The Beauty in JRPGs
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- I lovingly talk about my favorite genre in gaming, role-playing games, especially the ones that populated the genre, the Japanese Role-Playing Games.
Music by: Aso - Sun in My Face
twitter: / jackvalete
Western RPGs is more about living the world and the lore with custom characters and personal choices while JRPGs focus more on companionship and party interaction with a scripted story similar to playing a anime also they have more memorable music.
tales of berseria start was amazing for me huh.
Abraão Mitichon Yeah. I feel like they missed the point of Berseria’s intro. The character development is there you just don’t know it at the time. The climax of the beginning was hype AF and actually has quite a bit of lore building if you talk to NPCs
this is rly good vid
+BinaryDood thanks, man!
This video deserve more views and like. You got a new subscriber
speaking of which,ever heard or played legend of heroes trails in the sky and cold steel?
+Freddy Martinez no but I do plan to, have heard good things about it.
What makes a great JRPG?
*Visuals*
- Not exactly equivalent to graphics but they need to be appealing or charismatic to say the list. It may vary on the aesthetics of characters to its world.
*Music*
- This is a must for almost all games and sadly compromised by many developers these days for generic J-pop music or just cringy dubsteps.
*Characters*
- They don't need to be BL or fap materials, but they need to make an impact with the gamers. One of the best female JRPG characters didn't need scantly clothes to appeal to their audiences (See Celes and Chris Lightfellow)
*Story*
- This is a given for any JRPG game. With a good pacing, players can actually enjoy the plot and characters motives personally. Story is good if for example, you want to happened to character X, or happy that you managed to beat/save or see character y, etc.
*World*
- One of the biggest strength of the genre. Usually, its vibrant and full of color and personality, in contrast to WRPGs which most NPCs are just your bland copy paste of each other or just plain uninteresting.
*Mechanics*
- Most JRPGs are turn-based.But in today's market, you need some interesting mechanics. Sakura Wars, for example, use the system called "LIPS". I forces you to make a choice quickly after having a conversation with a character during non battles. Unable to make a decision can lead into a worst case scenario. Another one is Legend of Dragon that requires more than just pressing X in combats. You need to be precise to create longer combos.
*Satisfaction of challenge/reward*
- Lots of games today have put an emphasize towards "depth". But many of these developers fail to put satisfaction or sense of achievement into equation. They'd put you into dreadful list of boring sidequest that you can see in MMO games, like kill this, or collect that with unsatisfying reward. Nobody can feel anymore accomplished by defeating Ruby Weapon, getting a secret skills or magic and collecting all the pokemons.
Nice one I agree with you :). While I like turn based combat, jrpgs definitely need to make cambota more interesting to keep players engaged and interested in the battles themselves. Thanks for the comment :)
1:46 - I want to thank you SO MUCH for mentioning this part about Japanese role-playing games!
I don't know why I didn't encounter you until recently, but between this and your Dragon Quest video, I immediately added them to my *History, Influence & Appeal of JRPGs* playlist (I'll add the link below) and subscribed to your channel:
ua-cam.com/play/PLHSNUF-1KCOlBwUggitffKeFASS3KqdL5.html
And you're right. It's something I've realized for a while now when creating my playlist. Lots of people who are turned off by most JRPGs partly chalk that up to their visual aesthetics and how they're very anime-like. But it's as you said, that's what makes JRPGs what they are and NO ONE else except for you has explicitly expressed this. It's why whenever you see the credits for any JRPG, the character designer is among the first to be credited. So I really appreciate that you said this.
Btw, you wouldn't happen to know of any good videos about the Megaman Battle Network series, do you? I've never gotten around to playing any of those games so I didn't even know they were JRPGs until now.
+Hypeathon Thanks a lot for the feedback! I've seen a bunch of videos on jrpgs and didn't see anyone talk about this specific point, so I decided to make a video about it glad to see you notice that. That's a very interesting Playlist I might check it out. That's very interesting, I love the Megaman battle network series and I've played all of them . I'm going to make a video about it, because like my of my other videos I looked for videos on it and haven't found someone talking about the things I was thinking, barely anyone has talked about this series. I advise you to play them they are really cool.
Great editing you need more views!
You know what we haven't seen? a 16-bit JRPG inspired by Japanese mythology, not even a setting in edo japan.
Eden of the East. Never released outside Japan though.
No mention of Xenoblade Chronicles or Xenosaga? Baten Kaitos? Come on man.
I Loved this video. I love how JRPGs deal with fantasy. Fantasy in JRPG doesn't have a limit. I'm starting to get bored of Tolkien-based fantasy (not in books though), since a lot of games look similar, with the sceneries, monsters and characters looking alike. But in JRPG we have flying ships that goes to the moon to fight a somekind of demigod that doesn't look like any western monster; we have martial artists in the same world as dragons and swords; and summons; and all the examples you gave in the videos! and much more!
Previous generation of JRPGs was weak, except in 3DS, but they coming back with Ni no Kuni 2, DQ11, Persona, Yakuza, and in general Japanese are getting the hang back again.
"martial artists in the same world as dragon"
...& how is that unique?
Also, do you have any idea how crazy D&D monsters get?
Amazing video man :D also what song is used in the background
+PKmeloa thanks for the feedback! The music is sun in my face by Aso
PKmeloa what’s the name of the song intro song?
Wow, no love for Xenoblade Chronicles here. If you've played those, it's surprising to find no mention of them here since they apply directly into this discussion here. If you haven't played them, you cannot consider yourself to be a JRPG connaisseur. It would be like claiming to be a superhero movie expert without ever seeing The Avengers.
Sure, I'm a fan, but I really believe Xenoblade is the JRPG savior the people who never played it dream of having.
+Valynis thanks for the comment but I don't agree with your point here. The avengers and probably the dark knight are the most popular comic book movies ever, comparing xenoblade chronicles to that just doesn't make sense to me, final fantasy or dragon quest fit that comparison better. Especially since it was released for the wii, it just doesn't have that big an audience. I would like to play it but since it's for the wii I probably won't. This video is for the entire jrpg genre, some games are just gonna be missing.
The comparison of The Avengers and The Dark Knight to Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy is poor at best. DQ and FF would be more like Christopher Reeves' Superman or, for a more modern exemple, Bryan Singer's X-Men: Movies / Games to establish the genre. The Avengers or The Dark Knight didn't establish anything: they applied the conventions of their genre in a near perfect manner, which is exactly what Xenoblade Chronicles did. It's not about how popular it is: it's about how good it is. (Oh, and it's not like XC is that obscure: plenty of people rave about it.)
What's wrong with the Wii anyway. I'm sure that, nowadays, you can find a WiiU for pretty cheap, buy the game in the online store and enjoy the best the genre had to offer in the latest years. I mean, if you're serious enough about JRPGs to make a video, those steps shouldn't stop you. Why make videos if you're not commited enough?
Yeah, that last sentence is too harsh. You can make all the videos you want. Just don't expect to be taken seriously if you show huge gaps in your curriculum.
+Valynis I get your point, still can't agree with. The impact the dark knight and the avengers had in the industry can't be understated. The fact that everyone wants a shared universe is statement of that, I just don't agree xenoblade chronicles had that same effect on jrpgs. And I do think the game is good, I'm just in this position now that I have to argue against it. The problem with the wii and wiiU is just that small install base, most rpgs are in PS, Xbox, pc and handheld having to buy one more console, that doest seem to have the best third party support is a little much. You might have missed the point of the video. It's not about how much I know about jrpg or me trying to brag about knowing so much. It's about what makes a jrpg different from other rpgs and what's special about them in general. It's not about commitment, I don't do this full time if I did, I would probably find a way to play it, but I don't . If it's so good than it would deserve its own video and maybe it does. And I just don't think xenoblade chronicles is so important to the genre that me not playing means my credibility is shot. Even I don't give that status to a lot of jrpgs I love.
You know what? I think I identified what has been bugging me so much about the absence of Xenoblade Chronicles in your video. When you say all the things that JRPGs do great, I'm like XC did them the best, why isn't he talking about it? Of course, ignorance excuses a lot in your case: you haven't played the game. So I'm like Why hasn't he played it since he cares enough about the beauty of JRPG to make a video about it?
And we come to the big rift between our two point of views: you go about it on a popularity basis, on the cultural significance, on the impact on the mass. Even your arguments against my points illustrate that. Realizing that, arguing against you would just be pointless because I go about it from the opposite angle: the quality of the game itself, its impact on the individual player itself. I have my own experience, of course, but also all those other players who shared their experience on diverse let's plays and message boards. To me, this is the kind of impact that's important to consider, because it's the kind of impact real art has. It also explains why the fact that the WiiU has no third party support is the most insignificant thing to say. If you tell me that the best, the most accomplished JRPG is an exclusivity of the (fictitious) Tigerclaw console, and it is actually the only Tigerclaw game in existence, and I get to a point where I trust your opinion, I'm gonna find a way to play that sucker. Because the truly great games don't come as often anymore and when one shows up, I don't want to miss it.
In the end, you and I are just coming from different places. To help illustrate how different I see things from you, I'll go with this final thought: Although you're right about the impact of The Avengers and The Dark Knight being great, there is no superhero movie in existence right now that equals the excellence of the impact of Xenoblade Chronicles had on the JRPG genre, as far as I'm concerned. That's my take on it. You're not going to agree. I understand. Let's move on. (unless you have something interesting to propose, in that case, I'm all ears.)
+Valynis i get your point. This discussion was interesting. I ended up researching xenoblade chronicles more to understand your love for the game. Even if I disagree with some of your points, if I ever play it someday you will have influenced me. In terms of the wiiU thing, that was just me stating why I never even considered buying one, I just couldn't justify buying one maybe in the future. I do understand your point. It might be interesting to do a video on the game one day. Nonetheless thanks for the comments.
really well made vid! whats that clip @ 2:59?
Psycho-Pass, fantastic anime. Do check it out if you've never seen it.
Awesome, thank you
JRPGS are not getting worse, JRPGS' fans on the other hand are getting more spoiled than ever...
I've seen so many people complaining about the new entries in big series like Final Fantasy or Tales of and the complains were all basically about how JRPGS are changing and are not anymore how they used to be (and, oh God, for how long they "used to be the same)...
The problem is that the core fan base of JRPGS is made of people that grow old playing videogames, therefore nostalgia is setting in and every games they play now is judge through the lens of "it used to be better"... They are basically becoming the sterotypical old guy talking about how good it was back at his time...
That being said, im not saying some of the new titles have disappointed me, but im trying to be as objective as possible and not making nostalgia playing a role in my judgement, being more than 2 decades im playing JRPGS now... For example after replaying FFVIII and playing FFXIII i have to admit the plot from the XIII was way more mazy and complex (and arguably better), but since it was conveyed through somewhat cringey dialogues at the beginning and the game was linear (plus the gameplay was totally changed), FF's fans proceeded to trash it to the ground without giving it a proper try... i still like FFVIII more but its because it hits me right in my inner child's feelz....
I see where you're coming from but I disagree. I'm young and I only played the old jrpg a few years ago and I can definitely say there was time turn of the century to 2012/2013 that jrpgs were just in a bad place. Western rpgs were thriving with mass effect, dragon age, the witcher, kotor while a good jrpg was really tough to find. Now they are back in my opinion but they had a hard time getting used to modern game design no doubt about it. Thanks for the comment.
I Agree.
JRPG fans are living too much in the past, there is a lot of great JRPGs out there, but it looks like that every game now days need to be at least a 9/10 to be recognized;
FF8 is garbage, of course FF13 looks like a masterpiece compared to it
Dude, I'm currently playing XIII and the narrative is amazing. They shaped the entire game around the storyline, just so they could tell the stories of the characters they way they wanted. Yes, the gameplay may be lacking, but the plot and setting make up for that. I think it is up there with IX and XII when it comes to storytelling.
If you play Jrpgs during the snes/ps1/ps2 era you can see that they were trend starters where each game has unique designed characters and battle system and settings now they tend to lack creativity and only stick to what works and won't take any risk to innovate the genre they see waifu selling so every JRPG now a days is about waifu and fan service they are no longer appealing to the general but focus primarily for otakus.
I low key didn't like dq8 start but it was a good game
Not a fan of JRPGs because they often have teen protagonists with really weak plot compared to something like Witcher series or Deus Ex and turn based combat does not appeal to me.
BUT this video is gold, made by someone truly passionate about JRPGs. Hats off to you, mate.
Ha, bullshit. Go play Xenoblade Chronicles, Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, Nier Automata & Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey.
Great video insta sub xD
+Ryujin Thanks man, welcome. More jrpg content incoming.
Heres the issue with JRPGs. 89% game experience only happens in your head. I really do agree with the critics. Boring stale stationary turn base number crunching logistics isnt the most compelling experience. Breath taking sets of moving music, stylistic animation, deeply visual, colorful elaborate artistic extravaganza. And a spider web plot thats more ambiguously undefined with triple context with no closure. And... Thats about it... Dark Souls and BloodBorn have been providing growth to dynamic engaging Japanese entertainment. Dont let anybody knock your love but face it, innovative advancments are needed. DarkSouls isnt the answer but it is definitely a significant move towards genuine high quality Japanese gaming. People love challenges and deep rpg experiences IF done right. Aka learn and grow do it better. Improve. Jrpgs are just a little unrefined and neglected. I want to like jrpgs. But they haven't been too compelling or convincing despite their face value impressions. They're just a facade.
+TO- ACPRO- IW thanks for the comment! For the most part you're right.and I mentioned it in the video. Jrpgs aren't what they used to be and they need to evolve with the times. But they have been doing so. The persona series, ni no kuni, dragon quest are fantastic jrpgs, that feel modern and that don't have spider web plots and that have combat systems that are not about number crunching (not every turn based combat is that way) that said turn based combat isn't for everyone. They have been evolving slowly but they are getting there. I don't really call dark soul type games jrpgs they are kind of far from the genre, but if you want to count they are an example of innovation too. Even final fantasy is doing so with with ffxv. Yeah its slow because they kind a list their identity for a while but are definitely on their way back. The tales is consistent and usually good and doesn't have a turn based combat and fire emblem is great too., plus Zelda. Jrpgs are on the right track.
"89% of the game only happens in your head" So... like DnD? I'd like you to elaborate on that. It seems that you are saying that JRPGs are defined by some characteristics that dont necessarily need to be apart of them. For example, if they were to come back, I would not like for a single JRPG to have random battles or an ATB.
TO- ACPRO- IW Jaq of Thoughts explained it well enough, I will agree somethings you have said are true but as someone who became a true fan of JRPG starting from 5 years ago and during those short years I have played many and only a couple represent what you have said, yeah JRPGs are not for everyone but you can't think that they are not evolving and not giving interest when games like Persona, Xenoblade, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Tales of, etc. are giving a good name to them.
Most of the game happens on the screen, whether it's a puzzle, an exposition filled cutscene, or a big bad.
The difference between jrpgs and wrpgs are the protagonist. Western games are usually open and grounded in reality.
In jrpgs, the goal is to beat the final boss. In skyrim, the goal is to explore. Jrpgs chain you to the plot, and the good ones make you interested.
Your viewpoint is one of ignorance. How can you possibly judge a genre as a whole based on a few experiences? I've played one srpg: Xcom. Despite disliking it, I do not dislike all srpgs.
Persona 5 was a traditional JRPG, and was the best game of all time. thats where jrpgs should move too imo