Scoobes on 12 January 2010
| klystron said: I agree with some points. My biggest gripe with JRPGs of late is the lack of world maps and exploration. I don't mind a linear story but don't make me walk in a straight line for 5 screens to get to the next point. (I'm looking at you, FFX. In fact, I'll be skipping FF13.) Even Rogue Galaxy and Grandia 3 felt restrictive (despite Grandia 3 having a world map of sorts) because you were always limited in these tiny little maps inside a much larger area. I don't need a huge wide open world like in Oblivion (which got boring to me after a while because there is no character growth) but don't make me feel like I'm playing a story. Let me play an adventure. As for battle systems, I like the Tales games the best. Fighting never gets old and I always smash buttons through every random encounter. I just love it. My favorite series by far, despite the cliches. What attracts me most to JPRGs, and I think I mentioned this in another topic, is character development. We always have the same overall plot. Small conflicts reveal a larger one and someone wants to destroy the world so it can be reborn. Fine, whatever. I like how JRPGs give you a taste of a character's motives and past. Finding out more is what motivates me to keep going. That's what I really like. Western RPGs have no sense of real character development. It's all handed to you up front if you even play a character with a story. Bethesda's games just have you playing someone with no story, and the character never gets one either. Just my $0.17 ($0.02 adjusted for coming inflation.) |
If you want character development you may want to give Planescape Torment or The Witcher a go. Unlike other Western RPGs where you build a character from scratch and you give him your own motivations, the main characters in those 2 have deep rooted motivations with deep and involving storylines. The other thing is that the story is more original than in most RPGs (both J and W variety).
