• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Are we in the middle of a 3rd JRPG renaissance?

Z

ZombiePlatypus

Member
SNES and PS1 undoubtedly had some amazing stuff. (Hell, so did PS2), but things dried up after that on the console scene. Now, we're getting/have gotten:

Ni no Kuni 2
Persona 5
FFXV
Xenoblade 2
DQXI
Tales of Berseria
KHIII
Disgaea 5
World of FF
SMT Switch
Fire Emblem Switch
MAINLINE CONSOLE POKEMON
GODDAMN FFVII REMAKE
And other stuff

How do you think where we're at compares? Matching the highs of the previous golden eras or merely just an improvement over the dip from the previous gen?
 
Toadthemushroom

Toadthemushroom

Member
Nah, unless the handheld market magically returns. JRPG output during the era where these platforms were around and overlapping was crazy good:

GBA
DS
PSP
X360
PS3
Wii
PS2

And you could argue the same for the developers/publishers as well. Whether it's due to a changing market or Sega's ownership, it's hard not to argue that Atlus is less willing to take risks nowadays. There hasn't been new equivalents to the likes of Radiant Historia, Etrian Odyssey, Trauma Center and Catherine.

There are still great RPGs coming out, just that the mobile market has essentially eaten a chunk of the output that publishers would have considered pre-2011. Or that publishers have simply given up - last time Konami produced an RPG was when they greenlit a duo of games from Tri-Ace. Likewise Sega has yet to put out another game like Infinite Space or Resonance of Fate. Jupiter hasn't been allowed to work on an RPG for *years* despite finding success with The World Ends With You and Spectrobes. The list goes on.
 
H

halfbeast

Banned
NtXFNSN.gif

sYx4lkd.jpg

h773rPZ.jpg

2590922-3988854157-kqz1p.gif

x5ynn7h.jpg

8873e4657e134bc866ae829b9209c429.gif


(she's bi)
 
W

whyreggielie

Member
Since Xenoblade Chronicles and Last Story, it has certainly felt like the JRPG is on a rise. The bro gen of the 360 days with an endless supply of shooters on consoles is starting to slow down as gamers grow fatigued of annual releases, it almost feels like the PS2 days. Its not quite PS1 level yet, but it is a great time to be a JRPG fan.

Actually its probably one of the best times to be a gamer this last year or two with all the amazing titles that have released.
 
Perfo

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
I still feel the new generations in the West are not really that attracted to Anime and thus JRPGs in general so I'm not so sure anything is going on other than the usual 3 famous IPs bumping interests here and there.
 
S

SatoAilDarko

Member
Pokémon and Fire Emblem have to do with the Switch being a hybrid.

Otherwise everything else for the most part is just the regular console RPG's sequels finally coming out this generation.

I mean you have had regular Tales games for a while, Monolith Soft had Xenoblade Chronicles X and Atlus had Tokyo Mirage Sessions in 2015.
 
P

Pepboy

Member
DrunkShogun said:
I would argue no only because all these games while exciting are all entries in franchises we already know about.
Click to expand...

Ahhhhh! Before I opened the thread I thought "Yes, this is definitely a JRPG renaissance". But now that you mention this, I am very torn. A great time for JRPG fans but probably difficult to embrace it as a "renaissance" if so many are just sequels or remakes.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Nightbird said:
JRPG's were never gone, it's just where to find them that constantly changed
Click to expand...

Hmm...

Maybe true. It felt like they "died" to me in the late 2000s/early 2010s, but I know they just migrated to DS/PSP.

Now they're back on consoles.
 
T

tsundoku

Member
You didn't even list Nier,
You list FFXV and Persona 5 which both do tonnes of cool shit but essentially came out of the pizza oven completely raw and slightly warmer then room temperature

You (hopefully) correctly identified Setsuna as garbage and didn't list it but then you list a Disgaea and a modern Tales game

Then you list three games that aren't out yet ( Pokemon especially which is a series that has been pathetically treading water since its GBA / GCN days)

And you list a port that isn't out yet that should be fantastic if it uses everything good about the FFXV engine/style and everything good about the original's plot / pacing

uhh

Wait until the generation is over?
 
Toadthemushroom

Toadthemushroom

Member
BocoDragon said:
Hmm...

Maybe true. It felt like they "died" to me in the late 2000s/early 2010s, but I know they just migrated to DS/PSP.

Now they're back on consoles.
Click to expand...

Yeah, well, console and mobage. It still isn't the same though, to make a JRPG on console comes with a whole different expectation and some developers or publishers can't meet that in the same way they could before.

Fate/Extra from Imageepoch seems like something that was so far away despite being only six years ago, couldn't see it happening again. Same with the likes of Alfa System's Oreshika and something like Stella Glow (which bankrupted Imageepoch anyway)
 
T

tsundoku

Member
Haven't SMT 4 and Etrian been absolutely killing it lately? Do you want to start listing some more garbage like IOS games like Granblue and Moebius and FEHeroes?
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Toadthemushroom said:
Yeah, well, console and mobage. It still isn't the same though, to make a JRPG on console comes with a whole different expectation and some developers or publishers can't meet that in the same way they could before.
Click to expand...

Yeah, of course I agree that it will never be the same as NES-PS2.

I think a lot of the RPGs that weren't Final Fantasy/DQ/Persona were squarely in the "AA" level of game development, and that's pretty much gone now.

But I'm feeling okay these days. There are a lot of great jRPGs to play on PS4 now. I feel a hell of a lot better about jRPGs than I did in the late 2000s/early 2010s when I worried that they were some 90s thing that the world had moved past.....
 
daninthemix

daninthemix

Member
For me to acknowledge any sort of renaissance you'd need stuff of the quality of Chrono / FF6 / Mana dropping on a yearly basis. That's not anywhere close to happening.
 
Toadthemushroom

Toadthemushroom

Member
BocoDragon said:
Yeah, of course I agree that it will never be the same as NES-PS2.

I think a lot of the RPGs that weren't Final Fantasy/DQ/Persona were squarely in the "AA" level of game development, and that's pretty much gone now.

But I'm feeling okay these days. There are a lot of great jRPGs to play on PS4 now. I feel a hell of a lot better about jRPGs than I did in the late 2000s/early 2010s when I worried that they were some 90s thing that the world had moved past.....
Click to expand...

Yeah, I mirror how you feel really, there's loads of good stuff that I would be happy playing. It's just a shame we aren't seeing more experimental games or riskier projects from publishers in general.

Edit: Going back to OP's list, a lot of the games listed would have been logical titles to happen regardless of the state of the genre. Renaissance is probably the wrong word to use. Feels more like personal excitement to me and that's fine!
 
TheMoon

TheMoon

Member
daninthemix said:
For me to acknowledge any sort of renaissance you'd need stuff of the quality of Chrono / FF6 / Mana dropping on a yearly basis. That's not anywhere close to happening.
Click to expand...

That's been happening (adjusted for reality of current dev requirements). This year alone is ridiculous.
 
B

BassForever

Member
On consoles sure? Last gen many of the great jrpgs were on ds and psp. Look at the first 5 years of the 360/ps3/wii and look at the top 10 jrpgs released during that window. Almost none of those would make a top 20 jrpgs of last generation since so many of the best were ds/psp or came out as cross plat ps3/vita in the past 2-3 years.
 
semiconscious

semiconscious

Member
ZombiePlatypus said:
SNES and PS1 undoubtedly had some amazing stuff. (Hell, so did PS2), but things dried up after that on the console scene. Now, we're getting/have gotten:

Ni no Kuni 2
Persona 5
FFXV
Xenoblade 2
DQXI
Tales of Berseria
KHIII
Disgaea 5
World of FF
SMT Switch
Fire Emblem Switch
MAINLINE CONSOLE POKEMON
GODDAMN FFVII REMAKE
And other stuff

How do you think where we're at compares? Matching the highs of the previous golden eras or merely just an improvement over the dip from the previous gen?
Click to expand...

smh. there were seven shin megami tensei related games on the ps2, alone (nocturne, digital devil saga, devil summoner, persona). seven. once we start getting even 2-3 entries of some series, i might start to consider it a 'golden era' :) ...
 
N

Nohar

Member
SporeCrawler said:
FFXV and renaissance,., yeah sure

also FFVII remake with the gameplay of an action game..
Click to expand...

FFXV was underwhelming, nothing to argue here.

Now, Action-RPGs are a thing, and not necessarily a bad one. There are a lot of good Action-RPGs out there, such as Secret of Mana, Demon/Dark Souls, NieR: Automata, The Witcher and Kingdom Hearts. FFVII being turned into an Action-RPG is a fine choice by me, as long as the gameplay is actually good (FFXV's gameplay doesn't register as "good" for me... and The Witcher 3's gameplay is not that great either, but that game's forte is its story anyway).
So, wait and see. Some people would have prefered for the remake to keep his turn-by-turn (well, ATB) system, and I understand that, but we know that won't be the case. So it is better to drop the issue and hope for the best.
 
P

pbayne

Member
DrunkShogun said:
I would argue no only because all these games while exciting are all entries in franchises we already know about.
Click to expand...

Id agree with this.
There only really seems to be kind of two tiers of jrpgs left. The established franchises that the op mentioned with big/decent budgets. Ad then the low tier, shoestring budget games that Gust, NIS and co put out.

There's not a whole lot that falls in the middle where you usually found a bit more experimentation with the ps2 or ds eras.
 
M

meppi

Member
Having a quick look through just my portable selection of the past 2 generations, I'd make a rather strong case that they never went away actually.

pFNaVH8.jpg
Click to expand...

Just ignore the Yoshi and Kirby game. lol
 
N

Novel Mike

Member
ZombiePlatypus said:
SNES and PS1 undoubtedly had some amazing stuff. (Hell, so did PS2), but things dried up after that on the console scene. Now, we're getting/have gotten:

Ni no Kuni 2
Persona 5
FFXV
Xenoblade 2
DQXI
Tales of Berseria
KHIII
Disgaea 5
World of FF
SMT Switch
Fire Emblem Switch
MAINLINE CONSOLE POKEMON
GODDAMN FFVII REMAKE
And other stuff

How do you think where we're at compares? Matching the highs of the previous golden eras or merely just an improvement over the dip from the previous gen?
Click to expand...
Yeah um... about that...


Ni no Kuni 2 - Not out yet, could be amazing or could be terrible.
Persona 5 - I and many others found it vastly disapointing
FFXV - A rushed out piece of garbage
Xenoblade 2 - Not out yet and certainly doesn't look as good as the previous two games
DQXI - Not out yet
Tales of Berseria - It's one of the better Tales of games we've gotten but its far from great, its mediocre or good not even great.
KHIII - It's not out yet and its quite a ways out the earliest being sometime next year.
Disgaea 5 - It's okay just like all the other Disgaea games are okay but nothing game changing about it.
World of FF - Didn't play it and have seen nothing but mixed feelings about it.
SMT Switch - Again a loooong way off.
Fire Emblem Switch - We know absolutely nothing about it!
MAINLINE CONSOLE POKEMON - Same as above
GODDAMN FFVII REMAKE - Come the hell on, it might come out on the PS5 for all we know.

So yeah no, there are a few good games you listed but of those released none of them are game changers or do anything to make me think that they even come close to the eras we've had previously.

The 16 bit era had some of the greatest RPG's of all time that despite the technology limitations they tried new things and experimented frequently. You had Chrono Trigger trying to tell an epic storyline involving time travel and completely succeeding in all aspects as well as its unique battle system. Then there was the Secret of games which made for some of the best action RPG action you can find even to this day. Then you have the first really huge company crossover with Mario RPG that both its style and gameplay being truly new and exciting. Final Fantasy VI presented a story and a main cast of characters so massive and it tried its hand at having various ways to do battles and giving every playable character a unique ability. Phantasy Star 4 was the first big RPG to really try telling its story through cut scenes via comic book panels which helped bring the characters to life. Shining Force brought the strategy RPG genre to the west long before Nintendo would ever think to bring Fire Emblem stateside, ect.

I don't think any era really compares to that honestly. I think PS2 comes the closest and while PS1 has some truly standout titles I think the PS2 era was really the second great generation.

This generation isn't even close.
 
A

ArkhamFantasy

Member
Novel Mike said:
The 16 bit era had some of the greatest RPG's of all time that despite the technology limitations they tried new things and experimented frequently. You had Chrono Trigger trying to tell an epic storyline involving time travel and completely succeeding in all aspects as well as its unique battle system. Then there was the Secret of games which made for some of the best action RPG action you can find even to this day. Then you have the first really huge company crossover with Mario RPG that both its style and gameplay being truly new and exciting. Final Fantasy VI presented a story and a main cast of characters so massive and it tried its hand at having various ways to do battles and giving every playable character a unique ability. Phantasy Star 4 was the first big RPG to really try telling its story through cut scenes via comic book panels which helped bring the characters to life. Shining Force brought the strategy RPG genre to the west long before Nintendo would ever think to bring Fire Emblem stateside, ect.

I don't think any era really compares to that honestly. I think PS2 comes the closest and while PS1 has some truly standout titles I think the PS2 era was really the second great generation.

This generation isn't even close.
Click to expand...

Chrono Trigger-DQ/FF wannabe that failed with failed sequels, dead series for a reason
FF6-2D game in a 3D era, fail
Phantasy Star 4-Dead game from a dead franchise
Shining Force-Never even heard of it, probably dead though

I really dont think that era you brought up is very impressive, its not even close. I'm obviously joking but its very easy to just write off a game with a simple sentence, you literally wrote off 90 metacritic games without any explanation.
 
S

Strings

Member
I honestly don't think we'll ever match the PS1 or GBA + PS2 eras ever again. Like, you're not wrong in that we're receiving some pretty good RPGs occasionally these days, but they're not at the same absurd level of quality and quantity that they were then.
 
1

120v

Member
depends on your threshold for quality. definitely no shortage of jrpgs these days but they still mostly cater to the niche like the past five or ten years

definitely has been a good go around of solid titles recently. just not renaissance territory
 
N

Novel Mike

Member
ArkhamFantasy said:
Chrono Trigger-DQ/FF wannabe that failed with failed sequels, dead series for a reason
FF6-2D game in a 3D era, fail
Phantasy Star 4-Dead game from a dead franchise
Shining Force-Never even heard of it, probably dead though

I really dont think that era you brought up is very impressive, its not even close. I'm obviously joking but its very easy to just write off a game with a simple sentence, you literally wrote off 90 metacritic games without any explanation.
Click to expand...

I've gone in depth on FFXV and Persona 5 in other threads, I didn't feel the need to write out a long explanation for those as you can see that discussion in plenty of other threads.

If you'd like to see an example heres a recent post I made for Persona 5
 
T

TrutaS

Member
I think japanese companies had a hard time adapting to the need for larger teams and development complexities of bigger games in the ps3 Xbox360 era. As the tools became better and they sorted out their teams and understood their position in the western market, they were able to create the kinds of experiences they wanted, and thankfully the market is responding well.

For me it means I'm interested in games again. For some reason the japanese sensibility really resonated with me when it comes to games.
 
R

redlemon

Member
Nah, some of your examples are really bad like Disgaea 5 since NIS seem much less ambitious that their PS2 days. You don't really see many non-Disgaea rpgs from the these days. The last interesting new RPG I remember seeing from them was maybe Z.H.P on psp.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Switch JRPG's for a WRPG fan
28
2K
Modrot replied
GAFStreetBets | Collecting/Investing games for fun & profit
Business
3
655
U n i o n 0015 replied
The "I survived development hell" club (7 years+) of games.
2
62
7K
Ozriel replied
E3 2021: Xbox has everything to prove, it's time to show off the fruits of its software investments and there's little margin for error
3 4 5 6 7
317
30K
TheThreadsThatBindUs replied
  • Poll
(*)Let's Clear Up Some Misconceptions On PS5 & XSX Specs Shall We.....
2 3 4 5 6
262
22K
solidus12 replied
Top Bottom