Does anyone else here like JRPGS?

[Totenkopf]

If you consider FF and KH I & II as jrpgs then yes.

 

[stiborge]

I love some JRPG's. Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, Dragon Quest 8. I never actually played Chrono Trigger or Earthbound (I was a bit young when they come out but I would love to go back and check them out.) Infact, i'm just now taking a break from playing Final Fantasy XIII to come and check up on some Yahtzee/Developers Showdown. I do get a bit tired of grinding though.

 

[Darth Pope]

I just like RPG's in general. Final Fantasy and Baulders Gate for the win.

On a separate note, am the only one who doesn't care if a game is linear? Games that go down a straight path tend to have tighter narratives I've found. (Bioware being the exception.)

 

[Fensfield]

Me!

Mostly for the fact I've never seen games with more character development than my favourite JRPGs. Suikoden series, Grandia.. their Western counterparts always seem more focussed on being epic than being deep, be it in story or characters. Bar perhaps Final Fantasy, characters and story have a tendency to come first (though I realise that's perhaps why some people hate them). For Western stuff, I usually find FPS games have the depth thing down instead

That said, though, Bioware's games have shown a nice trend toward trying to develop truly enjoyable story and characters, so I'm not saying it's all one side..

Do Visual Novels come into this, I wonder? 'Guess not, likely..

 

[Wizco]

I am quite the Dragon Quest fan.

Most JRPGs I just stay away from. But every now and then, the occasional Baten Kaitos Origins, Golden Sun, or Dragon Quest V will come along to brighten my day.

I like all my games to be lighthearted. No angsty heavy blah blah Final Fantasy crudskies. I like the JRPGs that make you feel like the story was written for the player, instead of the other way around. Case in point, my favorite Final Fantasies are III and IV.

If you prefer your JRPGs with some humor in them, try Shadow Hearts: Covenant. It has so much humor in it that the only way to take it seriously is as a parody of JRPGs. The combat system is original and the plot is so hilariously overdone it's like nothing you have ever seen(one of your party members is a gay vampire professional wrestler who talks like a he got rejected from a super hero audition and another member is Anastasia Romanov... yes, that one).

Essentially it's what you would get if you took a history book, combined it with a JRPG plot and added in the Lovecraft mythos (Lovecraft is even a minor character in the third installment of the series) and a massive amount of references and homages to classic horror and literature.

Except for being so totally historically incorrect it became a joke in itself (or is that what Lovecraft Mythos means, don't really know the term - call me stupid if you want)

Spoiler

I personally laughed the most at that huge ring-tower and with the homosexual Lawrence of Arabia being into your fortune telling lass.
The two doll designers were also wicked awesome.

I played this game so often...
Ahh, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, where would I be without you?

 

[Sakurazaki1023]

No kidding, I've given up playing any Fantasy WRPGs because I find the one click combat to be even more boring then even the worst turn based one. They also tend to use the "Tolkien" setting way to much...

Although Fallout 3 and Mass Effect have interested me...

Western-style RPGs which (off the top of my head) I have played on my 360 within the last year;

- Fallout 3
- Mass Effect
- KoTOR
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Oblivion
- Mass Effect 2
- Penny Arcade: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness episodes 1 & 2

Now, of that list, games which use one-click combat;

- Dragon Age: Origins. Kinda. Unless you use magic or talents. I guess you could play the game only using one-click combat, but be prepared to die a lot.

WRPGs have plenty of reasons to rag on them; the recurring Tolkien theme doesn't really count as the man pretty much defines Western fantasy nowadays, but I get your point. It does get repetitive. However, one-click combat is not really a major problem of the genre.

Fallout and Mass Effect are the obvious exceptions, but from what I played of Oblivion (~5 Hours), the first person hacking was a minor improvement at best. It still didn't help that most of that time was spent wandering around a sewer killing rats and watching my 360 glitch (happened twice). I've got nothing against them, I just don't enjoy them...

 

[Burst6]

Yep. My favorite is Tales of Vesperia

 

[robinkom]

I'm a J-RPG fan of the 8-bit/16-bit era. I found that there was a lot more mystery and wonderment to them when America didn't get so many or know so much about the real versions of ones that were hit the with the localization stick. It doesn't matter to me that they were not faithful to the source material. Localized, they WERE the source material.

The classic Phantasy Star franchise is my favorite above all others (The original on the SEGA Master System and the 3 sequels on the SEGA Genesis). It's definitely a series known amongst fans (or "Phans") for having 2 distinctly different continuities depending whether you're playing the Japanese or English versions. Makes for a fun debate with fellow fans as well. Plus, in it's day, it was a pioneer of the fantasy/sci-fi hybrid style. Often imitated, never duplicated.

As far as Final Fantasy goes... it's I, IV, VI, and VIII for me (especially VI). No, I don't like FFVII. Don't spew any fan-tard vomit on me, please. I don't want to hear it.

Chrono Trigger and Shining Force I & II are some other favorites of mine.

Modern J-RPG's are hard to stomach. It's the same games from the early-90s... just more of them. They never change.

Resonance of Fate is a nice breath of fresh air though away from the cliche high-fantasy settings.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

There are actually quite a few JRPG fans, they just don't talk much because we know they're good.

Actually, we don't talk much because haters are such an irritating breed and we don't want to provoke them.

I Love me some Mother.
That should tell you everything.

The Mother series is truly one of the best RPG series of all. I know people that dislike JRPGs that still love the Mother series. Goes to show you don't need sex appeal and pretty graphics to make an excellent game.

Even Yahtzee has admitted to liking Earthbound on the SNES. Yeah, surprised the hell our of me too.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Fallout and Mass Effect are the obvious exceptions, but from what I played of Oblivion (~5 Hours), the first person hacking was a minor improvement at best. It still didn't help that most of that time was spent wandering around a sewer killing rats and watching my 360 glitch (happened twice). I've got nothing against them, I just don't enjoy them...

Fallout is built on the same engine as Oblivion. The controls are mapped pretty much the same, too. When using a melee weapon in Fallout you need to pull the trigger every time you want to swing it, the same as in Oblivion. Just like Fallout, Oblivion has ranged weapons too, except that they take the form of magic spells or bows & arrows rather than guns.

Having said that, I can concede that Oblivion's first few hours are terribly dull. The first time I played, I got about 4 hours in and just quit. Too many caves, sewers, dungeons etc. Once you get past that though, you find an incredibly immersive gameworld with so very, very many things to do.

 

[Sakurazaki1023]

No kidding, I've given up playing any Fantasy WRPGs because I find the one click combat to be even more boring then even the worst turn based one. They also tend to use the "Tolkien" setting way to much...

Although Fallout 3 and Mass Effect have interested me...

Western-style RPGs which (off the top of my head) I have played on my 360 within the last year;

- Fallout 3
- Mass Effect
- KoTOR
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Oblivion
- Mass Effect 2
- Penny Arcade: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness episodes 1 & 2

Now, of that list, games which use one-click combat;

- Dragon Age: Origins. Kinda. Unless you use magic or talents. I guess you could play the game only using one-click combat, but be prepared to die a lot.

WRPGs have plenty of reasons to rag on them; the recurring Tolkien theme doesn't really count as the man pretty much defines Western fantasy nowadays, but I get your point. It does get repetitive. However, one-click combat is not really a major problem of the genre.

One click combat hasn't been a problem since the mid 90s, where have these people been?!. I think JRPGs need a real kick up the arse if they are ever to evlove past their achetype, i hate to sound like all those other doucebags but... well i am one of them. They are stuck in a rut, they are more focused on spectacle, pomp and genrally taking themselvs WAY too seriously for games with (genrerally) such silly stories and themes.

Maybe it's just Final Fantasy syndrome but every time i try to play a JRPG i run into the same walls. Those walls being the characters, the combat, the plot and especially the dialog and tone. It's an aging format and one i hope we can soon resign to the histoy books of roleplaying much like one click combat (although torchlight is an awful yet addictive game)

Way to sound exactly like Yahtzee...
Final Fantasy is a JRPG, but all JRPGs are not Final Fantasy...

 

[tzimize]

I used to, but I think I've just outgrown the stupid storytelling and idiot characters. FF9 was the last FF I enjoyed (Vivi was AWESOME).

Relatively dull gameplay with ENDLESS inventory lists...its just not entertainment.

 

[Logic 0]

I'm a JRPG fan to my favorite is FINAL FANTASY TATICS.

 

[ethan22122]

i like jrpg's, I find that they are a pleasant change from fps and rts.

 

[The_Decoy]

Yeah, I have much love for RPG's, both J and W.

On a separate note, am the only one who doesn't care if a game is linear? Games that go down a straight path tend to have tighter narratives I've found. (Bioware being the exception.)

I can see your point, but I much prefer the freedom of being able to wonder off course, it adds alot to games for me. Creates the feeling of a living, breathing world rather than a large series of corridors.

 

[yankeefan19]

Yes and my favorite is KH2

 

[tklivory]

I love RPGs (although, oddly enough, only Jade Empire from the BioWare side). Give me anything based on the D&D rules (which even the FF games are based on, albeit in an obscured fashion) and I'll go there.

Fave games:
Wild Arms
Magna Carta
Lost Oddysey
Shadow Hearts (1 more than 2, but I love 2 as well)
Various FF installments (and anyone who says they are all alike obviously hasn't actually played all of them)
Various Tales installments
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga & Devil Summoner (not so much the Persona series)

On the western side, i love me some Baldur's Gate, Dungeon Siege, Might & Magic, and Diablo.

BTW, has anyone tried out Resonance of Fate yet? Looks intriguing...

 

[Theron Julius]

I like to play the occasional final fantasy in between the hours and hours of sniping terrorists or the endless time spent in MMOs. It reminds me that I'm an actual gamer, instead of a shooter crazed idiot like the majority of my peers.

 

[Bloody Crimson]

I'm getting a bit tired of this sites hatred for jrpgs. Are there any jrpg fan here including Final fantasy?

I love JRPGs. Even more now because I tried to play Oblivion and honestly was not impressed. Now if Fable or Fallout can change my mind it'd be a balance...

 

[The Heik]

I'm getting a bit tired of this sites hatred for jrpgs. Are there any jrpg fan here including Final fantasy?

I generally don't mind, them, and some of them are among my all-time favourite games. But I'm a trigger-happy dude, and I'm rarely satisfied without something being blown up repeatedly.