JRPGS: Can It Revive Itself?

There has been a lot of criticism regarding the evolution of JRPG’s. Today we take a look at the reasons why this has become a norm.

JRPGS always have a similar feel

There was a time when I was obsessed with finding new RPG games, and to be quite honest I played more than I can even remember. Everything from console games to free MMORPGS. One thing that always struck me as odd though was that JRPGS (RPG’s from Japan) always had a similar feel and game play to them. I would just like to go over a few of the things that aspiring RPG developers may want to think about before producing another cookie cutter title. Western RPG’s without a doubt have a more firm hold on the recent releases as where JRPG’s have kind of gone the way of the Playstation One. For those of you who are unaware of what RPG really means, it’s any game that makes you play the role of a character.

Final Fantasy is an exception

Now, before anyone gets bent out of shape I just want to say yes, I’m very aware that Final Fantasy is one of, if not the greatest RPG franchises of all time, that being said the more recent titles have been a little sub par in my own personal opinion, as where some of the more recent Western RPGs have really done wonders for the franchise. Not all JRPG’s are bad, but as previously stated there really are some excellent titles that have come from Japan.

Terrible Narration

One of the main problems with nearly every RPG regardless of its place of origin is the terrible writing and voice acting. There have been a few titles that have broken that curse but not enough to say that most video games resemble really bad movies. So with the exception of Mass Effect, there are quite a few RPG titles out there that have a whole bunch of “What the….” Lines strewn threw out. Even though they are one of my all time favorite games, Resident Evil is particularly know for its atrocious voice acting back in its younger days. So just a word to the wise for all of you developers out there, hire a voice actor or two, and possibly a good writer to avoid too many “Could this be Chris’s blood?” lines.

MMORPG are a total grind fest

Moving on to some aspects of the massive multiplayer world, Id just like to say that the Western hemisphere has dominated this for as long as they have been around. It’s very apparent to me that every single MMORPG that comes from outside of the states seems like a total grind fest. They lack any type of story and or depth, most of the time the player is on a never ending mission to go slaughter anywhere from ten to three hundred of something, of course with the occasional collect ten of said items from slain creatures. Now this isn’t going to say that WMMORPGs haven’t had a few failed attempts, but with titles like Guildwars, and World of Warcraft, it’s hard for others to get on the level that they perform at. I did for a while play FFOnline, but it was a beast of a game that really required more time than I think I ever had to offer for an MMORPG.