Hard to say, especially with differing opinions on terms like these…personally I see it as any RPG made by a Japanese dev, others seem to think it’s a certain “style” of RPG even western devs can make but that just kind of seems arbitrary to me.
With that said, going by my definition, it’s a bit up in the air between considering real low budget stuff or games that are just flat out boring.
Chrono Cross seemed promising at first, even knowing some bits about the story and how it didn’t really jive with some who loved Trigger, but I liked how distinct the music and art style were while retaining a similar feel. But when I found you can only level up after defeating bosses, that just seems like such a dumb restriction and defeats the entire purpose of an RPG.
Dark Souls 2 was a bit similar with limiting enemy spawns. I thought a few of the bosses were kinda neat but never got real far. But in that regard, I’m not sure I find Elden Ring worse or not. Know I’ll be crucified but I just plain don’t like it after realizing a lot of content in the first area would just be recycled tenfold and unique stuff was few and far between. Admittedly not a lot to do with it being an RPG, just don’t feel the need to suck Fromsoft’s dick every time they release a game.
Final Fantasy 15 is another higher budget one. I really tried, and it sorta has this weird charm to it in some parts, but the overall experience is so bland and repetitive and such a slog, especially compared to much earlier games in the series, I just gave up after so many hours of wondering when the combat would become more engaging or anything interesting would happen. I actually enjoyed the mobile/chibi version more for at least trimming the fat, but it wasn’t compelling enough to see through to the end.
I’ve also tried to get into the Xenoblade games. The first was interesting, but at the time I couldn’t afford to buy it, and with my short time with it I couldn’t get used to how the battle system was, nor did I enjoy the sidequests. X on the WiiU caught my attention more and I’ve spent far longer with it simply exploring everything I could, but still just can’t figure out the battle system, no matter how much I grind most stuff seems to destroy me and I’m left wondering just how long until I get the cool robot. 2, I like the ladies but I just can’t take the shots with the deep British voice seriously lol. 3 looks most my thing but I just can’t convince myself to get it knowing my issues with these games so far.
Things like Omega Quintet, even Atelier seem real low budget but I’ve had nothing but fun with them. Hell, Moreo Crystal H so far is ok, Seven Pirates H has been good, just need the time to finish all these. Glad they are making a 3rd Ryza game but I’ve barely gotten through the first two.
However it makes me sad about Harvestella…it looked so interesting, similar to these others, but having tried the demo it just feels like there’s not as much passion there…I may just pass on it unfortunately.
