Often we RPG afficionados make reference to this "golden age" of the Japanese Role Playing Game, a time where JRPG's were at their peak in terms of quality. A time where, it seemed, EVERY JRPG was a hit and a guaranteed future classic. But when was this time, and what exactly made it so special?
1- Final Fantasy 4 (1991)
2- Dragon Quest V (1992)
3- Secret of Mana (1993)
4- Final Fantasy 6 (1994)
5- Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest 6 (1995)
6- Super Mario RPG (1996)
7- Final Fantasy 7 (1997)
8- Final Fantasy Tactics (1998)
9- Final Fantasy 8 (1999)
10- Final Fantasy 9, Dragon Quest 7 (2000)
11- Final Fantasy 10 (2001)
12- Kingdom Hearts 1 (2002)
As we can see, from JUST Squaresoft and Enix (the KINGS of the JRPG) we've had no less than 14 genre defining classics released during this time period, each of these games being much beloved by the gaming community and rightly praised as some of the best games ever made. Ah, but it's not a golden age of a genre if just two companies release great games! In truth, many other companies released FANTASTIC games in this period that are just as good as the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series. Let's make a short list!
1- Lunar: Silver Star (1992)
2- Lufia 2 (1995)
3- Phantasy Star 4 (1993)
4- Romancing SaGa 2 (1993)
5- Romancing SaGa 3 (1995)
6- Suikoden 1 (1995)
7- Suikoden 2 (1998)
8- Breath of Fire 1 (1993)
9- Breath of Fire 2 (1994)
10- Breath of Fire 3 (1997)
11- Shining Force 1 (1993)
12- Shining Force 2 (1993)
Then of course we have games that are arguably NOT JRPG's, but some people count them as such. If we count The Legend of Zelda series as a JRPG (I don't, but supposing it is) then this era sees the release of two classics: A Link to the Past (1994) and Ocarina of Time (1997), the latter widely considered one of the greatest games of all time.
The continous release of fantastic games is what makes this era so special for JRPG aficionados. But was there something special about this era that allowed for companies to create such classics? Is that "something special" simply not around anymore?
First off, the technology. In the early 16 bit era of the Golden Age, an RPG didn't require anything more than 2D Sprites, stereo music, and a simple battle system. If one were to observe the graphics of the typical RPG of the era, one would see that most games of the era were graphically primitive compared to their contemporaries. Compare these two images, both from games released in 1991:
Final Fantasy 4 (image from necropraxis.com)
Super Mario World (image from thenewbiverse.com)
The challenge of the 16 bit era was NEVER about graphics, but about music and scripting. An RPG's code (the script, as it were) is naturally more complex than a platformer's. In the first half hour of an RPG there is typically more writing than an ENTIRE platformer could ever contain. There's also event triggers, sprite animations, etc. Further, because a cartridge can only contain so much code, SOME corners had to be cut.
In terms of gameplay, RPG's hardly differed form one another: they were menu driven, after all. Because of this, developers had to find ways to make their games stand out. There were two franchises that codified how the JRPG should work: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. But if most games play the same, how do you make your game stand out? Answer: the story.
Final Fantasy 4 was NOT the first RPG to have a story. But it was one of the first RPG's to tell the story both textually as wella s GRAPHICALLY. This means that the graphics in game helped tell the story just as well as the text could. It was that sight of airships wordlessly flying across the sky that proved the JRPG was not just a genre, it was a new medium of storytelling.
And so for six years, between 1991-1996, the JRPG was THE game genre to play if you wanted to read up amazing stories. From the time traveling in Chrono Trigger to the romance of Lunar, JRPG's were offering up stories of unforgettable characters, stories that would stay with you forever.
So why divide the Golden Age into two parts? Why does one half of the Golden Age end in 1996 while the second half starts in 1997? Because, before 1997, the JRPG was STILL a niche genre. Yes many MANY games were released during this period that we consider to be classics, but they were the games that only dedicated players even bothered with. In America, arguably the BIGGEST game's market in the world, you had to be a dedicated gamer to even know what a JRPG was. So, what happened in 1997?
Final Fantasy 7 happened. The very first JRPG to become a commercial JUGGERNAUT. This one game kickstarted a demand for the JRPG that had never been seen before, or since. For a brief period in time, the JRPG was THE genre to play!
But what did FF7 do that changed how JRPG's were seen? Simply put, this was the game that made the JRPG look cool. Instead of castles, it had corporate buildings. Instead of dragons, helicopters. But it still kept magic, swords, and evil villains threatening to destroy the world. It simply mixed that with guns, hot chicks that wore hotpants, and guns grafted onto the arms of badasses.
More than that, though, it was the game that changed how JRPGs were graphically. Instead of being pixels on a 2D map, it was polygonal models on a 3D map. Instead of bright and colorful but otherwise interchangeable maps, it was semi-realistic backgrounds behind individually rendered maps.
Most importantly, Final Fantasy 7 changed how JRPG's were seen graphically. They went from being technologically BEHIND the average game to being technologically AHEAD. JRPG's on average had CGI or animated cutscenes, hour long musical scores, and like I said before, fully rendered polygonal models.
The JRPG was a hot selling commodity. Hell, Sony's very first original video game was an RPG! It was called Legend of Dragoon, of which I have spoken of before on this blog.
So, why did the Golden Age end? Did JRPG's just stop being as good as they were? Well, no! What happened was that other game genres simply caught up with the JRPG!
From 1991-1996, the JRPG was the genre to play if you wanted to play a good story. And from 1997-2002 it was ALSO the genre that had the best looking and coolest graphics in the market. But then other games started having good, original stories too. Games like Syphon Filter, GTA, and others were offering up good, original stories without being RPG's. But it was games like Halo 2 and God of War that officially ended the JRPG's practical monopoly in mixing great stories with great gameplay.
After the release of games like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 10, the RPG needed to evolve. Battles had to be faster, the graphics had to be stunning, and the music had to be pumping in order to just stay competitive with all the other genres out there. After the merger of Squaresoft and Enix into Square Enix, the Final Fantasy series began to evolve away from its menu-driven, stand-alone nature. Sequels, prequels, spinoffs galore began to be produced, all in the name of that almighty dollar.
In another time I'll discuss the Nadir period of Final Fantasy.
In any case, the Golden Age of the JRPG was a magnificent time for the video game industry, where every year seemingly saw the release of games that would go on to influence the industry for years to come.
In terms of gameplay, RPG's hardly differed form one another: they were menu driven, after all. Because of this, developers had to find ways to make their games stand out. There were two franchises that codified how the JRPG should work: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. But if most games play the same, how do you make your game stand out? Answer: the story.
Final Fantasy 4 was NOT the first RPG to have a story. But it was one of the first RPG's to tell the story both textually as wella s GRAPHICALLY. This means that the graphics in game helped tell the story just as well as the text could. It was that sight of airships wordlessly flying across the sky that proved the JRPG was not just a genre, it was a new medium of storytelling.
And so for six years, between 1991-1996, the JRPG was THE game genre to play if you wanted to read up amazing stories. From the time traveling in Chrono Trigger to the romance of Lunar, JRPG's were offering up stories of unforgettable characters, stories that would stay with you forever.
So why divide the Golden Age into two parts? Why does one half of the Golden Age end in 1996 while the second half starts in 1997? Because, before 1997, the JRPG was STILL a niche genre. Yes many MANY games were released during this period that we consider to be classics, but they were the games that only dedicated players even bothered with. In America, arguably the BIGGEST game's market in the world, you had to be a dedicated gamer to even know what a JRPG was. So, what happened in 1997?
Final Fantasy 7 happened. The very first JRPG to become a commercial JUGGERNAUT. This one game kickstarted a demand for the JRPG that had never been seen before, or since. For a brief period in time, the JRPG was THE genre to play!
But what did FF7 do that changed how JRPG's were seen? Simply put, this was the game that made the JRPG look cool. Instead of castles, it had corporate buildings. Instead of dragons, helicopters. But it still kept magic, swords, and evil villains threatening to destroy the world. It simply mixed that with guns, hot chicks that wore hotpants, and guns grafted onto the arms of badasses.
More than that, though, it was the game that changed how JRPGs were graphically. Instead of being pixels on a 2D map, it was polygonal models on a 3D map. Instead of bright and colorful but otherwise interchangeable maps, it was semi-realistic backgrounds behind individually rendered maps.
Most importantly, Final Fantasy 7 changed how JRPG's were seen graphically. They went from being technologically BEHIND the average game to being technologically AHEAD. JRPG's on average had CGI or animated cutscenes, hour long musical scores, and like I said before, fully rendered polygonal models.
The JRPG was a hot selling commodity. Hell, Sony's very first original video game was an RPG! It was called Legend of Dragoon, of which I have spoken of before on this blog.
So, why did the Golden Age end? Did JRPG's just stop being as good as they were? Well, no! What happened was that other game genres simply caught up with the JRPG!
From 1991-1996, the JRPG was the genre to play if you wanted to play a good story. And from 1997-2002 it was ALSO the genre that had the best looking and coolest graphics in the market. But then other games started having good, original stories too. Games like Syphon Filter, GTA, and others were offering up good, original stories without being RPG's. But it was games like Halo 2 and God of War that officially ended the JRPG's practical monopoly in mixing great stories with great gameplay.
After the release of games like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 10, the RPG needed to evolve. Battles had to be faster, the graphics had to be stunning, and the music had to be pumping in order to just stay competitive with all the other genres out there. After the merger of Squaresoft and Enix into Square Enix, the Final Fantasy series began to evolve away from its menu-driven, stand-alone nature. Sequels, prequels, spinoffs galore began to be produced, all in the name of that almighty dollar.
In another time I'll discuss the Nadir period of Final Fantasy.
In any case, the Golden Age of the JRPG was a magnificent time for the video game industry, where every year seemingly saw the release of games that would go on to influence the industry for years to come.
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