Old time JRPG fans - what's your current stance on its current direction?

[Ramsay]

Whilst there still are excellent JRPGs (Nier: Automata, Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Dragon Quest XI all come to mind), there's been a massive decline in quality in the genre overall.

The source of the decline is the increasing emphasis on fanservice in the genre, to the point where it comes at the detriment of the entire game. By far the worst examples of such are Persona 5, which undermines its core themes for fanservice's sake (*cough* Ann *cough*), or Xenoblade 2, where the entire game seems to revolve around fanservice.

 

[Moebius]

Octopath and Bravely Default II got me happy for old school style rpgs.

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Yes. RPGs should have turn based combat. I actually like both styles, but prefer turned based. It would be great to get a sampling of each.

 

[Valkerion]

I'm in the boomer side. There are some great games coming out still but I miss the variety of the PS1-ish era. I wish there was more risks and while I like Tales, FF, DQ, Persona and what not, I don't want just those, I want these companies to branch out again or at least more often. I think it would do wonders for the creativity of the other games.

 

[Morrigan]

LMAO acting like fanservice hasn't been part of the genre since the very inception

RPGs are fine.

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LMAO acting like they're remotely equivalent

Good gods this whole "it was always like this!" nonsense never stops being disingenuous. A questionable outfit and/or joke scene like you'd have in old games in no way compare to the rampant, constant, ubiquitously creepy horseshit you see in so many modern JRPGs.

Needs less dating sim, lolis and harems

Going from the Trails In The Sky trilogy to Cold Steel basically sums it up

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Yeah, 1 and 2 were bad enough for weeb trash, but Cold Steel 3 really pushed the limits of my tolerance for it. Don't think I will bother with 4 and whatever's next, especially after getting a glimpse of what's in them.

 

[Joltik]

I appreciate the various QoL improvements that are present in current JRPGs and that there are a lot of localizations than ever before. But man, thanks to the advances with technology, developers and producers are taking advantage of that to tap into their inner pervert and go wild with the fanservice with 3d models and camera angles, bleh. Though that started with the jump to 3d during the PS1 era and it got worse ever since they kept pandering to the Otaku crowd.

I still really love JRPGs but I don't care for harem bullshit. If you're gonna do it, at least let me be gay.

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Cosigned. If you going to force me to play as a dude and only a dude who gains harem to pick out the "best partner" for the endgame or ending, let him hook up with another guy instead of the various tropey women that's present in the genre.

Let's get back to characters having their own relationships and not waiting around for the MC to date them. I don't need any dating sim stuff in my RPGs.

In general, I would prefer the protagonist to be a part of a world and a story rather than the center of the universe.

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An even better suggestion. I would even approve of more games were the main romance was between two co-stars instead of the main character.

 

[Belthazar90]

The genre is thriving for the first time since gaming moved to HD. We've had some VERY acclaimed JRPGs this gen, with the likes of Dragon Quest IX, Persona 5, Nier Automata, Yakuza Like a Dragon, Ys VIII, Final Fantasy VIII Remake, Xenoblade 2, Octopath Traveler and the Cold Steel quadrilogy. And beyond those there were other that ranged from good to great like Berseria, FF XV, Ni No Kuni II, Kingdom Hearts 3, Atelier Ryza, Digimon Cybersleuth (and the sequel), Valkyria Chronicles 4, WoFF and it goes on... Like, the last time we had so many good JRPGs was probably like the PS1 era.

 

[Rayman not Ray]

The only JRPG I really enjoyed this recent years are Dragon Quest XI and Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age.

Persona 5 make me realize these otaku pandering, anime-trope filled JRPG is simply not for me anymore (love P3 and P4 back in the day). I actually find the stuff that people say "stylish" about P5 to be cringy tbh.

Wish we get more stuff like Digital Devil Saga, Suikoden and/or Shadow Hearts.

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We've got similar taste. Makes me think I should go and play Suikoden for the first time, huh.

 

[Gabriel Hall]

Between FFXIV Shadowbringers, FF7R, KH3, and Octopath Traveler, I'm pretty happy with where JRPGs are going.

 

[Dennis8K]

Speaking of recent JRPGs, Octopath Traveler is -50% in the current Steam sale.

Is it worth it at $30?

 

[Trigger]

It's been a good time to be a JRPG fan. I could use like 90% less waifu crap in them, but there's tons of variety.

 

[StereoVSN]

Trails games are alright, I liked Tokyo Xanadu and Y VIII, DQ XI is great, Yakuza 7 is super solid, Persona games are generally good. Even Tales Of games like Berseria aren't too bad now days.

FFVIIR was extremely enjoyable as well and I even liked FFXV despite its many issues.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 I couldn't stomach, and same for most of Compile Hearts or NISA output, but they aren't the only game in town.

There are even multiple interesting SRPGs out in Fire Emblem, Fell Seal, Troubleshooter and others as well.

 

[Devilgunman]

I want more turn-based jrpg like Persona 5 and less action-oriented jrpg like FFVIIR.

 

[Deleted member 2834]

JRPGs are pretty niche these days, but I still love them. Persona 5 Royal might be the GOAT actually, Xenoblade 2 was very good too. The frequency of super high quality JRPG might be a bit lower than during the genre's prime but overall, they're still very good. Atlus' output is just amazing, especially on handheld.

 

[ryushe]

I think the genre is better now than it was back then. And more popular.

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As much as I absolutely love the Golden Era of JRPGs™, I agree. Dragon Quest XI, Yakuza Like a Dragon, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (and a slew of other games) are just as good, if not better than the favorites from decades prior.

I also love how popular it is again. I don't know, It's a great time to be a JRPG fan, IMO.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

Octopath has the best battle system of any JRPG that I have ever played. So there is that.

Speaking of recent JRPGs, Octopath Traveler is -50% in the current Steam sale.

Is it worth it at $30?

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The Production value and battle system alone is worth $30 but to be fair I was head over heals in love with the demo. THE DEMO!!

 

[CaptainBojangles]

I think a lot of the issue comes down to what people consider JRPGs in today's landscape. A lot of RPGs coming out of Japan never get hit with the JRPG label because they don't mesh with the bulk of the genre, but then a lot of people complain that the genre is too stagnant and same-y.

In the past 10 years, there has been the following turn-based games with little to no creepy fanservice:
- Several Pokemon games, including Black and White, which is arguably the best in the franchise
- Shin Megami Tensei IV and several other remakes of spin-off games for the 3DS
- Dragon Quest XI, the Dragon Quest VII Remake and the 3DS Dragon Quest VIII port
- Octopath Traveler
- Valkyria Chronicles IV
- Radiant Historia (AFAIK)
- Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia (From what I've played)
- Bravely Default (Again, based on what I've played)

But there has also been many RPGs that have been excellent, relying on little to no creepy fanservice that have completely different combat styles:
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Demon's Souls, the Dark Souls trilogy, and Bloodborne
- Final Fantasy XIV and its expansions
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Final Fantasy XV ( I don't like this one, but I know a lot of people do)
- Xenoblade Chronicles (Some questionable (at best) outfits, but generally the plot plays it straight in the first game)
- Several Yakuza games, including the beat em ups, which heavily rely on random encounters, experience, equipment, much like most other JRPGs

And that doesn't include any of the critically acclaimed games that have more of the fanservice mentioned in this thread, including:
- Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal
- Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Nier Automata
- The Trails series
- The Tales series

I love several of those 90's JRPGs, and there are absolutely some elements of the games from the best games of that era that have been lost over the years. Despite all this, there are still many JRPG's worth playing in the past 10 years that should lead people to believe that the genre will be alright going forward.

 

[ryushe]

Let's get back to characters having their own relationships and not waiting around for the MC to date them. I don't need any dating sim stuff in my RPGs.

In general, I would prefer the protagonist to be a part of a world and a story rather than the center of the universe.

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Yes. This is why I just can't jive with the Persona games on anything deeper than surface level appreciation. Persona 4 and 5 especially.

 

[Flon]

I want more turn based games. I think the genre really hit a creative stride around the PS2 era but had some awkward years following the PS3. It feels like there's just a lot less notable JRPG franchises now which is a shame, but there are more experimental ones and I like that dungeon crawler RPG's made a bit of a comeback in the last few years too.

And as someone who finished more SNES and PS1 JRPG's than I can count, I think the genre on a whole is better nowadays.

 

[Deleted member 2834]

Speaking of recent JRPGs, Octopath Traveler is -50% in the current Steam sale.

Is it worth it at $30?

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That game is dreadful lol. Avoid.

 

[Drax]

Honestly, I do miss teams like wolf team/tri ace popping out a rpg every two years or so, like it was guily soul food that was mass produced and not really works of art, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

 

[CaptainBojangles]

That game is dreadful lol. Avoid.

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Ehh I'm not the biggest fan of the game, but I wouldn't call it dreadful. It has a wonderful presentation style and OST, and the individual stories had their moments from what I played, but the lack of any story integration between the 8 characters was pretty jarring. The combat system is pretty fun too. I wouldn't say it's a must-play by any means, but it's a neat game.

 

[Son of Sparda]

Despite some of the problems that I have with its combat, I think Yakuza: Like a Dragon would be breath of fresh air for anyone that is tired of the anime aesthetic, annoying kid protag, trope filled JRPGs of today.

As for how I feel about the genre itself... well, I haven't played that many new JRPGs in recent years, so I guess I'm not too thrilled about the current offerings.

 

[Mentok]

I love the innovation and experimentation we've seen in recent games, from a gameplay perspective. The stories are hit and miss, but I can live with that (I mean a LOT of them are "you are the chosen one" variants at their core). I definitely agree that the dating sims/harem aspects are unnecessary and can ruin a game for me. Most "romances" or inclusions of "sex appeal" feel like they were done by very horny teens. I could do without.

 

[RedSwirl]

I'm also starting to think people don't consider Souls a JRPG because Japanese developers aren't making dark fantasy RPGs anymore. Souls is kinda the only one. Its inspirations are just as Japanese as any other JRPG, but its aesthetic used to be way more common in JRPGs in the 80's and 90's than today.

JRPGs have always been anime tropey since the old days.

The difference is, they were blocky and/or low resolution so we didn't notice it. Now, everything is clear with high resolution 3D model, so it feels like they're shoved right in our faces. Another difference is voice acting, which lead to people hating the high-pitched voice characters. But in gameplay, it's mostly still the same or improved. Another trend is that most studios now prefer action than turn-based.

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There is definitely a difference between 90's weeb and 2010's weeb. Anime producers and JRPG developers didn't have to turn so hard towards the otaku demographic back then. Just look at the difference in character art between then and now. Moe existed back then but hadn't taken over.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

Ehh I'm not the biggest fan of the game, but I wouldn't call it dreadful. It has a wonderful presentation style and OST, and the individual stories had their moments from what I played, but the lack of any story integration between the 8 characters was pretty jarring. The combat system is pretty fun too. I wouldn't say it's a must-play by any means, but it's a neat game.

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you have to convert for era standards, so dreadful actually means pretty good

 

[KtSlime]

Disappointed to find this thread is not about gameplay.

 

[Deleted member 4090]

Speaking of recent JRPGs, Octopath Traveler is -50% in the current Steam sale.

Is it worth it at $30?

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One of the best RPGs of the last few years, but I'm more likely to dump in the Experimental RPG genre than trying to paint it as a traditional JRPG. How do you feel about the RPGs that are about mostly separate short-stories? Or how much are you interested in an open-world RPG with a turn-based battle system, job system, great boss fights, and no level scaling?

Disappointed to find this thread is not about gameplay.

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That gets ignored in most JRPG threads, unfortunately. Otherwise Scarlet Grace would be running away with recommendations in every thread.

 

[Babadook]

FF7R got me back into JRPGs and I hope there are more examples like that.

 

[StereoVSN]

Folks are also forgetting games like Trials of Mana, Ys games like VIII and Celcetta (and recently ported to consoles Origins), and Tokyo Xanadu (which while dealing with school kids is a great game with not much of fan service).

Again, there are multiple newer SRPGs that were pretty great, Valkyria Chronicles games, etc... Plenty of games all around, it's just if you focus on certain offenders it seems there is not much to play.

 

[texhnolyze]

I'm also starting to think people don't consider Souls a JRPG because Japanese developers aren't making dark fantasy RPGs anymore. Souls is kinda the only one. Its inspirations are just as Japanese as any other JRPG, but its aesthetic used to be way more common in JRPGs in the 80's and 90's than today.

There is definitely a difference between 90's weeb and 2010's weeb. Anime producers and JRPG developers didn't have to turn so hard towards the otaku demographic back then. Just look at the difference in character art between then and now. Moe existed back then but hadn't taken over.

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JRPG is anime, so the trends in JRPGs are shifted as how anime trends shifted as well, including the artstyle. We've had a lot of discussions about this regarding anime too, especially in etcetera, like how today's anime is worse in this aspect compared to old anime. But it's been proven again and again that old anime are very pandering to otaku culture as well. The major difference is, once again, the artstyle.

 

[MonadL]

Personally I haven't had this much fun playing JRPGs since the PS1 days. Definitely not as ambitious since the old days but the sheer refinement and QOL improvements make it hard to go back to a lot of older JRPGs.

 

[kamineko]

i feel the fanservice would have been there all along, the tech just caught up

even though i like both turn-based and action jrpgs, i feel like there is an overall trend toward action that doesn't always appeal to me. or hybrid systems that don't really click

in particular final fantasy has gone from my favorite franchise to one i only barely pay attention to. obviously lots of people like them so whatever. i guess those games just left me behind

i think another part of this is the shrinking b/c tier space, it's just so expensive to make video games these days. indies have filled this space in other genres, but are there many quality 80-hour indie jrpgs out there?

i also think 3ds games were relatively cheap to make so that was a good platform for lower-budget jrpgs. vita too

sill, i love atlus games, dq. the turn-based atelier games. etc. i've been playing video games a long time. things change, but there's almost always something worth playing

 

[tenisilin234]

this thread is making me want to play xenoblade 2 and person5 royal again.

absolute matsa pieces they are

 

[SubvertedTrope]

There are even multiple interesting SRPGs out in Fire Emblem, Fell Seal, Troubleshooter and others as well.

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Fell Seal and Troubleshooter huh? Making a note of this.

 

[hwarang]

Fell Seal and Troubleshooter huh? Making a note of this.

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Fell Seal sounds so edgy

 

[Dnomla]

There certainly don't seem to be as many to chose from as there used to be, at least with things that have a bigger budget behind them. But I've also gotten much more picky about what I play too over the years.

It feels like they lean a little too hard into a modern day setting or a group of teenagers. It feels like there's less variety when it comes to story/characters, but gameplay I have less issues with. I feel like things are still different/same enough with that.

Thankfully, Monolithsoft has been able to keep that overall "spirit" alive in what they develop today though.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the first game in a long time that really reminded me of something I would play on the SNES/PS1/PS2. So as long as they continue to make JRPG's the way they currently do, I'll at least be satisfied. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is something really special and hope this is the year for something new from them.

 

[Fawz]

Adored the SNES era of JRPGs, loved the PS1 era, liked the PS2 era and I've been losing interest ever since to the point where I've given hope now. They haven't kept up well with the times (Archaid mechanics & design), still rely too heavily on stereotypical tropes to the point of feeling like satire and generally don't seem to capture that sense of wonder and discovery. There's the occasional outliers here and there, but generally the skepticism is warranted

Still I do think things have been slowly improving and there's a good shot of some noteworthy JRPGs being released in this new generation. Only time will tell...

 

[GamerJM]

I dunno if you'd call me an old-time JRPG guy, I fell in love with the genre on the GBA.

I think the games themselves are just as good as they always were but I really wish developers could scale things back and make more smaller games in shorter timeframes. There are still developers who exist that do this, but the games they make aren't as polished and have gameplay systems that lean more esoteric and less straightforward than the greats of the 90s and 2000s. I also think the real-time / turn-based ratio is kinda out of wack right now (I don't mind some JRPGs with real-time combat but it feels like that's most of the genre now).

And the fan service is.....largely not good, but also admittedly mostly pretty "I can deal with this" for me.

 

[Famassu]

Way too much pandering to creepy otakus. Stop with the pedo-pandering, sexualization & objectification of the female cast and harems. Less school settings.

 

[RM8]

Me, back in the PS1 days: Wow, Final Fantasy Tactics is great! I look forward to more games like this in the future.

The future:

 

[Makoto Yuki]

PS3/360 Era was definitely showed growing pains for the genre. The move towards more action oriented combat is a smart decision, both KH III:ReM and FFVIIR are top notch.

Definitely glad turn based is still pretty good if done right - DQXI and P5.

 

[newtonlod]

I'm still obsessed with the old ones.
The new ones... yeah, they are a mixed bag.

 

[Hexa]

I'm a weeb so this is the best JRPGs have ever been imo and I'm hoping they stay this way.

 

[Hilarious_Bearious]

Speaking of recent JRPGs, Octopath Traveler is -50% in the current Steam sale.

Is it worth it at $30?

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Oh sweet tapdancing Jesus, yes. To me it's like if you brought SNES era Square to modern times, gave them the Unreal engine and told them to make a game. It's a great modernization of that 90s JRPG formula, with the best turn-based combat I've ever experienced. There's no real overarching story though, just a nice little story for each of the 8 characters which you complete at your own pace.

 

[Zaki2407]

Love 90s Jrpg.
Lunar, Grandia, Albert Odyssey, Suikoden, Classic FF (VI,VII,VIII,IX), etc
I rarely play Jrpg nowadays.

 

[Ramsay]

Speaking of recent JRPGs, Octopath Traveler is -50% in the current Steam sale.

Is it worth it at $30?

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It's a 5/10.

I feel that it's a mediocre game that got overhyped after Xenoblade 2 underwhelmed spectacularly, though if it's for $30 I wouldn't outright say no.

 

[Deleted member 2772]

When I was a kid I loved Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (Warrior) on the NES.
Dragon Quest XI is basically my childhood dream come true. It looks exactly like what I was picturing and hoped for all those years ago. I don't know what you call Final Fantasy now but it is so far from what I was picturing and hoped for as a kid.
So basically some JRPGs still appeal to me and others don't and those two game series are the easiest examples of it.

 

[mugurumakensei]

My latest jrpg was Yakuza 7 and its quite frankly the greatest of all time JRPG.

 

[AnimaRize]

It's a 5/10.

I feel that it's a mediocre game that got overhyped after Xenoblade 2 underwhelmed spectacularly, though if it's for $30 I wouldn't outright say no.

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octopath traveler was over hyped do to it being a square enix made sprite based turn based jrpg, a style that they hadn't made a game in for years, xenoblade 2 literally had nothing to do with the hype of that game,

 

[tenisilin234]

It's a 5/10.

I feel that it's a mediocre game that got overhyped after Xenoblade 2 underwhelmed spectacularly, though if it's for $30 I wouldn't outright say no.

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?? er really? majority of the people i see talk about the game love it. the only problem the majority seem to have with the game is the super boring start.