Is the Japanese RPG Dead?

GameXplain Says: "Yesterday we looked at how 2011 looks to be the "Year of the Western RPG." But what about its eastern counterpart? Typically, Japanese RPGs have been known as "traditional" style (though they derive from the American Dungeons & Dragons) compared to the "western" style RPG that has been the king as of late on this side of the Pacific.

If you were to walk the store shelves of any gaming retailer today, this question "Is the Japanese RPG dead?"might arise. Outside of the DS and PSP, only barely pronounceable games have landed in the US on consoles this year, and were met with dismal sales success. Of course, portables are huge in Japan, but is that mentality killing the genre for the rest of the world?"

[Dash Reindeer]

They've been dead to me for 20 years

[Biggest]

JRPGs were always niche. There are more people with websites to talk trash about them then there used to be. I've hear the same reasons I heard in the early 90s (when I first played a JRPG). Companies like SquareEnix would do well to make games they want to make and spend less time trying to appeal to wider audiences. The PSP and DS have proven time and time again that smaller budget games for gamers work more often than big budget games for people with websites pretending to be gamers. The people that loved the older formulas still love them. The people that hated the older formulas still hate them, and any new formula the developers try to create. Ignore them, please.

[somerandomdude]

They didn't have to die. Square Enix made them less relevant this generation by making horrible decisions.

The demand for jrpg's still exists, the developers just suck at executing them nowadays.

Don't forget how hyped and excited we all were for ff13, then SE let us down by not including traditional jrpg elements.,

[TheDivine]

No ffvs13, ff13-2, last story, xenoblade exc. We had some of the best jrpgs ever this gen with Lost Odyssey, Vesperia, Blue Dragon, resonance of fate and others. They're few and far between but theres still life left in them. It seems they are now mostly on sd systems like wii, psp, ds/3ds though pbly due to rising costs and less sales as wrpgs become more popular. I think wrpgs were mostly pc until xbox brough out elder scrolls and kotor. Then the 360 hit and oblivian and mass effect became the best games and overshadowed the jrpgs which funny enough MS was puping out and heavily invested in. The xbox made western games more available to people. Sad ms dropped mistwalker, they are the best jrpg developers and one of the last who make traditional ones wich kick azz.

[dktxx2]

"Typically, Japanese RPGs have been known as "traditional" style (though they derive from the American Dungeons & Dragons)"

I don't think Japanese RPg's take all that much from Dungeons and Dragons. It seems like western rpg's are the ones that derived from it. I'm no rpg historian though.

[Eternalb]

The original Final Fantasy was heavily inspired by D & D and most Japanese RPG's were inspired by Final Fantasy as well as Dragon Quest.

Form the 1up article "30 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Final Fantasy"
http://www.1up.com/features...

"Final Fantasy might as well have called itself "Dungeons & Dragons: We Filed Off The Serial Numbers Edition." Its class system and magic spells were practically drawn straight from the tabletop game. Certain monsters were even more blatant rips. The "Sorcerer" was simply a weaksauce version of D&D's Ilithid (aka Mind Flayer), and the Death Eye was even worse: In the game's original Japanese release, it looked so much like D&D's iconic Beholders that Square meekly redesigned it before bringing the game to the U.S."

[evrfighter]

Wow you just made quite a bit of weaboos cry...lol

[dktxx2]

Thank you Eternal. I can now say I learned something on N4G today, for once.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Yes.

[DragonKnight]

Demon and Dark Souls both say hello.

[DragonKnight]

LMAO! I guess those 2 games aren't proof that JRPG's are still wanted and successful judging by the disagrees. It's ok, you can have your lame Mass Effect and Dragon Age 2 games, I'll be over here playing real RPG's.

[dragonknight4]

Looking forward to Dark Souls as well as Tales of Graces F and Tales of Xillia. All published by Bamco. The huge irony.

BTW, nice name.

[DragonKnight]

Agreed. And thanks, I've had this name for eons. Lol.

[somerandomdude]

Those games play more like wrpg's. Top jrpg's this generation are SO4, Tales, and Eternal Sonata.

[DragonKnight]

A Japanese Role Playing Game is literally a role playing game made by a japanese developer. So no, top JRPG's this gen are Demon's Souls (soon to be Dark Souls) Valkyria Chronicles, and the like.

[Eternalb]

So if a bunch of non Japanese people go to Japan and make a western-style RPG, but release it first in Japan does that make it a JRPG? It's developed and released in Japan.

[DragonKnight]

@Eternalb: *sighing facepalm walk shaking head* Really? That's really your comment? Are you sure you want that to really be your comment?

[Eternalb]

@DragonKnight
LOL... I hope you could tell that my comment was highly sarcastic.

Listen just because a game "literally" is developed in Japan, does not mean it can not be "western" in design.

You can call it a JRPG and I will call it a JRPG that is a WPRG in disguise.

[somerandomdude]

Well to say the least. I think traditional jrpg's are taking on more westernized roots trying to make games more like Mass Effect, thus losing their more traditional eastern based roots.

Demon souls is a damn good game, but it isn't traditional.

[Tex117]

Of course you are correct, but the distinction most people draw between wRPG and jRPG's is some form of turn based battle system.

Demon's Souls is my favorite game of the last decade and in my top 5 of all time.

Dark Souls is my most anticipated game of the year, and that is saying alot this year.

[Lavalamp]

"Can Japan find their creative juices again"
They never lost it to begin with, and the awesome list of titles in the article can attest to that. Sales isn't a determinant of creativity. I mean, how well do WRPGs sell in Japan compared to JRPG sales in the west? The day the JRPG dies is the day Japanese culture dies, so I'm positive both forms of the RPG will continue to coexist.

[Eternalb]

But when are they going to do well here? JPRGs need to sell well here for us non-Japanese speaking people to get a chance to play them. And when was the last creative/innovative JRPG (besides TWEWY)?

[Lavalamp]

The Valkyria Chronicles and Persona series have been pushing the envelope, Birth by Sleep was a very solid title, Knights in the Nightmare = swag on infinity, and Demon's Souls really made some great strides in online functionality. And love 'em or hate 'em, the latest Pokemans (much more fun to spell it that way) made use of the C-Gear feature in some really neat ways.

[Eternalb]

I'll give it to this first Valkyria and while Persona is amazing...it came out in 2008. Birth by Sleep and Pokemon are just iterations of their predecessors. Demon's Souls I'd argue is actually more western in design.

Believe me I love JRPGs (I worked for a company who's released their fair share) and if you read the article its not about sending them to their grave.

[Lavalamp]

I picked Valkyria and Persona cuz I was trying to think of games that came out after Twewy (even if it was only be a few months :D). You're absolutely right about BBS and Pokemans (still callin' it that) being iterations, but I was specifically calling attention to things like Pokemans' C-Gear. And yeah, when you look at Demon's Souls, the last thing you think of is JRPG, but dem Japanese devs be packin' dat Phantom shizzy in dat game.

I read the article, and I'm definitely with you on its main message, but I was just pickin' at one quote in regards to creativity.

[user858621]

Not if you play them on the psp and ds

[Series_IIa]

The JRPG is going down like a one legged man doing the hokey cokey.

[andresegers]

Hahaha, wow

[chidori666]

they are dead because Japan needs to make games and not worry so much about appealing to the East or West. Make good games and people in any territory will care.

[Godmars290]

Just gone in the wrong direction.

Let me repeat that: Gone in the *WRONG* direction. Way too much loli, moe and soft core porn themes along with trying to be Western when they try something that isn't moe/loli.

[Neckbear]

Hey, there are actually games that don't follow that direction.

As many as those that do, in fact. If you don't like those who -do- apply cutesy themes of your disapproval, then ignore them and play the others.

[sikbeta]

Wrong direction means westernization and of course lack of development on home consoles and just put almost everything on gaming handhelds...

[zackacloud]

Action RPG it the best and the right future of best games.

JRPG down because it become redicilous( example FFXIII have a lot of JRPG element ).

We need next level of Action RPG I mean fast moves, dodge , can jump high jumps , teleport for long dastince.

From now i can saying it. if there will be ever any next generations will have gameplay simillar to FF Versus XIII first CG show it will be best of it genaration.

Simply any company want their game be best of whole generation just offet gameplay same as Versus XIII first CG show. jump, walk of wall and attack, many swords around u , can teleport amazingly , many enemies facing u and have great power.

sorry about bad english

[ferpowerful]

yes they are dead with exeptcion Darksouls and zelda ahaha come on is the FPS era the rpgs sucks nowdays

[sikbeta]

The FPS era will face the same fate as platforming and as you imply, the RPGs, it's a matter of time and the more the genre is overused, the faster it'll go down... :P

[AWBrawler]

Only people who think that are people who don't own a DS or PSP.
Nostalgia, Dragon Quest IX, Hoshigama remix, Phantom Brave, and Odin Sphere are all good examples of JRPGs, and with 3 big JRPGs on Wii just waiting to be announced at E3 (Last Story, XenoBlade, Earth Seeker) I think this article is just ignoring all the good ones. And let's be honest here: most people who write these articles are used to Western RPGs anyway, so of course it's dead to them.

This Gen I more than got my fill of JRPGs on the DS,PSP, and Wii.

[andresegers]

Did you actually read the article? The author says basically exactly what you just did.

[AWBrawler]

admittedly.I did not read it this time like I usually do. but that proves my point that they are alive then

[PooEgg]

I own both handhelds, but I don't really enjoy gaming on them.

Dragon Quest IX was fun but a lot of the JRPG's on handhelds either are remakes of old JRPG's or they feel like they are remakes.

And the upcoming JRPGs for Wii... it really is too early to tell. Every time I get my hopes up about a Wii JRPG I end up disappointed when the game doesn't live up to expectations.

[Troll-without-Bridge]

Dragon quest 9 alone sold as much as the entire mass effect franchise on the consoles. Dragon age 2 flopped, the first one did ok. New vegas underachieved, the witcher 2 sold half a million. The only big boy on the block is The elder scrolls.

[whydoyouask]

Dragon Quest ALWAYS sells in japan, the only place it does sell.

Heck it's not that JRPG's can't sell well outside of Japan, it's that they don't advertise and just expect people to know that the games are out.

[Troll-without-Bridge]

Whats your point? Mass effect is mainly an american franchise and sells well in america. Europe, middle east and Asia are pretty much oblivious to it.

[Aloren]

I'm not sure it's that simple. Yeah, DQ9 sold more than ME. But on a much larger install base, and ME is a new IP. And even if you think DA2 flopped, it outsold most JRPG released on HD consoles in just a few months.

And that's the general trend. In the past, any FF game crushed any WRPG. It wasn't even worth comparing. Now, I'm not even sure that FFXIII, which sold like 5 times as much as any other JRPG on HD consoles, sold more than Oblivion, or Fallout. Even New Vegas is probably above 4 million copies on consoles now, that's hardly "underachieving".

They're not dead, but they're definitly not as popular as they used to be outside of japan.

[PooEgg]

Not dead, just a bit stagnant. They need to slow down on the ports and handheld games and take some chances. Demon’s Souls is a good example of a game that took a chance and had it pay off.

Personally, I’d love to see a ‘new’ Suikoden but for PS3, with proper HD graphics, or a new Shadow Hearts on PS3. Or how about SquareEnix creates a game that is both beautiful and also fun to play. They do fun to play with Dragon Quest IX and beautiful with Final Fantasy XIII, but why can’t they do both?

[kesvalk]

you mean the turn based jrpg?

yes, they are dead...
now the action jrpg, they are very much alive...

[256bit]

wrpgs use the same formula just look at DA and ME. they arent any different.

[JAMurida]

You guys sure do love going around in circles huh?

[whydoyouask]

Japan doesn't know how to sell it's properties that aren't Final Fantasy (i'm not including non-jrpg's)and Tales.'

A lot of people blame westernization, but what exactly do you expect them to do? They see Western RPG's selling tons and their games aren't selling any.

Not to mention the fact that the Japanese are behind the times, not technology wise, but advertisement wise. How many of those games are only on the PS3? Why aren't they on the 360 and PC? Why aren't they giving their game the best chance to thrive?

Heck, how many of us, if we didn't come to this site religiously, would even know these games exist?

[helghast102]

Oh look it's THIS article again.
No, shut up.

[NateCole]

After Versus then we talk.

[Darkfiber]

Dark Souls mother effer!

[Jack-Dangerously]

Too bad that's not a Japanese RPG huh? MOTHER EFFER!

[Inception]

Not this article again -_-

This year i'm waiting for 5 title:
- Grand Knight History. Vanillaware made this for PSP and Vanillaware never, i said again, never dissapointed me.

- FF Type-0. Okay, i knew SE got crap this past years, but not for their handheld games. And Type-0 lookin more promising even for FF XIII-2 (imho).

- Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Yeah, it's an old title but i never finished this on my PS1.

- Black Rock Shooter. Imagepooch made this and they said they will bring this title with NISA.

- Disgaea 4. I don't need to explain about Disgaea right?

For next year we got Versus XIII, Tales of Graces F, Tales of Xillia, Ni no Kuni, Trails in Sky 2nd chapter, new YS from Falcom, etc etc etc. So, is it JRPG dead? HELL NO!

[stragomccloud]

I won't say they are dead. But I will say that the days of the countless waves of JRPGs are dead. They are more or less fw and far between, but I find myself enjoying those more. Lost Odyssey, Last Story, Xenoblade, Arc Rise, and Eternal Sonata, are all amazing games. I'm really glad for the prevalence of western RPGs, because sometimes the formula gets tiresome.

Case in point. There are definitely less of them, but I tend to appreciate them more now.

[NYC_Gamer]

they have not evolved with the times/hardware