Whatever happened to the JRPG and does White Knight Chronicles: Origins have the answer?

The gaming industry, unlike any other entertainment industry, changes. With films, we will forever be looking forward to the next big blockbuster while keeping a special place in our hearts for the golden oldies. There's always space - and life - for a genre in the film industry.


In gaming, things die, things change, things evolve. The once popular point-and-click genre that has granted me so many fond memories now seemingly rests solely on the shoulders of a lone developer, Telltales Games, and when exactly what the last time you played a text adventure (admittedly for good reasons)? There's space and life for most genres thanks to digital download services and indie developers, but it's a much bigger challenge to support an unpopular genre of game than it is a movie.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the JRPG, a type of game that was arguably the pride of the industry not so long ago. It's a genre that takes gaming, in terms of design, to its most elaborate and fantastical. Dragon Quests, Chrono Triggers, and more Fantasies than I've had hot dinners are in the DNA of this medium.

But their recent decline has been no secret; the rise of the Western RPG and the genre's inability to surpass its own golden heyday has seen it put on handheld life support. That is to say, if you're looking forward to a stat-heavy, random battle grind fest these days, it's likely to be on PSP or DS that you'll find it.

And you have to wonder with the 3DS touting that glasses-free feature and a short battery life, along with PS Vita's "home console in your hand" experience, how much longer is the genre going to be able to hide away in our pockets? Will the now Kinect-focused 360 welcome it back with open arms? Can it Move back to the PS3? (Rather proud of those puns, I should add).

Or does the answer come from an extremely unlikely candidate: White Knight Chronicles: Origins?

The White Knight series on PS3 highlights everything wrong with today's JRPGs, with a lack of innovation for two games that ask you to spend 40+ hours grinding your way to the top. Apart from the obvious graphical leap, the series doesn't make much of a case for evolution of the genre, bearing striking resemblance to anything found in the 16-bit era.

But Origins, a PSP spin-off, is a different kettle of fish. Instead of replicating a mammoth campaign with fleeting save points and endless battles, Origins cuts things down. Missions are short, sharp, punctuated by simple menus to guide you. There's no huge over-world to put half hour gaps in between progress, no town to get lost in, just a train-base to push you forward and a man to give you missions.

It sounds shallow but it is in fact the JRPG: abridged. It doesn't ask for hours of your time, it asks for five minutes, with the option to go on for said hours. It doesn't make you search for a jolly-faced merchant to fetch side missions from, it gives you a list of missions and says "take your pick".

Do I miss the glory days of the JRPG? Very much so. But like the industry itself, I've changed. I can no longer commit to an experience that's, simply put, dated when compared to the likes of Skyrim of Mass Effect. But what Origins offers, I can commit to. I can turn on my PSP and quickly finish that last mission for those few extra XP points. I can lose a train ride in starring into the world in my hands and battling monsters the size of houses.

The best way to describe it? Refreshing. Switching on Origins for the first time I had the grumpy face on, but ten minutes in and I'd beaten the first mission and actually had a good time doing so. Suddenly an amazing wave of relief washed over me accompanied with the thought "Hang on, I'm actually going to enjoy this?"

And now I put that question towards the future of the genre.

So do other JRPGs take note? Do they need to? It hurts me to end a post with template questions, but they're important ones to ask as we look into the future of this uncertain genre.