Do You Mind Generic Plots In Your JRPGs?

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Symphonycometh

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#1 Symphonycometh
Member since 2006 • 9592 Posts

Topic. Debates are welcomed.

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Sphire

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#2 Sphire
Member since 2004 • 2081 Posts
Why is there no option saying 'Yes! I love generic plots!'? Mostly, I can live with generic plots. Hopefully good characters and/or good gameplay can make up for it. Case in point: Grandia 3. Most cliche' and generic game I've probably played plotwise. Characters weren't all that great either. But man gameplay was awesome. But I also know that with a good story and cast of characters, it could have been epic. So that's a shame. And I don't think JRPGs are the only ones suffering from generic plots. A lot of other genres have the same problem too. Even WRPGs. Also....nice sig :P
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ProjectTrinity

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#3 ProjectTrinity
Member since 2008 • 1262 Posts
^ Lol Sig's blatant advertisement. :P I agree with you on Grandia III. Sweet game gameplay wise and had lots of charming moments, even if they were cliche as anime and gaming can get. :P
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yokofox33

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#4 yokofox33
Member since 2004 • 30775 Posts

If the gameplay is good (mainly the combat system) I can live with a generic/mediocre plot.

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commandercrap

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#5 commandercrap
Member since 2006 • 318 Posts

A 'generic plot' can be meant to say many things... the question is too open-ended. Can you elaborate?

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ProjectTrinity

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#6 ProjectTrinity
Member since 2008 • 1262 Posts

A 'generic plot' can be meant to say many things... the question is too open-ended. Can you elaborate?

commandercrap
Sure: Boy meets girl, girl gets kidnapped by evil villain(s), secret evil castle is found, bad guy defeated, girl and guy live happily ever after. That work? =p
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dimis_

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#7 dimis_
Member since 2008 • 413 Posts

Very much. I used not to, but nowwhen a game is full of MacGuffins that do not advance the plot itself, i simply lose interest.I don't mind helping out the occasional villager or orphan - lol - but i want to do that atno more than20% irrelevance rate. The plot IS often going to be generic in a JRPG, but when they include a lot of trivial stuff too... Final Fantasy 7 is still my favourite.

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Jackc8

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#8 Jackc8
Member since 2007 • 8515 Posts

As long as the characters are excellent, I don't mind if the plot isn't the most original thing ever.

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frielock

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#9 frielock
Member since 2004 • 104 Posts
As long as the characters are engaging I can forgive a generic plot as long as they throw in some surprising plot twists in there. I'm a sucker for deception, betrayal, and all that good stuff.
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#10 naaros
Member since 2009 • 330 Posts

I don't mind generic plots in JRPGs (or games in generally really). It just depends how well-told it is. While not an RPG, one of the more recent examples is Uncharted 2. The base plot isn't very original, but the way they tell it makes it feel like it is.

As long as the characters are engaging I can forgive a generic plot as long as they throw in some surprising plot twists in there. I'm a sucker for deception, betrayal, and all that good stuff.

Also, this. I'm the same way.

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N-REAL

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#11 N-REAL
Member since 2003 • 2509 Posts

Depends how much generic..... but yeah....I could say I don't mind generic plots. :)

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Big_Bad_Sad

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#12 Big_Bad_Sad
Member since 2005 • 18243 Posts
As others have said, it depends how generic and how good the gameplay is.
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Ignicaeli

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#13 Ignicaeli
Member since 2009 • 385 Posts

Well, I do mind generic plots...

After 22 years of gaming, most of them dedicated to RPGs (W and J alike), you become so accostumed with the trivial stuff and the cliche, that an engaging, well woven story is more than welcome.

Truth be told though, not every game will be an epic adventure story-wise, so one does have to make consessions... but lets be honest here, what is an RPG without a fine story?

As I understand it, while the gaming consoles evolved, putting away more refined graphics, the plot was put aside...

If we all accept that Gameplay > Story, the RPG will eventually die to become some kind of action/adventure with a bit more of plot to be told (Like the Final Fantasy series recently...).

Boy meets girl, girl gets kidnapped by evil villain(s), secret evil castle is found, bad guy defeated, girl and guy live happily ever after. That work? =pProjectTrinity

You just described the first (of three) part of: Phantasy Star III - Generations of Doom. (Rhys meets Maia, who is abducted by a dragon during their wedding ceremony...)

That level of plot is just... well... too shallow.

Why is there no option saying 'Yes! I love generic plots!'? Mostly, I can live with generic plots. Hopefully good characters and/or good gameplay can make up for it. Case in point: Grandia 3.Sphire

I agree a bit there, but at least, even with all the cliche in Grandia 3, it was a relatively well told story.

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Silent-Hal

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#14 Silent-Hal
Member since 2007 • 9795 Posts
I don't find generic storylines as long as they're presented in a way that makes them feel interesting. Take Persona 3 for instance. The setting and overall concept were things I'd never really seen in a JRPG before, but the plot itself was a typical "save the world" type deal with plenty of other well worn tropes and conventions being used along the way. The game's story was still fantastic despite that.
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Shoooryuken

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#15 Shoooryuken
Member since 2009 • 969 Posts
I used to accept generic plots for a long time.. Now I'm just facepalming everytime I see those generic "Plot Twists" coming. Just recently in Star Ocean 4: OH MA GAH! MY BEST FRIENDZ ARE REALLY MY WORST ENEMIES EVAR *WTFDIDNOTSEETHATCOMING*
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frielock

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#16 frielock
Member since 2004 • 104 Posts
Did Dragonquest 8(the one on PS2) not sell well or something? Because that game had a genericish plot and that was one of my favorite RPGsof all time. I could go for some PS3 Dragonquest right about now.......let the rumours begin!
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paperdollparade

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#17 paperdollparade
Member since 2007 • 1915 Posts

It depends, but mostly no. If the characters a loveable and the story is presented well I might be able to enjoy a generic plot. I really enjoyed Lunar SSS and that game was unapologetically generic, but it had a great set of characters with plenty of stark and was presented well. however I feel like when It comes to the majority of JRPGs now It's the same game I was playing 10 years ago with better graphics and bad Voice acting. I'm really just tired of playing through the same game with a new skin.

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LoG-Sacrament

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#18 LoG-Sacrament
Member since 2006 • 20397 Posts
well i place just as much weight on how the story is told on what is actually told. you can make the same old story feel fresh if you tell it in an interesting way. its not a jrpg, but i think that ico really demonstrates my point. ico had a traditional "boy meets girl love story" structure. however, it was told so wonderfully that the specifics didnt matter.
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Senor_Kami

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#19 Senor_Kami
Member since 2008 • 8529 Posts
No, because most stories in games are generic. If cliche stories pissed me then every game in any genre would probably piss me off.
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#20 Millennium_King
Member since 2006 • 4362 Posts

I think it's all about the gameplay. I mean yeah Tales of Vesperia had a great story and fantastic characters but Demon's Souls said screw the story, immerse yourself in this world and DIE!!

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#21 DJ_Lae
Member since 2002 • 42748 Posts
They're all cliche, with very few exceptions. What makes them work is the characters and how they interact relative to the overall plot.
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#22 Shirokishi_
Member since 2009 • 11206 Posts

My favorite JRPG series is the Ys series, the plots for most of the games are as generic as they get, but the gameplay MORE than makes up for that.

So I dont mind generic plots as long as its balanced out by the gameplay.

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supa_badman

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#23 supa_badman
Member since 2008 • 16714 Posts

IMO, generic plots are okay, I just wonder if it could be told well.

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ProjectTrinity

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#24 ProjectTrinity
Member since 2008 • 1262 Posts
lol, the alternative poll option is at 14%. Glad to know it's obvious. =P
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#25 shadow13702
Member since 2008 • 1791 Posts

[QUOTE="commandercrap"]

A 'generic plot' can be meant to say many things... the question is too open-ended. Can you elaborate?

ProjectTrinity

Sure: Boy meets girl, girl gets kidnapped by evil villain(s), secret evil castle is found, bad guy defeated, girl and guy live happily ever after. That work? =p

LOL exactly like DMC4 but they already meant

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ProjectTrinity

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#26 ProjectTrinity
Member since 2008 • 1262 Posts

[QUOTE="ProjectTrinity"][QUOTE="commandercrap"]

A 'generic plot' can be meant to say many things... the question is too open-ended. Can you elaborate?

shadow13702

Sure: Boy meets girl, girl gets kidnapped by evil villain(s), secret evil castle is found, bad guy defeated, girl and guy live happily ever after. That work? =p

LOL exactly like DMC4 but they already meant

Now that I think on it, you're exactly right! :lol:
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Texas2089

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#27 Texas2089
Member since 2003 • 16490 Posts
I don't really mind generic plots. I tend to look at both the story itself, as well as how its delivered before I make a judgment about a plot being too generic. If the plot is delivered well I can live with it being generic.
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Scianix-Black

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#28 Scianix-Black
Member since 2008 • 19297 Posts

All about the story.

Star Ocean's story is pretty generic, but it's been so long since I've played a good JRPG that I couldn't tell. I really like the characters more than the story itself. I'm also quite fond of the way Japanese people tend to tell their stories, as opposed to the Western sty-le.

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Ospov

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#29 Ospov
Member since 2007 • 3708 Posts

The main reason I don't like JRPGs is because half of the stories are exactly the same give or take a twist or two.

"Oh no! the world is about to be destroyed and this oddly feminine young boy who probably can't remember his mysterious past and his weird animal hybrid friends are the only hope to save the world!"

Add or subtract a couple things and I've covered about 50 JRPGs right there.

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#30 raven_squad
Member since 2007 • 78438 Posts
When it's as pathetically done as White Knight Chronicles, absolutely... I'm not even going to suffer the game. Some of them can put some neat twists on a trite story and make it work though.
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ProjectTrinity

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#31 ProjectTrinity
Member since 2008 • 1262 Posts

The main reason I don't like JRPGs is because half of the stories are exactly the same give or take a twist or two.

"Oh no! the world is about to be destroyed and this oddly feminine young boy who probably can't remember his mysterious past and his weird animal hybrid friends are the only hope to save the world!"

Add or subtract a couple things and I've covered about 50 JRPGs right there.

Ospov
Oh you've covered far more than 50 mah' friend.
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jiggaloj

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#32 jiggaloj
Member since 2006 • 4345 Posts

I can never get tired of JRPGs for some reason.

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Ospov

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#33 Ospov
Member since 2007 • 3708 Posts

[QUOTE="Ospov"]

The main reason I don't like JRPGs is because half of the stories are exactly the same give or take a twist or two.

"Oh no! the world is about to be destroyed and this oddly feminine young boy who probably can't remember his mysterious past and his weird animal hybrid friends are the only hope to save the world!"

Add or subtract a couple things and I've covered about 50 JRPGs right there.

ProjectTrinity

Oh you've covered far more than 50 mah' friend.

lol I was just trying to be nice. And it's not like i'm saying they're all terrible or anything, but i really enjoy stories and I've just never been sucked into a JRPG's story. Maybe I just haven't played long enough, but the times I've played it takes several hours to even start to get slightly interesting and I just quit before then. I get too bored :(