Why do you like JRPGs?

[Cowboy Karimov]

As in "standard" JRPGs, a la Shin Megami Tensei, Final Fantasy(or really anything by Square besides Front Mission and a few others), you get it. I could never get into them. I find them boring, and they drag on too much. The battles many times boil down to mashing A. I find non-battle sequences to be pretty pointless. The problem is that I don't like either the battles or the walking in between them. Why do you like JRPGs?

[Refa]

Front Mission isn't a JRPG. Also because of the feeling of progression in a meta sense that comes from building up a team of people, which when combined with some interesting world building (and hopefully a greater impetus to explore the world) and sometimes even an interesting plot in addition too generally pretty good graphics and great music makes for a great game, which is the ideal that all games in the genre strive towards.

I feel like this question is dumb though, because obviously the answer for most is going to be "Because it's fun, no duh." If you don't like them, then oh well, I doubt someone is going to change your mind...

[Aizenberg]

i only know of jrpgs

the mother series is one of my favourite game series of all time

Edited February 6, 2014 by Aizenberg

[Silver Lightning]

Because they're fun! I love the deep stories and well developed characters they usually have, the music is usually great as is the battle system, and I like settling down for a long adventure. For me, they're like reading an interactive book. And I love this genre for everything that is listed combined. But I suppose they're not for everyone.

[Anacybele]

I think Fire Emblem is the only Japanese RPG I play (unless Pokemon counts), but I really like it because of the medieval theme, the deep stories and characters, and the simple yet fun gameplay. :3

I would try others, but I don't know of any besides Final Fantasy (which has yet to gain my interest) and Shin Megami Tensei (which I hear is based heavily on religion and such, a topic I find extremely boring).

Edited February 6, 2014 by Anacybele

[Narga_Rocks]

Most that I've played aren't just mashing A though. The ones that are I quit, usually. Even things like FFV has messing with the job system going for it and if all you are doing is mashing attack then you aren't playing nearly as effectively as me. Generally the dungeons are short enough between save points that you can spend all your mana to one round most of the random battles and then boss fights have actual strategy and buffing is useful and junk. Now, at points random battles is like "use strongest summon with weapon/armor that boosts that element and watch stuff die" but you can't mash A to pull that off. There's a memory thing in there but I forget how much it remembers about your cursor. Maybe you could just mash A for some battles, but if it's remembering your summon and you encounter a random battle that can be defeated with regular attacks, you are wasting mana if you summon again. so...

But yeah, have you tried FFV?

[Refa]

I think Fire Emblem is the only Japanese RPG I play (unless Pokemon counts), but I really like it because of the medieval theme, the deep stories and characters, and the simple yet fun gameplay. :3

Pokemon counts more than FE...

[Anacybele]

Okay, then both Pokemon and FE. :P

But FE still has RPG elements. Leveling up, customizing your characters (sort of), stuff like that.

[Refa]

Well, it's an RPG (a Simulation RPG if you live in Japan, a Tactical RPG if you live anywhere else), just not a JRPG.

[Narga_Rocks]

Ana: "They" generally use JRPG for games where your characters line up 3 to 5 beside each other and the enemies line up out there and you select an attack to either hit one or all the enemy and then the characters and enemies take turns going out and wacking. Sometimes it's turns like FF1 where everyone gets the same number of turns regardless of speed, and in each "round" speed affects the turn order. Sometimes it's like FF6 where your speed can mean you get more or fewer turns compared to other units. Sometimes like C(h)rono Trigger and Skies of Arcadia the enemies and characters move around in a 3D panel and certain area attacks can hit more enemies based on where they randomly ended up. I don't think the tales of games count as JRPG because they should be action RPG. And FE is more Strategy/Tactical RPG than JRPG like Refa said.

Not sure why JRPG can't just be RPGs from Japan, but whatever.

Edited February 6, 2014 by Narga_Rocks

[Refa]

Tales Of is pretty much a JRPG with a nontraditional combat system, really. Also JRPGs can't be RPGs from Japan because it would create a distinction that would have no purpose considering Japan can make pretty much any type of RPG out there.

[Anacybele]

Well, okay, but as you say, I still don't get why we can't simply call any RPG from Japan a JRPG. xP

[Icon of Sin]

jRPGs were excellent in the mid nineties, but since then I've felt wRPGs have become better competiton with games such as the Elder Scrolls series or even hack and slash games like Diablo.

[Cowboy Karimov]

Front Mission isn't a JRPG. Also because of the feeling of progression in a meta sense that comes from building up a team of people, which when combined with some interesting world building (and hopefully a greater impetus to explore the world) and sometimes even an interesting plot in addition too generally pretty good graphics and great music makes for a great game, which is the ideal that all games in the genre strive towards.

I feel like this question is dumb though, because obviously the answer for most is going to be "Because it's fun, no duh." If you don't like them, then oh well, I doubt someone is going to change your mind...

I know that Front Mission is a TBS/tactical RPG like the FE series. Also, thanks for the answer. That's what I wanted to see.

[LuxSpes]

Silver Lightning pretty much said it all in my case(I especially like the 'interactive book' bit)

Most RPGs present an incredible world to explore, filled with characters and following an engaging story. I personally like reading fantasy books and most RPGs feel to me as if they allow me to get involved in stories and world similar to what I might find in a book.

For the gameplay part, I like to be able to see the character grow more powerful and the potential for customization the genre has. I have no problem with turn-based combat and enjoy quite a bit the challenge and strategy it can bring(in fact, the removal of turn-based combat in Super Paper Mario was the main reason why I considered it inferior to its predecessor).

This doesn't mean I don't like all RPGs that don't have turn-based combat and a lot of recent, highly praised RPGs used a different approach regarding combat(Xenoblade, The World Ends With You, The Last Story) that I really enjoyed(Xenoblade is probably my favorite RPG, followed by Paper Mario The Thousand Years Door). And while I have only played one game in the tales series(TotAbyss for 3DS), I quite enjoyed the active combat system and the world building in it(not to mention the character development).

[Aizenberg]

what exactly is a non JRPG then?

[BrightBow]

I guess the reason I like them is because JRPG's are a lot more "RPG" then most games on consoles.

Most of the time, the will have an actual party and put a lot of emphasis on a story.

The battle system tends to be a bit dull to be sure. But a party system like in Baldur's Gate is probably hard to pull of when you don't have access to a mouse.

But nevertheless, it's not like they never go beyond an turnbased "Attack, Attack, Heal, Attack, Attack, Heal" scheme

Games like Chrono Trigger, Tales games, or The Last Story found their own way to develop past the outdated Final Fantasy I standard.

Edited February 7, 2014 by BrightBow

[RJWalker]

Pokemon is the only JRPG I enjoy. I like Western RPGs more but even then it's hardly my favourite genre.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Ranger Jack Walker

[Roivann]

Well, okay, but as you say, I still don't get why we can't simply call any RPG from Japan a JRPG. xP

It's because of the style of developing, not necessarily the location. Western developers can make JRPGs, and Eastern developers can make WRPGs. Extra Credits on YouTube has a good video series about the topic, if you're interested.

[Knight]

I'm not too fond of many JRPGs, unless a unique spin is put on the game to make it entertaining. Such as grid-based combat or little creature collecting.

[Tamanoir]

Well... As far as I know, there isn't a lot of WRPGs on handleds... (And most WRPGs are more Action-RPGs anyway, so they aren't really my things (Tales of desn't really counts here, because there is a different screen for battles).

RPGs really allows to develop a world and characters and makes them growsy, actually.. That was one of the part I like the most about Trails in the Sky, actually.

I don't really like Random Battles, and prefer system a la Tales of Innocence or late DQ titles (DQIX and the Jokers). Once you try a different method, you realize it's definitely the worst.

Playing FFIV : TAY recently made me see again all the interresting things you can see with ATB (Especially the boss battles).

I also like SRPGs, but they tend to be rarer...

I came to thinks a lot about how RPGs are made when I started working on RPG Makers for my projects who is undefinitely reported.

[Soledai]

Basically what Refa said, you're either gonna like 'em or not. I like them for the stories they have the potential to tell, the characters that have a story to tell and how they tell that story, whether it's tragic, awe-inspiring, or loathesome. An aside would be the music and the atmosphere, though none of these are limited to RPGs.

Shin Megami Tensei (which I hear is based heavily on religion and such, a topic I find extremely boring).

...Heavily based... on religion?

That is heavily incorrect, religious themes, sure. Demons based on religious figures, sure. A pious group of devouts, sure(aka Law route).

The only SMTs that are religious, to an extent, are SMT2 and Strange Journey(which isn't that way for most the game).

[Anacybele]

...Heavily based... on religion?

That is heavily incorrect, religious themes, sure. Demons based on religious figures, sure. A pious group of devouts, sure(aka Law route).

The only SMTs that are religious, to an extent, are SMT2 and Strange Journey(which isn't that way for most the game).

Whatever, it still doesn't sound like something that would interest me. xP

[peener weener]

jrpgs can have pretty great plots but can also be painfully formulaic too. also, the dialogue/writing itself in jrpgs i've generally found to be pretty bad on average, which i guess is something i've noticed of all japanese writing, where they tend to go for exaggerated, recognizable speech patterns rather than realistic dialogue, and i prefer the latter. characters can be fairly one-dimensional, too. despite all that, the narrative is a pretty important part of jrpgs.

one of my favourite games of all time is a jrpg though, namely paper mario: ttyd. imo genuinely funny, engaging, and fun as all fuck to play. so yeah. sometimes they're just plain fun to play, and if that's not your thing, that's cool.