Current Events > How accurate is this take on JRPGs?

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://twitter.com/bwillettcomics/status/1708867231340535861

I hate the kevin james meme.

Sounds like a furry take, feel free to disregard

JRPGs haven't fallen off, so it's pretty wrong

Chrono Trigger's Frog?

FF7's Red XIII and Cait Sith?

Pokemon's Everything?

Damn Right. Everyone looks like a CK model now.

JRPG: A bunch of teenagers save the world from some whitehair prettyboy, while trying to get into each-other's pants.
WRPG: Some thirty-something guy saves the world from aliens or an amorphous blob or something, while fucking literally everyone.

Octopath 2 came out this year and has a furry as a main character so this take doesnt even make any sense.

I've played 3 JRPGs this year and none were lacking on that.

Chained Echoes had multiple non-human party members a birbman and a lizardman plus a dog as part of a duo even if technically in-universe they're human minus the dog.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/9/5/AALLlEAAE5Zv.jpg

Octopath Traveler 2 has Ochette, a 4ft tall cat person who bites her enemies.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/9/6/AALLlEAAE5Zw.jpg
Sea of Stars I haven't gotten to the point of getting the non-human party member but I know there's one.

I haven't passed sea of stars, it's a fun game, but Octopath Traveler 2 and Chained Echoes are excellent games.

BurmesePenguin posted...

I hate the kevin james meme.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/4/7/AAZ9M-AAExL_.jpg

electricbugs2 posted...

Octopath 2 came out this year and has a furry as a main character so this take doesnt even make any sense.

Brave Dungeon 2 has three furries, if we still count catgirls. Also a fairy and some sort of vampire-batgirl thing.

PowerOats posted...

Chrono Trigger's Frog?

FF7's Red XIII and Cait Sith?

Pokemon's Everything?

I'm sure they're talking about modern jrpgs.

To be fair, and this is me looking at the grand picture rather than the singular instances, its kind of right. While we get times where you get interesting characters, it isn't as frequent anymore. Back in the earlier days, they actually gave a damn about making interesting character designs. From Mao the cat in Shadow Hearts 3, to even Riki from Xenoblade Chronicles.

Now we have games that more realistic in design, and play more into modern architecture, rather than villages that just wouldn't exist in the real world.

Ivany2008 posted...

While we get times where you get interesting characters, it isn't as frequent anymore.

It's much easier game dev to just have two male body-type models, and one female model with a boob-slider.

Questionmarktarius posted...

It's much easier game dev to just have two male body-type models, and one female model with a boob-slider.

Its definitely turned me off from a lot of jrpgs lately. Like, I'm sure FF16 is a fantastic game and I'll enjoy it when it comes to the pc, but looking at it from the first glance last year, my reaction was just "Oh.... its FF14....".

Piplup_Sniper posted...

I'm sure they're talking about modern jrpgs.

Which is stupid because as the poster you replied to demonstrated those types of characters have always been around.

Ivany2008 posted...

Its definitely turned me off from a lot of jrpgs lately. Like, I'm sure FF16 is a fantastic game and I'll enjoy it when it comes to the pc, but looking at it from the first glance last year, my reaction was just "Oh.... its FF14....".

It is 14. The story is an amalgamation that poorly retells FF14's story and it has the same garbage pacing and filler that 14 has too.

In AAA Id say its at least semi-accurate. For A / AA and especially indies, not so much.

harley2280 posted...

Which is stupid because as the poster you replied to demonstrated those types of characters have always been around.

The point of the tweet isn't that they weren't around but more the fact that they're becoming more rare in favor of human and cosplay tier designs.

Holy_Cloud105 posted...

It is 14. The story is an amalgamation that poorly retells FF14's story and it has the same garbage pacing and filler that 14 has too.

FF14 and 16's story are nothing alike. Even if it is the same team.

Hayame_Zero posted...

FF14 and 16's story are nothing alike. Even if it is the same team.

A world that's slowly getting destroyed by an unknown cause with an ancient race of super beings responsible for it and trying to kill all life on the planet to bring their race back. Ultima was all of the Ascians/Convocation of 14 crammed into one shitty character. The Holy Empire of Sanbreque is literally Garlemald.

Holy_Cloud105 posted...

A world that's slowly getting destroyed by an unknown cause with an ancient race of super beings responsible for it and trying to kill all life on the planet to bring their race back. Ultima was all of the Ascians/Convocation of 14 crammed into one shitty character.

Meanwhile, in FFT...

PraetorXyn posted...

Im AAA Id say its at least semi-accurate. For A / AA and especially indies, not so much.

this
it's just too costly and time consuming to design/model/rig/animate/etc an abundance of significantly nonhuman player/nonplayer characters
and no, i'm not talking like elder scrolls where theres 10 races in the game but they all use the same model just with different skin textures and head parts
ff14 is like the only big name JRPG atm thats bothering to include a prolific amount of nonhuman NPCs (beastmen races)

Holy_Cloud105 posted...

A world that's slowly getting destroyed by an unknown cause with an ancient race of super beings responsible for it and trying to kill all life on the planet to bring their race back.

brother thats literally FFXI: rise of the zilart

bump

The non-human characters are the worst in most JRPGs.

Do summon magic count?

EmbraceOfDeath posted...

The non-human characters are the worst in most JRPGs.

Katt & Frog solo any human jrpg characters you can think of

EmbraceOfDeath posted...

The non-human characters are the worst in most JRPGs.

In what way?

Even if the part about modern jrpgs not having non-human characters was true (it isn't), when where non-human characters the thing that made jrpgs great?

Like, it can be an interesting aspect I guess, but I highly doubt anybody got into the genre specifically for that reason.

KeeperOfShadows posted...

Even if the part about modern jrpgs not having non-human characters was true (it isn't), when where non-human characters the thing that made jrpgs great?

The root of the complaint is they've gone from endearingly tropey and silly, to just plain generic.

KeeperOfShadows posted...

Even if the part about modern jrpgs not having non-human characters was true (it isn't), when where non-human characters the thing that made jrpgs great?

Like, it can be an interesting aspect I guess, but I highly doubt anybody got into the genre specifically for that reason.

i think the underlying issue is that due to technical costs/constraints, and in favor of appealing to a broader market, jrpgs by and large have lost a lot of the whimsy and fantastical nature that made their worlds so unique, and totally distinct from not only each other, but certainly western fantasies that drew so heavily from tolkien and d&d without even bothering to put any kind of unique spin on things. and the loss of characters like in the OP is just a more noticeable symptom of that

Questionmarktarius posted...

The root of the complaint is they've gone from endearingly tropey and silly, to just plain generic.

Which is a bad argument because there are plenty of modern jrpgs with silly character designs. Final Fantasy is not the only jrpg series out there.

Furthermore, jrpgs where the characters are just normal people aren't anything new either. Nor is there anything wrong with that. Calling characters generic for looking like people is silly imo.

KeeperOfShadows posted...

Even if the part about modern jrpgs not having non-human characters was true (it isn't), when where non-human characters the thing that made jrpgs great?

Like, it can be an interesting aspect I guess, but I highly doubt anybody got into the genre specifically for that reason.

I agree that it isn't really true that modern jrpgs lack the criteria in the twitter post. Aside from the examples mentioned here the response point out characters like Morgana from Persona 5, the Nopons from Xenoblade Chronicles, Torgal the dog is a party member in FF16, FF7R has Red and Cait Sith, SMT has various demons that fit the criteria, Pokemon as well, and I guess Digimon fits too.

KeeperOfShadows posted...

Which is a bad argument because there are plenty of modern jrpgs with silly character designs.

such as? and how do they contrast w/ say breath of fire, as was mentioned ITT?

ArsGoetia posted...

such as? and how do they contrast w/ say breath of fire, as was mentioned ITT?

Do you have an example of a character that you consider to be a "silly character design"?

Piplup_Sniper posted...

Do you have an example of a character that you consider to be a "silly character design"?

i mean, take yer pick i guess
literally no one in the cast of bof games is human
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/8/4/AAfc_TAAE5i8.jpg
and all those ppl can be transformed in fusion to make even weirder shit like (dog and monkey guy)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/8/5/AAfc_TAAE5i9.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/8/6/AAfc_TAAE5i-.jpg

electricbugs2 posted...

Octopath 2 came out this year and has a furry as a main character so this take doesnt even make any sense.

Anime catgirl is a popular genre trend and is not 'furry' or a 'monster', it's literally a human with special ears.

Doe posted...

Anime catgirl is a popular genre trend and is not 'furry' or a 'monster', it's literally a human with special ears.

Ochette isn't a human with cat ears. She is a bit more cat like than that with a cat nose and a cat's snout. Here's how she looks like in her official figure from the Collector Edition:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/9/4/AALLlEAAE2X-.jpg
She's more kemono than kemonomimi.

HannibalBarca3 posted...

Ochette isn't a human with cat ears. She is a bit more cat like than that with a cat nose and a cat's snout.

seems relevant:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/8/4/AAUsi-AADnd0.jpg

To the topic tweet: cool character designs aren't enough to save JRPGs from the fact they're largely incredibly derivative and repetitive. If you feel like JRPGs 'fell off' it's probably because most entries into the genre have failed to do anything above the capability of the NES.

Look at how action games and platformers have evolved over time. Meanwhile, Dragon Quest 11 literally has the option to play the entire game as a SNES game.

A lot of the most beloved recent JRPGs do so practically in spite of their core jrpg-elements rather than because of them. EG, Persona 5.

HannibalBarca3 posted...

She's more kemono

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%8D%A3

1. an animal covered in fur, a beast

She is absolutely not covered in fur. The act of giving her a non-human nose does not change the fact that she is absolutely a kemonomimi.

BurmesePenguin posted...

I hate the kevin james meme.

It's really lame and boring

But you gotta pick your JRPGs better. Trails and Ys

HannibalBarca3 posted...

Ochette isn't a human with cat ears. She is a bit more cat like than that with a cat nose and a cat's snout. Here's how she looks like in her official figure from the Collector Edition:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/9/4/AALLlEAAE2X-.jpg
She's more kemono than kemonomimi.

idk shit about this character but being like 5% more cat than your average anime cat girl doesnt really cut the mustard in this circumstance
go full on digitigrade cat person or at least khajiiti or gtfo

Questionmarktarius posted...

seems relevant

This graph has always really bugged me because only the third one comes close to a 'furry'. Like, open up furaffinity. Those are furries. The 50% is a girl who still has 95% of the facial structure of a human.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/9/3/AAcZIZAAE5jF.jpg
This chart is more representative of the reality of furry art.

HannibalBarca3 posted...

She's more kemono than kemonomimi

Ochette doesn't even register at a 2. She's not a furry.

Its wrong.

A)They never stopped having those characters

B)That was never a draw

C)They never fell off. The past decade or so has seen some of the best of the genre.

Doe posted...

To the topic tweet: cool character designs aren't enough to save JRPGs from the fact they're largely incredibly derivative and repetitive. If you feel like JRPGs 'fell off' it's probably because most entries into the genre have failed to do anything above the capability of the NES.

Meh, I'd rather play "shitty Kemco RPG #6734" than "shitty dudebro shooter #6734".

Ochette is less furry than Fran

Questionmarktarius posted...

Meh, I'd rather play "shitty Kemco RPG #6734" than "shitty dudebro shooter #6734".

the numbers are more like "dude bro shooter #673" vs "kemco RPG #67,340"

But anyway if you like RPGs more than dudebro shooters then of course you'd prefer the RPG. My point is not to compare the subjective enjoyment level of genres but the fact that shooting games have found far more variety and adaptation than RPGs have. Only so many shooters are 'dudebro shooters' bit RPGs are more homogenous.