Talking JRPG Times: Animus All the Way Down

[Becksworth]

Western RPGs as a distinct genre is/was honestly just the transitional step from more traditional CRPGs' desire of emulating tabletop RPGs to the modern AAA kitchen sink supergenre. Why is Cyberpunk 2077 a wRPG but Assassin's Creed an Action/Adventure again? Given everything else going on in the AAA space, xenophobic undertones in comparing J vs. W RPGs sounds about right.

 

[q 3]

(US)ARPGs, C(anadian)RPGs, E(urojank)RPGs, J(amaican)RPGs

 

[Issun]

Dragonfantasies

Final Draquetales

 

[ThricebornPhoenix]

There's an alternate dimension where we're all having this same argument. "They can't be called Dragonfantasies because not all of them have dragons!"

The obvious solution is Finalquests.

 

[Sarge]

I'm sure there are corners of the web that use WRPG/JRPG derisively, but I've never encountered them that I can remember. It seems like a useful dividing line in that CRPGs were mostly derived from Western sources, whereas console-style RPGs derived from lineage in Japan. I tend to use CRPG and JRPG, myself, understanding, of course, the terms encapsulate a style as opposed to origin.

It's all blurring quite a bit, anyway. KOTOR is considered a WRPG, but it also took a lot of cues from console RPGs - I distinctly remember that aspect being played up at the time, and it was my entryway into actually enjoying W/CRPGs.

 

[Pombar]

I felt like KOTOR but especially Jade Empire, Fable, and Mass Effect were full of accommodations to make W/CRPGs play better on consoles but didn't really look to or borrow any DNA from C/JRPGs to do so.

 

[Issun]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is supposedly the bad one, but I'm really enjoying it. The characters are more fun than the firs one (although why they had to make Tora kind of a creep is beyond me), and the battle mechanics are clicking much more for me. I think what really is selling me on this one, though, is that the Xenogears DNA is a lot more prevalent than in the first game, where it was all backloaded.

The quest tracking still sucks on toast. Hopefully they fixed that in 3.

 

[balder the brave]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is supposedly the bad one, but I'm really enjoying it. The characters are more fun than the firs one (although why they had to make Tora kind of a creep is beyond me), and the battle mechanics are clicking much more for me. I think what really is selling me on this one, though, is that the Xenogears DNA is a lot more prevalent than in the first game, where it was all backloaded.

The quest tracking still sucks on toast. Hopefully they fixed that in 3.

I Haven’t played 3 yet, but I loved 2, and much prefer it to 1.

I’m no expert in Japanese culture or anime, but it does seem that “creepy old man trying to see the panties lol” is a humor trope. Kind of like how “girl cooked me food and it turned my face green it was so bad” and “I fell off a chair and accidentally touched a boob” are scenarios you see again and again.

 

[FelixSH]

I Haven’t played 3 yet, but I loved 2, and much prefer it to 1.

I’m no expert in Japanese culture or anime, but it does seem that “creepy old man trying to see the panties lol” is a humor trope. Kind of like how “girl cooked me food and it turned my face green it was so bad” and “I fell off a chair and accidentally touched a boob” are scenarios you see again and again.

See also Muten Roshi in Dragonball, and that old flea guy in Ranma 1/2. It's a really old, icky trope.

 

[Issun]

It just sucks because otherwise Tora is super likeable. I guess it's also the trope that any nerd who lives alone is also going to be a borderline sex pest. It's even weirder when it's a little puffball getting horned up for his robot.

It is cool that this game makes Nopon way more interesting and gives them more diverse personalities and motivations. Riki in 1 was really boring.

 

[4-So]

MEH MEH MEH. Tora is best pon.

XBC2 is the best of the numbered ones. XBC1s combat is boring and XBC3 is a little too dour for my blood. (I did not finish XBC3 but considering the trajectory, I cannot imagine it eases off the seriousness and gets lighthearted.) I would like to play XBCX at some point but not enough to re-setup my Wii U or track down a copy of the game.