Originally Posted by
Wolf Kanno
This is what I'm getting at, though I would argue that there is more to JRPGs than narrative and I would also argue that handhelds can be just as long story-wise as a console title. I would also point out that you need to define good pacing with bad pacing. I mean Xenoblade and DQVII can both take over a hundred hours to complete but only Xenoblade is praised for its writing whereas DQVII's is said to be somewhat forgettable. On the other hand, DQV is well praised for its story and narrative but can be completed in under 30 hours. So would you say that JRPGs are often more successful with pacing or could stand to be edited down when the "filler" content adds nothing to the overall narrative, like say FFX's Monster Arena, which can tack on another 30 hours of game time but doesn't necessarily do anything for the world immersion?
Of course there is more to JRPGs than narrative. Who exactly said there wasn't?
And "good pacing" and "bad pacing" are irrelevant to length. A story has a specific amount of content, and you can blow through that quickly or extend it way too long, but it's completely wrong to say that every story can be well-paced in 10 hours. It depends entirely on how big your story is.
What I want from games (sometimes) is specifically the ability to dissolve myself into their world for as long as I possibly can. If a game like that ends in 10 hours, I am going to be disappointed, even if the "story" is over. You can't do that on a handheld, not really. You can't immerse yourself in the same way, and you can't make the world large enough to explore it for a long time. Handhelds are great for shorter games, including short little fun JRPGs (like Etrian Odyssey, for instance). They're even pretty OK for a game like Dragon Quest IX; but you can't make Dragon Quest VIII on one and expect it to be the same. You can't make Fallout: New Vegas on one, either.
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