Support NeoGAF

[Firenze1]

I mean, Japanese developers has made western like rpgs and action games. Why is it so hard for western devs to make something similar to Final Fantasy?

 

[kadotsu]

Anachronox had that as their mission statement.

 

[TheMoon]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_Light

 

[Arzehn]

Secret of Evermore?

 

[Ghost Rider]

What about that one for the og Xbox?

 

[TissueBox]

Therr's a couple in the indie scene, but as for AA/AAA counterparts, not many I believe.

 

[notaskwid]

A lot of times.

 

[gngf123]

A number of developers have, particularly indies. Look up Cosmic Star Heroine for example.

 

[lightskintwin]

Plenty of Western Devs have made "JRPGS".

Just recently you have Cosmic Star Heroine and Lab Zero's upcoming Indivisible.

 

[tim.mbp]

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

 

[CoolBatteryCharge]

Cosmic Star Heroine

https://store.playstation.com/#!/en...oine/cid=UP0707-CUSA03167_00-ZEBOYDCSHFG00001

 

[Revolutionary]

Didn't one just come out a few months ago? Hyper Light Heroine or something.

 

[Nugg]

Tons of small studios did it. There's Edge of Eternity being developped by a French studio right now for example. Child of Light from Ubi also had some jrpg inspirations

 

[requiem02]

LOTR: The Third Age is the most notable in the AAA space.

 

[lazygecko]

Several times. I remember there was one back in the PS2/GC/XB era, and I distinctly remember reading a magazine preview for it where the developer spent a lot of time berating CRPGs and how boring he thought they were compared to Japanese ones. I can't remember what the game was called, but apparently it wasn't received that well critically.

There was a LotR RPG from EA that appeared to be taking a lot of cues from Final Fantasy as well. The Third Age? Likewise this didn't review well either.

Stuff like Charles Barkley's Shut Up And Jam Gaiden should also count.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Zeboyd Games and Toby Fox immediately sprung to mind.

 

[RinNowaru]

Septerra Core and Sudeki

 

[2+2=5]

Sudeki is an example, i loved it but i think i'm one of the few.
Well i loved it for the fps elements with the mages so i can understand why jrpg fans didn't like it..

EDIT:
How could i forgot Septerra core?

Silver too, it was a FF7 clone IIRC.

 

[Fat4all]

Final Fatasy

 

[Celine]

Anachronox had that as their mission statement.

And it was awesome (despite the dull combat).
Too bad it was cut short due to budget constraints.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes.

 

[Mivey]

So would that require them to first move to Japan? I guess they could just make a shell company in Japan and use that, but I think that would violate the spirit of the requirement.

 

[hidys]

Undertale?

 

[Lork]

So to answer your question: yes, several.

The earliest one I can think of off the top of my head is Septerra Core, but I'm sure there are even earlier examples.

 

[Ladekabel]

Anachronox like in the first post. Zeboyd's Cosmic Star Heroine and Cthulu saves the World come to mind. I think Earthlock is a "jrpg" by a swedish developer. And that Battlesomething published by THQ Nordic coming soon, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_Light

God, that game was so boring.

 

[Celine]

Another few:

Silver (action RPG influenced by japanese RPG)

Black Sigil (inspired by SNES RPG):

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

Rainbow Moon?

 

[Dark_castle]

If we count indies, the list is endless.

If only mainstream developers count, there's Sonic Brotherhood, South Park, Child of Light, and other examples previously listed.

 

[george_us]

Perfect time to plug Cosmic Star Heroine by Zeboyd Games. Great JRPG-style game made by a western developer.

 

[Celine]

Shadow Madness

 

[silva1991]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_Light

Came to post this. Great game.

 

[Wolf Akela]

Lord of the Rings: Third Age is basically an LotR-themed FFX.

 

[Gormless Noodle]

So would that require them to first move to Japan? I guess they could just make a shell company in Japan and use that, but I think that would violate the spirit of the requirement.

Guess that's always the debate isn't it. Some purists say that JRPGs can only come from Japan where others say it's more it's own style of game that doesn't require them to be made in Japan.

I personally think these games are so distinct in their way of doing things that I believe the latter is more appropriate. But opinions will differ as always.

 

[Firenze1]

If we count indies, the list is endless.

If only mainstream developers count, there's Sonic Brotherhood, South Park, Child of Light, and other examples previously listed.

Yeah i am thinking more of mainstream devs.

 

[Finaika]

Final Fatasy

Is it because they're fat?

 

[Alej]

Child of Light by Ubisoft.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Is there anything that sets a "jrpg" apart from a normal rpg other than art style and maybe setting?
When making a thread like this it would be nice if you could specify a bit what you are looking for in particular.

Does Child of Light count as a jrpg because of how the battle screen looks?

 

[AerialAir]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_Light

This. Though a Ubi game and short, it's a fantastic game set in a well written fantasy setting with very good gameplay and progression mechanics.

 

[Dr. A]

Battle Chasers: Nightwar

 

[NEO0MJ]

The Harry Potter games for the GBC played a lot like Jrpgs.

 

[texhnolyze]

There's a lot, with Septerra Core being my first western JRPG.

 

[Rygar 8 Bit]

south park

 

[Crayolan]

Haven't played it, but Cosmic Star Heroine looks like a classic JRPG to me.

Undertale takes inspiration from a bunch of different Japanese series, which makes it feel a lot more like a JRPG than a WRPG.

 

[Wallach]

First thing that came to mind was Septerra Core. Unfortunately one of the things they took from JRPGs was to make the combat sloooooow. Seemed like it might have been interesting but I didn't last long trying to slog through those fights back then.

 

[_Legacy_]

Oh my God, I completely forgot about Silver! What a game

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

Anachronox is very JRPG inspired.

 

[TheMoon]

Silver too, it was a FF7 clone IIRC.

I played Silver.

No.

 

[GunBR]

Is there anything that sets a "jrpg" apart from a normal rpg other than art style and maybe setting?
When making a thread like this it would be nice if you could specify a bit what you are looking for in particular.

Does Child of Light count as a jrpg because of how the battle screen looks?

You don't have so much freedom to do what you want and a big focus on the main story? Probably a JRPG
Anime characters and tropes? JRPG
A big group of characters and between them a bigger focus in friendship than love? JRPG
A classic turn based system or a fast combat system in real time? JRPG
And many other things

Except for a few games (Dark Souls is one that is always called jrpg and not-jrpg by a bunch of different people) It's not so hard to see what looks a jrpg

 

[KDR_11k]

Lots but I think Anachronox stands out from the pack by being mechanically like a jRPG but not looking or sounding like a lame imitation of one. Also the writing makes it hold up even as the graphics and such aged.

Unfortunately a crazy bugged mess and the unofficial patches can only do so much but still worth fighting through all of that.

 

[Strings]

God, that game was so boring.

As a counterpoint, I'm still super bummed a full-length sequel hasn't been announced. Game was rad.