Dragon Quest IX Not a JRPG, Says Producer

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I really hope it doesn't go with Western Style Character building as that I personally find is the biggest flaw in WRPGs.

 

[Grey_Focks]

Okay, I'm confused....who is this supposed to appeal to? JRPG fans are going to hate the sound of this, and people who don't like JRPGs (myself included) are all pretty much gonna say "bull-shit" and still not buy it.

And here's betting there is still grinding. If JRPG makers want to make their games less "JRPG-y" I don't see why removing the grinding isn't always the first step.

 

[brunothepig]

Well, I would have been picking this up anyway, but that does sound good. I like Oblivion, and Western RPG's more than JRPG's, so I like this idea. Still...

Dragon Quest IX was released in Japan in July 2009 and sold over two million copies in its first weekend. The game is due to be released in the US on July 11th, and in Europe on July 23rd.

And presumably in Australia some time next year. So I won't get to see this game for a while...

 

[Stabby Joe]

They really want this game to sell in the West, I doubt he has said this to the Japanese audience...

 

[GloatingSwine]

Okay, I'm confused....who is this supposed to appeal to? JRPG fans are going to hate the sound of this, and people who don't like JRPGs (myself included) are all pretty much gonna say "bull-shit" and still not buy it.

Allegedly not being a JRPG doesn't appear to have impacted DQ9's sales in Japan, where at four million copies shifted it was the highest selling game of 2009.

 

[FROGGEman2]

So the whole freedom of choice thing that western rpgs are about? Yea, thats not here...

The best Western RPGs are about that, but even then only to a point. More often than not, the choices you're given tend to be little better than window-dressing or superfluous in modern games.

Of course, it's your choice whether or not you want to consider Oblivion or Diablo true RPGs.

But it's that pointless and ultimately meaningless meta-scenery that defines WRPGs. It isn't that you can actually mould your world, it's the illusion that you can... for in what RPG can you actually affect anything? The fact that a wall explains that you cannot move further is soothing, as opposed to an invisible barrier. The end result is the same, but it adds another layer to the experience.

 

[Andronicus]

I enjoyed Dragon Quest VIII, so I might think about getting this. I'm not going to get too bogged down in the argument about what defines different RPG's, but I will nonetheless be interested in seeing exactly how Ichimura's intepretation of a WRPG affects the formula.

Besides, Famitsu gave it 40/40, so it must be good, right?

 

[AboveUp]

Uh, oh... The whole reason I still loved Dragon Quest is because it stayed true to itself and didn't change, unlike Final Fantasy.

I'm not against change, but the whole reason DQ was fun to me was that instead of changing everything, they simply added and improved what was already there.

I don't think I really like what I'm hearing either. It sounds like they're alienating their already large fanbase for one that's not even going to look in their direction.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Uh, oh... The whole reason I still loved Dragon Quest is because it stayed true to itself and didn't change, unlike Final Fantasy.

Dragon Quest has changed quite a lot over it's history. It doesn't radically reinvent everything every time, but they've never been afraid to experiment with new gameplay ideas.

 

[zombie711]

I herd that there is an open world so thats kinda western

 

[Jared]

Im looking forward to giving it a go, and testing that claim for myself. Should be fun at least

 

[LeonLethality]

Does it have: a non linear story or that at least makes sense, characters that don't look like 10 year old kids, non turn-based 3 character party combat and a game world that makes sense?

If it has any two of those, it's an RPG, if not, it's a JRPG.

mmm final fantasy 4...

a non linear story OR one that at least makes sense... Check, it makes sense.

Characters that do not look like 10 year old kids... check, they do not look like little kids.

does not have turn based 3 player combat... Check, there are 5.

A game world that makes sense... Umm, makes no more sense than something like oblivion so check.

Hey guess what guys, unacomn has just found out that final fantasy 4 is not a JRPG! What an amazing system you have thought up of.

I love you for this post. Yay for making people eat their words!

 

[For.I.Am.Mad]

They always say this.

When did they say this before?

A lot times when a Japanese developer brings over a game you see a little news blurb where 'Such and such says they developed game with westeners in mine.' then it has such and such quoted saying 'When we were making this we really wanted to focus on the western audience. It's not really a JRPG in the traditional sense, really.' They did it for FFXIII.

 

[SpaceMedarotterX]

Frankly Dragon Quest innovating is newsworthy period. It's fucking Dragon Quest they became a phenom by making the same fucking game (literally I might add) 7 times before they gave the license to Level 5 who went "Okay how about we do something new."

I'll definitly give it a try, but seriously the first 7 DQ games can go burn in a fire, A story can only carry something so far.

 

[Timbydude]

Ugh, I'm so tired of stupid little genre wars. I don't care what it's called. I loved Persona 3 AND Mass Effect, even though it's apparently forbidden by law to appreciate both JRPGs and WRPGs.

If it's fun, I will play it. I really couldn't care less what genre it falls under. Steve Butts had a good point last week.

 

[lionpaw16]

there right its an MMOJRPG