JRPGs, How Long Is too Long?
Like the title states, what are your thoughts? Usually I find myself saying "as long as possible," but some games drag terribly (Tales of Phantasia, end it now!). Do even good ones suffer from this, regardless of how engaging they are? Some of my favorites end before I can get bored of them, so those ones are tough to tell (FFIV for instance). Let's just say a homebrew RPG arrived on your doorstep, what would you feel to be an appropriate length ?
Comments
With minimal subdivision of "chapters" and no journal, 30 - 40 hours is probably pushing "comfortable" in terms of having the momentum to get through the game without losing track of progress.
With a good quality quest journal and some kind of map-tie-in, I think you could easily double that without losing too many people before the end.
If I can put in 8 hrs of gaming in a week (which is generous as of late), then I'm going to get at least 6 weeks of enjoyment/play. Past that point, it starts to turn into just 'play' without the 'enjoyment'.
Now, back when I played through LoD, FF7, FF9, etc, I was able to spend a lot more time playing. I still probably finished those in 6 weeks, but at about 12-15 hrs of play per week.
Originally posted by: Br81zad
This thread needs more pole.. err, poll.
I tried to add a pole once, but failed. Did the above poll post, or am I just not able to see it?
I agree on the 30-40 hour mark. But I do like when a campaign is 30-40 then there is lots of extras that can drag it to 50-60+.
Sums up my feelings exactly.
This thread needs more pole.. err, poll.
I tried to add a pole once, but failed. Did the above poll post, or am I just not able to see it?
Polls are a bit more intuitive on the vintage.nintendoage.com site if you want to edit there?
PS2 and newer, I typically enjoy RPGs that are in the 40-60 hour ballpark, and if it's really immersive (Xenoblade, Mass Effect, Disgaea), 100+ hours.
Originally posted by: jonebone
Originally posted by: SoleGooseProductions
Originally posted by: Br81zad
This thread needs more pole.. err, poll.
I tried to add a pole once, but failed. Did the above poll post, or am I just not able to see it?
Polls are a bit more intuitive on the vintage.nintendoage.com site if you want to edit there?
Man, I'm on vintage (always). I see nothing.
Anything that clocks in at 80-160 hours (examples - Dragon Quest VII and VIII, Ni no Kuni) ... these are definitely too long. Even 60 hours can make an RPG feel like it has serious pacing issues. I actually prefer 30-40 hour campaigns with post-final-boss-endgame optional content that can last as long as you want it to.
Ni no Kuni and DQ8 are only over 30 hours if you go for everything. My first playthrough of both were about 45 to 60 hours because I wanted to try to get some of the more powerful stuff, but past that, neither are terribly long - only the post game stuff.
Edit: looks like a lot of people saying 30-40 so maybe I'm actually not that far off. I say around 25 but if it's a little more I will continue on if it's agood game.
Edit2: Paper Mario 1&2, Earthbound, Sweet Home, Undertale, and South Park SOT are all 30 hours or less (a couple even close to 10 hours) and I'd argue they're all great games
So I would say that the time doesn't matter as long as the clues are not cryptic,which can bog the game down,and the main quest and side quests are not tedious.
Examples:
Chrono Trigger has story, characters, and gameplay. It's all there, and it's wonderful. Yes, the game is short (20-25 hours), but because of the New Game+ and multiple endings, you keep coming back to sink more time into it. I would have loved for it to go on longer, but the post-game extras definitely helped make up for that.
Final Fantasy III/VI has all three as well for the first half. I really found the story to drag in the second half, so I didn't enjoy the World of Ruin as much. Still, a fantastic game with an immensely satisfying ending, which tied it all together and made me want to play it again.
Secret of Mana has really good gameplay, but I didn't find the story or characters to be particularly memorable. Still, I wanted to keep playing because it was just fun to play. When it ended, I was done, though. I didn't want to go back right away.
Lufia and the Fortress of Doom has really good characters. The gameplay is basic and is functionable, which is just fine. The story is also pretty simple, but it has a great twist that I loved. The ending was great, especially right before the credits roll. Made me content, and I was satisfied to put it away for a while.
So, I guess to sum up, it's about getting at least one thing right. If it's story or characters, tie it together with a solid ending. And, while it's not really addressed, I can't stress enough how important music can be. A great piece, especially at the end, can really connect you with the characters/story, helping you to reflect on the journey.
I'm not a big RPG guy and that is almost entirely due to the time commitment, when I don't have tons of free time to begin with. For me if an RPG is more then 25 hours, I have a hard time justifying giving it the time, especially when the hours pile up due to excessive grinding and story fluff. I'd rather have a game where there is a solid battle system with strategy, where if I lose to a boss my first thought is what could I have done differently rather then gotta grind. That's not to say the story and characters can't be detailed, just that it should be focused. I know I'm in the minority with my time but Chrono Trigger did it, and it's considered one of the greatest RPGs ever made.
Edit: looks like a lot of people saying 30-40 so maybe I'm actually not that far off. I say around 25 but if it's a little more I will continue on if it's agood game.
The problem with 25 hours is a "traditional" jrpg is turn based, and probably 60-70% of game time is spent in random battles, not leaving a lot of time for story, party development, etc... But somehow Chrono Trigger figured out a perfect blend of combat time and story pacing.
I will also say I'd must rather play a long RPG on a handheld (DS/3DS/vita) than be anchored to the tv.
I'm not a big RPG guy and that is almost entirely due to the time commitment, when I don't have tons of free time to begin with. For me if an RPG is more then 25 hours, I have a hard time justifying giving it the time, especially when the hours pile up due to excessive grinding and story fluff. I'd rather have a game where there is a solid battle system with strategy, where if I lose to a boss my first thought is what could I have done differently rather then gotta grind. That's not to say the story and characters can't be detailed, just that it should be focused. I know I'm in the minority with my time but Chrono Trigger did it, and it's considered one of the greatest RPGs ever made.
Edit: looks like a lot of people saying 30-40 so maybe I'm actually not that far off. I say around 25 but if it's a little more I will continue on if it's agood game.
The problem with 25 hours is a "traditional" jrpg is turn based, and probably 60-70% of game time is spent in random battles, not leaving a lot of time for story, party development, etc... But somehow Chrono Trigger figured out a perfect blend of combat time and story pacing.
that's what I'm saying. If Chrono can do it, so can anybody else. I understand it's not easy to accomplish considering the lack of other examples but it certainly is possible and whoever can accomplish that gets mad respect from me
If I had to pick an ideal number of hours for a solid, fun RPG, I'd say somewhere around 20-30 hours for the main storyline, with the option of another 10-20 hours of subplots/scavenger hunting.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01IQTL1JA&ref=mas_ty
I like 'em long.
Someone take this to the quoted out of context thread.
I like 'em long.
Someone take this to the quoted out of context thread.
Lol. I probably could've also mentioned how I like 'em hard.
I like 'em long.
Someone take this to the quoted out of context thread.
got ya covered zonk