Chrono Trigger. Earthbound. Super Mario RPG. What do these titles bring to mind? Are they classics you’ve heard of, but never played–or do they belong to beloved experiences that define your childhood? The fact is, all those titles mentioned before are SNES JRPGs – which only gained worldwide popularity after the launch of the PlayStation. Before that, the genre belonged to only the most die-hard fans. Today, JRPGs are commonplace. A dime a dozen. Gone are the days when being a fan of JRPGs meant importing games from overseas.
Granddaddy Cloud
With the recent launch of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, many younger gamers found themselves curious of the series’ past. This new generation of gamers will, naturally, want to explore the original version of the this iconic game for themselves. After all, Final Fantasy VII is responsible for the meteoric growth of JRPG popularity in the West.
Today, Final Fantasy VII has sold more than 16.75 million units across all of its various ports–more than any other singular title in the franchise. More important than its commercial success, however, is the way Final Fantasy VII introduced at least two generations of western gamers to the immersive world of JRPGs.
The game was a phenomenon in its time. Millions of gamers who knew video games only by Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Galaga found themselves immersed in a 40-hour romp across a vibrant world. And that world left them wanting more.
A World to Step In to
When Final Fantasy VII launched in 1997, there were only a handful of notable RPGs available on PlayStation. Lunar: Silver Star Story, Grandia, and SaGa Frontier are among those – but again, these three games are still niche titles, even today. It would take another year or two before bigger-name titles hit the market.
In search of worlds as immersive and fleshed out as that of Midgar, players looked back. At that time, SNES games had dropped in price; after all, it wasn’t the hottest item on the market anymore. It was the “old” platform. No one wanted to keep playing it anymore.
Until the second wave of JRPG fans discovered Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, and perhaps one of the strangest titles put out by Square, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. At the time, a majority of SNES games had dropped in price. Compared to new titles that retailed anywhere from $50 and up, older console games had dropped to $20 and below. It was the perfect chance to snatch up the JRPGs that had been missed in the past. Take a look at this Toys R Us catalog from 1997 (and be prepared for the blast of nostalgia.)
Yes, believe it or not, there was a time before the rarest SNES games fetched $250 or more. Despite the high demand for more JRPGs, the genre would not explode in popularity immediately. After Final Fantasy VII, other titles would hit the market and become must-plays for any self-respecting JRPG fan. Among those was the beloved Legend of Dragoon, as well as Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX.
Fire Mage
The spark PlayStation lit continued to grow into a raging fire that continues even today. PlayStation 2 saw Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI, and Dragon Quest VIII. Most of all, PlayStation 2 was home to Kingdom Hearts– a game that opened the genre up to even larger audiences.
The popularity of JRPGs has grown exponentially since then, with the influence of the genre reaching into other genres all over the place. Even gamers that are staunchly anti-anime (which, let’s face it, JRPGs and anime have a lot of crossover) have likely played a JRPG or two in their time.
The Future of JRPGs
In these first few months of 2021, the future of JRPGs is bright. With the end-of-year launch of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, the next generation of consoles is poised to be a treasure trove of JRPGs.
Between the backwards compatibility offered by both consoles as well as the slew of new games coming out in the year ahead, gamers have no dearth of RPGs coming their way. PlayStation 5 fans are rabid for the release of Final Fantasy XVI, while Xbox fans can satisfy their thirst with Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
There are also plenty of backwards compatible titles to sink your teeth into. JRPGs are a popular genre today for many reasons, but they owe it all to PlayStation. Without the console launching the genre into the stratosphere, the western world might still spend most of its time with platformers.
That was our take on how PlayStation can take a large portion of credit for making JRPGs popular outside of Japan. Are there any factors we have overlooked? Were you into JRPGs before PlayStation, and FFVII in particular? Let us know in the comments below.