Even if they integrated it into other sounds like they did with the classic Transformers transformation sound, I’d be happy.

First Daniel Craig and company breathe new life into James Bond, then JJ Abrams takes Star Trek off life support, now this. Sure, more original ideas would be nice, but if your going to revive an old franchise, do it right. So far the first two trailers leave me wanting more Tron.

1) Japanese gamers eat that shit up. It could be the 99th Final Fantasy releasing tomorrow – it would still have amnesia, a hero struggling with their rise to greatness, and EXP grinding – and it would STILL sell a million copies.

2) JRPGs are particularly good at pushing the GPU to its limits and people love to look at pretty things.

Now, neither one of these reasons is meant to be a slam against the genre. Like I said, I like JRPGs. I like grinding for experience. I like the silly, overacting characters. I like the rote stories. I like the slow, relaxing pace. That last one is particularly important. I LOVE intense, high action games like button mashers and FPSs, but I also like to take a break from those types of games once in while. And JRPGs fill that role perfectly.

So, no, I don’t think JRPGs need to worry about becoming extinct in the near future. They may not be as high profile as they were a decade ago, but they still hold a special place in many gamers’ hearts. And I think new gamers will continue to buy into the genre, so long they keep making those subtle tweaks to the format. The 2D platforms may be the last real home for the more traditional style JRPGs like Pokemon (that counts, right?), but I think the home console releases will continue to evolve just enough to stay out of the red.

Another question that was asked: will JRPGs eventually meld with the action genre? I don’t think so. They may replace text boxes with fully voiced dialogue. They may require more input from the player during battle sequences. But I don’t think the genre will completely abandon its conventions. I’m guessing that for every FFXIII that attempts to make the battle system more action-based, there will be a Lost Odyssey that uses party lines and traditional turn-based combat. At least, I hope so.

The NEXT big FB game, however, is something that all of us SideQuesters need to check out. Brave Arms when it’s launched. FPS gaming using your FB account similar to an XBL or PSN account. Interesting stuff indeed.

I think I’m a really bad person to talk to in these kind of conversations though, because usually the things I love are considered archaic by most people. I think one of the last best console JRPGs we got was Dragon Quest VIII, and that game plays like a beautiful NES game.

What it all comes down to (for me) though, is that generally when I play a JRPG, i want to have full control of every character AND take as long as I want in my decisions. I don’t even like ATB. I’d rather see JRPGs with more battle systems like FFX (all about turn order).

This also spills off into Real Time Strategy (Starcraft) vs Turn Based Strategy (Advance Wars). I can not STAND real time strategy games, but I absolutely ADORE turn based strategy games. When it comes to strategies, I do not like to be rushed.

Personally, I think there is still a place for turn based combat. I mean really, is Chess no longer a relevant game today? Again, I realize I have gone a bit off topic of JRPGs, but I feel the concepts are very similar.

I think the market has changed and less people want true turn based JRPGs, but for my sake, I hope they don’t disappear.

I actually wanted to include something in this piece that involved a crazy thought that I was having about JRPGs (I danced around it, though). That is, if technology were to keep progressing, would JRPGs eventually evolve into action/adventure games? I feel like if gaming technology were to keep advancing, the way to “truly harness” a console’s power is to limit the player’s control to one character (which is what was done in FF12). I feel like technology will always work against things world maps and battle screen menus.

I’m interested to see how 13 goes as well. Unfortunately, it seems like it’s getting knocked for taking too long to “get things going,” which at least for me, is another problem with the genre.

What say you, Mr. Gregory?

I’m also very interested to see how FFXIII is. What did you think of 12? Personally, I thought it made a bold effort to evolve the genre while at the same time completely alienating me. It was a new JRPG experience, but one I just couldn’t get into. From what I’ve read, it almost sounds like 13 is reverting back to “safer” territory. Only a week left before we see if the long awaited game feels relevant on the ps3.

They simply nailed it with that platform, and I look forward to see what they’re going to come up with next.

I guess I was just miffed at the quality of some of the posts/articles around the web that I was reading, not just on blogs. Instead of discussing what truly makes it a gaming device, the articles tended to focus on the media circus surrounding the device. And moreso, I felt as though I was reading the same article over, and over, and over again.

I would much rather read an engaging or entertaining article/blog post than a rehash of what I’ve read 6 times already.

Okay, I’m off my pedestal. I promise to be a more cheery person.

BTW I love you, Apple. Please send me a free iPad. :)