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It's no secret that Sony has been the king of RPGs for the past two generations of gaming. It was pretty much mandatory for an RPGamer game to own a PS1 and then PS2. Xbox and Gamecube both had their fair share of RPGs, but nothing compared to the sheer diversity of titles both Sony consoles offered. Now the question is, amidst the next generation console wars and battles over exclusivity, "who will be the next king of RPGs?"
So far, it seems that Xbox 360 is winning this genre over. Within months of its release the Xbox 360 added the stunning, award winning RPG Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to its arsenal. Enchanted Arms was the first Japanese-style RPG to be released for the system, but, admittedly, it wasn't all that great. Unfortunately, that's all that the 360 offers RPGamers at the moments. However, it's not what the 360 currently has that RPGamers should be concerned with; it's what's on the horizon.
This year, the 360 is getting a handful of titles that are sure to astound and win awards all around. Bioshock is one of those titles. Though it does play much like Oblivion and seems like it could get rather boring after some time, it's difficult to ignore the beautiful, ambient art design and the deep, customizable gameplay. Mass Effect is another RPG heavyweight in the 360's corner. This game will certainly be something special. The sheer ambition of this title is amazing. Hopefully, BioWare will come through, but there are some challenges they'll need to overcome in order to do so. First, all of their past titles provide only about twenty hours of gameplay, thirty hours pushing it. BioWare boasts that Mass Effect will feature dozens of detailed and populated worlds. The Galaxy Map, shown in the gameplay videos, indeed shows a large variety of different worlds that can be explored, but I can't help wondering how big and unique each world will be. I can see there being sets of very similar worlds, like several forest worlds and desert worlds, instead of each world being completely different from the next. Even if each is unique, what if each world is just a few small areas instead of massive regions to explore. Again, all of BioWare's games last a good twenty hours. That just doesn't cut it this generation. I'm not paying $60 (maybe $70 for the rumored collector's edition) for a 20 hour quest. Sounds more like a rental to me. I have a feeling that Mass Effect will be something special, but then again everyone had that feeling about Jade Empire. It could go either way with this one. We'll just have to wait and see. If all goes well, Mass Effect and Bioshock alone might be reason enough for an RPGamer to save up for the system. But wait, there's more.
Perhaps the most anticipated RPG for the 360, and the one bound to win RPGamers over is Blue Dragon which hits US retailers this summer. The fact that the game is selling so well in Japan definitely says something. Before, the 360 sold horribly in the Land of the Rising Sun, but because of one title, many Japanese gamers have chosen to pick it up. I'm personally excited about the game. Being a Final Fantasy fan, I'd like to see what direction Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of that series, takes Mistwalker, his new game studio. Just look what happened with Final Fantasy. I can only imagine what Sakaguchi might do with Blue Dragon or another game he develops. This just might be history in the making. It helps that the famed composer, Nobou Uematsu, is behind the music and Akira Toriyama behind the art design. Since I enjoy Final Fantasy music, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Quest I look forward to listening to the game's tunes and enjoying the game's cutscenes and art design. I've read a few import reviews and, while they weren't all that in-depth, they had nothing but praise for the title. I'm excited about writing my own review for the game in the near future. Also, I like the fact that the game is three discs long, a first for any next gen console game. That's tells me that the game has great value and I can look forward to spending dozens of hours with the title before it's all over.
Another anticipated title is Fable 2. Though not much info is known about the title, it's still sure to impress when it finally releases...whenever that is. Sadly, the first Fable wasn't all that impressive. Playing around with the different character interactions just wasn't as involving as it could have been and gameplay was a bit shallow. And I couldn't believe how incredibly short the game was; I beat it in about seven hours and was just going at a steady pace. What I thought was a just a major plot twist turned out to be the ending. There's nothing like getting into a game only to have the credits role at that very moment. It really makes me wonder why they took four years to make this game. Were they just taking their time? Nevertheless, I'm keeping my eye out for this one. I think Lionhead Studios might make major improvements to the series to make Fable 2 a huge success. They definitely had the foundation of an amazing game; everything just fell through in terms of execution. We'll see if Lionhead actually learns from their mistake or ends up releasing just another mediocre title. Well, I have faith in them. After all, this is the same bunch that developed the fabled Black & White strategy game for the PC six years ago. Surely, they still have a bit of magic left in them.
Unfortunately, that's about all Xbox 360 owners have to look forward to in the realm of the RPG, and therein lies the problem: Microsoft's consoles offer only a handful of RPGs, but the majority of them are very good, whereas Sony's systems offer an astonishing number of RPGs, ranging from terrible to absolutely amazing. An RPGamer might be able to complete all the Xbox and Xbox 360 RPGs in a single summer, while it would take years and years to complete all the RPGs for both PS1 and PS2. The fact of the matter is that Japanese developers just aren't interested in investing in the Xbox 360. Microsoft pretty much has a lock on FPS shooter and action games, but they can't touch Sony's success with RPGs. Sony acquired Japanese developer's loyalty, like Konami, Square Enix, and Atlus, back on the PS1, long before anyone knew what an Xbox was. So, it'll be difficult for Microsoft to break that unspoken contract that has lasted over a decade. But it's possible. The Japanese release of Blue Dragon is an important event in the history of gaming. It is the singular reason why the 360 is doing so well there. The success of this Japanese RPG just might open the doors for other Japanese developers to follow suit.
In the end, only time will tell. Interestingly enough, far more RPGs are currently in development for the PS2 than there are for the 360. Most likely, when the Sony system finally dies out, these franchises will just follow up with the PS3. But with the rising costs of video game development, exclusivity is a lonely word. Just look at Assassin's Creed and Virtua Fighter 5. So, we might see ports for both systems. But then again, with the success of Blue Dragon and possibly Mistwalker's next project, Lost Odyssey, Japanese developers might finally give the 360 a try. And with the ease of developing for Xbox Live, we might actually see some PS1 and PS2 ports as well as original games in downloadable versions using that service. But again, only time will tell. Indeed, I'd like to have a larger array of RPGs to choose from for my 360. But until that time comes, I'll just have to make due with the handful of games that are coming out this year.
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