Japan, are you there? Are you listening? Japan? I’m going to say this as clearly as possible, so even the biggest, most stubborn video game publishers can understand: Westerners want more JRPGs.
One more time: Westerners. Want. More. JRPGs.
Don’t just take my word for it. Listen to Sega, who just released a Steam port of their PS3 classic Valkyria Chronicles this week:
Yesterday, Valkyria Chronicles™ released for PC via digital download, and during its first 24 hours on sale blew all forecasts and predictions out of the water. The award-winning Strategy RPG, originally released in 2008 for PlayStation®3, forced its way to the top of the Steam download charts, beating a host of brand new games to reach number one.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fans for their support in the phenomenal success of this launch,” said John Clark, Senior Vice President of Commercial Publishing for SEGA Europe, “We’re also delighted at the response from the Steam community which indicates that newcomers to the series are finding it as enchanting and engaging as those who have played it before.”
JRPGs! We buy them! We play them! Make them. Localise them. If they’re great, we’ll probably buy them too, like we did with this, and Bravely Default, and Xenoblade Chronicles, and Ni no Kuni, and the list goes on and on.
(Psst, Sega, maybe it’s time to release Valkyria Chronicles 3 in English, and at least tell your fans why you haven’t said a word about Phantasy Star Online 2‘s Western release in two years.)
Comments
19 responses to “Yet More Proof That We All Want More Great JRPGs”
Now give us VC3…
Valkyria Chronicles is special though, everyone knows how good it is from the PS3 release and the anime to which it is based. I would love to purchase this now but I made a promise to myself to wait till Christmas, then impulse purchase all the games Steam has to offer.
I thought the anime is based on the game, not the other way around?
Wikipedia wont help me here, you could be right.
All I know is the anime is heavenly and the game more so.
Anime is based on the game. It’s also awful.
Valkyria Chronicles is a JRPG?
Anyways, you’ll all get your JRPGs soon…
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…on smart phones strangled with microtransactions 🙂
I agree the Japanese market has been a bit “sour” in recent times, microtransactions tapped on to barely enjoyable games for iOS.
I do hope they come out of this phase to make some absolutely killer jrpg’s for the PS4 – I can only hope.
How about level 5 announces Ni no kuni 2 >.> because that wouldn’t make me run around screaming like a little girl at all… No sir-ee..
The creator of Dragon Quest said once this smartphone boom/trend dies down console games will become dominant again.
when does bravely second come out?
With your collectors edition of Lightning Returns.
I’m actually wanting companies to slow down. We’re getting way more JRPGs coming out than I can play now. There’s usually at least one a week, sometimes even more.
The problem lies in quantity over quality.
Too many games from 2010-2014 have been pure fishing for money – micro-transactions and dlc in gaming has effectively pointed the industry into a direction that’s still finding its feet in a balance that customers are happy with.
Some companies are finding that sweet spot (I’d happily pay for Blizzards games because I feel the value is there) others (IE Ubisoft, Activision and SE) have not. Although I know Blizz and Acti have merged they still haven’t quite learned from Blizzards History=you can actually make money from GOOD Quality long lasting games.
Sort of agree here -so many of the JRPGs out recently have been middling-dire. Fairy Fencer F comes to mind. (NISA need to stop focusing on smart-aleck characters and get the gameplay right first.)
On the other hand, Xillia 2 was decent, Ar Nosurge surprisingly playable with a really unique combat system, and Swort Art Online: Hollow Fragment quite playable (if predictably grindy).
I haven’t yet fired up Tears no Tiara 2 to see how that fares.
And then there’s the huge range of old-school JRPGs for PC and Android/iOS. Most of which are fairly ordinary…
Hoping for something out on PS4 one of these days, but it seems unlikely given the long dev cycle for top-tier JRPGs.
Tears to Tiara is really more of a VN w/ RPG elements.
So it’s really a hit and miss for most people since there was such a huge focus on the VN side of the story that some people find it a bit jarring next to the otherwise standard RPG sections
Kind of interested in seeing the industry reaction to FF15 when it comes out.
After all, pretty sure the creative director or project lead or somebody was saying that he was pretty sure the success or failure of FF15 would change what everyone else in Japan does with JRPGs from now on. Not the most humble claim, and if it were a Western dev making it, I’d be more inclined to write it off as bragging.
Talking about more JRPGs, Tales of Hearts R just came out in the US yet I haven’t heard a single thing about it.
I know it’s just a PS Vita game, but if you want more JRPGs, better start covering the ones that are already being released!
Just bring out like, Valkyria Chronicles 2&3 HD. Oh sure it’ll be more work but everyone will loooooooovvvvveeeeee you for it.
mean while im still sitting here waiting for a new Shining Force game with the same game mechanics as the old mega drive and saturn games.
oh, and another Guardian Heroes game – has to be one of my all time favourite games.
If they released the persona or even the disgaea series on PC I would buy that instantly