There's been talk over recent months that the JRPG genre is dead, and that developers are turning away from them. With a new development company established to make specifically JRPGs, and a dozen titles due to come out over the next 12 months, talk of the JRPG being dead is severely misguided.
One of the surprising aspect of 2011 is that there have been no titles released on the Xbox360, although Final Fantasy XIII-2 is due for release in Japan in December. Also, there has been an increase of titles released on the PS3 - more this year than in all the previous years of the PS3's life (putting aside all the ports of Xbox360 exclusives). Releases of JRPGs on the PSP and DS continue to be a constant.
So, what can fans of JRPGs expect over the next 12 months? Here's a list of some of what is to come for Home Consoles:
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| Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Xbox360/PS3) |
Xbox360
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Dec.15 in Japan, Jan. 31 in Nth.America, Feb.2 in Australia & Feb.3 in Europe)
Star Ocean 5 (in early stages of production, so no release date is forthcoming)
Final Fantasy Versus XIII (not officially confirmed for the 360 as yet, there is no sign of a release date)
Playstation 3
Tales of Graces F (expected release in mid-March, 2012 - possibly Australia, the US and Europe)
 |
| Ni no Kuni (PS3/DS) |
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Dec.15 in Japan, Jan. 31 in Nth.America, Feb.2 in Australia & Feb.3 in Europe)
Tales of Xilia (Expected September 8 release in Japan, with plans for an international release)
Final Fantasy Versus XIII (so far there is no sign of a release date as yet)
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| The Last Story (Wii) |
Xenoblade Chronicles (just release in Australia and Europe, so far no mention of a US release)
The Last Story (early-2012 in Australia and Europe, no word on a US release)
Dragon Quest X (possibly late-2011/early-2012 in Japan, with a planned international release)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nov. 18 in Europe, Nov. 20 in the US, Nov./Dec. in Australia)
Pandora's Tower (early-2012 in Australia and Europe, no word on a US release)
There are many more coming out than is actually listed here, but with little or no information about them. Additionally, there are even more coming out for the PSP, DS and 3DS - including a DS version of Ni no Kuni (already released in Japan), White Knight Chronicles: Origins (PSP - released last month in Australia), Final Fantasy: Type-0 (PSP [2xUMDs] - October 23 release for Japan, with no date yet for international release), The Little Battlers (PSP), a port of PS2 game Tales of the Abyss (3DS - Nov. 25, 2011 for Europe & Feb. 14, 2012 for US), Tales of Innocence R (Vita) and a HD remake of Final Fantasy X (Vita/PS3).
So all you fans and haters out there take notice - the JRPG is going to be around for a very long time to come.
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