Japanese Developer Enthusiastically Teases Revival of JRPGs

[Tom Goldman]

Japanese Developer Enthusiastically Teases Revival of JRPGs


Imageepoch is sick of people saying that JRPGs are stale and is teasing its upcoming projects as a revival for the genre.

The JRPG as a genre has taken a hit in recent years, with many of the current generation titles considered JRPGs having been received poorly by critics and consumers. Japanese developer Imageepoch evidently plans to change the negative image that JRPGs have with many gamers in what it calls the "2nd Stage."

Imageepoch is known for decent titles such as Arc Rise Fantasia [http://www.amazon.com/Luminous-Arc-2-Nintendo-DS/dp/B001COZFPI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1290020052&sr=8-2]. These games haven't been universally beloved, but the company still believes in the JRPG as we can see in this teaser video.

The video asks if JRPGs are still necessary and if gamers are tired of them. According to Imageepoch: "We do not think so!" The video points out that the term "JRPG" has negative connotations overseas, but Imageepoch rejects that the time of JRPGs has passed. On November 24, Imageepoch will announce 8 games it'll be publishing in 2011 that will apparently be a revival of the JRPG.

The games will likely only be announced for Japan at this time, and will be on a broad range of systems from consoles to cellphones. The company also opened up JRPG.jp [http://jrpg.jp] to prove how dedicated it is to the cause.

I've always been puzzled by the fact that modern JRPGs haven't been able to reach the level of greatness seen in classics from the Super Nintendo and PlayStation eras. Now that technology has improved so much, shouldn't we be seeing even better games than before? Even Final Fantasy XIII [http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-XIII-Playstation-3/dp/B000FQ2DTA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290021032&sr=8-1-spell], the latest from a series that leads the way for JRPGs, was a disappointment by many accords.

This move by Imageepoch could be pure PR spin to gain publicity for its new publishing venture, but I'm looking forward to what it comes up with, and to see if the company can really bring the JRPG back to what it used to be. I mean, they are currently developing a game about spanking demon girls [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102589-Nippon-Ichi-Developing-Girl-Spanking-RPG], so that's a good sign.

Source: Andriasang [http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/11/17/imageepoch_publisher/]

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[mr_rubino]

Don't pander. Don't try to "stick it to" us. Just concentrate on making the game. Else you end up with Daikatana.

 

[For.I.Am.Mad]

I can't wait. I mean it, I can't wait to see their response.

 

[kogane]

I mean, they are currently developing a game about spanking demon girls, so that's a good sign.

Yeaaaah, no.

That aside, Luminous Arc and Sands of Destruction were a lot of fun, and still pretty to look at. Squeenix should take notes.

 

[huigho1215]

A re-imagining might be interesting, I'm intrigued for now. though they may just end up creating trash. we'll see, I'm not letting all my hopes up just yet.

 

[Casual Shinji]

"We do not think so!"

..........................

Somehow this doesn't inspire much confidence.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

I REALLY hope they aren't going to try to tack some mechanics just to please some people who really won't give a shit either way. Just make what you want and try to refine it a good as oyu can, that will show 'em.

 

[Voltano]

"Commercial: Did you get tired of JRPG? We do not think so!"

Uhm, I wonder if those sentences strung together need to be thought out a bit more. I didn't know that someone else has to decide on whether I'm tired of JRPGs or not. >.>

I still find a JRPG that is fun to play: "The World Ends with You", "Etrian Odyssey" and "Rune Factory 3" are fun to play (in my opinion). However I know these are on the DS, and I can't think of any on the consoles that have been good recently.

 

[Tiswas]

XIII's problem was that it tried too much to cater for western folks. Which made it fail.

If they can make Dragon Quest and Pokemon amazing after all these years there should be no reason for the others

 

[Dectilon]

"I mean, they are currently developing a game about spanking demon girls, so that's a good sign."

I don't think you have the same frame of reference as most people. How is that a good sign?

The "did you get tired of jrpg?" followed by the "we do not think so!" suggest they either didn't know what they wanted to say, or this is the same thing as when squenix blamed customers dislike of FF14 on high expectations.

 

[Tim Latshaw]

If they put their money where their mouth is (their yen where their yaps are?), then I'm all for the enthusiasm.

 

[Tom Goldman]

"I mean, they are currently developing a game about spanking demon girls, so that's a good sign."

I don't think you have the same frame of reference as most people. How is that a good sign?

You guys don't want to spank demon girls? What's wrong with you???

 

[ZelosRaine]

I enjoyed Arc Rise Fantasia. I recognize that it was a fairly typical JRPG, though. I'm interested to see what "new" things they are talking about.

 

[sanzo]

I think people just need to stop confusing "JRPG" with "Final Fantasy"

That should solve most of the problems

 

[bob1052]

When a crack dealer tells me how worth-it his crack is, I don't believe them. I'll wait until they arrive or an unbiased source says they are good before I start caring.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

"We don't think so!" Words that trully inspire right there.... JRPGS can be really good, the problem is the only good ones will never be ported to America

Mother 3 do want....