Would simply mean we are one step closer to the death of the JRPG. (Perhaps "fall" would be a better word.)
This isn't unlike what happened to the WRPG: the west realized there was a "trend"(lol) to third person shooters, first person shooters, and action games. So they stopped making WRPGs/SRPGs(the same thing honestly) and started making those type of games. The gap between those who will play strategy games and those who will only play action games is increasing at a constant pace as gaming becomes more mainstream. (Japan's trend would be be action games with Monster Hunter connectivity.)
Most people(evidently a lot of NeoGAF) won't miss Final Fantasy if it goes down this route because Square Enix is not very interested in making deep(smart) strategy games. This has made people in gaming media tired of the series, of the genre, but they can hardly explain it properly. SE caters to an audience that specifically want broken, shallow games and made their business out of getting the idea across that mechanics(with challenge) doesn't matter as much as story/atmosphere(it worked, now Uncharted, Heavy Rain, LA Noire, FPS, etc have taken over that task) and also don't matter as much as the lesser pleasure of making your character stronger(it worked, now MMOs, FPS, and every other genre have taken over that task). When it comes down to it, people would rather play a dumb action game over a dumb strategy game. They would also rather play a game which is purer and drug-like when it comes to character progression, not just a means to an ends for a single-player game. It seems for a large chuck of slightly smarter gamers, the ones who post on NeoGAF, would rather play a great action game over a dumb strategy game.
Really, how funny is it that a great action game developer(From) created a great action game(Demon's Souls, Dark Souls) and people are in a confused frenzy over what it is simply because they've come to hate a mediocre/bad strategy game developer(SE) who creates mediocre/bad strategy games(Final Fantasy)?
If the day comes where the JRPG meets the fate of the WRPG, then I'll be sad. They have such weird mechanics and systems that I wish it knew how to utilize properly. You get games like FFXIII with level caps and the focus put on combat instead of progression/preparation and it gives me hope. It might look like a baby step, but it is a significant one because it turns the whole thing around essentially, a step in the opposite direction. Combined with a game of complexity like The Last Remnant or even a hard mode(with a harsher SRPG-style grading system), and you could have something really worthwhile.
Whatever, I'll be sadder when they stop making SRPGs altogether. On the other hand perhaps that will be the end of Tactics Ogre/Final Fantasy Tactics broken nonsense which poisoned the well at least.
Aeana said:
And as I mentioned, SE already has KH, FF Type-0 and Versus as action RPGs.
DaBuddaDa said:
lol. "RPG"
experts on NeoGAF.
(This why people could stop making JRPGs and no one would bat an eye. It is why when people stopped making WRPGs and no one did(well, that's not true, but you should get what I am saying.)
