|
I find it quite ironic that, while playing one of the most unique games I've touched in a while, I would find a statement that reflects the problem with innovation in the traditional RPG market. It was during a mission in The World Ends With You that a character stated, "And when all anybody offers is 'something different'... you get hungry for the familiar. It's comforting." That's exactly what the RPG realm is hitting on right now. Putting aside the tactical RPG genre and just looking at the rest, it seems as if every other original IP that's coming out is trying to work an angle to be something new and unique. That in itself is not bad, as we've gotten some good games out of this, but the problem is that the familiar is being left out. The market is sorely lacking in the area of tradtional, turn-based RPGs. That is the main reason that Brave Story: New Traveler was so enjoyable and the cause for my excitement over Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled. They go back to the roots and are not just trying to be "something different."
A quick glance over the list of upcoming original IPs shows the following: action RPGs, puzzle RPGs, dungeon crawlers, simulation games, rogue-like/mysterious dungeon games, soccer RPGs, tactical RPGs, monster hunting RPGs, real-time tactical RPGs, mystery RPGs, space/future RPGs, and MMORPGs. The market is growing and in order to compete, developers want to try something new and different. So very few RPGs are trying to take the classic formula that Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest made popular and polish it up and improve it. A few examples I think of right off are Black Sigil, a DS game that looks to be a major throwback to Chrono Trigger and the SNES Final Fantasy games; World Destruction, another DS RPG with a battle system similar to Xenogears and, dare I say, random battles; and hopefully the upcoming Suikoden Tierkreis.
I'm not opposed to innovation in the least. In fact, I welcome it if it's done well. But in a market where everyone is trying to do something different, where are the games that we once played and loved? I'm not talking about recycling games by copying and pasting from one to another. I'm talking about creative and original new games that follow an old formula. They have their place in the world and should be celebrated. I like my variety and innovation, but I'm hungry for the familiar. It really is comforting.
|
RSS feed
iTunes