure there’s tropes in both categories we love and hate, but we shouldn’t create preconceptions of games just because of where they come from. There’s great games made all over the world, and we don’t need silly labels.