Historical hallmarks of the JRPG genre

[BoneSnapDeez]

Alright, "mandatory" list picks for me so far.

The Dragon & Princess (1982)
Bokosuka Wars (1983)
Dragon Slayer (1984)
Hydlide (1984)
The Black Onyx (1984)
Xanadu (1985)
Dragon Quest (1986)
Ys (1987)
Final Fantasy (1987)
Phantasy Star (1987)
Fire Emblem (1990)
Secret of Mana (1993)

So that's twelve, so far. Two from the same series, but the differences in gameplay style are significant enough to make them influential in different ways.

Thoughts?

[Sarge]

Oh, I'm not arguing that the original Final Fantasy wasn't important. Far from it! However, I still believe the critical success of Chrono Trigger, and its astoundingly-long tendrils since its release (seriously, I don't know any JRPG fans that haven't heard of Chrono Trigger, despite the series not having any entries since Cross sixteen years ago) merit its consideration. I'm certainly not arguing it's the most important, and I'd put the original FF above it for importance.

I need to delve into the nitty-gritty of that list, Bone, but I agree with a lot on there. I'd say (despite my consternation about it) that Final Fantasy VII needs to be on the list. Despite not bringing much mechanically new to the table, it is the game that vaulted JRPGs to the forefront of the American consciousness, and kept it there through the PS2 generation.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Yeah Chrono Trigger probably belongs. I think I was the one who brought it up originally.

EarthBound seems to have made quite the lasting impression as well.

Also I think it may be essential to also include Final Fantasy IV.

3rd/4th gen is my thing. Y'all will have to help me out with the newer stuff.

[Sarge]

Earthbound is a lot dicier to me. It's most certainly a cult classic, but I don't know that it does enough from a sales or mechanics standpoint to warrant inclusion. Although its humor certainly sets it apart from its contemporaries.

I think there is the potential to include Tales of Phantasia, which had actual vocals in some of its tracks, and really started (or restarted?) the idea of having action-battle systems within a traditional JRPG framework. Sort of a different tack than Secret of Mana took, which is more a Zelda-influenced action-RPG. It also spawned a ridiculously long-running series with increasingly ridiculous names.

I'm actually thinking hard about sixth-gen RPGs that were real game-changers. I'm drawing a blank.

[Violent By Design]

Earthbound is a lot dicier to me. It's most certainly a cult classic, but I don't know that it does enough from a sales or mechanics standpoint to warrant inclusion. Although its humor certainly sets it apart from its contemporaries.

I think there is the potential to include Tales of Phantasia, which had actual vocals in some of its tracks, and really started (or restarted?) the idea of having action-battle systems within a traditional JRPG framework. Sort of a different tack than Secret of Mana took, which is more a Zelda-influenced action-RPG. It also spawned a ridiculously long-running series with increasingly ridiculous names.

I'm actually thinking hard about sixth-gen RPG that were real game-changers. I'm drawing a blank.

I think Persona 3 and eventually 4 would meet the description of a game changer within the context of JRPGs for that generation. Persona is somewhat innovative, though I suppose not that commercially influential, though it has spawned a lot of animes, albeit I don't know how popular they are.

[Exhuminator]

I'm actually thinking hard about sixth-gen RPGs that were real game-changers.

Phantasy Star Online opened the door to popular and accessible console MMORPGs. Without it to guide the way, the super successful Final Fantasy XI probably wouldn't have existed.

Monster Hunter got started in sixth-gen. And it created a hugely popular genre in Japan that continues with massive sales and continuous imitators to this day.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Earthbound is a lot dicier to me. It's most certainly a cult classic, but I don't know that it does enough from a sales or mechanics standpoint to warrant inclusion. Although its humor certainly sets it apart from its contemporaries.

I think there is the potential to include Tales of Phantasia, which had actual vocals in some of its tracks, and really started (or restarted?) the idea of having action-battle systems within a traditional JRPG framework. Sort of a different tack than Secret of Mana took, which is more a Zelda-influenced action-RPG. It also spawned a ridiculously long-running series with increasingly ridiculous names.

I'm actually thinking hard about sixth-gen RPGs that were real game-changers. I'm drawing a blank.

I'm also not really seeing the case for including Earthbound. It's a very memorable game for its humor and setting, but I don't really see what it inspired other than the cult following. Even just on the merits of being an incredible game, I don't think Earthbound is at that level of quality compared to something like FFVI or Chrono Trigger.

I would say Tales of Phantasia is notable not only because it birthed the Tales series, (which while not huge in the West is immensely popular in Japan, rivaling FF and DQ) it also birthed Tri-Ace and the successive series they've released like Star Ocean. While perhaps not as mechanically groundbreaking as Dragon Quest or company saving as Final Fantasy I, the series has had enough presence and staying power in the industry that I'd say it's important enough to warrant being on the list.

As for influential 6th gen JRPG's, that's kind of hard. I'd say that's kind of when JRPG's started to go back to being a relatively niche genre (though not as niche as pre-FFVII times). Here's what comes to mind for me:

-- Final Fantasy X, while not necissarily groundbreaking, I'd say it was definitely the most popular (or at least most commonly owned) JRPG during that generation.

-- Tales of Symphonia because it's the game that started the Tales' series really being noticed in the West.

Ideas not so great:

-- Either Paper Mario 1 or 2 or the first Mario & Luigi game. Notable as they're Nintendo's RPG's and they're kind of oddball platformer-RPG hybrid series. Though if we're not going to include the SNES Mario RPG, I think there's no reason to include these either, even though they're quality.

-- Skies of Arcadia: While the setting is certainly unique, it falls in a bit of Earthbound territory as it's not really so incredible that it's notable purely on terms of quality.

-- Baten Kaitos: Again, while the battle mechanics are unique, it's hard to argue that it was influential or massively popular in any meaningful way, and it makes enough mistakes that it doesn't pass on quality alone.

[Sarge]

For this generation the Persona games have certainly had significant influence. I'd say one of the two likely warrants inclusion.

I forget about PSO, but it really did do things on a console that no other game did. I can see a case for it as well. My brother played a lot over our good ol' 56k modem.

[Violent By Design]

PSO is a good pick for sure, very influential among JRPGs.


I was thinking Tales of Symphonia is probably the most important game in its series, even more so than Phantasia. Symphonia is what made Tales get such a good grip in the West, even though it is still a relatively niche series over in the West, I'd wager a sizeable amount of gamers buy the Tales games annually.


I'm not sure if I would include the PS2 era Monster Hunter games. I remember MH being met with really poor reception in America and it definitely didn't sell. I'd say it wasn't until the PSP that the Monster Hunter games started to become a JRPG staple(niche in America, but undeniably popular in Japan).

[Xeogred]

Yeah I wouldn't put much stock in Earthbound. It just has a very vocal niche fanbase. Obnoxiously so.