Where are the JRPGs going? 9 proposals to try to renew a gender that is beginning to wear out

JRPGs are changing and need to be revamped to keep up with the times

One of the most classic genres is the JRPG . Role-playing games from Japan are a genre in themselves and have given us many joys in the history of video games, with some of the most important titles, such as Chrono Trigger , Final Fantasy VII , Dragon Quest VIII or the Pokémon saga , to name some of the tremendous list that we could make .

JRPGs are niche games and many suffer to sell enoughStill, it is a niche genre . Many JRPGs suffer to reach certain sales numbers, so for example it is a joy that SEGA is opening up to the world, launching its JRPGs faster, even worldwide, and at least translated into Spanish . But what can help the genre to be a more massive one? How could the genre be rejuvenated?

It is a question with a very difficult answer, and in fact we have already seen some changes in recent years, but in 3DJuegos we wanted to gather 9 proposals to renew the JRPGs that could be implemented in future games. If you like the genre, we remind you that one of those that will be released in the coming months is NEO: The World Ends With You , a game that recently presented its initial cinematic .

It is clear that a classic in the genre is the levels. Winning them not only helps us to strengthen our characters and get better skills, but it is also a more or less effective way to control the progress of a video game. But what if we removed the levels? It could be a tricky measure, but it would help in a number of areas. For example, it is likely that we saved a lot of farming, something that in certain games becomes insufferable, takes time and for a large part of the players it is not fun at all. In addition, the game would be based more on our ability and not so much on statistics that, after all, in most JRPGs grow in a linear way without us being able to influence them. It is a growth sometimes artificial and that can perfectly be left over.

As a solution to the lack of levels, the inclusion of skill trees and similar systems that reward skill while playing or overcoming certain challenges could be studied. It could also be favored that the characters were somewhat more customizable if the player is given the possibility of assigning the skill points that he obtains to certain parameters.

I am particularly a big fan of turn-based JRPGs, but the truth is that the genre is moving towards another gameplay in the larger productions. Games like Yakuza: Like a Dragon are perhaps an exception. In fact, it’s a surprise that SEGA has claimed that the next Yakuza will be turn-based due to the success of this installment. Classic sagas such as Square Enix’s Final Fantasy or Tales of are turning towards Action-RPGs, with hybrids between real time or turns, or directly with games that have real-time combat. Something that has also changed a lot is the random encounters, which are seen less and less. Of course, if they stay, it is interesting that they take the example of Fantasian, which has tackled very well the problem of interrupting the advance due to random encounters with enemies, as we told you in our impressions .

Of course, many JRPGs will continue to bet on shifts, because it is a style of play deeply rooted in the genre and we will see it especially in more modest productions. We are heading to a time when, probably, the JRPG in turns and the Action-JRPG will coexist, something that can be good to give variety to the proposal of the different games.

More risk in fighting

If the first two proposals worked, they would surely help to take more risk in the fights so that there are more of them that are truly memorable. Epic battles, with phases, that offer us unique and different mechanics. Without a doubt, that kind of freshness can come in handy to the genre. In very long video games, in the end fighting becomes repetitive because, of course, the mechanics have a limit and can be tiring.

We already have examples in the JRPG market that allow us to do different actions automatically. The Bravely Default saga marked a path, which has not yet finished exploding. This proposal would not really be necessary if the first three became the norm, because automatic combat in a game where farming is not necessary, or that is based on action, would not make much sense. Even so, it must be recognized that incremental video games (idle game) have had a bit more popularity in recent times, with a somewhat more passive role on the part of the player, which is based more on management. It’s not that JRPGs should go to that extreme, but if you don’t want to reduce the number of fights or change shifts, automating some processes can be interesting.

This point may be one of the most contentious, but perhaps it would be good to ask if the duration of the purest JRPGs is too long. Games like Dragon Quest XI or Persona 5 Royal , to name two hits in recent years, are tremendously long, something that can put many players back. Beware, these games are not artificially lengthened at all and all their content is interesting and well done, but we are talking about titles that last 100 hours or more without problem to be simply beaten. Maybe more concrete and direct stories, which reduced that duration, make more players approach the genre. We are not talking about making 10-hour titles, but we are talking about lowering the hours of main content.

Variety in character classes

Even today it is quite common for JRPG characters to have quite marked roles, with an attacker, defender, healer and tank. There are slight variations on those roles, but generally not too much variety. There are video games that introduce different jobs, something that gives a little more grace, and makes the player have to think better what builds they will do to overcome the challenges. Even so, if we could create a character more to our liking, to an extent that would combine perfectly with the absence of levels and the inclusion of skill trees, the playable variety of the JRPGs would increase greatly. This is perhaps more normal to see in Western RPGs, but not so much in Japanese.

Something that the genre has abused a lot is repeating stories ad nauseam. A character who does not remember anything and begins an epic journey, another who is chosen by destiny and is the savior, good too good and bad too bad, “waifus” … The JRPG need more risk in their stories and that’s why when Very differentiating exponents appear in this area, they stand out so much. At the end of the day, beyond the gameplay, one of the fundamental elements of these video games is their history, and surely the genre can give more of itself.

Manga / anime style abuse

It is clear that the Japanese seal of the JRPG is not only in the gameplay or in the treatment of the subjects, but also in its appearance. The vast majority bet on a graphic and artistic style highly influenced by manga and anime, and although we have weighty exceptions, it could be very interesting that we see more proposals that escape a bit from that artistic routine.