The Evolution Of The JRPG

When A "Golden Age" Becomes A Time Capsule

Ask anybody to name you ten JRPG's for the PlayStation 1 & 2, and it'll be easy enough. Yet ask that of the PS3 and Xbox 360 combined and I guarantee you'll get a few blank faces.

That's not to say there weren't any, but in the wake of the "interactive movie" and cover-based shooting boom these consoles brought, JRPG's suffered the brunt.

That's not to say there weren't any, but bar a few traditionalists like Persona and the Tales Of... series, many had switched to a faster paced, almost action style of gaming. The Xbox tried to recapture the old spirit with Lost Odyssey, helmed by none other than Mr. Final Fantasy himself, Hironobu Sakaguchi, which despite rave reviews failed to launch any sequels or Xbox's in the East.

Studio Ghibli, the animation behind such classics as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke (to name a few of many) teamed up with Level 5 to create the wonderful Ni No Kuni games. Whilst the first game proved a hit for the PS3, there were again a more accessible level of JRPG for those that favoured story over the older mechanics.

Whilst it would be unfair to say by this point the more traditional JRPG had died out, by the time the PS4 and Xbox One came on to the scene in the noughties, you'd be hard pushed to find anything reminiscent of the glory days. All signs were pointing to a decline in what we had come to expect from the Eastern style of RPG.

Indeed now, if you were to search for "PS4 JRPG's", you get the likes of Bloodborne and Nier: Automata in your results. The evolution was clear: gaming-centric notions of what we considered a JRPG some twenty years or so ago have amalgamated into the faster, action-paced titles we know today. Even comparing Final Fantasy XV to any of its PS1 predecessors shows a marked change in how they're played.

Some elements remain, but barring the consistent efforts of Persona and Dragon Quest, tastes have considerably changed.