JRPGs

[FatherJack]

What is a JRPG?
I've been puzzling how to concisely define this all week, or at least define what I mean by it and why I seek them out and intimate this to you. Techincally "Japanese Role-Playing Game" extends to pen-and-paper games, but I'm talking about videogames.

In short they are console role-playing games (CRPGs) that originated in Japan. I don't want to get too bogged down by the definition, as a few titles have made it to the PC and there are a few western releases so influenced by the style that many will find them indistinguishable.

So while Final Fantasy VII didn't stop being a JRPG when it got a PC release, Avatar: The Last Airbender never was one because it's made by Nickelodeon. The slightly off-kilter, sometimes quirky take on things which Japanese-produced stuff has is what appeals to me, as well as the way the target audience isn't necessarily just kids.

Gameplay Elements.
Just because they sometimes have odd moments doesn't make them inaccesible games, the gameplay elements are usually fairly standard, but while usually quick to grasp take a while to master, many hours to play through and weeks to attain 100% completion. JRPGs will typically contain at least a few of these:

Progression. Pretty much half of what defines an RPG is character progression, some sense of achievement, whether that be a new level with increased health or new abilities and skills you can use. The concept is hardly alien to anyone who's played a good selection of game types and is one that has found its way into most other genres such as unlockable weapons in FPS games and additional building options in RTS and Strategy games.

Story. Another large chunk of what makes a game an RPG, the story is what drives the events in the game and while usually pretty linear in the telling often gives you decisions about exactly how your character reacts, with varying consequences. The key distinction is that you experience the characters entire waking lives as the story unfolds, rather than just the "highlights" you might get in a cut-scene.

Inventory. Another big section of what defines the genre is the ability to customise your characters equipment or skills you will take into battle. Typically there are arbitrary (and quite low) limits on what you can equip at the same time, so tactics play a part even in a predominantly action-based title.

Travel. Carrying on from Story, you don't get to where you're going simply by the story advancing - you have to go there by yourself. This is done in all number of ways, from selecting your destination on a map, talking to people and hiring transport or by getting there under your own steam.

Exploration. It isn't always obvious where to go. Also, there's usually a bit of searching to be done in towns and suchlike. One of my favourite things is barefaced looting of stuff from people's houses - occasionally you get told off for it, but it's not like Oblivion where psychic guards lurk outside every door waiting to punish every transgression therein.

Battle Systems. Ultimately there's some sort of battle involved and while the actual systems vary wildly from pure action to pure strategy with everything inbetween and are perhaps the meat of the game - where you display your gameplaying prowess and have the most input - are disparate from the other elements. This is key. Games like Disgaea and various handheld adaptations of popular titles where you fight various battles in sequence aren't really true RPGs, but strategy games.

Something BIG happens. Obviously something big always happens, but some really cut to the bone with their harshness. Main characters die. Permanently. Your only healer is out of action. All your efforts are in vain. You develop an attachment to characters in the game and a casual comment signals huge plot twists and you have to battle the very people you spent 35 hours making awesomely unbeatable. Sometimes you just can't win. They can be frustrating, exciting or both - but you can always get stronger somehow, or do it better the next time.

Minigames. Often optional, usually hidden but almost ubiquitous. Range from fun to annoying, single button-presses to worldwide collection quests, easy luck-based gambling to incomprehensibly complicated card games. Take them or leave them, you usually get something good for winning. Every type of game is represented from the Chocobo racing in Final Fantasy VII (including the convoluted breeding hoops to jump through to get a winner) to actual emulations of real arcade games in Shenmue.

Style. Often anime-inspired, but not always - particularly recently more titles have used a more photorealistic rendering as graphical capabilities increase. Even the more cartoony titles use cell shading over 3D models (like Team Fortress 2) which often look better than the cut-scene movies done with a more "traditional" anime look.

Setting. Usually fantasy, with some magic or technological element - sometimes little is explained about how stuff functions, other times it's central to the story. This is usually the part I like best, I love the designs that mirror modern conveniences done in the style of the game's setting like flying sailboats and magic-powered trains. While this is not exclusive to Japanese games it's the only place I can reliably find it - there don't seem to be many western steampunk RPGs out there, Fallout's a good example of the sort of thing I'd like to see more of.


Anyway, that's enough blab about my definition - next time I'll post my favourites for various platforms over the years, I just wanted to get those categories out there so you'd know what I was on about when describing each game.

[Dog Pants]

All seems to fit with my understanding of the genre. Would Pokemon count? I think that's the closest thing I've played for any amount of time.

[FatherJack]

All seems to fit with my understanding of the genre. Would Pokemon count? I think that's the closest thing I've played for any amount of time.

It would, and is a good example of how something that appears quite simple can get quite complex. They (the gameboy games, not the tournament ones) probably feature all of the elements at some point.

[Mr. Johnson]

I think pokemon* is the only one I ever played and (secretly) enjoyed, due to it being simple and somewhat aimed at children. Most of the other ones are a bit too Japanese for me, as it's full of androgynous emo teenagers with massive swords and clad in leather belts.

/generalises

*I remember that back in the days of pokemon red and blue there were lots of urban legends surrounding it, due to the infinite master balls bug, and one of those was that if you finished the final tournament a 100 times, you would get your own gym.
I pity the kid that on a lengthy school trip decided to test this theory and played the final bit over and over and finally received nothing.

[FatherJack]

Most of the other ones are a bit too Japanese for me, as it's full of androgynous emo teenagers with massive swords and clad in leather belts.

/generalises

Your point isn't unjustified as those tropes now seem to have become the lexicon of JRPGs, partly due to the huge success of Final Fantasy, so it's worth a few words describing the sort of characters you'll see in most of them.


I thought I'd do this more to inform, perhaps warn rather than embellish the genre as Mr J's comment made me realise that while a list of my favourites now might look inviting, if there are certain things about the character styling that are going to piss you off then you're not going to like the games. I'm not trying to get people to play stuff just because I like it, just describe them as honestly as I can so people can decide themselves.

Style (again). It's not all anime-like, but a lot of it is. You know what that looks like and if you hate it, you'll struggle to like the game. Big eyes, pointy hair, pointy noses and the odd glitch where their hair seems to magically pass through their weapons. You'll often get exaggerated facial expressions too, like sweatdrops and popped veins, we use similar things in animation to show emotion and it's usally pretty obvious in context. It's also pretty obvious from the cover and the box art what the game is going to look like. A photo-realistic style is now more common, but they still tend to use anime icons in the menus and battle icons.

Age. The protagonists are usally pretty young. They probably average 15, but often main characters are 12 (though the western edits sometimes up this). Anyone over 27 is usually called "Old Man/Woman" and anyone over 40 usually has grey hair. This can lead to confusion for people watching you play them, either that you are playing a child's game or that you are a massive paedo.

Pretty Boys and Amazon Women. They don't do subtle too well. Rather than a boob-slider they have an on-off switch. Boys sometimes turn out to be girls and vice-versa. I personally prefer a bit of gender confusion and slapstick norkage bouncing than a square-faced marine or faceless robot, but each to their own. Politically correct didn't seem to happen in Japan, and while not overtly smutty or offensive they do have...different values, Chinese characters will always dress like Chun Li and "talk funny" and black guys will always have huge afros.

Anthropomorphs. These are reasonably common, although seem to have fallen out of favour as main characters recently with the negative connotations of association with Furries. I've never encountered anything in a game particularly sinister, but it's worth noting if you have a phobia about it. Jessica Rabbit and the Caramel Bunny probably already did the damage, though.

Moping self-obsession of characters. Maybe, depends how you view it. The story is about them after all, you get all the detail because you're supposed to be roleplaying as them. Sometimes though, due to the limitations of the medium and a certain linearity of story, you won't be able to deliver the dialogue or action choice you want to make. The story is you saving the world, or the actor voicing you is playing you as a brooding loner - you don't get a massive amount of choice in how you're portrayed.

Innocent but determined Princess. Yeah, try not to fall off your chair with astonishment when the wishy-washy girl healer turns out to be heiress to the throne. Didn't see that one coming. They can be trite sometimes, but can equally surprise, delight or upset you if you let them. The game is after all about the story foremost and if you don't become attached to the characters you're not really going to care and the whole thing just becomes mechanical. I like to play with no-one watching me and lose myself in the (often silly) story, rather than have to be the sarcastic bastard everyone expects me to be when they're there.

Annoying child sidekick. Yes, even though you're like 12 yourself, they still like to throw in someone even younger. You can either amuse yourself by getting them bashed around a lot, put them in the reserves so you never have to hear their annoying voiceover or nurture them and watch them grow into an awesome fighter. They usually don't stop being annoying though, just a heads up.

Well, that's enough for now, don't want to scare everyone off - it should be all the good stuff next time as I list my favourites.


A quick note on the definitions - I've mostly been using Final Fantasy as an example, as it's one of the most famous JRPGs. Pokémon also qualifies, and its turn-based battle system is quite similar to Final Fantasy's. Haven't mentioned the action-based ones much, as a lot of them didn't sell that well, but the Zelda games are probably the most famous example and often rate highly in 'best game ever' charts.

[Dog Pants]

The child protagonist thing is odd. In Pokemon it fits nicely, a kid helping an old professor out by going out and collecting animals and bugs and stuff. All perfectly natural. However, in Advance Wars (not an RPG, but it has Japanese style characters), having a 12 year old command entire armies for no particular reason just doesn't sit right with me. I still enjoyed the games, but every time I see the kid giving orders to troops in the cutscenes it completely breaks my immersion in the setting. I just can't believe it.

[Shada]

Annoying child sidekick.

Better an Annoying Child Sidekick than an Annoying Child Main Character. I played Suikoden Tierkreis for the DS recently and the main character is some retard kid high on sugar the entire time. He even has full voice acting. Who the fuck thought that was a good idea?

[FatherJack]

The child protagonist thing is odd. In Pokemon it fits nicely, a kid helping an old professor out by going out and collecting animals and bugs and stuff. All perfectly natural. However, in Advance Wars (not an RPG, but it has Japanese style characters), having a 12 year old command entire armies for no particular reason just doesn't sit right with me. I still enjoyed the games, but every time I see the kid giving orders to troops in the cutscenes it completely breaks my immersion in the setting. I just can't believe it.

The trope was pariodied quite mercilessly in the anime Ground Defense horse Mao-chan, where the three approximately 5-year-old protogonists are the respesctive doted-upon granddaughters of the Army, Navy and Air-horse chiefs.

The reason it occurs in games is of course to evoke empathy with younger players. I guess you can either rationalise it away that they are child prodigies like (for example) Sharifuddin Khalifa who reaffirmed Colonel Gaddafi's Islamist convictions at age 5, or simply accept it as part of the universe you're playing in. After all you're taking a pretty big leap viewing animated characters as people in the story, but perhaps that leap is easier for gamers whose in-game heroes are almost universally digital creations too.

[Dog Pants]

After all you're taking a pretty big leap viewing animated characters as people in the story, but perhaps that leap is easier for gamers whose in-game heroes are almost universally digital creations too.

That's not really the same thing. I can suspend reality and follow a story through the medium of animation. It's similar to when I criticise a film for being unrealistic because it repeatedly uses outrageous luck on the part of the protagonists, or deus ex machina, and someone argues that Bladerunner isn't realistic either because it has flying cars.