Not only is Final Fantasy IX my favourite Final Fantasy game but it is also my favourite video game ever! Back in 2016 when I was playing through the Steam release of Final Fantasy IX, I was desperately looking for anything that analyzed and broke down the game and, to my good fortune, I found a few episodes of Dev Game Club, a podcast in which two game developers analyzed Final Fantasy IX from episodes 11 to 15. What stood out to me was that one of the developers had not played JRPGs before and found certain aspects of them hard to adjust to. This made me realize how dramatically different Western RPGs are in comparison to JRPGs.
While I predominantly play JRPGs, I do have experience with WRPGs. I have played and completed Diablo II and its expansion, I have played many Bioware titles (Mass Effect 2 is one of the best games I have ever played), the 3 Witcher games and, recently, I completed all of Skyrim (when I told one of my friends this, they responded with “Jesus, how much time did you have?!”).
The thing to remember is that WRPGs and JRPGs have been linked since the beginning. Yuji Horii, creator of the Dragon Quest series, points to WRPG series Wizardry and Ultima as having a strong influence on the series. However, he decided to simplify certain aspects of traditional Dungeons & Dragons gameplay to appeal to gamers unfamiliar with RPGs.
One of the most striking differences between WRPGs and JRPGs is the main character that you play. WRPGs, having been influenced by Dungeons & Dragons, generally allow you to customize your character when you begin the game, picking their gender, race, abilities etc. In contrast, JRPGs tend to give you a character with a name (in the past you were typically able to pick the name but with voice acting, that rarely happens anymore), style, backstory etc. While some people argue that being able to create a character is part of the fun of an RPG, it has been pointed out that having a fixed protagonist allows for deeper and more complex story development.
Speaking of story, another contrast is how the stories are told. Typically in WRPGs, their worlds tend to be more open and feature dialogue options that can change the story. JRPGs, on the other hand, tend to be more linear when it comes to storytelling, heading from point A to point B and being more restrictive with how much you can change the story. I know that part of the appeal of JRPGs for me are these stories that are very intricately made and focused. However, for some people, the linearity is off-putting (look at the controversy over Final Fantasy XIII for one).
Again, it wasn’t until I listened to Dev Game Club that I identified another appeal of JRPGs for me. Many WRPGs focus on the types of worlds born out of Dungeons & Dragons, a medieval European vibe with goblins, orcs, elves etc (there are exceptions of course such as Mass Effect or Jade Empire but I think you get the idea). Thinking back on my experience with JRPGs, I understood how alien many of the monster and world designs felt (in a good way). Running my eyes through the FFVII enemies page of the Final Fantasy Wiki, I realize how bizarre, different and, I dare say it, cool they are.
Ultimately, WRPGs and JRPGs are very different and it is easy to see why some people that like one may not like the other. On the other hand, I like both and one of my favourite games of late, Dark Souls, blends these two styles together in a truly brilliant fashion. I think that we should embrace and cherish the differences and understand what we love about both genres while, at the same time, seeing how they can learn and grow from each other. Let me know which you prefer, why and let’s generate discussion!
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.
Do you think that one of the factors that impact player reception to J/WRPGs are the social and cultural differences? For instance, Western society is much more focused (perhaps even obsessed, depending on your standpoint) on independence/agency which would be in significant contrast to Japanese/far eastern society of homogeneity and conformity. There are other differences too of course, but these would be the most relevant in this case.
I notice that in a lot of JRPGs, the cast of characters ultimately decide that the individual is more important rather than the majority. Perhaps part of the appeal of JRPGs in Japan is a rejection of the idea of conformity, basically saying that being an individual is harder but more rewarding in the end. This might also be part of the appeal for western gamers as well.