• 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?

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
No. We are, however, in the middle of a Japanese game renaissance, and some of those games are JRPGs. The Japanese renaissance is multi-factor, with established franchises getting series-best acclaim, quality breakout hits, the comeback of Nintendo, and the re-stabilization of the mid-tier.

The fact is, for a true JRPG renaissance to happen, Final Fantasy needs to hit its single-digit heights of quality again (I liked XV, but the last truly great FF was XII), a serious burst of new IP needs to happen, the low-budget scene needs to start releasing better and more experimental games, and
a Yoko Taro Final Fantasy even if it's a spinoff.

I agree with pretty much every sentence in this post. Yes to the spoiler. I want that.
 
What opinion? The transition between SNES and PSX in terms of the JRPG genre? What death do you think existed there exactly, based on your comments I'm not sure I'm following you at all at this point. You want to say something is a rebirth simply bc it wasn't even possible (or barely possible) on previous generations? I'm talking about a genre not whether or not it was represented in 2D or 3D.

No, because if I were saying that, it would apply to platformers as well, but Mario 64 didn't resuscitate platforming as the genre was alive and well prior to it. On the other hand, the jrpg was in a coma in the west before FF7 revitalized it, hence rebirth or renaissance, then other JRPGs followed suit. Someone had mentioned Chrono Trigger and Mario RPG. The reason Square collaborated with Nintendo was to create a crossover hit that sold in the West because their games weren't selling up to expectations here. But anyway, I see this back-and-forth is contingent on semantics and our separate definitions on what constitutes a renaissance so I'll move on from this.
 

Szadek

Member
I get that many peoplw want a new age JRPG, but it's not only unlikely, it's alsounnessary.
The genre is a good spot right now and since these game are like 40-100 long, we don't need that many great ones every year.
 

Lindsay

Dot Hacked
We're getting lotsa rpgs an have been for some time! But for me personally we're lacking in new all-time classics. I've liked a buncha rpgs I've played in recent years but none of 'em so far have fallen into the "hyped ta replay an talk about for years to come" departments.

I get that many peoplw want a new age JRPG, but it's not only unlikely, it's alsounnessary.
The genre is a good spot right now and since these game are like 40-100 long, we don't need that many great ones every year.
Thats kind of a bad thing imo. I think the Trails of Cold Steel games coulda been classics but the thought of replaying a 60+ & 80+ hour long game scares me right away! Games like those and Persona 5 (from what I've read people say about it) have nooooooo business dragging on that long. Waaaay to much needless blah blah blah dialogue in 'em. They've managed ta make Xenogears dialogue seem concise and to the point o_O
 
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?


It's way to early to see. Of those games, many of them are not even out yet, so they can not be held to that kind of standard.

Of the ones that have released, I have only played ffxv, disgraces 5, and persona 5, and the demo for world of FF. Out of those games, I would only consider Persona 5 to be at that level.
 

GLAMr

Member
CRfnRN8.png
I've had a rough few days. My friend's sister died, my newborn baby is destroying my sleep and I had to get my dog euthanised yesterday. But this image really made me laugh. Thank you.

I like to say that we are entering a silver age of JRPGs. SNES/PS1/PS2 was the golden age. That's not to say last gen sucked for jRPGs, they just tended to fade into the background a bit on console while flourishing on handheld and getting a foothold on PC. If we just had a few more good turn-based JRPGs, I would be happy
 
lotta those games are yet to prove their renaissance-worthiness

But isn't that just a reality of the business side of the industry today. New IP are more risky ventures.

The mere fact that the stated list in the OP are actual games that have been funded and will release is enough for me to agree with the OP.
 
No. We are, however, in the middle of a Japanese game renaissance, and some of those games are JRPGs. The Japanese renaissance is multi-factor, with established franchises getting series-best acclaim, quality breakout hits, the comeback of Nintendo, and the re-stabilization of the mid-tier.

The fact is, for a true JRPG renaissance to happen, Final Fantasy needs to hit its single-digit heights of quality again (I liked XV, but the last truly great FF was XII), a serious burst of new IP needs to happen, the low-budget scene needs to start releasing better and more experimental games, and
a Yoko Taro Final Fantasy even if it's a spinoff.

Hmm, yes and no - Japanese adventure games had a renaissance during the DS era but seems very much dead nowadays, Japanese survival horror games are also very much barely shambling along. If we're talking merely JRPGs, fighting games and Action games from Japan on console then yes, it's far better quality than last generation but aside from that? Ehhhh.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
I don't think JRPGs have gotten any more or less popular since the SNES days. What's been fluctuating over the last decade is the popularity of games like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts -- two of the only JRPG franchises to break out of niche status. Outside those two franchises and Pokemon, JRPGs today are pretty much as niche as they've always been, Dark Souls and Persona maybe a little less so.

The only thing that really changed between last gen and current gen is more JRPGs are coming back to consoles.
 

Madame M

Banned
I want a new Grandia or Chrono or Final Fantasy Tactics or something, a revival of the classics is what the renaissance is about
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Not until we get a Phantasy Star 5, Skies of Arcadia 2, a non mobile Breath of Fire, a Suikoden 6, a Wild Arms 6, and some brand new IPs...
 
Top Bottom