Is there something wrong with JRPGs?

While I've stopped contributing my weekly "That's the Name of the Game" column to bookspotcentral.com, I've become a contributing editor over at GameTopius.com, a site, I'm happy to say, is much more focused on video gaming and the industry at large, as opposed to an audience with a more causal slant towards gaming.

My first piece of written work on that site is part of their round table discussion, Forwards Compatible, on Japanese RPG games and the issues surrounding them.

"People who can find themselves delving deeply into the battle systems in JRPGs have probably looked beyond the new coat of veneer each console generation allows developers to polish on to their games. I think understanding the core of the RPG genre involves a certain mathematical finesse I just don't have. If I find myself with options to increase abilities or stats on one of my units in Final Fantasy Tactics, I usually beef up the Hit Points and the Attack damage. I'm sure I could be doing more with luck as my thief moogle fails to snatch any coins from the opponent, but I'm trying my best to just get through this battle and on to the next."

Read the rest of the round table at: http://www.gametopius.com/index.php/video-games/forwards-compatible/727-fc-jrpg.