I recently found a nice deal on GameFly for Lost Odyssey, the JRPG for the Xbox 360 from Mistwalker, some of the makers of Final Fantasy, so I jumped on it, bolstered by some of the good to great reviews I’ve read. And I am glad I did, too. See, while I loved Final Fantasy XIII, it was different enough that it didn’t really scratch that JRPG itch that has been irking me lately, but boy does Lost Odyssey do the trick!
That got me to thinking about why I love the genre so much. I’ve easily played JRPGs more than any other type of game in my life. I don’t even mind random battles, so you know I must be pretty far gone. Sure, some of the character designs are pretty outlandish and at times, feminine, but it’s like comfort food for me. I know what to expect and I’m not usually disappointed. Chicken soup for the gamer’s soul, one might say.
Which leads me to the asking: what genre do you swoon for? We all have that one genre that we try anything and everything that might be remotely connected to it. Mine is JRPGs. What’s yours? Go!
As much as I play FPS games more than any other genre, it’s not my favorite one at all. My favorites are RPG’s, and specifically JRPG’s in the past, but I haven’t found one that’s really impressed me in longer than I can remember. I’m not sure if that makes them my favorite genre or not. I keep searching for that JRPG that really is going to hit that sweet spot, but nothing ever seems to. It’s sad, really.
Which means I might buy Lost Odyssey because of this post. Thanks, Anthony.
I think I might agree about JRPGs, but only because there seems to be a shortage of them lately. I’m replaying FFIX right now and loving it. However, JRPGs can also be some of the most boring, generic games as well, so I would say I prefer Bio-Ware type RPGs even though that’s not really a genre. Dragon Age was a bit disappointing, but otherwise they can’t miss. Also, the recent emergence of incredible side-scrollers (Braid, Limbo, Super Meatboy) has got me loving that type of game again, but only when they push the genre forward
And about Lost Odyssey Anthony, the writers of the “Thousand Years” stories (I don’t remember the actual title) and the actual game are, unfortunately, different. The written stories are all kinds of emotional and give depth to Kaim’s character. The game story is ridiculous, as far as I’m concerned, and becomes completely overblown with sentimentality by the end. I’d actually suggest playing through the whole game, sidequests included, and getting within about a 1/2 hour of the ending, and then putting the game away. I’m sure you won’t do that, though, and you might disagree, but I’d be interested to know what you think.
[quote comment=”14929″] Also, the recent emergence of incredible side-scrollers (Braid, Limbo, Super Meatboy) has got me loving that type of game again, but only when they push the genre forward [/quote]
I was going to see if SNES Sidescrollers counted, but I like this answer too. I really like a lot of the indie games, and I’m really grateful that Steam seems to think they are important too. I mean, I’m a PC gamer so of course I love me my FPS games, but really, I’ve been looking for something different the past couple of years. We’re living in the Golden age!
Even though there aren’t that many new titles of the genre coming out, I really enjoy Action-Adventure Dungeon-Puzzle-Solving games a la Zelda and Okami. I’d love to see a resurgence of Action-Adventures so I can relive the feeling of my youth.
In a close second, I love RPG’s. I love any kind of character-customization and specialization in any game, whether it’s Final Fantasy-esque or an open-world RPG or an FPS like CoD4. Of all the RPG’s I enjoy the most, I’d have to say open-world RPG’s because they have the largest worlds, the most freedom, and the most character customization options that can really make your experience unique.
In a similarly close third are Turn-Based Strategy games. Yeah, screw you, I suck at RTS’s because I’m bad at macro, but do love creating and executing meaningful strategies. I suppose RTS’s just naturally have a steep learning curve since macro takes a lot of coordination, knowledge of hotkeys, and a computer that doesn’t chop across the world as I scroll around. The TBS / Tactics games that I’ve played – Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, and perhaps even Fallout 1 and 2 – are some the best games I’ve played because they allow you to develop strategies, don’t force you to make decisions quickly, and have interesting character customization and story. I like when Tactics games have a lot of RPG elements because it makes the characters all the more important, and that’s why Final Fantasy Tactics is probably my favorite Tactics game.
FPS’s are actually my fourth favorite genre. While I certainly enjoy all the new AAA titles that dominate the market now, I know that I’d appreciate AAA Action-Adventures or Open-World RPG’s or Tactics games more than FPS’s if more of them came out regularly.
My favourite genre is the humble FPS. Well, not so humble. It stems from my love of guns and interest in the military. I especially love FPSRPGs (Deus Ex, Fallout, Oblivion – even though it’s not a shooter I’m sure you get my drift) and I’m a sucker for the ‘choice’ mechanic executed well, hence why Deus Ex really strikes a cord with me (also, it’s sci-fi; Blade Runner-esque sci-fi!) and why I want Bioware to make a good FPS or else do a collaboration with a great FPS team. DICE + Bioware making a great FPS single-player experience with some sort of moral-choice-based multiplayer? *BRAINASPLODE*
Heh, Skuba. After I read the first sentence, I was gonna write, “What’s so humble about the FPS?” Then I read the second sentence.
I also agree with you about FPSRPGs (or is it just FPRPG?). Morrowind may, actually, be one of my favorite games of all time. If only because I started a new game about five times over the course of a few years until I finally “understood” it, and I was immensely rewarded.
@ dp: There’s no shortage of JRPG’s…in Japan. Most of them just don’t get over here. If you’re looking for something other than Final Fantasy, check out the Shin Megami Tensei games by ATLUS, like Persona or Devil Survivor. Many of the SMT’s have innovative gameplay mechanics and they have well-crafted stories, as long as you are able to appreciate Anime. And most of their games are not just basic Fantasy world magic blasting RPG’s, so there’s lots of variety to choose from.