Where is my happy ending? Where have all the JRPG's gone? Part 1

My first real RPG experience.

Stop the presses! The best video games during the NES era came from Japan. Sorry for doing that to you, but I couldn't continue without getting everyone on the same page. I remember playing Dragon Warrior on the NES, and falling in love right then and there. It was clear that this was the genre of games that really appealed to me. It had a story (primitive as it was), it had gameplay, it had a large over-world that needed to be explored, and it had slimes!

Awwwwwwww.... Look at him!!!

As I grew up, I have always played high quality Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPGs). On the Super Nintendo I had Chrono Trigger. On the Playstation I had Wild ARMs (You thought I was going to say Final Fantasy VII). On Playstation 2 I had Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. Let's just say I have had a high quality run of JRPGs to rummage through. 

The current generation of consoles have created a change in the JRPG market, and what has been available for the past few years has been few and far between. Western game developers have created a new breed of RPGs that have stuck with the fans during this cycle. In part one of this opinion piece the fall of JRPGs will take center stage over the past generation. During part two we will look in to the future of Japanese games here in America, discuss what is taking their place, and discover that they are not dead, just miniaturized. I personally feel that this market is still a viable option for publishers, but their expectations will need to be tempered as the new breed of gamers continue to fill the market. 

Consoling the Console JRPG

This is what your mom sees herself looking like on Wii Fit.

With the market trending in the way of the shooter over the past six years the JRPG has had a fall from grace. They once held a prominent space on the shelf as some of the biggest releases of the year. Walking in to a game store today you would see few if any of the genre being displayed face out. Maybe there is a Final Fantasy XIII or XIII-2 sighting, and possibly even Tales of Graces f, since it is a very recent release.  The spaces are reserved, and rightfully so, for games that carry the potential for more sales. All of the Call of Duty games will be prominently displayed, even if they are four years old. Other spots are held by eight workout games between Jillian Michaels and Mel B. for the Kinect in an effort to attract the bored parents of children who roam the store. Can you blame them for trying to find the next Wii Fit that sold around twenty million units?

With no shelf space, and few advertisements, it is easy to see what the biggest problem for new JRPGs would be, cost. CNBC reported that game costs are reaching staggering amounts with God of War III hitting 44 million. In 2010, digitalbattle.com reported, and other sites corroborated on these budgets, that Final Fantasy XII cost nearly 48 million, and FFXII was on the PS2! At the time of this writing I could not find any source that would verify the cost of FFXIII. The closest I could come was an estimation of 65-70 million dollars, but that was a very rough estimate. Unfortunately, a high production JRPG would reach staggering heights when trying to compete with today's gaming heavyweights. This extreme spending would make any developer's, and publisher's, accountant hide in the corner, and wish the bleeding would stop. What scares them about an undertaking so large is the possibility that the game won't return on the investment.

If only he would have listened...

The biggest problem that traditional JRPG's face involves more than just space on a shelf and rising cost. Consumers today are not buying the genre in heavy numbers compared to the major sellers of the year. I hate to keep referring to Final Fantasy XIII, but with it being the biggest showpiece of the JRPG circle it is difficult to not use it as comparison fodder. The most popular Japanese role playing series managed a respectable 6.65 Million units worldwide on both platforms within five months in the U.S. Compare that number, however, to a middling first person shooter like Medal of Honor (2010) and the number is not so impressive. Medal of Honor has sold 4.87 million units combined worldwide according to vgchartz.com. It is true that Final Fantasy XIII sold more than Medal of Honor, but we are comparing the most popular JRPG with a poorly reviewed first person shooter. Juxtaposing it to any Call of Duty would be a complete joke.

Finally, the biggest fall of the JRPG during the 360 and PS3 era is the declining review scores. There are a lot of decent to good JRPGs this generation, but there are very few GREAT ones. Using Metacritic to research many of the previous scores I have seen an interesting trend.

Final Fantasy XIII - 83%                                Final Fantasy XIII-2 - 79%

Tales of Graces f - 79%                                  Star Ocean: The Last Hope - 79%

Infinite Undiscovery - 68%                            Blue Dragon - 79% 

Lost Odyssey - 78%                                       Tales of Vesperia - 79%

Xenoblade - 92%

Wait. What?

Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii just might be the savior of JRPGs in the future. Will it sell well in the U.S.? That remains to be seen, but I am not holding my breath. What it did do is prove that the boat hasn't sailed on this ailing style of gaming. Xenoblade Chronicles is the example other developers must follow. They must change their mindset if they want to keep up with the Western RPGs that have dominated this generation. 

Check back soon for part 2 as we complete this look at what has happened to the JRPG. Next time we will explore the competition in the West and what other ways the Japanese developers can still make their mark in the U.S. Leave a comment below, like us on Facebook, and share us with your friends.

Kicking Keesters on Easter: 5 Video Game Characters Who Rose from the Dead

In the spirit of Easter and Jesus's resurrection, it made me start to think about video game characters who have also risen from the dead. Taking inspiration from "the reason for the season" I have decided to focus on five characters who've made a miraculous comeback in order to save the world. While these characters do not measure up to a religious icon, they do create their own marks upon the world in which they live.

Honorable Mention - Duke Nukem in Duke Nukem Forever

It is worth mentioning that Duke Nukem Forever was as dead as dead can be. Somehow, the king himself pulled his rotting body from the rubble of a failed company in 3D Realms, and was saved by Gearbox Software. Duke was old, crude, and boring in his final release. He may not be close to the savior, but it is a miracle that Duke Nukem Forever was able to actually be released. For that we solute you. Now let's never speak of that game again...

Death Knights in World of Warcraft

Arthas is one of my favorite bad guys in all of gaming. His downfall was amazing to me during Warcraft III, and the Death Knights add to his intrigue.  Thanks to Arthas, the Death Knights spread the will of their master throughout Azeroth. With their enhanced rune power, they struck fear into the world for the Scourge.  The original Death Knights created by Gul'dan are not represented by the Knights of the Ebon Blade you know and love today as represented in Blizzard's Wrath of the Lich King.

So why do they belong on this list?  After breaking from Arthas's power, the Death Knights vowed to help end his reign. While you may enjoy living a life of luxury in the sun with your bright colors and happiness, they choose to fight and hone their skills. Their world is one of darkness, death and destruction. They are the armies that will bring an end to Arthas and defend the world. Therefore, they deserve their chance to be recognized as heroes.

Main Character in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Imagine if you will, spending hours creating a character. Not just any character, but your unique brand of justice-dealing avatar that represents your inner style of keister-kickin. Mine usually has a handlebar mustache...  You finally perfect your instrument of doom and start the game. Man, this sounds a bit like Lord of the Rings... This war is apparently not going that well... WHAT! I'm dead??? (Not a spoiler if they basically spell it out on the back of the box) Shortly thereafter, you are reborn, and all hell breaks loose. The world is your oyster, and you are the fun loving otter looking to crack it open... with a blade.

What makes your character so special is their absence of fate. This allows your freshly reanimated figure to mold and weave the world around them, thus creating a world that only you can save. Literally, in this situation only you can save it. In doing so, the fateless one starts to unravel the fates of all others. Fortunately for you there are countless people that you will interact with, hundreds of side quests, and well over one hundred hours of gameplay. My handlebar-faced homeboy had plenty of opportunities to end many mortal's fates before the credits rolled.

Edward "Stubbs" Stubblefield in Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse

If you think the recession is bad, then you need to hear the story of Stubbs during the Great Depression. Struggling through life, Stubbs finds happiness in his girl, Maggie Monday, before he is killed by her father. Twenty years later, Stubbs rises from his desecrated grave into the town of Punchbowl, PA. Soon after, he creates an army of zombies to take back the town from Maggie's maniacal father.

Stubbs is a far cry from the Savior in this story. What he does do is change a town, and gives the people there the opportunity to have a purpose after death. Granted, that purpose is to eat brains, and lots of them. He had been cast down, and rose again to rid the world of a form of evil that is worse than zombies. That must count for something right?

Most Final Fantasy Characters in Any Final Fantasy Game

Let's face it. In every Final Fantasy the world is at stake. Fortunately your merry band of misfits is set and ready to meet this threat head on. They level up and hit the stores for better equipment and items. Golbez? No problem. Kefka? You're mine. Yu Yevon/Jecht/Sin? I got them/it. Besides, if they kill me I have ninety-nine Phoenix Downs. That's right; you may die, but I can bring you back. Then we can continue saving the world. My plan is fool proof.

No worries. I have a Phoenix Down... Where did my bag of items go?

Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect Series

Of course it's Commander Shepard. The man died in outer space, and crashed and burned into a planet. He was then put back together in an attempt to control the invading Reaper forces. You are the true ultimate weapon against the forces of destruction in the coming war, and advanced life will not survive without you. Help me Commander Shepard. You're my only hope.

With the third entry in the series coming out so recently I dare not spoil it for anyone. Everything that you have worked for in the past two games comes to a head in the final confrontation, and it isn't just Earth that is counting on you. You didn't rise from the grave to be the protector of humanity (well technically you did), but were brought back to save the entire galaxy. If that doesn't remind you of Easter, then I don't know what will.


Are there any others that you would add to the list? Leave a comment below and like the story on Facebook. Make sure you keep checking back for more great content. Please check in with our sponsors to help keep this site rolling.