I used to like Japanese RPGs. When I first got into gaming I found them really entertaining. Sure, they were are anime angsty, but whatever, they had long form stories in games and strategy that I could get into somewhat. I played FFVI on the snes and loved it. I played Phantasy Star IV on the Genesis. This was during the start of the Playstation era, and eventually I borrowed a friends and then bought one in '99 or something. I played Final Fantasy 7, and then 8 when it came out. I thought 7 was great, and found 8 to be a good waste of time, as far as video games were concerned. FF9 came out and I bought it. I loved it. Don't know why, but it was like my favorite game besides NHL, Madden, and whatever that continuation of NBA jam was at the time. I played Grandia and Skies of Acadia on the Dreamcast, the later of which wasn't great but was fun at the time I guess. I don't know how I had time to do these things with a pretty active social life, but it worked. Vagrant Story was the bomb
Eventually, I got into PC gaming around the same time I met you guys. Played some more games through emulators. Xenogears, Final Fantasy Tactics, probably some others. I'm not into high fantasy or anime, but I liked the stories for some reason. I guess because they were sometimes filled with mysteries, and sometimes political intrigue. Emulators were the best way to play, because you could play everything at double speed. I eventually played Final Fantasy 10 on the PS2 and finished it. Can't remember if I liked it, but I definitely remember parts fondly. Final Fantasy 12 was fun for a while but I couldn't stick with it. I went on to play Xenosaga....and just started hating jrpgs. The anime, the cliches, all of it. I powered through the series, hoping to get some of that intricate Xenosaga vibe, but just wound up hating JRPGS all the more. I couldn't touch them for years. I recently tried to play Valkyrie Chronicles but couldn't crack it because it was a little too close. The one exception was Persona 3 and 4. Those were different, they avoided most of what I hated. I tried Ni No Kuni and got really into it....and then really out of it just as suddenly. Genre was dead to me and I actually hadn't enjoyed playing any of the games for a while, I just did it I guess (note that there's like a 5-6 year gap between Ni No Kuni and the last non-Persona RPG I played - I tried Xenowhatever on Dolphin and gave up on it right away)
Squaresoft had a sale on the PSN store a while ago. I picked up FFIX and Tactics for like a dollar each and then the Final Fantasy X/X2 HD remaster for like $15. All Vita. I played FFIX in about a month. Amazing. IT has a story, but it's all about whimsy and light hearted character development. It doesn't take itself too seriously and I guess I loved that. Nothing about it was hillarious, but it was like watching a Pixar film - you can appreciate it for what it is even if you're not all that crazy about the genre or subject matter.
And then I put in Final Fantasy 10. God damn, I hate it. I should like it a lot more - it addresses all the issues I had with the previous game - the interface is better, the battles are quicker, it's more aesthetically appealing, etc. But it is just so god damn anime at the start. Tidus won't shut the fuck up with his goofy angst and everyone is like a bad cartoon character. I'm about two hours in and I'm probably done with it - voice acting killed it more than anything else. Well, voice acting and the Japanese part of JRPG.
I just think it's kind of interesting how Final Fantasy 9 is the game that maybe receives the least amount of nostalgia or attention, but for me is by far the one that has held up the best over the years. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever play another new JRPG, and out of those I'd play I could probably only stomach Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics (and maaaaybe Xenogears....maybe). But take something as well received (even with the new release 6 months ago) as Final Fantasy X and I'm out within two hours because the dialogue and characters are just so terribly grating.
I'll give it another shot, but fuck. Weird how my opinion could change so dramatically.
