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Just take one of these (the picture above) and you'll feel better in the morning! Just kidding, its going to take a lot more than a boy and his gryphon-bird ... thing to save us from a future bereft of katamari's, improbably sized bi-pedal tanks, and penguins with a propensity to saying "dood". All in good time though; before I begin my main post I would just like to say...
Hello Destructoid! I've been following the community (HAWP, RevRant, various blogs, etc.) for some time now without feeling the need to make an account. Really had nothing to say about videogames that I couldn't discuss with my circle of real life friends, but after discussing this at length with a friend I felt the need to blog and blog I shall. Me and my friend are of one mind on this subject -- it ain't what it used to be.
If I were to stack my catalogue in chronological order it would look something like this: 1992-1996 -- An assortment of turn based strategy games, simulators and the PC port of Virtua Fighter (don't ask.) 1996-2006 -- JRPG's by the hundreds, Shadow of the Colossus, and JP action games such as Zone of the Enders. 2006-2010 -- PS3 exclusives developed in-house by Sony, Modern Warfare, Assassin's Creed, and Dead Space. That rise and fall from 2006 to now really depresses me.
FEAR NOT THOUGH! There is a light at the end of the tunnel for crazy Nippon. In any case, with my introduction done let me just clarify a few things before I begin.
1) When I'm talking about Japanese Game Development I am referring exclusively to HD console development (PS3/360).
The Wii/DS/PSP JP development process is much like that of the previous generation so it never had to evolve in order to survive. Games like No More Heroes, Phoenix Wright, etc. exist soley because of the low cost environment of these platforms. (NMH wouldn't be coming to any console if it weren't for the Wii's specs being mailed in from 2001)
2) Square-Enix's FFXIII will not help in the recovery.
Everything I've seen from the latest and greatest from SE has slowly whittled my hype level down inch by inch. Culminating in the latest International trailer featuring Leona Lewis's "My Hands" and such gripping dialogue as "So do you believe in Lady Luck now!?, YEAH! LADY BAD LUCK", with not a hint of self-humor. FFXIII just seems to me to be the poster-child of bad JP tropes (Horrible localization being the biggest offender) and does not deserve to be the standard bearer of any resurgence from Japanese studios onto the worldwide stage.
In fact I believe Square-Enix as it currently exists is part of the problem, not the solution. I say this because 95% of what this company has done in the past decade has either left me seething with nerd rage (FFX-2, Star Ocean 4, anything tri-Ace has done while working with them) or left me feeling sad and empty. (Kingdom Hearts)
3) I have no bias against Western developed games.
Quite the contrary my first experiences with gaming are firmly rooted on the PC. Civilization, Master of Orion, and Dungeon Keeper encompass the high points of my childhood gaming. Despite my upbringing though JRPG's and Japanese experimental games filled my teenage and early adult life. Where Civilization is the greatest game of my childhood, Xenogears is the greatest game of my teenage years. For me its the highpoint of storytelling in JRPGs, it demonstrates in excess some of the key strengths of Japanese focused games. (Rather funny considering my ire for the company who own the rights and if they chose to could make a sequel ... which until they actually prove they don't suck anymore I don't want.)
Yeah, I know I'm being hard on them. I feel its completely justified though. 1/2 this company during the 90's brought Japanese RPGs and by extension the entire Japanese development complex into a golden age of creativity and optimism. Seeing as how doom and gloom parades over pretty much every studio from that neck of the woods now, with that in mind I can't not point the finger and lay blame.
But yeah, its not that I want Japanese developers to completely monopolize the consoles like they did in years past, what I want is equality. 50% West 50% East. My ideal end game is that balance. I would hate to see the opposite of the situation happen 10-15 years from now. I have too much respect for studios like Naughty Dog, Gearbox and Bioware to bear seeing that.
Okay, enough rambling on, Japanese development is in trouble. The people need a hero to look up to and lead the way to the glorious future where the penis chariots are made of solid gold. Yes, I'm talking about the people who made a provocative form of suicide in real life not only look cool, but it remained cool for a game that spanned 100 hours or more. (A lot more if you bought the expansion)
If there ever was a company that just got what people are looking for in games from our favourite bow-shaped island, it's these guys. It is only fitting then that they lead the resurgence of these types of games onto the Sony and Microsoft behemoths. They have the support base comprised of their rabid fandom, a stable of wonderful projects and imaginative people who are not afraid to break genre conventions and strike out in their own direction and possibly the most important aspect of Atlus is their attention to the rabid community they have spawned. Such devotion ensures that any HD project they are involved in gets instant buzz and the fanbase serves to only increase that buzz through word of mouth.
One only has to look at the Persona series, their quasi-flagship brand of the latter half of the decade to realize what these components merged together are capable of. Persona 3 and 4 have become media darlings, Persona 3 Gamespot's RPG GOTY 2008, and Giantbomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run, and both have gone on to sell a respectable amount of copies worldwide. If VGChartz is to be believed, Persona 4 has sold in excess of 600,000 copies.
If they can keep up that sort of momentum and really revolutionize with the inevitable Persona 5, the series could finally break into territory that belongs to the likes of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel that if Persona 5 much like a certain From Software hit gets the right release window, attention it will explode the franchise.
With that strong in-house development, their corporate culture and the Atlus faithful they are in a position to best take advantage of the situation. Already they have leveraged their expertise to making a "niche" title a semi-blockbuster. I am of course referring to the one and only Demon's Souls. Demon's Souls is special, everyone knows this. Its a last stand for not coddling gamers, but actually challenging them to become better players. This is not why Demon's Souls is so important though. Demon's Souls is important because it is a JRPG that has transcended the genre. The trappings and tropes that are somewhat comforting to veterans of the style are nowhere to be seen. All that is left standing between you and fun is yourself (And hordes of demons). This is why Demon's Souls is a success. This is where Japanese development needs to go in order to make its grand comeback. I don't mean all Japanese games should be dark and gloomy, I mean they should break away from genre conventions and create their own conventions then perfect them. One only has to look at the quality difference between Demon's Souls and Ninja Blade to understand how important this concept is.
That said, I think if From Software moves away from their dried up cash cow (Armored Core) and embraces their part in the relationship that seems to be growing between Sony, Atlus and them the opportunities for all will be staggering. The combined financial and technical expertise of Sony/From Software and the localization and creativity powerhouse that is Atlus will begin the restoration. If 3D Dot Game Heroes becomes a success much like Demon's Souls, it will be another solid step to that recovery. May it take a year, two or five Japan will make its return to grace. Baby steps people.
P.S. Didn't realize that there was a monthly musing that happens to coincide with my topic. Honest!
Contest:
12:00 PM on 01.31.2010 | 
That said, I think Persona is a terrible example of why Japanese development isn't dying. Persona 3 has gotten three re-releases in the last three years. Persona 4, which good, is still basically Persona 3 v1.5.
I'm really glad you brought up Demon Souls, too. It seems like (especially on this site) there's a nonstop stream of JAPANESE GAMES LOL despite people playing Demon Souls, Street Fighter, NMH, NSMB/Mario&Luigi:BIS, and many others.
People are judging the genre of JRPGs from Square Enix, a company that hasn't made a classic JRPG -- some, self included, would say they haven't even made a GOOD JRPG -- in almost a decade.
One point I would make is that, imo, the future of JRPGs lies with Level 5, who you seem to have omitted from the list. Don't worry, its still good to pimp Atlus, who are a genuinely great company for Persona/Shin Megami and all its ports in America.
However, Level 5 not only came from nowhere with the Dark Cloud series and Rogue Galaxy, but have also created Professor Layton, which has become big enough to warrant its own movie. Sure, Professor Layton isn't really an RPG or an HD-based console game like you listed above, but Level 5 is doing something special enough to warrant attention too. And don't forget that Studio Ghibli collaboration too.
(2) You're right, FFXIII, because its decided to become part of the problem rather than the solution. SE is a rich company, but cost of development was so much and the stakes are so high they need the DLC for extra revenue.
(3) Atlus survives because they don't operate like Square Enix. They spend small and smart and they make their money back. Atlus didn't have to sell on Persona 4 what SE will have to sell on FFXIII to break even.
And if you'e noticed, Altus has been rather handheld of late. Shin Megami Tensei comes and goes from notice as a project for PS3 and has for years now. Oh, I'm sure Persona fans are hoping its a Persona game, but they need to be reminded that Persona does not fall under the SMT flag in Japan.
If Atlus is putting out a PS3 game, its going to be a main series SMT. Main series SMT is much less JRPG-ish and bridges the gap between JRPG and WRPG philosopies.
But Atlus being Atlus, this will stay in its niche and Sony gamers being what they are, they'll keep sitting on the fence like they did when Nocturne, DDS, Persona 3 and 4 came along.
I'll totally get an SMT game wherever it shows up, but I harbor no illusions about how well it will do. You Bioware fanboys should take a serious look at it, though. Atlus will make its money, but it will not rise above its niche status. They only seem able to do that with Persona which, while I love the series, its fans totally fucking annoy me the same way FFVII fans do.
Finally, Nintendo threw down a pretty noticeable gauntlet this week. The minds behind Final Fantasy and Xenosaga making RPGs for them. If those go well, people might be willing to forgo HD for an RPG fix.
Reality is that Wii, DS and PSP just have the friendliest environment for JRPGs right now. If The Last Story and Xenoblade live up to potential, Wii could grab a lot of JRPG developers in the mean time.
And as it stands right now, Nintendo's RPG forcast on the DS and Wii is much more appealing than PS3. Even PSP's RPG forecast is more appealing.
I don't think Nintendo's announcements are over for RPGs this year, either.
About the article, well said. I have to admit I am a Final Fantasy fan, and therefore a default Square Enix fan. I already have FFXIII, so I don't have to worry about the localization, but I have to commend the story of this one, which is the reason I play the games. One thing I commend it for however, is it is different every time, so at least they try to innovate.
That said, I have to say that Atlas is really on its game and I agree with what you said about both Persona and Demon's Souls. Odin Sphere, although not current gen, was also awesome and was what really turned me on to this developer. Can't wait for The Last Guardian either.
Somehow I don't think "New Rebirth of the Goddess" is less of a mouthful than "Shin Megami Tensei."
Also, they do a pretty good job acclimating you to the small bits of Japanese culture in their games. This is, of course, assuming you're not some backwater hick that sleeps with his sister and can't read the manual that comes with the game.
It's not like I think Eastern developers are shit now (I'm very much looking forward to a few releases, and want a few that are out), but you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned Eastern developers have to move out of their tropes. I mean, there's nothing wrong with them, but it almost seems like they're falling back on these things just because they know it'll find an audience, and seem to forget that they have a game to make. Great read, and I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks the East needs to step it's game up (No pun intended).
Also, companies like Atlus and Capcom are doing just fine.
Nintendo, and thus Japan, are the leaders of the industry and almost always have been.
As far as Shin Megami Tensei's translation, it doesn't need to be literal. Generally, I find if they do things that literally they do a disservice to the original meaning anyways, as only the simple meaning can be translated and much of the connotation can't be, so no, I wouldn't want it called "New Rebirth of the Goddess". Considering the entirely different perspective on gods that is in Japanese culture, I'm going to guess that a less literal interpretation would be better.
Thank you for putting some stuff that was in my head into a blog.
But, I don't think that JRPGs are the only problem. Aside from Lost Planet it seems like recently, Capcom hasn't been able to make a decent 3D open-world action game, the prime examples of this being Bionic Commando and Dark Void.
It also worries me in case Capcom suddenly decides to revive the Megaman Legends franchise and we get a bad game.
"The only reason NMH exists is because the Wii's specs were mailed in from 2001"
Woooow you're an A-hole. Lost all credibility there and stopped reading.
The hardware changed too, bud. PSP is a PS2, yes, but Wii is motion controlled with more than 2x power of gamecube and DS has two screens, touch, and full 3D. Wii/DS are the most innovative and groundbreaking consoles of this gen. Of course devs had to evolve, retard.
Basically, Japan needs to stop westernizing and just concentrate on what they're good at. Nintendo has always done what they're good at and it's worked out perfectly for them.
Squeenix had The World Ends With You, which, while it followed typical expositional dialogue conventions, the protagonist seemed to change and develop in a way that reflected the departure from standard to newer JRPGS.
One thing I tended to dislike about JRPGS was the Time>Skill equation alot of the games employed...but TWEWY allowed the players to skew their levels and take on multiple waves of enemies, and in return the player was rewarded with more items or XP etc. a fantastic idea, i wish more games would steal this
Nomura even legitimized his by now overplayed character designed by setting the story in Shibuya! Over designed characters stick out like sore thumbs, but when everyone in the game is as fashinably "cool" then the world feels more solidified.
The battle system was divisive...but should be at least taken note of for originality.
Right on about P3, its a JRPG where the character development feels voluntary instead of forced, and the relationships you forge go hand in hand with the game. The story and gameplay elements really go hand in hand; and thats unique in my eyes for a JRPG, the old days it was, this is a battle, now here is some expostion!
Dude, this month's musing is about the future.
"When I'm talking about Japanese Game Development I am referring exclusively to HD console development"
WTF
Seriously I don't know why many people look too down to the handhelds as if they aren't important in the insdutry. I think that some of the most original concepts of japanase games are from handheld like half minute hero, the world ends with you, devil survivor, knights in the nightmare, trauma center series and many more.
Agreed. If you looked beyond the Chalie's Angels bits and story, the battle system was quite fun. I actually enjoyed X-2 more than X.
KyleHyde proves that health with this list/rant: "Seriously I don't know why many people look too down to the handhelds as if they aren't important in the insdutry. I think that some of the most original concepts of japanase games are from handheld like half minute hero, the world ends with you, devil survivor, knights in the nightmare, trauma center series and many more"
The industry has somewhat of a balance: imagination from the east and innovation from the west. Japanese games aren't that innovative and Western games aren't that imaginitive/original. I would never want to play a bunch of imaginitive games without innovation or innovative games with any REAL imagination.
There is no sense of evolution in Japanese games. This is true with Japanimation as well. They throw crud until one gets picked up by the mass then it recycles the same shit like million times until it becomes a perfection (don't get me wrong, i meant you get 1 good stuff out of million tries, that's bad). Or when someone else found something that strikes the right chord with the mass. Western developers don't think that way. They think more independently and they tend to make games that they want to make rather than games what they think the masses will want. But then this type of trend is like a wave of pulses. It has it's up cycle then the down cycle. It's just that Japanese pulse doesn't beat fast. It goes thru very slow cycle. Western Developers have much more faster pulses: it rises and crashes faster than any japanese company. In any case, western companies are now going into the Japanese cycle of "we must make money before we experience other stuff." And there are just too many mega distribution houses in the west which also translate into "quantity over quality" argument. Then there are audiences. But I won't get into that. I like Japanese developers to stick around. I love gaming b/c of the varieties.
@Gojiguy
Woooow you're an A-hole. Lost all credibility there and stopped reading.
@Mitsugeta
Ignore people like this, they add nothing to the discussion. You specifically said that you would be focusing on HD development and you did that and I commend you for that. Agree that hand held games are fine, my favorite game Final Fantasy Tactics is hand held, the remake and Advance anyway.
@TheSilentProtaganist: I'm going to have to disagree with your reasoning for a main series SMT game. Persona is just the more logical choice for HD consoles since it has the better chance of making its money back. Its simply more popular now. =/
That said I think Atlus will be making the true jump to HD consoles this year. Thats not to say they will abandon their handheld and Wii lineup. As you say Atlus is smart, and smart companies diversify. So they will continue to make games like Devil Survior and Trauma Center in a lower cost environment and with that safety net in place they will be able to experiment with titles just like Demon's Souls and new ideas for the Shin Megami franchise on PS3/360.
P.S. I'm beyond excited for Xenoblade and The Last Story.
Thanks for the advice. I think I will since he ignored my point...
And odd creative bursts from From Software aren't unheard of, Chromehounds had some innovative features for a console game, and Otogi was an interesting new way of doing a DMC/NG/etc style third person action slasher.
Also 3D Dot Heroes is not made by From, nor is it anything other than an prettied up version of the rather common retro parody/homage style of games over there. Not saying it's bad, but it's no different than something like Retro Game Challenge or Half Minute Hero.
The only company in Japan that's shown any consistent dedication to moving forward on modern hardware is Capcom, however they are (mostly) doing this by targeting the Western market and style of games. I think Konami has "tried" to do this as well, but they generally fuck everything up, as Konami is wont to do. And SE obviously plans to try this by buying out other developers and expanding their publishing roles.
God Bless Sega for letting Valkyria happen, but that looks to be a one shot deal for this generation. And finally Namco is... Namco. They've released tons of graphically upgraded and completely indistinguishable titles from anything they put out on the last set of consoles, ooooh yeah.
Pretty much every other developer in Japan is too small to do anything other than marginally higher resolution niche titles on the big consoles, which makes me weep for the apparent death of Bumpy Trot 2.
"They throw crud until one gets picked up by the mass then it recycles the same shit like million times until it becomes a perfection (don't get me wrong, i meant you get 1 good stuff out of million tries, that's bad)."
This could be said of all shooters around too...
The problem I have with Japanese developers is that they just suck up to their demographic(anime/manga/VN/galge otaku) a whole bloody lot.I don't blame them.Business is still business.Problem is,when does the moneymaking part stop,and the passion part kick in.Moneymaking leads to repetition and possible decay,but passion leads to innovation and the act of refining.
And I agree with you that the genre is not at its best right now.
Sometimes I even wonder if it's me who has changed and not the jrpgs themselves.
DQVIII was good but I didn't fall in love with it, Tales of Vesperia is supposed to be good but I could never get into Tales games.
Undiscovery and Star Ocean IV look pretty bad but I'm still hoping that the PS3 version with original VO will help it a lot. Blue Dragon I didn't like at all... but there is light.
You mentioned Demon's Souls but you could also make a case for Lost Odyssey, White Knight Chronicles (I hope!)...
But aside from these I can't really say there's anything on the horizon that really excites me :(
That said, I don't know how much I presonally care whether the same tropes/cliches/premises are used in RPG's. For me personally, it's how well you tell the story, and whether I have some sort of emotional attachment to that story.
That said, if Lost Odyssey can do this for me, I still certainly have faith in Japanese developers...
Producer "Takeshi Kajii" (SCEJ).
Director "Hidetaka Miyazaki" (From Softwarea).
http://www.4gamer.net/games/080/G008001/20090319002/
http://www.4gamer.net/games/080/G008001/20090901050/
I've had the same thoughts for a good while myself, and have expressed them on Dtoid before, but such comments usually get shot down by the cries of FF/jrpg fanatics.
You are right. Before I picked up Persona 3 and Lost Odyssey, I hadn't purchased a jrpg in ages. I'd become burnt out on their tropes and bullshit cookie cutter designs. Now don't get me wrong here, I have great appreciation for jrpg and japanese games in general, but i also appreciate good game product from anywhere else.
Its been my view, that many japanese developers seem scared, to look at and be influenced by the work of others (especially western games), unless its done in a half assed way. In truth the copying and sharing of ideas is what keeps the industry moving forward. because so many of them work in a bubble, while gazing at Square Enix's loft towers, they miss the majority of cool western games released that they could learn good things from, like Mass Effect or Dragon Age. Its no wonder really why many of them are rehashing their own games.
There are those pioneers bucking this trend, though. When I learned Suda 51 is a big Burnout fan, I was pleased because I love those games too. It also made me glad that he can spot a good western game like Burnout, when most japanese gamers probably ignored it. I felt kind of closer to him too and that a good thing to feel as consumer of product. And the recent love affair between Capcom and Epic is of the kind that the industry needs more of. I'm still waiting for a japanese developer to say 'yeah I love that Mass Effect/Dragon Age'.
Pioneer wise, the smaller likes of Grasshopper, Platinum games, Atlus, Mistwalker, From are the devs to watch closely.
Demon's Souls was more than likely From Software's concept, which they couldn't fully afford PS3 dev costs. Sony probably handed over some cash to help From, in exchange for PS3 exclusivity and/or a stake. That's fair enough. If it was Sony's game, they could afford the inhouse dev costs for their own console. But I digress, Demon's Souls is the kind of well thought out, box breaking game that japan should be holding aloft more.
Most small japanese devs may not be able to supply big PS3 games, and while thy could work with 360 and XNA, which is cheap as chips, I agree with your HD part too. While 360 is easier to program for, japanese apathy is mostly high. Wii/DS/PSP are crutches, through which their broken aged jrpg game designs will hide, like old polished gold. And so long as they sell locally, to hell with others (not a good attitude).
And there's another angle few have thought of. What they're being taught at colleges and unis needs to change and improve in Japan. Courses in 3d graphics and animation, and more global game design thinking would help, as many students are head hunted early on.
To summarise, japanese developer must learn to adjust and fast. The industry moves at pace. Snooze and they loose. But first, the japanese must admit there is a problem that needs fixing, like a certain Capcom employee did at E3 09.
Best regards, Anna, CEO of windows 2008 r2 iscsi initiator and itunes store