3DS: The Moses of the JRPG genre

For those who didn't attend Sunday school or perhaps never saw Prince of Egypt, Moses was a Biblical character who led a few million Hebrew slaves out of Egypt and into their promised land full of milk, honey, and...well, full of not being a slave anymore, too. It's an iconic story in Western culture of how one brave man led a nation to a better place.

I figure I might as well get the explanation for the thread title out of the way, because I do think the 3DS is the game industry's "Moses" for the JRPG genre.

Let me explain.

Japanese RPGs have long been on the decline in terms of popular reception. It seems like the less "J" JRPGs get (like in the case of Dark Souls and Dragon's Dogma) and the less "RPG" JRPGs get (like in the case of Final Fantasy XIII), the better they sell. And yet, there's a loyal niche of JRPG fans who cry out for deliverance from this action-RPG slavery. "Let my JRPGs go!" cry the fans. We just want some good cutscenes. We just want a great battle system. We just want a JRPG that can rival the great classics from the days of yore. A tall order, to be sure, but if the FPS and Western RPG and adventure and racing and puzzle genres can grown and evolve, why not JRPGs, too?

But as gaming evolves, so too must the JRPG genre evolve. As stated above, some developers have tried to do this simply by making the JRPG less "J" or "RPG". This dilutes the genre and puts a frown on the faces of people who grew up with Final Fantasy Tactics and Chrono Trigger and Breath of Fire and Pokemon. But what if there was a way to improve and progress the JRPG genre as a whole without stripping away its roots?

That's where the 3DS comes in.

In the past, I've been really down on the 3DS's focus on 3D (I think it's stupid), but the little portable platform has really outdone itself in terms of bringing something new to the JRPG genre while still respecting the genre's roots.

Take, for instance, the new Bravely Default. What are some of the biggest complaints you hear nowadays about JRPGS? "I hate grinding," is a common one. "The battle system is boring," is another. Interestingly enough, Bravely Default tackles both of those complaints head-on, not by tossing JRPG conventions out the window, but by giving the player the choice of how they want to play the game. Too tough? Reduce the difficulty on the fly. Too easy? Crank it up. Too many random battles? Adjust it (or even turn them off). Battles going too slowly? Use fast-forward and auto-battle. Bravely Default is a JRPG that is every bit as "classic" as JRPGs from the 16-bit and 32-bit eras, but it makes an effort to respect your time and your preferences.

Another great example would be Shin Megami Tensei IV. This game is every bit as beefy as its console cousins, but it adds in features to streamline the experience. Namely, auto-battles and also being able to save anywhere. Sick and tired of looking for those floating crystals or glowing blue circles on the ground? I mean, c'mon! You've had a long day, you've leveled up a dozen times, and you just want to take a break without having to trek all the way back to the Inn. Well, that's exactly what SMT4 allows you to do. Ironically, the game is tough as nails, evoking the brutal difficulty of JRPGs from the SNES and PS1, but even in death, the game lets you start over at a convenient spot and try again. It isn't so much about the game being "dumbed down" (believe me, it's not a cakewalk). Rather, it's about the game respecting your time. I loved being able to save before a boss battle or even save in the middle of a dungeon or a story quest.

In case you're thinking to yourself "Okay, Dedicated, but this has nothing to do with Nintendo. They may have made the 3DS, but it is ATLUS and Squeenix leading the charge".

Ho ho! Not so fast.

One of my absolute favorite games from last year was Fire Emblem: Awakening. You know why I liked it so much? Because I'm a Fire Emblem nub. I'm really not very good at those games. I always seem to get in over my head, too many of my party members die, and then I simply give up. Fire Emblem Awakening not only gave the choice of difficulty level, but it also allowed players to turn off the series' well-known permadeath feature (for the record, I played with permadeath turned On. Nya). While the core gameplay wasn't anything new (think Persona's social links combined with Final Fantasy Tactics), the game devs were flexible enough to give the player the choice as to how they would play the game. Scared of permadeath? Turn it off. Too difficult? Play on an easier difficulty. It stands as yet another example of a JRPG developer who was willing to be flexible and adjust the series' long-running conventions in order to allow a wider audience to enjoy the game, not by removing what the Fire Emblem series was known for, but by simply offering the choice for the player to play it their way.

Lastly, we have the Mario & Luigi series. It's pretty funny that I bring this up, because Mario & Luigi: Dream Team on the 3DS is the fourth game in the M&L series. It certainly isn't a "new" series nor are the mechanics "new", but despite that, AlphaDream's celebrated JRPG series still hasn't been aped by other developers. The iconic timing-based button press battle system remains - to this day - one of the most entertaining ways to deal Criticals and gain XP. I'm surprised no one has really been able to copy it successfully. More importantly, M&L is a series that proves a JRPG don't have to be dark and brooding and teenaged and carrying a massive zweihander in order to be good. So many JRPGs fall into the trap of trying to be too "mature", and M&L brings back the feeling of when JRPGs where a bit more lighthearted than they are today.

Similar to the DS that preceded it, I think the 3DS will be the go-to spot for JRPGs this gen, not because it has a lot of great retro-style JRPGs, but because gamers will be able to watch the evolution of the JRPG genre on the 3DS platform.

Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of console JRPGs that I enjoyed from the last few years, but it seems like every developer is shying away from the JRPG genre. On the 3DS, however, JRPGs are thriving and if you want to see the "next big thing" for the genre, it's on the 3DS.

Thanks for reading. If you've played an awesome JRPG in the past couple of years or if you just want to comment on the blog, say so below.