jrutz

Being a life-long fan of anime, I've always had a thing for Japanese console RPGs, with the similarities in character designs and storylines. Granted, I bought the wrong console for such titles (Xbox), but seeing that they have been widely successful in the US, it surprises me Microsoft hasn't tried this strategy to win over gamers in both the US and Japan, and in the process further distancing the Xbox from PC gaming which they have wanted to do since its launch. Especially if the Xbox is made up of the hardcore gamer set, one would think they would try to make them happy.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Bethesda said Pirates of the Caribbean would be more Sea Dogs II than Walt Disney, so that means the core gameplay has been kept in tact. True Fantasy Live Online should be awesome. But what else is there? I'd love to see Shin Megami Tensei NINE in the US, but I won't hold my breath, unfortunately.

Granted, I've been happy with my Xbox, and Xbox Live is just awesome. But I can't help but think of what I've been missing, all those RPGs and quirky Japanese titles which have been arriving en masse on US shores for the PS2.

What's everyone else think - or are we all just too busy playing Wolfenstein Live to care?

Jeremy

young

i think you're right; you bought the wrong console.

but, i think Fable has promise.

AgtFox

The PS2 will always be the major home of the Japanese RPGs, it's just a fact of life. RPGs sell well...I remember back when RPGs was its own niche in the video gaming world. They sold well, but only the hardcore really got them. Then FF7 came out and even the normal video game player went out and got that one.

Anyway, there are a couple of Japanese RPGs coming for Xbox that I can think of:

Sudeki
True Fantasy Online (from the makers of the Dark Cloud series)

Nevermind the Western World (US/Canada/UK) ones:

Fable
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Kameo (arguably RPG)

I know, not much to choose from. Microsoft has not garnered a lot of Japanese developer support, which hurts its overall chances of getting the Japanese-based RPGs.

Groucho

Fable sounds cool, but the more they talk it up the more I fear that behind the hype is a sub-par game (e.g. Black and White).

Josh H

You're looking for Japanese RPG's on a console that sells like crap in Japan.

In other words, you're not going to find many, and likely no big name ones ever, as Japanese companies aren't going to make an RPG for a console that doesn't sell in their homeland (especially since RPG's are more popular over their than in the U.S.).

WOWZY

If you wanted Jap Rpg's then yeah you bought the wrong console.

I bought the Xbox because I wanted great shooters and racing games plus great online gaming, something I couldn't get with a PS2.

I'm glad I never got into the Japanese RPG genre because the latest ones all seem IMHO to be screwed up by loooooong wasteful cutscenes and extremely boring.

I think you should and everyone should for that matter own at least 2 of the 3 consoles to fit their gaming tastes.

menaz

Very very true. It is the only way you will not miss out on great games.

Josh H

Agree 100%. There's no one console that offers everything IMO.

The PS2 is obviously the closest with it's huge library. But if I only had it I would miss out on the great Nintendo games on the GC. Conversely, FPS fans would miss Halo on the X-box, and online gaming fans would miss X-box Live etc.

Dragon Fly

One of my buddies called me from E3 after playing Sudeki, he said the game was really cool. Kinda like Kingdom Hearts battle system. Looks interesting.