10 things Japanese people hate about JRPGs

[Yggdrasil]

"A recent Japanese message board thread about JRPGs (Japanese role-playing games) noted that while some would call them the "classic style" of RPG, overseas there are many cases where the term "JRPG" is used with a negative nuance. To join in on this negativity, posters decided to discuss what they themselves hate most about their domestically-made RPGs."
 
*Note there is no order or ranking involved. We're just counting off ten things.

1. The characters are all good-looking guys and beautiful girls.
 
2. Movie --> Dialogue --> Movie
 
3. Opening chests without permission

4. You have a bunch of characters, but only a few of them can participate in the battle.
 
5. The actual game contents are subordinated to the theme song, voice actress, etc.
 
6. About 1,200 people line up for preorders.

7. Hidden things you wouldn't understand unless you read a walkthrough
 
8. The protagonist always does the opposite of what I think.
 
9. You're just running errands, and then before you know it you have somehow saved the world.
 
10. They're called JRPGs.

*Most opinions are paraphrased and not directly translated.

Source: Crunchyroll (via: Hachima Kikou)

...

"The actual game contents are subordinated to the theme song, voice actress, etc."

What? ・ヘ・

[Yoda]

Yeah I don't understand that one either. Bad translation probably?

[MeshGearFox]

Sounds like they feel like more funds are spent on coming up with a killer theme song than making the game good. or something.

[Yggdrasil]

Sounds like they feel like more funds are spent on coming up with a killer theme song than making the game good. or something.

So, Final Fantasy VIII and stuff?

[Der Jermeister]

lol ff8 sux amirite?

F--k you, I liked FF8. If you play the game thinking you have to spend an eternity drawing spells from enemies, then you just suck at the game. Plus, Triple Triad is a fuck of a lot better than that shitfest Tetra Master.

[MeshGearFox]

Sounds like they feel like more funds are spent on coming up with a killer theme song than making the game good. or something.

So, Final Fantasy VIII and stuff?

I guess but I have no idea how that applies. I'm thinking something like Bethesda dropping fat cash to get Patrick Stewart to do like five lines in Oblivion is more in league with what they mean.

[Yoda]

I'd like Dice to write a list of things she thinks I hate about JPRGs.

[Yggdrasil]

lol ff8 sux amirite?

F--k you, I liked FF8. If you play the game thinking you have to spend an eternity drawing spells from enemies, then you just suck at the game. Plus, Triple Triad is a fuck of a lot better than that shitfest Tetra Master.

I don't like FFVIII for a bunch of reasons, but I will never really say it sucks or something to that effect. I just meant to say that back in the day the big selling point of the game was the single "Eyes on Me", also known as "the Titanic theme for Final Fantasy".

[Fyle]

I could agree with most of that list especially :

 1. The characters are all good-looking guys and beautiful girls
 
5. The actual game contents are subordinated to the theme song, voice actress, etc.
 
7. Hidden things you wouldn't understand unless you read a walkthrough
 

You can't actually hold #6 against the game or #10 being they are irrelevant to game play. JRPGs never go for any sense of realism. Of course I don't want a game to be "realistic" in every detail but I want some elements of realism in the game and generally nothing over the top with room for exceptions of course.

The last actual JRPG I played was FF10 (unless you count Tactics Ogre or Dungeon Siege 3 - I kinda don't).

(｀_´)ゞ

[Dice]

1. The characters are all good-looking guys and beautiful girls.

I think the obvious thing to say here is, "are they supposed to be ugly then?".  But hey.  Apparently all doctors on television are 10's.

6. About 1,200 people line up for preorders.

Wow... the RPG IS dead here then.

8. The protagonist always does the opposite of what I think.
[/quote

Definitely too many of these.  I liked Tales of Graces, but I think Asbel had his head up his ass and needed a kick.  Sacrificing logic for friendship??  I like the more "die with dignity and honour" style that's usually missing when J-RPG-magic kicks in to save the day.

I don't recall Eyes on Me ever being a selling point.  I liked it, but I don't remember a craze for it of any sorts.

[Hathen]

Going to the original site, the guy just picked 10 random responses to a thread on an anonymous board. It would be like writing a Japanese article on what /v/ on 4chan thinks of WRPGs, taking a single thread.

Not that it makes any of the things listed invalid, I just find it dumb that someone's getting paid to do that.

[Starmongoose]

I don't get number 3.

Do they want to play a game where they must get written proof that the owner of the chest has given them the right to open it? Like a receipt?

[Hathen]

I'm guessing she "translated" this:

無断でタンスを開ける

Which says "Opening chest (drawers) without permission", and it was posted along with a picture of a clothes closet/sock drawers, so it's probably more refering to breaking into peoples' houses and rummaging through their underwear for elixirs. She took pretty much all the entries from near the top of the thread.

[Yoda]

Yeah that's probably looting and invading w/o any kind of consequence.

[Annubis]

Do they want to play a game where they must get written proof that the owner of the chest has given them the right to open it? Like a receipt?

Only if triple signed on a deed too.