Where are the JRPGs? (And don't point to SMTIV.)

When I consider why I was so fond of the Gameboy back in the day, it's because it never had any shortage of RPGs to play: Golden Sun, Sword of Mana, Final Fantasy, Lunar, etc. I could even play Dragon Ball Z JRPG-style if I wanted to. To be fair, the DS did a pretty good job of keeping up with the Gameboy's JRPG library. But looking at the 3DS, it's an entirely different story -- we've essentially got two Mario RPGs (though Paper Mario was filth), a sloppy port of a PS2 Tales game, Pokemon (which I am excited for) and Shin Megami Tensei, which is just not my cup of tea. And while Bravely Default looks promising, it will also come out when the 3DS is hitting (or beyond) its three-year anniversary -- that's three years of the 3DS being a deadzone for JRPGs. Moreover, where exactly is Square Enix with Nintendo these days? Outside of Bravely Default, they've got nothing slated for Nintendo platforms. What happened to all of the remakes and Crystal Chronicles titles it put out? Its CEO made no mention recently of handheld projects that don't involve mobile phones and tablets. It's just so ... disappointing.

Are JRPGs dead on handhelds? For the life of me, I can't understand why. They must be inexpensive to produce, too, considering it's still perfectly acceptable to make a top-down, 2D RPG. Heck, I'd almost prefer them that way.

Moreover, where exactly is Square Enix with Nintendo these days? 

REVOLUTIONfreak

You know, just today I was wondering this and why there is a lack of jRPG on the system. I'm playing DS jRPGs on the 3DS, while I have no problem with it, I prefer to keep up to date with the games and their are very few on the 3DS. 

I see some titles in the future being released for the system. But they are anyone's guess if they will actually be good. 

you forgot project x zone and etrian odessy 4....and the new etrain odyssy 1 remake comining in oct.

also if you like the eshop

denpa men is a very cool jrpg.

Well there is Etrian Odyssey IV and Millenium Girl, Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Code of Princess, Unchained Blade, Project X Zone, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Monster Hunter 4, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Kingdom Hearts: DDD, Dragon Quest VII, and Bravely Default, Pokemon, Tales of the Abyss, and Shin Megami Tensei IV that you already mentioned.  Not such a small list, just not the insane amount the DS had.

Since the tc appears to be a Square Enix fan, theres the Dragon Quest VII remake, but there's still no word on localization yet that I'm aware of.

Well there is Etrian Odyssey IV and Millenium Girl, Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Code of Princess, Unchained Blade, Project X Zone, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Monster Hunter 4, Mario & Luigi Dream Team, Dragon Quest VII, and Bravely Default, Pokemon, Tales of the Abyss, and Shin Megami Tensei IV that you already mentioned.  Yeah looks so very little.

Sora278

Honestly that list is poor. The games on there look good don't get me wrong, but a good amount of the games are dungeon crawlers, which not everyone likes (myself included). We need a few more Bravely Defaults or Tales of the Abyss to really round out the more 'traditional' jrpgs imo. The reason I like the DS's RPG catalog so much is you have a bunch of 'traditional' JRPGs, a bunch of dungeon crawlers, a bunch of SRPGs, a bucch of action RPGs, and so on. There was something for everyone there, not just a certain group.

Well there is Etrian Odyssey IV and Millenium Girl, Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Code of Princess, Unchained Blade, Project X Zone, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Monster Hunter 4, Mario & Luigi Dream Team, Dragon Quest VII, and Bravely Default, Pokemon, Tales of the Abyss, and Shin Megami Tensei IV that you already mentioned.  Yeah looks so very little.

Sora278

Fair enough, personally I was pretty skeptical on calling those JRPGs too but technically they are considered those.  I am really hoping we see remakes for Final Fantasy V and VI.  Now THAT would make a nice addition to the list.

Fair enough, personally I was pretty skeptical on calling those JRPGs too but technically they are considered those.  I am really hoping we see remakes for Final Fantasy V and VI.  Now THAT would make a nice addition to the list.

Sora278

Who knows. Square Enix doesn't make any sense to me lately.

EDIT: Just had a brilliant idea: A remake of Grandia? Or a brand-new one? (Does anyone still remember that game?)

Well I loved the remakes they did for the DS so they could just do the same thing for that. And I saw the name Grandia once before...

Oh I forgot about Rune Factory 4 and Exstetra!  Check those out.

Well, the DS didn't get all of it's RPGs in the first two years. I think part of it with the 3DS is that it had a rough start so companies were a little wary of making games on the device, especially for a niche genre. Considering that the 3DS has been on an incredible run in the last 12 months or so, the install base should be at a point where companies are going to make more RPGs.

Besides this has already been a great year with Etrian Odyssey IV, SMT IV, Project X Zone, and current GOTY Fire Emblem Awakening.

Bravely Default, Dragon Quest VII and more will be coming soon.  Plus there's Pokemon, a rumored FF6 3D remake and many other Atlus games they will likely localize. Remember, the dS wasn't exactly strong the in the RPG department at first, either. But I have no doubt that it will pick up, just like the system itself did.

Square-Enix is kind of financially unable to do a lot now. They're moving towards mobile more than handhelds, but previously on the DS the mobile market wasn't thriving as much as it is now.

Square-Enix is kind of financially unable to do a lot now. They're moving towards mobile more than handhelds, but previously on the DS the mobile market wasn't thriving as much as it is now.

Haziqonfire

I would've been better off burning the money I spent on those games.  

I would've been better off burning the money I spent on those games.  

[QUOTE="Haziqonfire"]

Square-Enix is kind of financially unable to do a lot now. They're moving towards mobile more than handhelds, but previously on the DS the mobile market wasn't thriving as much as it is now.

Detriiment

I would've been better off burning the money I spent on those games.  

They are making a sequel to TWEWY, the iOS port had a picture of a girl never seen before as a hint to a sequel.

Coming soon:

Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2: Break Record

Bravely Default Flying Fairy

Pokemon X and Y

Etrian Odyssey Untold: the Millenium Girl

Rune Factory 4

Already out: 

Shin Megami Tensei IV 

Project X Zone

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Soul Hackers

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan

Fire Emblem Awakening

Unchained Blades

Crimson Shroud

Code of Princess

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Tales of the Abyss

and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked

Keep in mind by this time the DS barely had any JRPGs, it took years for that system to establish the genre. Golden Sun and Dragon Quest will come to the 3DS eventually. With that said, this list is pretty damn impressive given the 2 years since launch.