Interesting reading, particularly your thoughts on how the genre could be improved. What always fascinated me about JRPGs was that most of the mechanical conventions in the early games basically started as answers to technological limitations (random battles, turn-based combat, static enemies, etc.) and future games basically took what were compromise solutions in many cases (particularly random battles) and sort of enshrined them instead of really trying to refine them.
Likewise for the stories. And the problem isn't just with the high-budget epics. I caught up with someone I used to know back in my more active MIDI sequencing days. He's now writing music for an indie JRPG series called Aveyond. His music was okay, but the writing was what really made me cringe. It was just a shame to see so many great characters just stuck together with nothing really interesting to do. It was like the writer mashed together JRPG storyboards (including the dreaded "get three Jewels of Awesomeness to advance the plot" device). Again, it worked in the past, which is why it gets repeated ad nauseum for no apparent reason.
There's been a minor renaissance in JRPGs in the last few years on the indie market, although the only one I'd recommend hands-down right now would be The Spirit Engine 2. Not quite a classic, but certainly one of the better ones I've seen to come out in the last year or two. Mature tone, engaging characters, nice art (even if the little girls' portraits make them look like they're 40) and an elegant combat system. And I even like the music! Definitely finish your backlog first, but if you should somehow run dry, give the game a try.
Likewise for the stories. And the problem isn't just with the high-budget epics. I caught up with someone I used to know back in my more active MIDI sequencing days. He's now writing music for an indie JRPG series called Aveyond. His music was okay, but the writing was what really made me cringe. It was just a shame to see so many great characters just stuck together with nothing really interesting to do. It was like the writer mashed together JRPG storyboards (including the dreaded "get three Jewels of Awesomeness to advance the plot" device). Again, it worked in the past, which is why it gets repeated ad nauseum for no apparent reason.
There's been a minor renaissance in JRPGs in the last few years on the indie market, although the only one I'd recommend hands-down right now would be The Spirit Engine 2. Not quite a classic, but certainly one of the better ones I've seen to come out in the last year or two. Mature tone, engaging characters, nice art (even if the little girls' portraits make them look like they're 40) and an elegant combat system. And I even like the music! Definitely finish your backlog first, but if you should somehow run dry, give the game a try.
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