you know, I walked into this thread ready to hate IGN for insulting my fav genre but after reading through, I have to agree with them though I'd say that the fans are perhaps one of the reason that JRPGs are somewhat stagnant...they don't want change. Many want FF7 remake instead of new and improved versions of FF.
I thought FFxii's battle system to be new and refreshing and found it to be the only FF where I never got tired of grinding (it was actually fun and painless) but many hated it and clamored for the return of the turn based system. I do think FF has perhaps undergone the most evoluion. They have a female hero now and characters are voiced in the single town they have.
The only part I'd disagree with them is the online component. Not every game needs it. Side quests and dlc can improve replayability and MMOs are there for online RPG enthusiasts. I also generally replay a lot of my fav JRPGs every few months or every year. Replayability doesn' have to be immediate and those online games may lose their online capacity when it counts (just ask EA about how many servers they shut down) so its best not to center a JRPG around such
"Dr. Tenma, according to you, lives are equal. That's why I live today. But you must have realised it by now...the only thing people are equal in is death"---Johann Liebert (MONSTER)
"WAR is a racket. It always has been.
It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives"---Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler
