Faxanadu said:
I actually just played Ys for the first time on the DS and am surprised how much fun it is. I heard of it back then, but I guess it was never released in Europe - just like 95% of all JRPGs back then. Zelda I would count as dead as well, as the shift to 3D has totally changed gameplay and hence its not the same anymore. |
Just like with Mario, for a while Zelda had 2 versions going. The 3D 'console' version and the 2D 'handheld' version. However, with the DS, they for some reason decided to forgo that tradition and switch the handheld games to the 3D style as well, though still resembling the graphical style of the previous 'older' games (like Link to the Past, Link's Awakening and Minish Cap). It all has to do with the style, which is trying to mimick Wind Waker. And it works, as the games are selling millions.
| Jumpin said: The JRPG genre is much more diverse than a lot of people give it credit for. I don't think Final Fantasy is a good representation of how JRPGs as a general genre have been going. The series which leads it is Dragon Quest, if Final Fantasy does something viable for all games in the genre, some will follow, if Dragon Quest does it, everyone follows. The Dragon Quest games, I have heard people describe as being 99.9% the same as one and other; though this usually comes from people who have not played them before, or have only played one of them. The games look similar in art style, and have similar monsters, and battle systems; but overall, the games are very different: DQ1 - 1 player DQ2 - 1 player with two allies DQ3 - 4 Party based, and a class system (while FF1 came out a few weeks earlier, DQ3's direction was probably known before development began on FF1) DQ4 - Chapters which follow different stories of different characters which all link up to each other. DQ5 - The game follows the life of a character from childhood to an older age, you can select a wife, have children which fight with you. |
Examples based on Dragon Quest fall on deaf ears. Mostly because hardly anone has played the series. Or because the only major point of reference beyond the series is Final Fantasy. But yes, I agree. While the series is often pegged for being 'more of the same' by western players and even moreso by reviewers, it is actually the complete opposite. It is actually one of the most unique JRPG series out there and paved the way for many of the staples of the genre. People just consider concepts or the games themselves 'repetative' or 'formulaic' because for many things, Dragon Quest invented those formulas and systems. And in many games, it also broke away or even shattered those same conventions that later JRPGs went on to emulate.
Its just that most people outside of Japan have only seen the very surface of the series and made their judgement based on that. I know, I did that too. Before actually playing the games....
Six upcoming games you should look into:
