Random thoughts on whatever JRPG you're currently playing?

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Well I am glad more people are talking about how important the graphical presentation of the JRPG battles are with the camera angles and cutscene attacks and such. That was one of my big issues with FF12's boring RTWP combat where the camera is zoomed out and you just see guys do boring MMO autoattacks against mobs, and only ocassionally do a cool cutscene quickening or cool cutscene esper summoning. I think for menu based JRPGs, a lot of the appeal is the framing of the three/four party members off to the side and the big cool overdesigned monster in the middle. It does somewhat look like a cool manga/anime. I like how the Trails series has a cutscene for every skill and magic spell of every party member.

Screenshots

A lot of this appeal is lost in the transition from classical style turn/menu based combat to MMO-esque real time (FF12, Xenoblade) or even straight up action combat. I have been playing FF11 Horizon which is a low APM MMO, and while it does have the camera framing with people surrounding a central monster design, everyone is doing basic MMO autoattacks all at once. FF14 has the camera lockon framing mode, but it is impractical to use because there are so many flashy skills going off at ground level that obscure vision, and AoEs going off that have to be dodged on short notice. And in both FF11 and FF14, for the big mobs you are often looking down at the mob's ankles, which isn't very cool. Or you are zoomed out far away and your character is a little spec buried underneath a sea of visual effects, not very cool to look at either.

 

[Machocruz]

I remember Ardyn and Emet-Selch being pretty well liked and winning franchise character popularity polls, but the circumstances to create household name super massive mainstream stuff like Star Wars or Final Fantasy 7 or Harry Potter or Pokemon is long over.

I was thinking of how there was Squall-mania in the wake of FF8. I was seeing the character and/or his weapon in some form in every entertainment related shop I went in. Action figures, keychains, posters, etc. I don't really see that with any FF characters of the last couple generations, but then I don't go to malls like I used to either, so maybe I'm out of the loop on what has penetrated broader pop culture. It's highly likely that's the case since I had to google:

'that gigantic guy that rides the tiny gimped horse'

I have seen the character in videos though. I'm not aware if any FS characters have become mainstream icons in the way that some FF characters did. I don't set foot in stores outside of supermarkets, department stores (and rarely go to the entertainment related departments), and off-price clothing stores, anymore.

I think that's a higher bar than he meant anyways though. I think he just meant JRPGs in particular have really bland and forgettable characters.

I meant both. Like the guy from FFXVI I don't see being a pop culture or even just vg icon, and he's only one or two degrees less bland than the default male human in the FFXIV character creator. If you told me his name was Hawk or Bard or John, I wouldn't be surprised.

Minecraft most definitely broke through. If Minecraft guy isn't as visible as Mario, he has to be close. I've seen his cubic ass at all the aforementioned places. There can be no question that the game itself, which is the highest selling of all time according to sources, has entered the pantheon with SMB, Doom, Tetris, Pac-Man, etc.

Persona 4 was the last JRPG whose cast of characters stood out to me, who were Square level in that area. The MC was cold porridge, but the rest were vibrant and memorable. I was playing SMT3 around the same time and combined it was just peak JRPGing to me, it's never been that good since imho.