The Changing Face of the Import RPG: Is America Ready for More?

by Martin Haller 

It would have been nearly impossible, four years ago, to find an RPG, for the SNES, Genesis, NES, Sega, or Gameboy that I had not played and beaten. (Note: I am referring to RPGs in English, available in America.) In fact, for a string of games starting with Final Fantasy 3, I purchased every SNES and Genesis RPG to be published. This included Breath of Fire 2, Final Fantasy 3, Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, Lufia 2, Phantasy Star IV, Shining Force 2 and Crono Trigger. I was quite prepared to do so, because that meant an RPG every two or three months, in which time I had worked enough odd jobs, gotten enough allowance, and scrounged up enough change to purchase the next game. It even left me with enough money to go to the movies every so often, or rent a fighting game to play with my friends.

At the same time, one can note that every single RPG to come out for the SNES or Genesis was given a rating of 7.5 or above in most video game magazines, a rating that tends to imply a good game. Most RPGs got upwards of 8. Nines were not uncommon. Of course, I tended to feel the same way. Each RPG was a much need dose to end my withdrawal left by the previous title. But along came the Playstation.

Two truths became true with the PSX. One was that a far greater number of RPGs were getting translated. The other is that the translation jobs were inferior. As a result, not only were inferior games being translated (previously, only the "sure winners" were sent over), but they were having a worse job done on them. Suddenly, the market was flooded with more RPGs than an avid gamer like me could afford. I took some chances, and trusted Square, and ended up with the horrendous Saga Frontier. I trusted magazine reviews, and purchased Alundra, the only RPG with a plot worse than the original Zelda. When confronted with Breath of Fire 3, I turned away. I hadn't liked the series much on the SNES, and now I couldn't afford to risk another failure.

What we are seeing is a chaging genre. Previously, RPGs were so rare that we were more ready to overlook their shortcomings. We were also receiving the cream of the crop, with a few notable exceptions (Secret of Mana 2 and Final Fantasy 5 being most notable). Now, we're being given a flood of mediocre games, and the public has yet to respond. Magazines still refuse to give an RPG a lower score than a 7. What happened to the days when a 10 point scale meant that all 10 points were used? What is the point of having a 1 when the lowest score an RPG will receive is a 7? And because of that condensed grading scale, it is hard to see the huge gap that exists between a game such a Alundra (which averaged an 8 rating in magazines I read) and Final Fantasy 7, which received an undeserved 10. Yet while FF7 may not have deserved a 10, it certainly is more than two points better than Alundra. And what of Vandal Hearts, a game I consider a true gem, which came in at 7.5, only half a point above Saga Frontier.

Some may say I'm complaining not because the grading system is poor, but because my favorite games aren't winning. To this, I reply: Can you honestly say that Beyond the Beyond is the only RPG deserving of a failing grade?

The RPG genre is changing in America. No longer can every game be played and purchased. It is time for magazines and players to change with it, and realize that like fighting games, simulations, or sidescrollers, not every RPG is worth your money.