Has there been any period were Jrpgs Peaked/Had a Golden Age?

I wouldn't say so. Sure, there are tons of cIassics like Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger form the SNES era and yeah alot of people would probably consider that the peak. (Of course, then there was the PS1 era, which also held many cIassics.) However, there are alot of games that are, at the very least, on par with the all time greats, like Radiant Historia and Xenoblade Chronicles, plus others. So, no, I wouldn't say there has been a 'golden age.'

I think so. I'd place it from 1993 to 2001. Best quality JRPGs, best selling JRPGs (at least most), twas a good time.

I think so. I'd place it from 1993 to 2001. Best quality JRPGs, best selling JRPGs (at least most), twas a good time.

Shenmue_Jehuty

Well, Final Fantasy VII's explosive popularity suddenly made the RPG a viable genre saleswise, so you could argue the 32-bit era was a Golden Age in the sense that there were suddenly an abundance of options to choose from in the genre. The 16-bit era was certainly a heck of a time for RPGs too though, considering the prolific output of Squaresoft during that period, as well as the oodles of other quality games like Lufia, Breath of Fire, Phantasy Star, Earthbound, Lunar, etc. I would say the current console generation is definitely the most stagnant period that JRPGs have ever seen. The fact that Dragon Quest X is a freaking MMO certainly doesn't help matters any.

[QUOTE="Shenmue_Jehuty"]

I think so. I'd place it from 1993 to 2001. Best quality JRPGs, best selling JRPGs (at least most), twas a good time.

Australianpope

[QUOTE="Australianpope"][QUOTE="Shenmue_Jehuty"]

I think so. I'd place it from 1993 to 2001. Best quality JRPGs, best selling JRPGs (at least most), twas a good time.

AlbedoSnake

During the PS1 era

Well, Final Fantasy VII's explosive popularity suddenly made the RPG a viable genre saleswise, so you could argue the 32-bit era was a Golden Age in the sense that there were suddenly an abundance of options to choose from in the genre. The 16-bit era was certainly a heck of a time for RPGs too though, considering the prolific output of Squaresoft during that period, as well as the oodles of other quality games like Lufia, Breath of Fire, Phantasy Star, Earthbound, Lunar, etc. I would say the current console generation is definitely the most stagnant period that JRPGs have ever seen. The fact that Dragon Quest X is a freaking MMO certainly doesn't help matters any.

AlbedoSnake

No, it did not make it viable sales wise, there were more options, and people wanted to cash in on it more so than before, does not mean any made much or any money, were popular, or/and sold well. Numbers don't mean anything when you talk about peaked or golden ages. There may have been 45 Jrpgs released within 5 years after FF7, that does not means that because there were 45, all of a sudden it was a golden age for the genre, outside of Final Fantasy not many games gained anything near it. Before that JRPGS were practically non existant, most people did not really own Rpgs despite what many people wil say to you. Jrpgs did not even become valid to many people until 5th gen.Australianpope

Okay, so basically, you made this thread not for the sake of conversation but for the sake of teaching everybody on this board that your position on the matter is absolute?

The hell with what everybody else was playing. JRPG is my favorite genre, and I had a blast playing most of them throughout the 16-bit and 32-bit days, so as far as I'm concerned, it was a Golden Age of quality JRPGs, regardless of sales. There are tons of FPS out there, but next to none of them turn out to be profitable besides Call of Duty/Battlefield/Halo. Are FPS disqualified from being in a "Golden Age" because not enough of them are pushing millions of units? Sales are a ridiculous way to qualify a Golden Age. Comic books sold by the millions in the early 90s thanks to the speculation bubble, and a lot of the comics being sold in that era, especially the ones sold by Image Comics, were all style and no substance. Nobody would call that a golden age of comic books.

[QUOTE="AlbedoSnake"]I was only offering it up as an example as one of the RPGs that was impactful, and I don't appreciate your needlessly snotty response.Australianpope

The point is that the highest ****ing selling game on the Sega CD was a JRPG. Sega CD was not a wildly successful console in the first place, but the game that kept it alive the longest was an RPG. Lunar was an impactful RPG. Final Fantasy IV was also impactful for establishing many of the tropes that JRPGs to follow would employ, and Chrono Trigger was impactful because we still talk about the game as one of the greatest ever made to this day. It does not matter if Chrono Trigger did not sell 5 million copies. There are more ways to be "impactful" than inspiring the masses to go out and buy a particular genre in droves. Your whole argument is inherently flawed and I don't intend to continue the conversation any further.

[QUOTE="Australianpope"]

Okay, so basically, you made this thread not for the sake of conversation but for the sake of teaching everybody on this board that your position on the matter is absolute?

The hell with what everybody else was playing. JRPG is my favorite genre, and I had a blast playing most of them throughout the 16-bit and 32-bit days, so as far as I'm concerned, it was a Golden Age of quality JRPGs, regardless of sales. There are tons of FPS out there, but next to none of them turn out to be profitable besides Call of Duty/Battlefield/Halo. Are FPS disqualified from being in a "Golden Age" because not enough of them are pushing millions of units? Sales are a ridiculous way to qualify a Golden Age. Comic books sold by the millions in the early 90s thanks to the speculation bubble, and a lot of the comics being sold in that era, especially the ones sold by Image Comics, were all style and no substance. Nobody would call that a golden age of comic books.

[QUOTE="Australianpope"][QUOTE="AlbedoSnake"]I was only offering it up as an example as one of the RPGs that was impactful, and I don't appreciate your needlessly snotty response.AlbedoSnake

The point is that the highest ****ing selling game on the Sega CD was a JRPG. Sega CD was not a wildly successful console in the first place, but the game that kept it alive the longest was an RPG. Lunar was an impactful RPG. Final Fantasy IV was also impactful for establishing many of the tropes that JRPGs to follow would employ, and Chrono Trigger was impactful because we still talk about the game as one of the greatest ever made to this day. It does not matter if Chrono Trigger did not sell 5 million copies. There are more ways to be "impactful" than inspiring the masses to go out and buy a particular genre in droves. Your whole argument is inherently flawed and I don't intend to continue the conversation any further.

First off, I'm defining Golden Age as having multiple titles across many platforms that were impactful in terms of either sales, innovations/changes/improvements in the genre or gaming as a whole, critical acclaim, or just fan adoration. With that in mind...

I'd have to say the 16 bit era. It had Chrono Trigger (regarded by many as the best in the genre or even of all time), Lunar, Shining Force (not necessarily big name games, but they had serious critical acclaim and are adored by fans), Earthbound (same as SF), Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Phantasy Star, Secret of Mana, Ultima, Might and Magic... I have yet to see a list of favorite/top RPGs without several games from this era (unless the person has never played these games). Not only that, but when you think about the powerhouse series of the genre, they're all there aside from Pokemon (which was on a console from this era but I left it out due to it's release date), Baldur's Gate, Tales (which had a Japanese release on the SNES), and Diablo.

All of that aside, it seems to me that this is also the era where RPGs have the highest amount of top rated games in relation to other genres when you compare it to other eras. The 32/64 bit era had a lot of great RPGs, but the amount of other great titles in other genres eclipses them, as it does in every generation after that (especially recently).

[QUOTE="Shenmue_Jehuty"]

I think so. I'd place it from 1993 to 2001. Best quality JRPGs, best selling JRPGs (at least most), twas a good time.

Australianpope

So what were these impactual RPGs if you don't mind me asking?

Yep, PS1-PS2 era

During the PS1 era

DealRogers

If I may pick a broad spectrum, I'd say fourth, fifth and sixth generation. The first console rpgs popped up on eight-bit systems and they were good but the genre really came into it's own fourth gen (esp. on SNES) and continued through the fifth (esp. on PS1) and was still strong going into the sixth gen. If I have to be more speciffic, I will say fifth gen (again, esp. PS1). Personally, I tend to like the gameplay from that era the best as well. Right now, their popularity seems to be declining (mostly due to a decline in quality in some of the most popular serieses) but there are still good ones being made. Looking at the gaming landscape now, it is strange to think console RPGs w/ turn based combat were one of the most popular genres....

[QUOTE="Australianpope"][QUOTE="Shenmue_Jehuty"]

I think so. I'd place it from 1993 to 2001. Best quality JRPGs, best selling JRPGs (at least most), twas a good time.

Shenmue_Jehuty

So what were these impactual RPGs if you don't mind me asking?

Snes,Sega and Ps1 had the best Jrpgs, the list is epicly long.

Anyone who thinks the Ps2 had the quality that era had is le crazy. Jrpgs used to be amazing games, even ones with voice acting were badass like Tales of Eternia, great characters albet Marady being annoying as hell. Problem is 90% of characters in Jrpgs since the Ps2 days are like Marady dumb, with hidden power, Small cute usless animal that also has hidden power. In fact let me tell you the plot of 99% of current an last gen Jrpgs story lines.

Main character is the underdog

Main character must have ties to a villain he must have revenge on

Main character is a giant wuss bag

Some point the in the game he will beaten, but by all odds his will power/blood line/Item/ect will grant him extrodinary power to overcome the situation.

The last one used to make people tear up, it had consequence to do, well I dispise the characters in FF5, Galufs death is pure awesome he just says **** it flex's his beard and saves the world, but dies in the process. Leaving you with a personal want for revenge, and a character who also wants revenge.

Mid to late 90s.

Started with Final Fantasy III, then came the huge attention for Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, Phantasy Star, etc. It peaked with FF VII, and ended with a bang with Pokemon Blue and Red.

Yep, PS1-PS2 era

riou7

This!

Impactual=Profit-Sales-Popularity/Mainstram all in a package, which outside of a few games, has never really happened in a certain period of time. If we are talking about output I could say the PSX era, although that does not really qualify for "Golden Age" in the history books sadly.Australianpope

lol, I didn't even want to post in this thread after reading through some of the tripe you've contributed since starting it, and it doesn't really help matters that you appear to be an exceedingly pleasant (lol) person to converse with. However, after reading this, I have one question for you: Where are you getting your definition of "golden age" from? Your ass?

It is widely accepted, as an example, that hip hop was in its golden age in the period between the late 80's and the mid 90's. This had NOTHING to do with sales, since if that was our measuring stick then the music market was absolutely SATURATED with high selling rap albums much more recently than that period of time. It had everything to do, conversely, with a peak in creativity and craft as hip hop goes.

It can be safely said, then, that this all comes down to opinion.

Thanks for playing, though.;)

[QUOTE="Australianpope"]Impactual=Profit-Sales-Popularity/Mainstram all in a package, which outside of a few games, has never really happened in a certain period of time. If we are talking about output I could say the PSX era, although that does not really qualify for "Golden Age" in the history books sadly.Assassin_87

lol, I didn't even want to post in this thread after reading through some of the tripe you've contributed since starting it, and it doesn't really help matters that you appear to be an exceedingly pleasant (lol) person to converse with. However, after reading this, I have one question for you: Where are you getting your definition of "golden age" from? Your ass?

It is widely accepted, as an example, that hip hop was in its golden age in the period between the late 80's and the mid 90's. This had NOTHING to do with sales, since if that was our measuring stick then the music market was absolutely SATURATED with high selling rap albums much more recently than that period of time. It had everything to do, conversely, with a peak in creativity and craft as hip hop goes.

It can be safely said, then, that this all comes down to opinion.

Thanks for playing, though.;)

[QUOTE="DealRogers"]

During the PS1 era

rawsavon

[QUOTE="Assassin_87"]

[QUOTE="Australianpope"]Impactual=Profit-Sales-Popularity/Mainstram all in a package, which outside of a few games, has never really happened in a certain period of time. If we are talking about output I could say the PSX era, although that does not really qualify for "Golden Age" in the history books sadly.Australianpope

lol, I didn't even want to post in this thread after reading through some of the tripe you've contributed since starting it, and it doesn't really help matters that you appear to be an exceedingly pleasant (lol) person to converse with. However, after reading this, I have one question for you: Where are you getting your definition of "golden age" from? Your ass?

It is widely accepted, as an example, that hip hop was in its golden age in the period between the late 80's and the mid 90's. This had NOTHING to do with sales, since if that was our measuring stick then the music market was absolutely SATURATED with high selling rap albums much more recently than that period of time. It had everything to do, conversely, with a peak in creativity and craft as hip hop goes.

It can be safely said, then, that this all comes down to opinion.

Thanks for playing, though.;)

[QUOTE="Australianpope"]If all you saw was the word sales you can't read and ignored everything else in the post. Thanks for playing ;pAssassin_87

To be fair, I was probably more opinionated and narrow-minded back when I started posting too, though that was back before MGS3 had come out and I would have been around 13 years old. ;)

16bit era was the pinnacle. After that things became overly cinematic. Spoken dialog takes away from the player injecting themselves into the character, IMO.Heirren

[QUOTE="Heirren"]16bit era was the pinnacle. After that things became overly cinematic. Spoken dialog takes away from the player injecting themselves into the character, IMO.Dudersaper

I like voice acting for cut scenese only pretty much. I get sick of it when they voice every line. The thing is, as the voice acting gets better--and it has been in general, I'd say--they tend to do more of it. I wish they'd knock the mount of it back down to PS1 levels but keep the acting at the level it is not (or higher, of course).

[QUOTE="Australianpope"][QUOTE="Assassin_87"]

lol, I didn't even want to post in this thread after reading through some of the tripe you've contributed since starting it, and it doesn't really help matters that you appear to be an exceedingly pleasant (lol) person to converse with. However, after reading this, I have one question for you: Where are you getting your definition of "golden age" from? Your ass?

It is widely accepted, as an example, that hip hop was in its golden age in the period between the late 80's and the mid 90's. This had NOTHING to do with sales, since if that was our measuring stick then the music market was absolutely SATURATED with high selling rap albums much more recently than that period of time. It had everything to do, conversely, with a peak in creativity and craft as hip hop goes.

It can be safely said, then, that this all comes down to opinion.

Thanks for playing, though.;)

Assassin_87

[QUOTE="Assassin_87"][QUOTE="Australianpope"]If all you saw was the word sales you can't read and ignored everything else in the post. Thanks for playing ;pAlbedoSnake

To be fair, I was probably more opinionated and narrow-minded back when I started posting too, though that was back before MGS3 had come out and I would have been around 13 years old. ;)

I made it up? "Was called the ARCADE GOLDEN AGE due to the fact that Arcade games were bringing in large amounts of revenue, and many developers that jumped on would be almost guaranteed at least decent success, and the ARCADE genre related games stayed Mainstream throughout the late 70's and 80's." Yeah, i see 3 things here and not one of them is "just sales", i mean learn to read and come back, i can't take care of all the special kids. Jrpgs have not gotten any of the 3 required for a goldenage. Try again.Australianpope

Ok, first of all I'd like to thank you for clearly being mature enough not to resort to repeatedly harping on a small misstep on my part, in that I chose sales as a specific item to bring up in my initial post (Check the bolded, fine choice of words friend!). It's obviously not the case that because I didn't bring up all of the other parts of your proposed equation, that I didn't actually read the rest of your post. And for your acknowledgement of that, again, I thank you. Very respectable of you, indeed!

Now, again I'll say that the only thing I ever took issue with is how vehemently you're arguing your position, to the point that you're attempting to discredit the posts of others as if they are factually incorrect when your idea of a golden age is not some accepted criteria. If you can point me to an article where it has been said that what you're peddling here is the one and only true idea of a "golden age" in gaming then I will concede that I've been wrong this whole time. Short of that, however, I'll say that in my opinion the early nineties through the mid-2000's quite nicely represent a golden age for JRPGs, and that there is no objective sense in which you can prove me wrong.

[QUOTE="AlbedoSnake"]

[QUOTE="Assassin_87"] lol I read everything. You're still just touting some fabricated equation as the strict qualifier for a golden age, which it clearly is not since you made it up. I'm taking issue with you arguing your opinion as if it's fact.Australianpope

To be fair, I was probably more opinionated and narrow-minded back when I started posting too, though that was back before MGS3 had come out and I would have been around 13 years old. ;)

[QUOTE="Australianpope"]I made it up? "Was called the ARCADE GOLDEN AGE due to the fact that Arcade games were bringing in large amounts of revenue, and many developers that jumped on would be almost guaranteed at least decent success, and the ARCADE genre related games stayed Mainstream throughout the late 70's and 80's." Yeah, i see 3 things here and not one of them is "just sales", i mean learn to read and come back, i can't take care of all the special kids. Jrpgs have not gotten any of the 3 required for a goldenage. Try again.Assassin_87

Ok, first of all I'd like to thank you for clearly being mature enough not to resort to repeatedly harping on a small misstep on my part, in that I chose sales as a specific item to bring up in my initial post (Check the bolded, fine choice of words friend!). It's obviously not the case that because I didn't bring up all of the other parts of your proposed equation, that I didn't actually read the rest of your post. And for your acknowledgement of that, again, I thank you. Very respectable of you, indeed!

Now, again I'll say that the only thing I ever took issue with is how vehemently you're arguing your position, to the point that you're attempting to discredit the posts of others as if they are factually incorrect when your idea of a golden age is not some accepted criteria. If you can point me to an article where it has been said that what you're peddling here is the one and only true idea of a "golden age" in gaming then I will concede that I've been wrong this whole time. Short of that, however, I'll say that in my opinion the early nineties through the mid-2000's quite nicely represent a golden age for JRPGs, and that there is no objective sense in which you can prove me wrong.