this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2023
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I didn't enjoy 15 because it sat in a weird middle ground where it kind of wanted to be action but the mechanics didn't justify it. If you just lean into ARPG, that's a space that could use more complex options.
I get being disappointed that there aren't really AAA JRPG options left, but the tech is to the point where it doesn't take a AAA budget to make them any more. Just like platformers and metroidvanias are largely dominated by small studios that are as good or better than anything AAA left, JRPGs have options and can be made by small teams reasonably comfortably now. I like the genre but I think that path is perfectly fine. It also lowers the price point allowing you to explore more options.
I agree about 15. I kept thinking I should be able to avoid or dodge attacks and it just didn't feel as good as it should have - same with the car, actually, in that it just never felt as satisfying as it could have. I prefer the feel of 16 or 13 (or even 14) to the weird hybrid that 15 was that was unsatisfying on both the action and rpg fronts.
I did like some of the small details in 15 like the pictures, though.
Yeah, that's the awkwardness for me. It happens in a few genres, where the underlying tech related to the mechanics is so accessible now that it doesn't make sense to have a AAA version but it's fairly trivial to make a smaller take. Bravely Default or Octopath Traveller are bigger and look more technically advanced than anything on the SNES, but they're weirdly off when you compare them to the feel of a big triple-AA FF.