I'd first like to point out,this blog might contain spoilers for FFVII,FFVIII,FFX,Lost Odyssey,Blue Dragon.
One thing I've noticed lacking from later JRPGs is a great love story.People are asking why are the newer JRPGs not as fun to play as the ones from the past? and suggestions have been that people are growing ''bored'' of JRPGs,or they are too generic and not bringing enough new things into the genre.
Well I was thinking,would people love Final Fantasy VII as much as they do now if there was no love triangle between Cloud,Aeris,Tifa? How many people were upset when Aeris died?
In Final Fantasy VIII,the love story between Squall and Riona made the story much more heart felt.Squall was an anti social,self centered guy,Riona was a warm,bubbly woman and she brought Squall out of his shell and when he was with Riona,people saw Squall smiling for the first time.
Final Fantasy X has one of the most moving love stories you can ever imagine.And the love story between Tidus and Yuna is so moving and powerful it's worth playing through FFX-2 just to see if Yuna can be with Tidus again.
In Final Fantasy IV,Cecil had to journey to get medicine for his girlfriend Rosa who was greatly ill.And Cecil choose to take care of a little girl because her village was destroyed and her mother was killed(and it made me think what a wonderful guy Cecil is and Rosa is lucky to have him)
I'm not saying all JRPGs need to have a great love story to be great(because many great JRPGs don't have a great love story).I'm just saying that if you add a great love story,it makes the experience that much more magical.I understand not all JRPGs are suited for a love story type experience,and that's OK.
Final Fantasy XII was the first Final Fantasy game in a long time to not have a love story,and many people said they didn't like it's story that much.Perhaps because the story wasn't as deep and meaningful.eg in FFVII,people always wondered if Cloud would choose Aeris or Tifa,and when Aeris died,people were heart broken.In FFVIII,Riona becoming interested in Squall was the turning point in the story,because before then,Squall seemed like another quiet,emotionally cold guy(just like Cloud).In FFX,many people were in tears when Tidus had to leave Yuna and even before then many people cried because of the development in the love story between Tidus and Yuna.These are stories that people LOVE.
With the JRPGs on next gen consoles,Lost Odyssey had a couple of love stories,one of them was nice(between Jansen and Ming)but not memorable,although it had some very funny moments and beautiful music for it's scenes.Kaim and Sarah were supposed to have been married and have forgotten about it because they had their memories stripped.It's a painful concept,but I didn't feel as saddened or moved by it as I felt with JRPGs in the past.Blue Dragon tried to add a weak love triangle but it was more annoying than moving,as Kluke didn't seem like she was interested in either Shu or Jiro.And Eternal Sonata,Last Remnant,Infinite Undiscovery,Tales of Vesperia,Valkyria Chronicles seem to focus more on the gameplay,let alone a love story.
Anyways this is all I want to say,thanks for reading.
