Cross
Arcane
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2017
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By that logic adventure games are also similar to JRPG's because they're both narrative-heavy. You say that its storytelling is what makes Planescape: Torment similar to JRPG's, yet everything about its storytelling is far more similar to cRPG's than it is to JRPG's."Design ethos"..."game structure". Well, yes, if you ignore the game elements that were cited by me (or by Machocruz earlier) and instead focus solely on plot/quest structure (which seems to be what you mean by "game structure"), then Planescape: Torment appears dissimilar to JRPGs. On the other hand, if you had bothered to ponder the simplification and de-emphasis of combat and exploration --- two of the three main components of the RPG genre --- in Planescape: Torment and the relative importance it places of backstory, dialogue, and characterization, then you might realize that the game has a very different relationship with JRPGs from what you're assuming. To refer back to Machocruz's list, we remember Planescape: Torment for characters, their adventure, plot points,art, color, the music, written descriptions and dialogue, not combat or exploration. Planescape: Torment takes a literary approach to being art rather than the theatrical/operatic approach of FF VI and other JRPGs, but is otherwise quite similar.
Besides, Planescape: Torment isn't notable for its story, its notable for how it integrates that story into the game. If it had actually taken significant inspiration from Final Fantasy and conveyed its story primarily through non-interactive cutscenes, PS:T would've been lacking most of what made it memorable and interesting. Take for example TNO's immortality. TNO is distinct from other party members because whereas they need to be resurrected when they die, TNO will simply regenerate and respawn. It would've been impossible to convey TNO's immortality in a JRPG because party members in story-driven JRPG's can't die, they simply get knocked out, even if they are at 0 HP, they still participate in story scenes. The fact that TNO gains attribute points on level ups and can change classes at will is a deliberate violation of AD&D's rules, to convey the fact that TNO can recall and quickly relearn abilities his previous incarnations possessed. The use of dialogue as a core mechanic follows naturally from the fact that as an immortal, combat is inherently non-threatening, and because you're in search of your identity, and any conversation could potentially make a memory resurface or trigger a new insight. PS:T also manages to avoid the age-old problem of amnesia feeling like a lazy contrivance: because TNO is the player avatar, the amnesia plot is essentially sidestepped. Unlike other stories, there is never a moment where TNO regains his memory and the main plot kicks into gear. The story in PS:T is always driven by the player's actions and curiosity to uncover the story. And said story is incredibly meta: it's about a man who tried to fix his alignment meter by prolonging his life so he could perform lots of good deeds to balance out his bad ones.
To cut my own ramblings short, it would've been impossible for a JRPG to tell tell Planescape: Torment's story because it's a story built on D&D mechanics and cRPG tropes. That's why your arguments are not just wrong, but completely misguided.
Final Fantasy VI
A game where you can't take five steps without triggering a random encounter de-emphasizes combat?de-emphasis of combat
Look at the summary of Final Fantasy VI in my previous post. The entire game is structured around a very specific combat loop. You reach a town where you can stock up on items and buy equipment, followed by a dungeon that concludes with a boss battle, after which you gain access to a new town where you stock up on items and buy slightly better equipment and enter a new dungeon that also concludes with a boss battle, rince and repeat. Granted, this combat loop is not very engaging or challenging, but it's the focus of the game nonetheless.
Why are these crossed out?art, color, the music