/vr/ - Retro Games

JRPGs 'worked' back in the day because they could focus on a huge world and expansive story. While most other gameplay mediums couldn't. Think about it. You could have a JRPG that lasted for 30-80 hours, while a Zelda game would last for 10 hours and a platformer for 2-4 hours. And those games would feel much smaller in content.

Now however, other game genres have caught up. We have full free roaming games like Red Dead Redemption or ARPGs like Diablo or crazy story based adventure games like Assassins Creed. And when people compare a JRPG to these multi-billion dollar games, the JRPG no longer seems to have larger production values, better graphics, longer play times and more content. Especially since games such as Final Fantasy XIII, Star Ocean 4, Tales and etc seem to be shrinking in content and playtime.

But of course, not all modern day JRPGs are like this. Dragon Quest, Shin Megami Tensei, Pokemon and others are still going strong. And a host of new JRPGs have come along this gen.

In short, JRPGs just can no longer corner the market on high production values, 40+ hour long games and graphics. The series that will survive are the series that have something else they can focus on besides these things. So...watch out Final Fantasy.