Can someone summarize to me the appeal of JRPGs?

[e-mailio estevez]

why exactly would anyone dislike JRPGs?

I utterly despise cutscenes.

I have a hard time getting into western "cinematic" games for the same reason.

So much time of playing JRPGs is wasted clicking through completely linear dialogs filled with pointless banter, or watching overly long cutscenes.
I would probably enjoy JRPGs if they all had a button to instantly skip all of that shit and let me get back to the actual GAME.

You're probably thinking of Final Fantasy and the like, but that's not all. JRPG is actually an American label for very different games. See, for example, the Japanese Wizadry and compare it with Linda3:

Linda3 is completely batshit. There's no other JRPG quite like it. There's no other WRPG quite like it. It's a good example of how a lot of JRPGs can be quite subversive when it comes to mechanics, story and everything else for that matter. Your goal is to collect creatures on Neo Kenya to place on a Biblical Ark, and overkilling an enemy causes them to explode- so combat becomes a puzzle the more you progress so that you're not just chunking enemies when you reach higher levels.

It's got shades of Fallout's open-endedness, Majora's Mask's time-based gameplay, time-gated impending doom, seasonal and yearly-based gameplay and completely off-the-map and risky storylines in each scenario. I've played it for the past week or so, completed Scenario A and B and I can certainly tell it's going to be one of those games that leaves a mark for years to come, despite it flaws. Both scenarios reveal subtle information connected to the other if you take the time to engage with every cleverly-written NPC. The world empties out over time as an impending meteor is about to explode the planet and the population is evacuating- and largely no one cares about your mission. A wholly unique experience. I'll write more about it when it's not 2AM in the morning. I guess it took 10 years to translate and I can see why.

 

[Tackle]

Killing God with the power of friendship is an appealing fantasy for some people.

 

[Reinhardt]

friendship

completely alien concept for western developers. friends = homoseggs for them.

 

[Falksi]

Can someone summarize to me the appeal of JRPGs?

The majority is mediocre like in any other genre, but for games that stand out, I would say:

1. Interesting settings; while Western RPGs are mostly about standard high fantasy, JRPGs have either weird mish-mashes of fantasy/sci-fi/steampunk, or add some quirks and twists to familiar settings, even if they do fantasy - it'll feel very different
2. The feeling of grand adventure; I can't explain properly, but they nail the scope better than Western ones
3. Memorable characters

I've replayed a lot of the Final Fantasy games over recent years, and the more I analyze them the more mediocre I feel most of them are in a lot of respects. It's usually tropey Star Wars character line ups going on a jolly to find espers/crystals/mcGuffin to beat an empire of some sorts, usually with baby-easy combat until end-game.

In theory, I shouldn't enjoy them.

But what holds a lot of them together for me and makes them good are their worlds and those settings you mention. Spira, Ivalice, Midgar etc. some of these places are just a joy to experience.

Some entries obviously excel in other areas too, others fail harder, but I definitely enjoy just being in those worlds and environments for the most part.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

usually with baby-easy combat until end-game

smtV is the first jRPG I've ever played that has "challenging" combat and I gotta say I'm not a fan

 

[Nutmeg]

LoT2 hard mode (gotta level yourself down to below the boss level cap to fight 'em) had challenging boss fights. I kinda wish the game skipped the dungeon crap (not that it was bad, it just doesn't add much) and was just a boss rush. Now that's a good idea for a game!

 

[Reinhardt]

Now that's a good idea for a game!

no. without one-shotting weaker enemies from time to time gauntlet run is a slog even worse than having to grind random encounters.

 

[Sergio]

usually with baby-easy combat until end-game

smtV is the first jRPG I've ever played that has "challenging" combat and I gotta say I'm not a fan

Try a run of SaGa Scarlet Grace or Etrian Odyssey if you want challenge. SMTV isn't even harder than Nocturne.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

Can someone summarize to me the appeal of JRPGs?

Did you ever get your answer? It's been half a decade.

 

[luj1]

Did you ever get your answer? It's been half a decade.

Here you go,

For me it's just easy adventuring.

Yeah I think I'm beginning to understand what JRPGs are about now...

Easy laid back adventuring, light hearted tone, basic themes such as friendship, love or heroism, relaxing linear gameplay, etc.

EDITED to add: simplicity, emotional investment

I think after 5 pages I can say that people seem to like 1) the simplicity of these games, and 2) their relaxing tone/stories.

Sure Ogre Tactics has amazing combat but most of them don't.

Clearly a lot of the appeal is centered around simplicity and infantilism

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

TBF a good game is a good game. The genre or who made it is irrelevant. Not all JRPGs are infantile, simple, or cozy, although those things are not uncommon. I think the best JRPGs don't usually feature those elements. Like with all vidya, the further back you go in time the better the games are. For example, Fear & Hunger is a masterclass JRPG, Survival Horror, immersive sim hybrid. It's not even Japanese.

 

[luj1]

It's just not my thing

 

[Nutmeg]

It's just not my thing

Did you try Fire Emblem 7?

 

[luj1]

Did you try Fire Emblem 7?

Of course not. What's special about it?

 

[Nutmeg]

Did you try Fire Emblem 7?

Of course not. What's special about it?

Everything, but mainly good, challenging combat (after a few intro missions and on higher difficulties). Just try it out for 1 hour and see what you think. Feel free to skip past "dialogue" it's not that important.

 

[Cat Dude]

I think the main reason some people prefer Jrpg is because they think this ugly abomination is not very appealing at all. Wtf is this? In Skyrim you only can either make your character look ugly or too ugly.

 

[GamerCat_]

Clearly a lot of the appeal is centered around simplicity and infantilism

Do you believe film is infantile?

Did you try Fire Emblem 7?

Of course not. What's special about it?

Everything, but mainly good, challenging combat (after a few intro missions and on higher difficulties). Just try it out for 1 hour and see what you think. Feel free to skip past "dialogue" it's not that important.

The point of Fire Emblem, and JRPGs in general, is to be multimedia anime. If you aren't capable of getting invested in a cast of pretty people with colourful hair these games aren't worth the time. If you love smashing abstract numbers together for optimal results go download Tactical Nexus. It's free.

I think the main reason some people prefer Jrpg is because they think this ugly abomination is not very appealing at all. Wtf is this? In Skyrim you only can either make your character look ugly or too ugly.

I actually really like how Gothic looks. Classic video game graphics world. It's primarily ugly because you're in a shithole mining region surrounded by convicts. The tones are earthy, the shapes are big and fundamental, every has clear visual definition and focus. There's something fundamentally appealing about a game that looks like this, even if it's not beautiful. The definition and solidity of big sharply defined 3D object game worlds pleases me. The opposite of the impression I get looking at visually noisy detail-bleed UE5 chaos. The above image is the impressionistic opposite of Killing Floor 3.

 

[Nutmeg]

The point of Fire Emblem, and JRPGs in general, is to be multimedia anime. If you aren't capable of getting invested in a cast of pretty people with colourful hair these games aren't worth the time

No sorry the Fire Emblems I have played are very much so worth the time of anyone who likes tactics gaming but does not care for anime character tropes.

If you love smashing abstract numbers together for optimal results go download Tactical Nexus. It's free.

1. Every game is free and paying for games is unethical.

2. There can be more than one enjoyable game made on the principle of "smashing abstract numbers together for optimal results", in fact it's a whole (sub)genre with many worthwhile entries for its fans. My fellow countryman and friend here likes Knights of the Chalice, as do I, but he doesn't like JRPGS, so I recommended him a gateway game to the SRPG sub-genre, and an approach to playing them that might help him uncover worthwhile games underneath any unappealing anime dressing.

I am not even going to get into numericist vs more discrete schools of design for this genre, but suffice to say if you wanted to bring up a game that takes the core design of Fire Emblem to the absurd, you should have picked Into the Breach, not furry Disgaea.

 

[GamerCat_]

The point of Fire Emblem, and JRPGs in general, is to be multimedia anime. If you aren't capable of getting invested in a cast of pretty people with colourful hair these games aren't worth the time

No sorry the Fire Emblems I have played are very much so worth the time of anyone who likes tactics gaming but does not care for anime character tropes.

You can play them just that way, but I don't think Kaga would agree that's the point. Genealogy of the Holy War got a manga adaptation. There's an anime of the original. These things are meant to be epics incorporating video game elements. Primarily the tension and drama of sudden random death cutting threads short.

If you love smashing abstract numbers together for optimal results go download Tactical Nexus. It's free.

1. Every game is free and paying for games is unethical.

2. There can be more than one enjoyable game made on the principle of "smashing abstract numbers together for optimal results", in fact it's a whole (sub)genre with many worthwhile entries for fans of that genre. My fellow countryman and friend here likes Knights of the Chalice, as do I, he doesn't like jarpigs, so I recommended him a gateway to japtacticals and an approach to playing them that might help him uncover a worthwhile game underneath the unappealing dressing.

I am not even going to get into numericist vs more discrete schools of design in this game but suffice to say if you wanted to bring up a game that takes the core design of Fire Emblem to the absurd, you should have picked Into the Breach, not furry Disgaea.

Every game is free I agree. Primarily this is about what's reasonable for time and personal gratification. And I think if you like the tactical game of Fire Emblem you'd probably be better served by a purer experience, but I also understand there's no perfect tactical form. You can enjoy Fire Emblem for the tactics game, but I think it really comes together if you like the whole thing.

And Into the Breach kind of bored me. Surely there's a better example.

 

[Nutmeg]

but I think it really comes together if you like the whole thing.

Definitely but OTOH if you like Japanese pop culture style characterization and want to interact with these characters you have better choices than Fire Emblem. Last year I played through Tokimeki Memorial and Sakura Wars. Both were p. good. You can add TitS to this list and I have heard other people I trust say good things about Growlanser (I forget which one) and Persona 3 as well.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

The point [JRPGs in general], is to be multimedia anime. If you aren't capable of getting invested in a cast of pretty people with colourful hair these games aren't worth the time. If you love smashing abstract numbers together for optimal results go download Tactical Nexus. It's free.

This is a massive reductionist take. Not all JRPGs are not meant to be multimedia anime. Not all JPRGs or anime feature pretty people with colorful hair. You gotta appraise each JRPG or anime on its own merits.

 

[GamerCat_]

but I think it really comes together if you like the whole thing.

Definitely but OTOH if you like Japanese pop culture style characterization and want to interact with these characters you have better choices than Fire Emblem. Last year I played through Tokimeki Memorial and Sakura Wars. Both were p. good. You can add TitS to this list and I have heard other people I trust say good things about Growlanser (I forget which one) and Persona 3 as well.

Yes Fire Emblem is also not something I'd primarily recommend on those elements. It really is if you're into all of it coming together in one. I like a lot of bits and pieces of Fire Emblem, but would never recommend any of them just as VNs or whatever. Probably they are more justified as purely game experiences than on everything but the game. Hmmm, maybe it depends game to game. Soren might be my favourite Fire Emblem character, but I still probably can't recommend his games just on that strength. They're kind of boring and drab.

The point [JRPGs in general], is to be multimedia anime. If you aren't capable of getting invested in a cast of pretty people with colourful hair these games aren't worth the time. If you love smashing abstract numbers together for optimal results go download Tactical Nexus. It's free.

This is a massive reductionist take. Not all JRPGs are not meant to be multimedia anime. Not all JPRGs or anime feature pretty people with colorful hair. You gotta appraise each JRPG or anime on its own merits.

Well yes, I did say in general. Some of these Japanese developers are insanely autistic and love their game systems. Great thing about Japan is that even if it's that kind of production, it'll still look pretty and be basically compelling by default because of the thorough integration of video games into broader pop-art and culture. Tactical Nexus is Japanese. It was made by guys who were really crazy about a few obscure western dungeon crawler premises. They made their own way more technical spin. But it's also prettier, just because it's doing typical Japan stuff. Great basic graphic design and appealing kemo characters. Allegedly it has a story, friend told me he found their site. I still need to look into that.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

You know the jRPGs which are mainstream with animu graphics, linear storyline etc. i only enjoyed when drunk/stoned.

But now since I am sober, something like Etrian Odyssey would still be enjoyable while being a "jRPG".

 

[luj1]

... would still be enjoyable while being a "jRPG".

I think Vagrant Story and King's Field are okay in this sense for me.

 

[luj1]

It's interesting that the two people advocating JRPGs in this thread (with really poor analogies) are called "Cat Dude" and "GamerCat". There is always something wrong with you lot.