As far as I'm concerned, HD and stunning graphics are detrimental to the J-RPG genre (and adventure games in general, but that's for another day) in terms of exploration and possibly content. Square Enix has shown us that if a company spends 5-6 years on a RPG like Final Fantasy with one of the main focuses being making a beautiful game, the end result is a Final Fantasy game more linear than bloody FFX.
The way XIII turned out, I can't honestly see Versus being the expansive experience gamers expect it to be. Square even said that it would take something like 10 years to remake FFVII with all of it's content.
Square Enix unfortunately, may have set the home console's standard a little high. The Wii and handheld systems however, which aren't HD capable, can make much bigger games with much more content, like The Last Story and Xenoblade with their reported acres of explorable lands and bustling towns.
Surely gamers now are too accustomed to games looking pretty, and won't settle for decent looking RPG's which have much more content? it sounds silly, but I've had friends laugh at FFVII and refuse to play it, and they were like that with more recent games too.
Final Fantasy XIII is what it is, but will Square, or anyone else for that matter be able to make a profitable RPG with immersive lands that doesn't look as stunning as XIII, and satisfy their fans? Final Fantasy XIII sold as much as it did on name alone, but what chance will any other game series have without that kind of leverage?
Bear in mind, however, that I am not trying to say that no J-RPG can survive on the HD consoles. Atlus RPGs can thrive here, as they tend to be more condensed, less focused on you taking that great hike from one area to another (though some do), and instead focusing on story and interaction with NPCs and party members, with a town map to navigate through.
So, where do you think JRPGs of the kind I am talking about can go from here? Can they really survive on home consoles with the graphical standard that has been set? Will they have to radically change the formula in order to give some kind of pseudo-freedom that will satisfy the older generation of RPG gamers? Is large-scale exploration in RPGs dead?
The way XIII turned out, I can't honestly see Versus being the expansive experience gamers expect it to be. Square even said that it would take something like 10 years to remake FFVII with all of it's content.
Square Enix unfortunately, may have set the home console's standard a little high. The Wii and handheld systems however, which aren't HD capable, can make much bigger games with much more content, like The Last Story and Xenoblade with their reported acres of explorable lands and bustling towns.
Surely gamers now are too accustomed to games looking pretty, and won't settle for decent looking RPG's which have much more content? it sounds silly, but I've had friends laugh at FFVII and refuse to play it, and they were like that with more recent games too.
Final Fantasy XIII is what it is, but will Square, or anyone else for that matter be able to make a profitable RPG with immersive lands that doesn't look as stunning as XIII, and satisfy their fans? Final Fantasy XIII sold as much as it did on name alone, but what chance will any other game series have without that kind of leverage?
Bear in mind, however, that I am not trying to say that no J-RPG can survive on the HD consoles. Atlus RPGs can thrive here, as they tend to be more condensed, less focused on you taking that great hike from one area to another (though some do), and instead focusing on story and interaction with NPCs and party members, with a town map to navigate through.
So, where do you think JRPGs of the kind I am talking about can go from here? Can they really survive on home consoles with the graphical standard that has been set? Will they have to radically change the formula in order to give some kind of pseudo-freedom that will satisfy the older generation of RPG gamers? Is large-scale exploration in RPGs dead?
