Still finding love in turn-based Japanese role-playing games
This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer. When Japanese role-playing games come up in casual conversation, one word that I hear a lot is “nostalgic.” As in, it’s a genre that brings people back to a childhood spent playing old SNES RPGs, or maybe PlayStation classics like Final Fantasy VII. Traditional JRPG storytelling and gameplay tropes are seen as outdated, none more than the turn-based battle systems that drove all those 8 and 16 and 32-bit RPGs.
It’s a sentiment shared by many in the industry itself. Responding to the repeated drumbeat for change, for example, Square Enix has broadly hinted that the next numbered Final Fantasy will be an action RPG. In Japan, the action-based co-op RPG Monster Hunter has become something of a holy grail for the industry – the series that everyone aspires to emulate.
This is where I take a stand though. Much as I like Ys and a handful of other action RPGs, I like good old-fasionhed turn-based RPGs that much better. Not every RPG has to be as frenetic as a Call of Duty. In fact, I rather prefer it when they’re not. Case in point? The turn-based Persona 4 Golden, which remains as relevant now as it was when it first arrived on the PlayStation 2 in 2008.Gallery: Persona 4 Golden (9/18/12)Continue reading Still finding love in turn-based Japanese role-playing gamesStill finding love in turn-based Japanese role-playing games originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 09 Dec 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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