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[Zathalus]

you forgot the star of the show

 

[ReyBrujo]

Are Elden Ring and Dragon's Dogma 2 really JRPGs?

They shouldn't. But as pointed out it looks like they are simply categorizing by country and not necessarily by characteristics.

 

[KàIRóS]

Granblue fantasy has an end? Is it worth play solo only for the story?

Yeah it has an ending, the story stuff and multiplayer stuff are completely separated, the story takes around 30 hours and then you unlock the super hard multiplayer missions, but you get the story ending before that.

I liked the story but I recommend you to read a synopsis of Granblue Fantasy or watch the Anime, otherwise you might be lost with who the characters are, the game does have a database to get you up to speed but the other options are more fun IMO.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Is Metacritic 80+ really a seal of qualitiy?
Halo Infinite, Spider-Man 2, HFW, Starfield, GOW2, Hellblade 2 etc. are all 80+ and people act like they're absolute trash and the biggest disappointment in gaming history.

Yes, it is. No amount of anecdotal information you provide will convince us that aggregate data doesn’t work or that the wisdom of the crowd principle doesn’t exist. The woke reviewers aren’t capable of keeping even the weakest conspiracy theory a secret from us. And besides what you saying isn’t relevant. You are correct that “people act like they’re absolute trash,” but the truth is they are not. In statistical principle and also anecdotally very clearly each one is rated correctly based on any objective metric, and in no way trash. People who called them trash have obviously never played real trash.

I’ll say that again, people who call them trash have never played real trash.

…some of HB2 is debatable, i’ll give you that, but it gets review points for artistry. Anything new or different will always get bonus points, because variety is the spice of life.

 

[yurinka]

With the release of Romacing SaGa 2 remake and Ys X Nordics there have been a total of 14 JRPGs with an 80+ score making 2024 already the best year in history for Japanese RPGs when it comes to critic reviews, but what's even crazier is that there are still 3 games releasing in November and December with high chances of also getting an 80+ score: Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Dragon Quest 3 Remake and Fantasian Neo Dimension.

Here's the full list and the score:

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (94)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (93)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (92)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (89)
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Remake (88)
Persona 3 Reload (87)
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (87)
Dragon's Dogma 2 (86)
Unicorn Overlord (86)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak (84)
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island (84)
Romancing SaGa 2 Revenge of the Seven (81)
Ys X: Nordics (81)
Granblue Fantasy: Relink (80)

Best Games This Year - Metacritic

Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.

www.metacritic.com

The list gets even bigger if we include more genres and other Asian games but I don't want to rub too much salt in the wound of woke western devs this year

But hey, Japan is pretty much dead according to Shawn Layden.

 

[xenosys]

For sure, the best year for JRPGs since the early 2000s.

 

[Deerock71]

There’s too many. I can’t keep up. I really wanna play Metaphor but I had to prioritize my boy Adol.

 

[CoreyFlawless]

I’m just glad Japan games are back. Back in 360/ps3. Everyone was talking about bad they was. But I even thought there games was still good then, they just was looking as good. But there gameplay ideas was still good. Most of the western game devs have fallen bad, hopefully kick them in gear. Also don’t believe it there faults tho, publishers not helping with what they want, same shit or chase after live service crap.

 

[Kumomeme]

during PS2 generation we got golden era of japanese game. any japanese made is a guarantee 'great'

but since PS3 generation, japanese developer's reputation fall down to the point there is people who label japanese game as 'suck'. if i recall correctly even some of devs at japan acknowledge the remark.

but since PS4 generation, they slowly bounce back. and now during PS5 generation the state of PS3 era is kind of reverse in 2024.

western game frequently has issue while japanese games keep going strong. however to be fair not just japan lately but others asian country like korean and chinese too.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

The last good jrpg was dragon quest 11

Worst JRPG music in recent memory. Actually, maybe of all time? Can someone come up with a major JRPG title that had worse music?

And add me to the list that do not believe Elden Ring is a JRPG. Like… come on… anyone playing games since the SNES or later understands what makes a game a JRPG. Any attempt to make Elden Ring a JRPG is relying on semantics or just plain doesn’t understand.

 

[GigaBowser]

metorcritic is fake my friends

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

you forgot the star of the show

No you did.

 

[adamsapple]

you forgot the star of the show

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Elden Ring isn't a JRPG but yes this year was nuts for JRPG's

 

[Klosshufvud]

Again I ask if an RPG is a JRPG just because Japan made it, why use the term at all? What value does it have? We don't separate any other genre along that line. There's no such thing as an American Shooter or British-Shooter game. JRPG became a specific subgenre because of a large number of RPG games from Japan that had similar elements and design. It's a useful term that describes a real set of games that are like each other. Genres like this pop up in other fields as well such as the term French House in regards to music. We don't use other country names for house music but France specifically stood out as having a unique style that was common amoung many artists in the region, thus the sub-genre earned it's name.

FF7R and FFXV are JRPGs because they fit into the highly linear story dynamic and anime design genre tropes, there is no real choice in those stories. At most you might get dialog options that at the end of the day route to the same place and just add a slight amount of flavour text. Even the side quests in those titles are linear. As I said before turn based combat has become a looser element but a lot of games in the sub-genre are still turn based and it is a common element of the sub-genre. Infinite Wealth, SMT5:V, Metaphor, Persona 3 Reload, Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door, Dragon Quest 3, and probably a few others from the OP's list are all turn based and it's a staple of the sub-genre even if it's not a hard requirement. None of the crieria I've listed are hard requirements either but instead a soft list of commonalities that identify traits a game has.

MGS isn't an RPG because it doesn't have any common RPG elements to it's combat or gameplay systems. There's no stats, character progression, etc. JRPG is a sub-genre of RPGs and would of course imply there are a set of common elements between western and japanese RPGs. I was not trying to make any arguement that linear story = JRPG because that would also be a useless term / criteria.

Again Elden Ring does not hold itself to any JRPG genre tropes or commonalities. While it has fixed lore, it does not have a linear story with player actions causing different questline outcomes and the game itself having multiple endings. It does not play heavily into any anime genre tropes or designs. It does not have turn based combat. I agree it has light RPG elements but none of them are JRPG tropes or commonalities.

Also I dislike the region locking of these terms because there are Japanese developed games that firmly belong in the WRPG camp and western developed games that firmly belong in the JRPG camp. Look at Sea of Stars for example. That game was made in Quebec but it emulates a lot of JRPG tropes and fits firmly into the subgenre. I would even argue something like Undertale leans heavily into the JRPG sub-genre. If Japan were to suddenly create a wave of similar RPGs with new design commonalities I could see the label changing to "Classic JRPG" or something else entirely to make way for the new sub-genre but there's been no such wave of games and no reason to change the terminology.

I get your point and my only reply is referring to what the President of Falcom games thinks himself. I think there is something inherently Japanese about JRPGs that no western studio can mimic. This is the same way a Japanese car will always be Japanese, even if a western company manages to mimic its outer appearances and so on. And car brands is a perfect example on how much emphasis is placed on nationality, as cultural beliefs tend to express themselves in the cars.

You mentioned the term "JRPG" a moment ago and I'm curious, because there has been some debate on if "JRPG" pigeonholes games made in Japan, is that label one you embrace? Would you prefer that people say, "turn-based RPG" or "action RPG?"

Originally, JRPG was kind of used as a pejorative and, obviously, we didn't like it. There was this initial reaction against it. But gradually, it feels like it's almost begun to mean the opposite. I mean, take something like Miyazaki-san's Elden Ring. I've asked myself "Is that a JRPG?" Well, maybe not quite. But at the same time, one of the things you can kind of identify in JRPGs are these influences from anime and manga. Knowing how to incorporate those elements and themes into games gives them that distinct Japanese flavor, which is not only a good thing, but creates a sort of cultural bond too. Japanese people can kind of come together and rally around this specific thing and make it our own.

So while in the past I might have kind of shied away from that terminology or kind of cringed at it, it's now something I embrace. There is a thing that only the Japanese creators can create by using these elements that we discussed. And by doing so, it creates something worthy of celebration. Rather than solely make RPGs, we make JRPGs--we're proud to say it.

I love that you mentioned Elden Ring and that sort of "well, is it a JRPG?" feeling because it does feel like a hard genre to define. How would you describe it?

That's difficult. Obviously the easy answer is, "Well, if it's made in Japan…" But when you look at what is made in Japan, it's trickier. There's action RPGs--can those be JRPGs? Are only turn-based games JRPGs? Well, no, not necessarily. There's kind of an ineffable thing that makes games in Japan, specifically JRPGs, what they are. It can't really be described. But it's the core and the essence of what a JRPG is. It's why I loved them from the time I was a child and why all of the people at Falcom feel it necessary to share that love for the next generation. So that people can continue to love them and to get involved with them.

What's Next After A 20-Year-Old RPG Series Ends? Ys And Trails Director Toshihiro Kondo Talks Falcom's Future

Kondo sat down with GameSpot to discuss Falcom's future, the studio's localization efforts, and how he sees studios like From Software and Atlus as allies in the quest to keep JRPGs thriving.

www.gamespot.com

 

[West Texas CEO]

Great year.
I think I’d take 1998, 1999 or 2000. Between 94-2001 was amazing. Same for 2D fighting games


1998- Final Fantasy Tactics
1998- Diablo
1998-Saga Frontier
1998- Breath of Fire III
1998- Blaze & Blade: Eternal Quest (PAL)
1998- Azure Dreams
1998- Granstream Saga
1998- Kartia: Word of Fate
1998- Parasite Eve
1998- Dragon Seeds
1998- Tales of Destiny
1998- Xenogears
1998- Brave Fencer Musashi
1998- Brigandine
1998- Jade Cocoon
1998- Tactics Ogre
1998-Lunar: Silver Star Story JPN
Saturn:
Dec97-99-Grandia
1998- Dragon Force 2
1998- Shining Force 3 Part 2
1998- Panzer Dragoon Saga
1998 - Langrisser
1998- Sakurai Taisen


1999-Guardian's Crusade
1999- Legend of Legaia
1999- Monster Seed
1999- Shadow Madness
1999- Lunar Silver Star Story Complete
1999- Star Ocean: Second Story
1999-Final Fantasy VIII
1999-Suikoden II
1999- Final Fantasy Anthology
1999- Grandia
1999- Thousand Arms
1999- Shadow Tower
1999- Chocobo's Dungeon 2
1999-Koudelka
1999- Vandal Hearts II

2000- Saga Frontier 2
2000- Alundra 2
2000- Front Mission 3
2000- Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
2000- Vanguard Bandits
2000- Wild Arms 2
2000- Vagrant Story
2000-Digimon World
2000-Legend of Mana
2000-Legend of Dragoon
2000-Threads of Fate
2000-Chrono Cross
2000-Valkyrie Profile
2000-Parasite Eve 2
2000-RPG Maker
2000-Dragon Valor
2000-Eternal Eyes
2000-Final Fantasy IX
2000-Torneko: The Last Hope
2000-Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
2000-Breath of Fire IV
2000-Lunar II: Eternal Blue Complete
2000-Persona II: Eternal Punishment

 

[TintoConCasera]

That's a grand total of 3 (three!) games featuring Jack Frost from the SMT series. Great year for gaming indeed.

 

[balls of snow]

Yepp gonna play both Like a Dragon games and Metaphor over the end of the year holidays. The thing about jrpg for me is the grinding that just kills the momentum of the story. Really need to get into the right mindset.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Yepp gonna play both Like a Dragon games and Metaphor over the end of the year holidays. The thing about jrpg for me is the grinding that just kills the momentum of the story. Really need to get into the right mindset.

Played both and neither required any grinding whatsoever. I simply played through the game without avoiding battles.

I can’t even remember the last game that required me to specifically go around fighting stuff to level up before progressing. Maybe something from the NES era?