JRPGs
Posted: July 28th, 2009, 22:46
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.
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.